Winners of 15 of their past 22, the Leafs will have to continue their surge without the efforts of No. 1 goalie Jonathan Bernier, who left Thursday's game against the LA Kings with a lower-body injury.

Although the injury is not considered serious, Bernier did not practice with the team ahead of Sunday's matchup against the Capitals. The Leafs also recalled Drew MacIntyre from the Marlies to serve as James Reimer's backup.

At this point there is no timeline for how long Bernier will be out, and the task of guiding the Leafs down the stretch and into the playoffs could conceivably fall upon Reimer, the man who Bernier has soundly beat out for the No. 1 job this season.

But should Leafs fans worry? Is the drop off between Bernier and Reimer as steep as the numbers so far this season suggest?

James Reimer is the rightful heir to Curtis Joseph's throne.

The young netminder has been a rock for the Leafs this season, essentially dragging the team into the playoffs. His .926 save percentage is sixth in the league, just a tick below Henrik Lundqvist and Cory Schneider.

Apart from the five games after Reimer returned from knee surgery, in which his save percentage was .893, the Morweena, Manitoba native has posted a .933 save percentage. He has been exactly what the Leafs have been searching for since Father Time chopped down Ed Belfour eight years ago: A true No. 1 goalie.

The Leafs have been shelled this season, allowing the fourth most shots per game, yet are still firmly in a playoff position, thanks in large part to their goaltending.

What began as a major question mark heading into the season has turned into the backbone of the team.

James Reimer and Ben Scrivens have led the Leafs to a .916 team save percentage, good for eighth best in the league. In recent years with the likes of Vesa Toskala and Andrew Raycroft, breaking .900 was a minor miracle. Now, the Leafs have received better goaltending than teams like Montreal, Vancouver, Nashville, and Los Angeles, teams with unquestioned No. 1 goaltenders.

But strong goaltending in Toronto hasn't stopped rumours from popping up over the last few days linking high-profile veteran goalies to the Leafs. Roberto Luongo, currently sitting on the bench in Vancouver, is once again being talked about, apparently. But the new rumour de jour—one that makes even less sense—claims the Leafs are talking to Calgary about bringing Miikka Kiprusoff to Toronto.

We're on the eve of destruction. No, some radical church hasn't pronounced tomorrow the day of the rapture. Tomorrow is the start of NHL free agency, usually a time when general mangers forget their plans for spending money wisely and istead go money drunk. Because the salary cap took a huge jump and this year's crop of free agents is terribly weak (think, Ville Leino might be the second best UFA forward if we don't count Teemu Selanne), some teams are going to drop huge cash on 10 goal scorers. What's most frightening is that the Rangers have over $20 million in cap space. Glen Sather shall pronounce "$7 million contracts for all!"

To keep you occupied until tomorrow at noon, you can read my latest post over at The Good Point. This week's article focuses on the state of goaltending in Canada. It's a dark time for Canadian goaltenders. Carey Price might just be the best Canadian goaltender and he was being routinely booed last season. That's not reassuring.