Bernier doesn’t feel extra pressure

If you want to register your vote, at the end of this post is a poll about tonight’s starting-goalie decision. What do you think? Regardless, with all the focus on what Jonathan Quick is and isn’t doing, don’t forget that Jonathan Bernier will actually be playing tonight. It’s been a curious month for Bernier, who was outstanding in training camp and preseason games, but then did not look sharp in his season debut, in the loss to Buffalo in Berlin. That was 17 days ago, and Bernier hasn’t played since. Now he gets dropped into the middle of a much-discussed game. Bernier maintained a good sense of humor today. Given that Terry Murray told Bernier, before Saturday’s game, that he would be starting Tuesday, I asked Bernier what went through his mind when he saw Quick record a third consecutive shutout on Saturday…

BERNIER: “Well, first of all I was happy for him, but then I wasn’t sure if I was still going to be in net tonight. But I guess he [Murray] kept his word, and I’m happy to be back in.”

Question: There’s quite a bit of attention on this, given the fact that Quick isn’t starting. Do you feel any extra pressure at all?

BERNIER: “That’s (Quick’s) thing. He did three shutouts. I’m not part of that. The whole team is part of three shutouts, but for me it’s just about going in and trying to win the hockey game.”

Question: How have the last couple weeks of practice been going for you?

BERNIER: “Yeah, I feel pretty good. Obviously it was long, because when we came back from Europe we didn’t play that many games. So it was a pretty big grind, but I feel pretty good now.”

Question: You obviously watched the last game against New Jersey. What are you expecting tonight? Another low-scoring game?

BERNIER: “Yeah, I’m sure. We’ve been playing pretty good defensively. I think we’ve just got to keep rolling with that same mentality we’ve had in the past few games.”


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