Only a few weeks after Sabres goaltender Martin Brodeur set the single season NHL and BRHL record for wins in a season with 51, Sabres coach Tom Renney decided to sit the Hall of Fame goaltender.
After falling behind 1-2 in the series to the Montreal Canadians, Renney had seen enough. "Marty hasn't been Marty so far this playoffs...That being said, it's Martin Brodeur we're talking about, he'll bounce back", Renney explains.
In three games, Brodeur only managed a .862 Save % and has already matched 1/5 of the total losses for the entire season. The Sabres have drastically outshot the Canadians every game, but only see the series knotted at 2-2- why? Goaltending.
Harding, with 12 wins and 0 losses on the season was the man Renney called upon to start an important game 4. "Harding has been phenomenal all season, I wanted to give him a chance in the playoffs as a reward for his outstanding play. This gives Marty a bit of a break and I have no doubt it will work for the best of our franchise."
When asked whether or not Harding would start again, Renney replied, "Marty is going to take game 5 no question, but I have no reason not to play Josh again."
The Sabres went on to score 3 straight goals in the third period after dropping down 1-3 early. Sidney Crosby went on to score the eventual game winning goal with less than a minute to play.
One thing is certain, if the Sabres didn't pull off the 4-3 victory on Monday night, Coach Tom Renney would have been under huge scrutiny for sitting the Veszina frontrunner in such an important playoff game.
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"With Sid on your team, anything is possible" - Mario lemieux