The final 22 games of the season hold plenty of storylines for the Maple Leafs, and one of the most important centres on goalie Jonathan Bernier.

Key for Bernier and the Leafs: How much will he play down the stretch, and how will it affect his status as a No. 1 goalie heading for restricted free agency this summer.

When the Leafs’ season-killing skid started Dec. 18, Bernier’s performance also started to slip. He lost 10 in a row and his save percentage plunged. While his skills remained evident, he also failed to deliver the kind of performance that can steal a win at a time when the team desperately needed one.

That changed Saturday, when Bernier saved the last 10 shots he faced in regulation and overtime in a 4-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets at the Air Canada Centre.

“He’s gone through the same stretch as we have. There’s been some tough games, a lot of one-goal games, and you want your goalie to win you some of those games,” Leafs coach Peter Horachek after the club’s sixth straight one-goal game and eighth in their last 10. “It was good to see Jonathan win that game for us.”

Toronto’s win marked something of a watershed moment for the downtrodden team. With perhaps their most gutsy effort of the season, the Leafs played tough against Winnipeg, the league’s most physical team, just 24 hours after showing little in a 2-1 loss to Eric Staal and the Hurricanes in Carolina. (Staal slapped the puck at Dion Phaneuf on an empty-net goal earlier in the season and the incident went unchallenged by the Leafs.)

On Saturday, Bernier saw his team score three or more goals for just the third time in his last 14 starts. There was a sense of relief all around after a solid effort against one of the NHL’s in-your-face opponents.

Trade talk, though, will continue to dog the team until the March 2 deadline, and Bernier acknowledged the uncertainty has an effect in the dressing room. The netminder’s performance the rest of the way will go a long way toward determining his own situation.

Saturday’s game marked Bernier’s 40th start, slightly fewer than a No. 1 goalie might normally see by this point of the season. With 22 games left, it will be a challenge to reach his NHL high of 55, set last season. He started 58 games with Manchester in the AHL in 2011-12.

Part of the decision making about Bernier’s workload relates to his consistency. But there’s also the performance of backup James Reimer, who has been solid in net and a vocal leader off the ice of late.

Unfortunately for Bernier, he might not see enough action to erase the lingering impression that he hasn’t done enough to solidify his No. 1 status. Both Bernier and Reimer have been tested behind a Leafs team that is one of the worst in the NHL when it comes to giveaways, odd-man rushes allowed and playing out of position in the defensive zone.

Saturday night’s win was a good start for Bernier.

“It feels great . . . I can’t remember the last time I had a win,” said Bernier, had been winless since Jan. 9.

Despite the mounting losses, Bernier’s numbers have been relatively solid: 2.73 goals against average and .914 save percentage. They don’t rank among the top 10, but are arguably better than expected given the team-wide collapse.

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Bernier is earning $3.4 million in the final year of his contract before restricted free agency. Reimer, meanwhile, has a year left on a two-year deal and will earn $2 million next season.

For all the talk about rebuilding the roster, the Leafs appear to be in solid shape in goal with the possibility of locking up Bernier on a long-term deal this summer. That was the idea when the Leafs acquired him from the Los Angeles Kings in 2013 for Matt Frattin, Ben Scrivens and a second-round pick, one of the best trades of GM Dave Nonis’s tenure in Toronto. Bernier’s performance the rest of the way will play a big role in the decision-making.

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