Nearly 20 years after getting drafted, James Reimer doesn't take playing in the NHL for granted.
Starts aren't as frequent for the 37-year-old goalie these days, but he's still backstopping his team to big wins.
His latest came Monday when the veteran netminder stopped all 16 shots he faced as his Ottawa Senators blanked the Canucks 2-0 in Vancouver.
It was Reimer's first shutout in a Sens' jersey, coming after he signed with Ottawa (32-22-9) as a free agent on Jan. 12, and the 32nd of his long career.
"You're always grateful. I mean, obviously, I'm obviously filled with a ton of gratitude for the opportunity to play … and for this organization to give me the chance and believe in me," he said.
"I think every (win) is special and it's the best league in the world and so when you get to have a shutout, it's a testament to how we played tonight. But obviously, it's fun when it happens."
The Canucks (19-37-8) tested Reimer in the second period, peppering him with nine shots across the frame.
Vancouver came close 6:24 into the frame after centre Teddy Blueger slipped a pass to Max Sasson in the slot. Sasson glided in and blasted a shot from the top of the crease, only to see the goalie slide into position to take it off his shoulder, then glove the puck down, smothering the rebound.
Monday marked Reimer's first start since Feb. 5 — Ottawa's last game before the Olympic break, when the Senators edged the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 in overtime.
He joked that he'd told Senators head coach Travis Green he'd need a minimum of four weeks rest after his last start.
Green said Monday was "just a veteran game" from the goaltender.
"It's hard when you haven't played in that long but when guys have played in the league for a while, they keep their game sharp, and he's worked extremely hard," Green said. "I was real happy for him. He made some big saves in the second and shutouts are hard to come by in this league, and it's nice to see him get one."
Getting back into a game is all about being prepared, Reimer said.
"It's kind of the same mindset that you always have, but you just got to make sure you're really into it in the sense that you're trusting your game," he said. "There's a tendency to get jumpy or get a little antsy when you haven't seen game action in a bit. And I think it's just trusting it."
Reimer is now the third goaltender in NHL history to record a shutout with seven different franchises, having accomplished the feat with Ottawa, Toronto, San Jose, Florida, Carolina, Detroit and Buffalo. Cam Talbot and Sean Burke are the only other netminders to reach the milestone.
His wife and kids were in the crowd at Rogers Arena to witness the performance, and Reimer said it was "pretty special" to win in front of them.
"My wife, obviously, is a huge part of my success, and the amount of sacrifice she does for me to follow my dream and our kiddos get dragged along in the process, and so it's awesome when you can have success in front of them," he said. "And in this case, I have a lot of extended family too, and so it was great to do it in front of them."
Foote dislikes goal ruling
The Senators got on the board at the 10:11 mark of the second period when a puck hit Shane Pinto and pinged out to Ridly Greig. The centre corralled the puck, then blasted a shot into the Canucks net to make it 1-0.
Vancouver challenged the play for a missed stoppage, arguing the deflection off Pinto counted as a hand pass. A video review upheld the call on the ice, but Canucks head coach Adam Foote did not agree.
"I was told by the referee that if a guy protects his face, it's a goal. And I told him it's not in the rule book. … It's clearly not stated," he said after the game.
"The way it's stated, it should have been overruled."
Kane sidelined
Canucks winger Evander Kane did not play Monday.
Foote said the 34-year-old forward has been dealing with upper-body "discomfort" and the team opted to sit him to try and "settle it down."
Kane has 11 goals and 27 points over 61 games for Vancouver this season.
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