SAVES OF THE WEEK….WOW
Desperation and gloves saves… This instalment has them all!
The NHL is BACK and so is GOALIE REVIEW
Finally, baseball highlights are ending and we are back with gloves saves, desperation highlights and goaltending dominance. There are numerous big goalie questions that need some answering this year. Will Luongo be able to bounce back from his disappointing season? Will Khabibulin and Turco be able to excel in their old age? Who will be the Craig Anderson of 2011? Will Price be able to withstand the fury of the Habs fans, and solidify his position as the Number 1 guy? The only way to answer these questions is to stay posted and watch the goalies with a critical eye!
Varlamov Drifts like his Stanley Cup Hopes
April 28th, 2010
Capitals VS Canadiens
In crucial game 7 Semyon Varlamov was almost flawless with the exception of the game winning goal against Marc-Andre Bergeron. The sports casters claimed this goal was unstoppable but GOALIEREVIEW sees it differently! If you watch Bergeron, a left handed shooter, follow through on his shot (pause :06 seconds) you see his stick is lined up with the right post. This indicates to the goalie that the shot is going short side or toward the right side of the net.
Varlamov decides to slide out on the pass, instead of staying on his feet with a strong t-push, to square up with Bergeron’s stick. As a result Varlamov overslides and drifts away from the shot leading to a goal on the right side of the net.
GOALIEREVIEW thinks he could have played this differently in two ways. He could have either stayed on his feet to square up to the puck ensuring he had a strong angle or he could have reduced the power of his slide so he would be lined up with the shot. Either technique would have possibly led the Capitals to the next round!
What do you think, should goalies slide out right away on the pass or should they stay on their feet to square up?
POOR EFFORT AND DECISION MAKING, AGAIN!
CANADIENS VS LEAFS
APRIL 10th, 2010
Another example of a BAD GOAL resulting from the goalie misplaying the puck. Please visit the last GOALIEREVIEW post for an analysis of how to avoid these goals.
Lack of Effort results in Bad Goal
Kings VS Ducks
April 6th 2010
Over the past few weeks I have witnessed a number of soft goals as a result of the goalie not playing the puck properly. The LA Kings netminder is the most recent professional to demonstrate a lack of focus when playing the puck. In this clip we see Jonathan Quick stop the puck behind the net with the intention of getting it to his defenseman. However, the defenseman is being pressured by the Ducks forward leading to a cough up in the slot for an easy goal.
This might appear to be the defenseman’s fault but GOALIEREVIEW notices how laid back Quick was to stop the puck behind the net. He never shows any urgency to stop the puck behind the net. Because of his lack of effort, Quick gets to the puck late and offers a weak pass to his defenseman who then coughs it up. If Quick would have rushed to stop the puck he would have noticed two Ducks forwards crashing the net. A hard rim or short chip to the opposite defenseman would have both been better options leading to a fast break out.
Goalies, we must always remember that when stopping the puck behind the net we need to first assess the environment to see if it’s a safe play. This means the head should be up and you need to consider the best option whether it be a hard rim, soft chip, a long pass or simply leaving it for the defensemen. If you have any doubt stay in the net as stopping the puck is ALWAYS your main priority.
Scott Clemmensen: Angles and Save choice = DISASTER
March 22nd, 2010
Panthers VS Kings
Scott Clemmensen, the former Brodeur backup, demonstrates why he is not ready to be a starter in the NHL. In his rare start against the Kings, Clemmensen makes two fundamental mistakes leading to the first goal of the game, scored by Steve Downie. Scott Clemmensen, the former Brodeur backup, demonstrates why he is not quite ready to be a starter in the NHL. In his rare start against the Kings, Clemmensen makes two fundamental mistakes leading to the first goal of the game scored by Steve Downie. If you pause the clip at the 0:07 second mark you will notice Downie coming in the right wing and Clemmensen is completely off angle, squaring up to the body instead of the puck. This gives Downie a major advantage to score on the Trapper side. This could have been corrected with a short shuffle to adjust the positioning but instead the Panthers goalie relied on his reflexes instead of his technique leading to error 2.
If you pause the clip at the 0:09 second mark you will see Clemmenson executes a reflex kick save with his trapper behind him. Please do not confuse this with a leg save where the pad is flush to the ice and the groin extends to make the save. Instead the leg pops out, exposing the entire 5 hole as well as creating an off balanced glove position.
Downie simpley had to pick one of the many holes and it was 1-0 Kings.
Do you have any tricks for goalies to get square? I have a few but would love to hear yours.
The Phantom Stick Haunts Howard
March 1st 2010
Wings VS Avalanche
Right after the Olympic break Jimmy Howard, who has been sensational this year, was haunted by the phantom stick. The Phantom stick was discussed in great length in the mastering technique section of GOALIEREVIEW. The aforementioned article discusses how costly a big gap between the goalies stick and pad can be. If you pause the highlight at the 0:28 second mark you will see how the puck sneaks between the blocker pad and stick. Yes, Howard’s stick was on the ice but it was not covering the entire 5 hole. If Howard simply brought his stick a bit closer to his pads Stewart’s goal would have been a routine save.
Although I could not find a clip, the overtime goal in the Olympic Gold Medal Game was also a result of the Phantom Stick. Similar to Howard, Miller’s stick was too far out leading to a gap that Crosby exposed. Go to CTV and watch the highlight and you will see how avoiding the Phantom Stick could have led the Americans to a Gold Medal. Every time I see this goal I will be reminded of the Phantam Stick Phenomenon.
Either way Miller played lights out and proved once again that he is the best goalie in the world.
Quickness vs Balance: Balance wins every time…
Jonathan Quick: Off Balance leads to 5 hole exposure.
Kings VS Sharks
Jan 19th 2010
In this clip we can see Jonathan Quick gives up a juicy 5 hole goal on Ryane Clowe. Quick played this shot very well being square to the stick and not the man. He also did a great job in timing his backward flow eliminating the top corner options. So what did he do wrong? .
Although very hard to identify, Quick’s mistake was actually in his balance. Because he executed a backward flow his momentum transferred to the heels of his feet. When the shot was released his entire weight (balance) was behind him leading to a slow butterfly. As a result he could not shut his pads fast enough providing Clowe with a taste of glory. The evidence of this imbalance can be seen once the puck crosses the goal line. Pause the clip at the 0:08 seconds and you will see how Quick’s hips and rear-end drop down close to his feet after the shot is taken. The weight falling back demonstrates how his weight was behind him leading to the entire body to fall back.
In this type of situation the goalie wants to first establish a backward flow ensuring that his weight remains on his toes. This will allow him to perform a quick (no pun intended) butterfly with both pads tight together. An additional benefit to using this strategy is that when he goes down he will maximize net coverage and be a bigger target as his momentum will not force his body to fall back resulting in greater height and net coverage.
When do you think goalies should drop their weight back?
Leclaire vs Miller, Great saves and Positional conclusions…
Leclaire vs Miller, Great saves and Positional conclusions…
VS 
Sens vs Sabres Dec 26th 2009
Even if you’re not a Ryan Miller fan it is hard to not appreciate his goaltending mastery. In the highlight versus the Sens you will see a brilliant glove save at the 0.22 minute mark of the clip. As many of you already know, keeping both pads flush to the ice when making a save is crucial for a goalie’s balance. Miller fights the urge to lift his trapper pad up when the shot is flying to the top left corner. Instead Miller stays very balanced and allows his trapper to make the save well in front of his body. Having the gloves forwards reduces the upward elevation of the puck eliminating the top corners. The “Miller Man” makes this save look easy but we all know that looks can be deceiving.
Although in my opinion Leclaire is not on the same playing field as Miller he does demonstrate a great knee shuffle during this video highlight. The knee shuffle is a relatively new technique where instead of lifting the leg up to perform a power-slide the goalie simply extends one leg out and brings in the opposite leg in quickly which creates a slight lateral movement. This is a great play when a goalie needs to add a few inches to his positioning without having to compromise any gaps in the body were the player can score.
Unfortunately, on the second goal Leclaire fell victim to the “Blind Driver” (see article “Most Important Element of Goaltending” ). If you notice Pommenville beats Leclaire on a one timer, low to the trapper side. Leclaire made two fundamental mistakes which lead to this goal.
First, he did not turn his head to identify if Pommenville was a left versus a right hand shot (long versus short movement ). Pommenville is indeed a right hand shot meaning Leclaire should not have performed a long slide that gave up the trapper side of the net. This omission led Leclaire to be square to Pommenville’s body instead of the puck.
The other mistake Leclaire made is less obvious. After repeatedly observing this trend I have concluded that when a player, such as Pommenville, shows a backward stride and momentum in preparation for the one timer, the shot will almost always travel in the direction of the shooters forehand. For example, Pommenville is a righty so the shot traveled to the right. It is very challenging for a right hand shot to shoot far left side as his momentum is moving backwards during the shoot. The body mechanics and momentum force the shooter to almost always shoot to the same direction as their forehand. If Leclaire picked up on this tendendy he could have shortened his slide leading to a square save towards the right side of the net.
Understand the game, master the position, own the opposition
Marty Turco Vs The Short Side (Stars vs Rangers)
Marty Turco Vs The Short Side (Stars vs Rangers)
Jan 6th 2010.
Marty Turco shows that even the greatest goalies still need to work on their positional play. In the article “The Most Important Part of Goaltending” I emphasize the importance of always being square to the puck as opposed to the player carrying the puck. Turco lets in two very soft goals short side because he is square to the player instead of the puck. When viewing the highlight pause it at the 1:11 mark into the clip. You will see that Avery, a left handed shot, releases the puck from a few feet above the faceoff dot. When paused, we can see how Turco is completely off angle nowhere near being square to the puck. Turco is unfortunately lined up with Avery’s body giving him the entire short side leading to the goal.
On the Rangers 3rd goal Turco’s positioning is again horrid. Kotalik, a right handed shot, is carrying the puck near the right side boards when he releases the shot from close to the blue line. When pausing the clip at the 2:28 mark we see that Turco is not even square to the Kotalik, let alone the puck. Kotalik had the entire trapper side open to score on an easy shot.
I am the number one defender of goaltenders but Turco is an elite goalie who should not be making these fundamental mistakes. Being in the proper position would have allowed him to make two easy saves giving his team a chance to win the game.
Goalies and coaches take this opportunity to truly appreciate how important positioning can be. Highlighted are two goals to the short side that are easily avoidable by simply being square to the puck and not the man. Goalies have an opportunity to work on this skill in every practice. Any time a player is coming down the wing either on a one on one or for a weave drill make sure you know if the player is a right handed shot or a left handed shot. To simply this just notice if the shooters stick is closer to the boards or the middle of the ice. If the stick is closer to the boards you should be covering more of the short side, lining up close to the face off dot (see image). If the stick is closer to the middle this means the puck sees more net and the goalie should be lined up more towards the middle of the crease or a few inches left or right depending on the player.
Understand the game, master the position, own the opposition.