In the NHL, the coaches’ press conferences always start with a question about the goalies. Always. Either about who is playing, about the health of the playing goalkeeper or about the goalkeeper drama seen before.
This has been seen an extraordinary amount at the beginning of the playoffs, especially in the Western Conference. Every team has seen a bit of drama from different viewpoints and arising from different starting points.
Colorado has had its own goaltending challenges, as has Vegas, and no one other than Winnipeg really seemed to have a hot goalie beforehand by Connor Hellebuyck through.
Now Colorado has put ten hits behind Hellebuyck in two games.
– Goalkeepers are under the most stress in the West. It’s absolutely absurd, and the media immediately started a survey on the topic. Colorado coach Jared Bednar said that of all the questions asked of him, 60 percent have been related to goaltending, ‘s hockey expert Ismo Lehkonen give a laugh.
Against this background, for example, Colorado Alexander Georgiev you have to know how to give value to a victorious second match in Winnipeg. Georgiev has been in the eye of the media storm for weeks.
– I don’t understand why those goalkeepers after a weak game just bounce back to the top level. I have to say that considering the pressure, the veskars are on a completely different level mentally compared to the field players. Then we think of something like Hellebuyck. Ten have been made there now and it was certainly a hard blow for Winnipeg, but his ability to bounce back is known. Everyone understands that this will not continue like this.
The most recent goaltending drama was seen in Vancouver, where No. 1 goaltender Thatcher Demko was injured after an outstanding performance in the opener against Nashville. It is reportedly a knee injury that will keep Veskar on the sidelines from at least the first round. In the losing second game, Vancouver’s goal was guarded by Casey DeSmith.
– A tough loss for them and I think it showed in the field game as well.
In the East, the situation is completely different. Florida, Tampa, Boston, Carolina and New York have a bunch of goalies whose hands are definitely not shaky. Lehkonen especially praises Carolina’s Freddie Andersen, who, after returning from illness, had a sensational strike in the spring and winter.
– On the other hand, it must also be said that in terms of scoring efficiency, the players of the new era are at a high level. The number of repetitions for certain things is at a high level, and then in the games, the weaknesses of the goalkeepers are banged repeatedly with high quality. The shots are laser accurate and the supporting acts are art. It starts to feel that the players are currently half a step ahead of the goalkeepers. Especially the top scorers.
Who surprised?
Carolina’s number one chain led by Sebastian Aho (on the wings Jake Guentzel and Seth Jarvis) has been hot for a long time, but a surprising statistical fact emerged from the first two Islanders games. According to the Moneypuck website, the distribution of the trio’s expected goals in two matches was exactly one hundred percent. So the Islanders did not create a single dangerous goal chance against the trio during the two matches!
On the other hand, the first team led by Aho had to wait a long time for their own taps to open: the red light only came on in the final moments of the second match, when Carolina sought an equalizer without a goalkeeper. Aho knocked the equalizer from the back post and just a moment later Guentzel sealed the final score 5-3 into an empty net.
– It didn’t surprise me that nothing was created against them. The Islanders clearly had a game plan to not even try to attack this trio. It was five under at all times. Their purpose was to play against Aho’s chain accurately and hard, but without ice. For 117 minutes, that plan worked wonderfully. Now I would be a little worried when the series is 2–0 for Carolina and this chain has opened its tap, Lehkonen throws.
Lehkonen has only been really impressed by Kasatu’s joint play since March. Although Guentzel, acquired from Pittsburgh, has played completely different hockey in his previous club, adapting to Carolina and next to Aho has been confusingly fast. Lehkonen also wants to highlight young Jarvis, who is having a sensational season.
– He plays in all situations, superior forces, inferior forces, when searching for or protecting the goal without a helmet. Even though he is such a dry summer squirrel, he took some important starts there. I was like what the hell! This is a great growth story and I will soon start counting this guy as a star category player who is not really talked about anywhere but in Carolina. Jarvis gives many smaller and lighter guys faith.
Who cheated?
of Vancouver Elias Pettersson are the biggest disappointments of the first round. The Swede, who already broke the 100-point mark a year ago, has been struggling with his game for a long time, but in the playoffs the struggle has taken new turns.
On Wednesday, Pettersson, who scored one goal in the previous 15 games, didn’t even bother to shoot the puck into an empty goal. The loss of the puck on their own blue line led to a 0-3 hit that broke the home team’s back. A reading of -3 was recorded in the power statistics.
Vancouver needs a lot more from their No. 1 center.
– For this, it is necessary to reach the playoffs, so that the young people get experience in the match round. Pettersson is still learning and is clearly struggling with the lack of time and space. It’s tight in the groin, and because of that, it’s starting to feel tight between the ears as well. This is more spirit world stuff for a guy who is a team player and would like to be of help to the group. He knows he can’t start as a linebacker. It is still clear that his situation is reflected in Vancouver as a whole, Lehkonen sees.
Goal of the week
As the goal of the week, we highlight Nashville, who played a wonderful away game in Vancouver by Filip Forsberg in the second match of the solo.
– Great goal. He saw that there was going to be a double in the corner and immediately rushed towards the goal. He then lifted the puck into the top corner very bluntly and nicely, Lehkonen says.
What next?
There are also plenty of events outside the playoffs. Buffalo, who gave the boot to seven head coaches in the last thirteen years, finally hired a new one: the one from New Jersey who got the boot earlier in the season Lindy Ruffin. The choice certainly surprised many, as Ruff has coached Buffalo before. Ruff was certainly not considered the hottest name on the coaching market.
– I would say that Buffalo had to find a guy there who will reset the whole world of values there. Ruff has experienced and seen a lot and has worked in different organizations. I believe the experience was the reason he was hired there. I believe that Ruff will also gather around him a coaching team that will start monitoring these values with the precision of the sun. I also understand very well that no interns are hired as head coaches at the NHL level, unlike the way it sometimes seems to be in the SM league.
Changes were also seen in San Jose when the head coach David Quinn got the shoe after a terrible season. The firings were not surprising, but it may be surprising that after last season, the NHL has seen an unimaginable 16 head coach changes.
– San Jose also needs a coach who will change everything. As far as I understand, the dudes lived there like in a field. It is absolutely not acceptable. And help armias, if Mikael Granlund wouldn’t be there. The goal difference would be 50 goals more in freezing temperatures, Lehkonen laughs.
– The work of a coach is a matter of career choice. Maybe behind that big reading is the heavy pressure to succeed. If you think about the situation before the season, except for a few clubs in the bottom floor, everyone was confident that we would go to the playoffs anyway. The expectations everywhere are insane, and when you don’t get there, who pays for it at their workplace? Well coach.