Jonathan Bernier Pro Read 3: Backdoor robbery out of RVH
With Jonathan Bernier
What happens when the league's leading goal scorer is wide open on the back door?
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This is the third of several Pro Reads featuring Detroit Red Wings goalie Jonathan Bernier.
In his first two appearances in Pro Reads, Bernier walked us through an entire shootout, with tips on managing breakaway depth and how shooter preferences differ depending on the game situation, and then examined a net drive out of the corner with a couple of pass options.
This time Bernier takes a closer look at a backdoor robbery against one of the league’s elite snipers, Boston Bruins David Pastrnak, who would have won the 2019-20 Maurice Richard Trophy as the NHL’s top goal scorer by himself (he shared it with Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals) if not for this head-shaking cross-crease glove save by Bernier.
Most will call it a desperation save, but as we see in this exclusive video review session, while there are times you have to reach and rely on athleticism, it’s not always purely desperate.
The Scenario
With the Bruins’ dominant top line buzzing and Pastrnak parked alone on the back edge of the crease, Boston forward Brad Marchand gets the puck along the boards with three bodies – two Red Wings and one more Bruins player – between him and Bernier in goal.
Seeing where the puck is here, it might be tempting to ask why Bernier is already sealed on his post in a reverse-VH, especially when the introduction has already told us he ends up making a backdoor save on Pastrnak. One of the answers to that question comes from just how good Bernier has gotten moving in and out of his RVH over the past three seasons, a significant improvement that started with Colorado Avalanche goaltending coach Jussi Parkkilla in 2017-18, and continued with goalie coach Jeff Salajko the past two seasons in Detroit. We’ll take a closer look at that transformation at the end of this Pro Reads, but as you examine the photo above, what other elements can you see that would justify Bernier being in RVH?
The Save
Now let’s take a look at the entire sequence and resulting save:
Did seeing Marchand’s attempt off the boards deflected off the stick of the Detroit defender and across to Pastrnak change anything about how you might have played the situation after just seeing the first still photo and where the puck was? Is there anything else about the situation that makes it easier to understand why Bernier prioritized a short-side seal and eliminating the chance of Marchand scoring what would have certainly been labeled a bad goal from there?
The Pro-Read
Now let’s take a look at the play through Bernier’s eyes:
Still ahead in this article:
Bernier told InGoal exactly what changed in his RVH that season — and the moment he knew it was working is in the next paragraph.
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