Jonathan Bernier Pro Read 3: Backdoor robbery out of RVH

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 Save

Now let’s take a look at the entire sequence and resulting save: