• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • Atlantic Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Metropolitan Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Pacific Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle NHL
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • THW Archives
  • More…
    • Columns
    • NWHL
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • Long Read
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • Atlantic Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Metropolitan Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Pacific Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle NHL
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • THW Archives
  • More…
    • Columns
    • NWHL
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • Long Read
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
San Jose Sharks
Sharks Goaltending

THW’s Goalie News: Comrie & Week in Review

By Greg Boysen December 2nd, 2019

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

It’s Monday and that means we are going to look back at the week that was in National Hockey League goaltending. There is a new netminder looking for playing time Motown, plus we look at who has been hot and who has been struggling as well as our top-performing backup.

Comrie Gives Red Wings Some Options

The Detroit Red Wings are in need of some goaltending help. Veteran Jimmy Howard left with an injury earlier this week and is dealing with a soft-tissue injury. The Red Wings recalled called Calvin Pickard from the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League, but he allowed six goals in his start versus the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday.

The following day the Red Wings acquired goaltender Eric Comrie from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for defenseman Vili Saarijarvi. Comrie made the jump right to the NHL and took part in Monday’s morning skate. Pickard was reassigned to the AHL.

New goalie in town.

Say hello to Eric Comrie 👋 pic.twitter.com/q3DC9hlA4t

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 2, 2019

The addition of Comrie could pay off both immediately and down the road. The Red Wings have lost nine games in a row, so you’d have to believe Comrie will get a look at some point, especially when you consider he would have to clear waivers in order to be sent down to Grand Rapids. He was already claimed on waivers once this season when the Winnipeg Jets tried to get him through, so that may not be a risk the Red Wings are willing to take.

The 24-year-old Comrie was originally drafted in the second round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Jets. He has made five NHL appearances in his career where he posted a 4.21 goals-against average (GAA) and a .870 save percentage (SV%). He has played well in the AHL since being drafted. He is 81-83-20 with a 2.88 GAA, .910 SV% and eight shutouts in 187 games with the St. John’s IceCaps, Manitoba Moose and Tucson Roadrunners.

Eric Comrie Winnipeg Jets
Comrie has made four NHL appearances with the Jets. (Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports)

As general manager Steve Yzerman tries to get the Red Wings back into contention, Comrie gives him an option between the pipes. Howard is in the final year of his contract and Jonathan Bernier is not a long-term solution. With top prospect Filip Larsson struggling in his first AHL season, Comrie gives the Red Wings a viable, young option at the position.

The Week in Review

Who’s Hot

What a difference a month makes. October was brutal for the San Jose Sharks who were down at the bottom of the Pacific Division standings and many were wondering if it was time for a coaching change. Since dropping their first two games of November, they have gone 11-2-0 and are back in a playoff spot.

The play of goaltender Martin Jones has been a big factor in the team’s turnaround. After going 2-6-1 with a 3.57 GAA and .890 SV% in the first month of the season, he went 10-2-0 with a 2.62 GAA and .902 SV% during the month of November.

Martin Jones, San Jose Sharks, Fantasy Hockey
Jones has bounced back nicely after a rough start to the season. (Bruce Bennett/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports)

He has been huge in his last fours starts beating the Los Angeles Kings twice as well as picking up wins over the New York Islanders and Coyotes. He gave up just seven goals on 121 shots, in those four games, for a .942 SV%.

Who’s Not

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been a rather remarkable story this season. They have had to deal with a ton of injuries to some of their most important players like Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin. Despite all the man-games lost over the first two months of the season, the Penguins are currently in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Goaltending has been an issue of late in Pittsburgh as they have given 16 goals over their past three games. Matt Murray has really been fighting it in his last few starts and his overall .897 SV% shows that.

Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray
The 2019-20 season has been a struggle for Murray, so far. (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

In his last 10 starts, Murray has gone 3-2-5 with a 3.53 GAA and .867 SV% and was pulled twice. He has given up at least four goals in each of his last four starts.

Murray’s play of late should open up the door for Tristan Jerry to get more playing time. He has a 2.27 GAA and .929 SV% in his nine games this season.

Backup of the Week

The Boston Bruins are sitting on top of the NHL with 43 points and they have been able to do so because of a deep lineup that includes a pair of very good goaltenders. Tuukka Rask gets most of the headlines in Boston, but Jaroslav Halak has been very good in his limited time as well.

The Bruins played four games last week and they split the starts between Rask and Halak. The 34-year-old Slovakian-born netminder won both of his starts. On Tuesday, Halak made 36 saves in an 8-1 beating of the Montreal Canadiens. He followed that up with a 26 save performance in a 3-2 overtime win over the New York Rangers on Friday afternoon.

Boston Bruins Jaroslav Halak
Halak is our Backup of the Week. (Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports)

Halak’s play gives head coach Bruce Cassidy a trustworthy backup to give Rask plenty of rest down the stretch so he is fresh for the Stanley Cup playoffs. In his 10 starts this season, Halak is 6-1-3 with a 2.35 GAA and .930 SV%.

  • Tags
  • Eric Comrie
  • Martin Jones
  • Matt Murray
  • Top Story
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Facebook Comments

Editor’s Picks
7 Biggest NHL Players in Today's Game

7 Biggest NHL Players in Today's Game

64499
10 Potential Names for a New Seattle NHL Franchise

10 Potential Names for a New Seattle NHL Franchise

84929
Recent Posts
Dec 12th 5:50 PM
Washington Capitals

Capitals’ 2019 Draft Class Update

Dec 12th 5:35 PM
Edmonton Oilers

5 Biggest Oilers Trades Under Chiarelli

Dec 12th 5:20 PM
Other Leagues

Windsor Spitfires’ Weekly: Right Track, Teddies, and New Tender

Dec 12th 5:05 PM
International Hockey

2020 World Junior Championships Team Russia Preview

Dec 12th 4:20 PM
Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens’ Matthew Peca out Around 6 Weeks with Knee Injury

Dec 12th 1:55 PM
International Hockey

Team Canada Selection Camp Takeaways

Dec 12th 1:05 PM
Long Read

Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Hyman, Marner, Tavares, Pietrangelo

Dec 12th 12:35 PM
Edmonton Oilers

Momentum Woes: Oilers Struggle to Win When Trailing

Dec 12th 11:50 AM
Edmonton Oilers

NHL Rumors: Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Devils, Oilers, More

Dec 12th 11:25 AM
New Jersey Devils

Devils Need a Reset, Not a Rebuild

Stay in Touch
Contact Us

Via our Newsletters
RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Our Partners
HFBoards

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

Join over 18 000 Subscribers of our free bi-weekly Newsletter.

© The Hockey Writers 2018. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • Atlantic Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
  • Metropolitan Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Dallas Stars
    • Minnesota Wild
    • Nashville Predators
    • St Louis Blues
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • Pacific Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle NHL
    • Vegas Golden Knights
    • Vancouver Canucks
  • Store
  • The THW Archives
  • Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • The Goalie Page
  • NHL Salary Cap Information
  • Join Our Team
  • Search THW