By Sean Evans (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: March 7, 2012
It’s no secret the Abbotsford Heat have had their struggles this season, but things have been looking up. Here’s why.
Although the Heat went through a stretch in January and early February in which they lost nine of 12, it seems they may have turned a corner. In their last nine outings, the Heat have walked away with five wins, two overtime losses and two outright losses. Not a bad turnaround. The Heat now find themselves sitting in fifth spot in the Western Conference, poised to take on the Chicago Wolves, affiliate to the Vancouver Canucks, in the playoffs. How’s that for a series?
Much of the Heat’s trouble this year has coincided with the loss of key players to the Calgary Flames. Obviously this can be expected – it is the AHL, we’re talking about here. That said, having goaltender Leland Irving out for weeks at a time has perhaps cost the Heat a couple games. But, alas, Irving has returned, being sent back to Abbotsford just last week. However, that return is not as simple as it may appear.
Irving has really served as the backbone to this team for a while now. That is not to understate the importance that back-up goaltender Danny Taylor has played this year, filling in for the absent Irving. A close look at the numbers reveals the importance of Irving. In his 29 games with the club this year, Irving was 17-10-1-3, with a Goals Against Average (GAA) of 2.37 and a save percentage of .914 per cent. In comparison, Taylor has played 33 games, amassing a record of 16-12-1-2, with a GAA of 2.45 and save percentage of .924 percent. The difference between the two goalies is not drastic, by any stretch of the imagination, but Irving ultimately has the better numbers – he is the guy you want between the pipes come playoff time, if the Heat ever want to see the second round of the post season.
The return of Irving is not as simple as it seems, however. The Flames have announced that Irving is now the number two goalie in Calgary. Here’s how it works: Irving, who played well during his time in Calgary has jumped past goalie Henrik Karlsson, taking over second spot. Karlsson, who does not have a two-way contract, and therefore cannot play for the Heat, will remain with Calgary, but will not play. Instead, Irving will do double duty, sharing the goaltending role in Abbotsford with Danny Taylor, while at the same time, taking frequent trips up the big leagues to give Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff some rest.
So, long story short, the Heat have two goalies that have shown they can win – one a little more than the other. As a result, they will have to be content with sharing Irving with the Flames for the time being. That said, it’s pretty likely that the Flames wont require the services of Irving anytime past April 7, the last day of their regular season.
In the end, the fact is that Danny Taylor is a good enough goalie to help the Abbotsford Heat ensure they maintain a playoff spot, but not good enough to steal that stage from Irving come postseason.
