Ever watch one of those games where every time the goalie makes another save, a little part of you dies inside? Because there’s no way he should be making that many stops, that easily, and yet: brick wall.
While the Ontario Reign went into the AHL’s All-Star break on a high note, picking up a 5-3 win over the Colorado Eagles on Saturday, the night before … well, a picture tells a thousand words:
That’s right: the Ontario Reign put up 68 shots on Eagles goaltender Spencer Martin and were rewarded with exactly zero goals.
Matt Luff and Mike Amadio each had eight shots to share the team lead. Defensemen Matt Roy and Kale Clague had six each.
Zero goals.
Martin had the performance of a lifetime, setting a new franchise high. He’s also the first goalie in the AHL to cross the 60-save mark in the regular season since J.S. Aubin made 63 saves for the St. John’s Maple Leafs in 2004.
What. A. SAVE!
Marty coming up huge to help us kill off this penalty!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/p29zNkcD2Y— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) January 26, 2019
The AHL doesn’t release advanced tracking data to the public, so there aren’t many resources for data visualization and fancy stats.
So, I took my own stab at making a heat chart for the Reign’s shots, based off of my best guesses of what sixty-eight shots would look like. If you ask me, it looks a little something like this:
It’s a good thing the Reign came away with a win the next night, because otherwise that would have been a very frustrating game as the last one before the break.
Kings Things
View from the other side of the ice of that 68-save shut-out. [Colorado Eagles]
Post game notes and reactions from the Reign. [Reign Insider]
Another #NHLAllStar Game in the books for @dewyy8 ✨ pic.twitter.com/geXThXgPHC
— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 27, 2019
Drew Doughty’s title of most booed Pacific Division player may have been stolen by Anaheim Ducks goalie John Gibson. [NHL]
Doughty’s coming away with from the All-Star game with some new artwork, courtesy an Auston Matthews shot. [Los Angeles Kings]
Just Alex Iafallo, hanging out at his sister Julianna’s NWHL game:
Goals 👉 the Iafallo fam pic.twitter.com/fNDANCynXg
— Buffalo Beauts (@BuffaloBeauts) January 26, 2019
Elsewhere
Bringing analytics to the Australian Women’s Ice Hockey League, one hand-written sheet of paper at a time. [The Ice Garden]
Highlights from the 2019 All-Star weekend. [NHLPA]
In recognition of their participation in the All-Star festivities, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Renata Fast, Rebecca Johnston and Brianna Decker each received a gift from the NHL, had $25,000 donated to the charity or hockey program of their choice, and later inked endorsement deals with adidas. [NHL]
San Jose Sharks fans showered their players in love all weekend. [NBC Sports]
Former Canadiens prospect Simon Borque is finding fulfillment in college hockey after leaving the pro game behind. [Eyes on the Prize]
The national spotlight has found David Pastrnak and he’s looking good in it. [Boston Herald]
Barry Trotz surprised his old junior hockey team with a pre-game pep talk. Please click this link if only to watch a gif of a — I am not kidding you — sausage toss. [Russian Machine Never Breaks]
Evening Entertainment
No NHL games tonight, but you can watch Sheldon Rempal and Sean Walker take part in the AHL’s All-Star Skills Competition.
AHL Skills Competition participants are out. Sheldon Rempal will compete in the puck control relay and will shoot in the rapid fire save event. Sean Walker competes in the fastest skater competition and the pass-and-score event. Both will be in the breakaway relay.
— Jewels from the Crown 💎👑 (@JFTC_Kings) January 27, 2019
The festivities kick off at 4:00 pm Pacific and air on the NHL Network, Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet NOW, and will be streaming for free on the AHL’s streaming service.