Jonathan Bernier channels his inner Terry Sawchuk with 50 saves

Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jonathan Bernier was mentioned frequently as a potential possibility for GM Steve Yzerman to dangle as trade bait at this season's NHL Trade Deadline, though no deal ultimately fell through. 

For now, Bernier remains in the Motor City, and tonight became the second goaltender who wears the Winged Wheel in the past 40 years to make 50 saves in a game. 

He recorded 50 stops tonight at Little Caesars Arena against the Dallas Stars, who are fighting for their playoff lives. In doing so, he became the first Red Wings goalie since Jimmy Howard in 2010 against the Los Angeles Kings to stop that many opposition shots. 

At the conclusion of the 1st period, the Stars enjoyed a 21-3 advantage in shots. After 40 minutes of play, their shot advantage had ballooned to 41-6. 

The Stars were finally able to break through early in the 3rd period courtesy of Mark Pysyk capitalizing on a goal-mouth scramble. Up until that point, the only offense on the scoreboard during the evening was defenseman Dennis Cholowski sniping a shot glove-side past Stars goalie Anton Khudobin. 

Stars captain Jamie Benn beat Bernier 32 seconds into overtime, capitalizing on a turnover from defenseman Filip Hronek and capping the comeback victory for the Stars, moving them closer to the Predators in the Western Conference standings.

"It’s tough to come out and have a performance like this and not win," Bernier said afterwards. 

Head coach Jeff Blashill echoed his goaltender's sentiments, stating that the turnover was a "needless" mistake. 

"You get into overtime and it’s always bitter when you lose, especially when you give up a needless chance like that," Blashill said. 

The final shot count on the night was 52-17. The Red Wings fell to 17-25-8 on the season, while Dallas improved to 20-15-12. 

Bernier has been one of the consistent bright spots on the Red Wings since his arrival in the Motor City in 2018 when he agreed to a three-year contract. He's slated to become a free-agent at season's end, though there's been speculation that Yzerman could be interested in bringing back the veteran net minder for another round of duty. 

The Red Wings will now travel to Columbus for a matchup against the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.