How do you quantify a goaltender who has moments of brilliance, while also seeming all to fallible? Pascal Leclaire was such a goalie last night in the Senators' shoot-out win against the Edmonton Oilers. In reality, it should never have been close and Leclaire is largely responsible for handing one point to the Oilers when they should have had none.



First, there was the superhuman Leclaire that was spectacular, saving Chris Kelly when his clearing attempt wound up on Reddox's stick in the first, giving the latter two free attempts. The same Leclaire made a big pad save on Grebeshkov in the second period, and then another in the third off Grebechkov quickly followed by another off Brule after a disastrous clearing attempt from Alexandre Picard, then stonewalled Penner on a breakaway. The one that slid across the crease with ease and guarded sos well against the Oilers in the shoot-out.

So how do you explain the porosity of this man on two of the Oilers' goals? The Oilers first and last goals were soft ones that went through Leclaire, and should have been handled as a matter of course. The shots on goal were the reverse of what was anticipated, with the Oilers peppering Leclaire with 34 shots. This gives Lecalire a .912 save percentage for the games, but it should have been .970 with only one goal going in on Leclaire.

Leclaire's play reminded me somewhat of Patrick Lalime's days with the Sens when he was in his prime. Lalime was also spectacular at times while allowing some soft goals at the worst of times. The comparison can be a bad thing or a good thing. It's a bad thing when the soft goals happen in a key game, as was too often the case when the Sens faced the Leafs in the playoffs. It can also be a good thing as Lalime was the Senators' winningest goalie.