George Richards, FHN Publisher
If the Florida Panthers need him, Chris Driedger says he is ready to go.
New York Islanders coach Barry Trotz said last week that he had two goalies who he was comfortable starting in the opener of their best-of-five game Stanley Cup qualifier against the Panthers.
Trotz even said that, because the two teams play on consecutive games on Tuesday and Wednesday, that he is thinking about using both of his guys regardless.
Florida coach Joel Quenneville has not said anything of the sort when it comes to his goaltending situation, saying the he is only looking at Game 2 on Tuesday (noon; FS Florida/NBCSN).
Quenneville will worry about Game 3 when Game 2 is over with. Sergei Bobrovsky will start Tuesday and, the safe money is on Bob going in Game 3 as well.
“I thought Driedgs did a great job for us this year but I was really happy with Bob yesterday,” Quenneville said Sunday, a day after Bobrovsky looked good with 26 saves in a 2-1 loss to the Islanders in Game 1.
“I don’t think you want to look any further than our next game. I never look ahead. We will visit that (possibility) at the end of the second game. But Bob … very pleased with him. He was outstanding for us.”
If Quenneville does go to his backup goalie, Driedger has given the Panthers nothing but positive results.
Driedger has shown he can not only handle the job, but do it quite well.
Driedger, by the way, has the best stats of any Florida goalie this season although he compiled that 2.05 GAA and .938 save percentage in 12 games of work.
That said, he was put in some tough spots and came out looking pretty good.
Driedger went 2-0-1 in Florida’s final three games of the COVID-19 interrupted regular season as Bobrovsky was out with what is believed to be a groin injury.
“Anytime, as a goalie, you have to be ready to go whether you are starting or not,’’ Driedger said on one of the final days of training camp in Coral Springs.
“I am approaching things as I have the whole season here. I practice the same way whether I am starting or backing up.
“If something were to happen, I would be ready to go. This is very exciting times. We’re making history here. This is the first time we’re playing playoff hockey in August.”
“I was here for a month before we started training camp, so I was ready to go,” Driedger said last week before Florida left for Toronto.
“I thought that was key for me, getting ready and accustomed to shots after having three months off. The first day — the first week — back is a little bit of a struggle then you kind of find your legs and your timing back.”
LONG ROAD TO FLORIDA
Driedger’s road to this spot is one in which he took the long road.
Forget about starting this season in AHL Springfield where he was considered Florida’s No. 3 guy.
Two years ago, he was cut loose by the Ottawa Senators — where he got into a handful of games off the bench but spent most of his time toiling in the minors — before the Panthers offered a lifeline of sorts.
Driedger agreed to a minor-league deal with the Panthers in 2018, a chance to come to training camp and battle for a position on the AHL team.
Instead, the Panthers sent him to an ECHL in Manchester, N.H., so he could get some ice time while Michael Hutchinson and Sam Montembeault manned the nets for the Thunderbirds.
Driedger would eventually make it to Springfield and ended up taking over as the starter. He went 18-12-1 while making 92 percent of his saves.
“Two years ago, I think I took a couple steps in the wrong direction,” Driedger said earlier this season. “I have been trying to get back to the NHL ever since. Last year, my goal was to prove myself as an AHL goalie and this was the next step.”
The Panthers offered him another contract last summer, this one a two-year, two-way deal which gave them some flexibility to bring him up if needed.
He was needed.
While Driedger did not win the backup spot to Bobrovsky in training camp this season, he looked good enough to open some eyes.
As Montembeault struggled, Driedger was playing so good he earned an AHL All-Star invitation despite being called up to Florida less than two months into the season.
Driedger was brought up around Thanksgiving and the thought was, he would keep Montembeault’s seat warm behind Bobrovsky.
Yet when the Panthers played well in Washington but lost 4-3, Quenneville surprisingly benched his big-ticket goalie and gave Dreidger his first NHL start Nov. 30 against visiting Nashville.
“That was a well-played game from our point of view,’’ Quenneville said the night Florida lost in Washington, “and we just need some saves to win the game in a game like tonight.
“I think every game is different. Goalies get scrutinized to a different level, but in a game like tonight on the road against a good team, you need timely saves, you need big saves and that can be the difference.”
Driedger shutout the Preds, stopping all 27 shots faced in a 3-0 win. For a guy who played in such minor league outposts as Brampton, Binghampton, Evansville and Wichita, just getting an NHL win was an amazing feeling.
To get the shutout in that first NHL start had him feeling on top of the world.
“Honestly, I’m speechless at this point,” Driedger said after embracing his entire team on the ice as well as owner Vinnie Viola and Roberto Luongo in the joyous locker room.
“It has been a long time coming. I was definitely pretty nervous going into it but once the puck dropped I kind of felt good.”
Driedger ended up being on the Panthers roster the rest of the season, only going back to Springfield in February to get a start after missing six weeks with a groin injury.
He also spent a good part of his pandemic quarantine there. After all, he still had the apartment and his girlfriend was there.
Now, Driedger is in Toronto as a backup goalie in the NHL postseason.
The Panthers are likely going to ride Bobrovsky through however long this postseason lasts, but Driedger says he’s good if they need him.
“They have told me to just be ready to go,” he said.
“That has been the message all season. I am going to go in there if they need me and I will be ready to play.”