Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.It wasn't so long ago that Pascal Leclaire was a struggling young goaltender who let in more things between his legs than a Parisian call girl. All of a sudden, Leclaire is stingier than Scrooge McDuck and continues to pile up the shutouts.
Last night was blank sheet #7 (a 2-0 win over the Thrashees) for the young Blue Jackets netminder this season, continuing a string of dominating performances that Pascal has put out since the season started.
At 25 years of age, Leclaire is at the point where most goalies are just starting to establish themselves. It shouldn't be a surprise that Leclaire is finally showing his potential, even after years of being shell-shocked behind a poor Jackets D. With his skill-set, Leclaire should be able to maintain a high level of performance as long as his team can continue to play a stifling style for coach Ken Hitchcock.
What a difference a year can make ... from struggling goalie to Vezina candidate.
05-06: 33GP 3.23GAA 91.1SV% 0 shutouts
06-07: 24GP 2.97GAA 89.7SV% 1 shutout
07-08: 24GP 1.97GAA 92.8SV% 7 shutouts
