So the first round of the 2015 NHL playoffs are over. Four teams are moving on in the East, and four more in the west. That makes eight for you counting. My apologizes to those following the Ducks, Jets, Flames, et all, I was more in tuned with Detroit / Tampa Bay, Montreal / Ottawa, New York / Pittsburgh, New York Islanders (From this point on, they'll be playing in Brooklyn) / Washington Capitals. The storylines seemed to offer plenty of intrigue. And while Ottawa, Pittsburgh, the Islanders and Detroit ended up exiting stage left, their goaltenders looked pretty strong.
The focus in Ottawa was, of course, on Andrew Hammond. Just so that you know, his GAA and S% was actually lower then Carey Price in the regular season. But in order to qualify, you must play 25 games. Hammond played 24. So it was The MVP-Caliber Goalie vs. The Hotshot Rookie (But he doesn't qualify for being a rookie). Craig Anderson, always clutch in the playoffs, was not even supposed to be a factor.
But Ottawa went out and lost the first two games, and by just a single goal. With that, Hammond had more losses in the postseason then the regular season. Enough to prove that his bubble had burst perhaps? Maybe. Game three was a must win for Ottawa, and they turned to Anderson, who only played four games since January 21st. An injury and the emergence of Hammond seemed to spell the end for his time in The Nation's Capital. And the Habs won game three, 2-1 in overtime. Montreal was one win away from advancing. But before I started to feel sorry for Anderson, I just had to look at the stats: 49 SOG, 47 SV! Rust? None!
A performance for the ages. Anderson then pitched a shutout in game four as the series went back to Montreal for it's conclusion. But wait! Anderson had another ace up his sleeve. A dazzling 45-save performance sent it back to Ottawa for game six. It was hard not to be amazed by this, but Anderson has a habit of doing this in the postseason. It took a 43-save performance by Carey Price to beat Anderson and Ottawa in game six, but Montreal only scored once on Craig.
The Sens season was over. Obviously, management has some thinking to do about Hammond and Anderson. Robin Lehner is also there. My money is on Anderson staying. Here's something to consider: In the 2015 postseason, he posted a 0.97 GAA and .972 S%!
Career wise, it's been much of the same, as Anderson has a .933 S% and 2.35 GAA. The guy is just born to play in the postseason. No way is Ottawa parting ways with that kind of postseason performance savy!
The Rangers needed just five games to take out Sid and co. in the first round. The Pens had injuries, of course. And it was enough to turn this potentially-great seven games, into a short, five-game affair. But this one had some goaltending!
Marc Andre Fleury. It's just human, isn't it, to blame him? I mean Sidney Crosby (2 goals and 4 points) and Malkin (0 points) aren't going to get blamed, are they? No way, no how. Now, I didn't think Crosby was too bad in this playoffs. I've seen him play better. But I've also seen him play worse (Think 2014). But back to Fleury. What stat proves all his detractors right? His poor S%, right? Never mind that this year he topped everyone, Price included, in shutouts with 10. Never mind he posted a .933 S% in the 2008 postseason, right? But I know, that save percentage never really been that good. And it needs to be in the postseason. Yet, his GAA is usually pretty good in the playoffs, right? He's had years of 1.97, 2.52, plus 2.40 in 2014 and 2.12 in these playoffs. It just seems like poor Marc never gets the goal support he needs, eh? Where are Sid and Evgeni when you need them? Their offence, as well as their teammates, just seemed to hit a wall by the name of Henrik Lundqvist the last two postseasons.
True enough. The Pens lost all four games, 2-1. They won game two. Fleury gave up three goals, but one was in the waning seconds and Pittsburgh was up 4-2. Crosby got two goals. But Pittsburgh proceeded to lose three straight games, two of which were in OT (Including the deciding game five). So, actually, Fleury allowed a grand total of one goal through sixty minutes of hockey in two of the five games, while posting a S% of .927 throughout that and OT. Those kind of numbers, and his S% of .920 in the regular season, might be a sign of Fleury (All of 30 years and with over 300 wins to his name already) maturing into one of the games' better goalies. Will he ever be elite? We will have to wait and see.
One of Fleury's postseason losses was back in 2010. You might recall it was to Montreal, with Jaroslav Halak in goal. They also topped Washington that year, the round before. Halak almost seemed like a forgotten playoff goalie. The kind that steal the show, as well as a few games. Traded to St. Louis, he had some fine years, but didn't get much playoff action. Which is odd considering that's what St. Louis got him for. When he played in the regular season, he was good. Given a chance to play in the playoffs in 2012, he posted a 1.73 GAA and .973 S% in two games. But that's just that, two games. Was what he did in 2010 all a fluke? Would he ever get a chance to prove himself again? He was there, in 2014/15 with Jonathan Tavares and company. What did he do?
The Islanders, as mentioned before, were playing out their last season in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and Halak was there for the ride. All he did was set a franchise record for wins in a single season with 38 in only 59 games. I guess the big problem was his low S%, just .917. Ah, so just like Fleury, he shouldn't even been in-between the pipes in the playoffs, right? Even his GAA (2.43) seemed to prove it was all Tavares and teammates doing the job for him in those 38 wins. What would another crack at Ovie mean? Discomfort, Down-to-earth? Distaster?
What it meant was a seven-game defeat. But, Halak kept 'em in it. He allowed four goals in game two, and another five in game five, but those were Jaro's only bad games. In games one and three, he stopped 24 of 25 shots for the win. In game six, a must win with the Islanders down 3-2, Jaroslav was even better, stopping 38 of 39 Washington shots in huge win. And, in the finale, Halak allowed just two goals while New York could only pot one. The future looks bright for Halak. He also has 182 regular season wins to his name already (Coincidentally, so does Anderson) and 30 playoff games with a .924 S% under his belt. That number is actually better, if you throw away his .889 mark from back in 2008 with the Habs. Halak has been money in the playoffs ever since, and I think you can count on that every postseason from here on in.
Petr Mrazek for Detroit, is the kid among these men. He's just 23 and played in his first game seven about an hour or so ago. It was a tough one, as he took a 2-0 loss to Ben Bishop and the Lightning. For a while, this kid was steering Detroit to an upset. Mzarek was the Andrew Hammond of the playoffs. But in the regular season, he appeared in just five more games then Hammond (29) and won 16 of them. But his .918 S% did not bode well for the postseason. But Detroit, can make any goalie look good, right?
But Mrazek was good, and made Detroit look that way in game one. And he made Tampa Bay look human. He stopped 44 of 46 shots on goal right there in Tampa as Detroit stole game one. In game three, he recorded his first playoff shutout. With things all even at two games for game five (Again in Tampa), Petr stepped up again. Another shutout. And now just one win away!
Detroit, alas, never got it. Mzarek was ordinary in game six (four goals on twenty-seven shots) and not quite up for the task in game seven. He did, however, stop 15 of 16 SOG, only to lose 2-0 (Tampa got an ENG to seal the deal) in the final game.
A tough way to lose, but the kid showed so much poise. Two shutouts in his first playoff series. Taking Tampa to game seven? I say we give Petr the benefit of the doubt. Detroit has a bright future with this kid.
The playoffs are a tough time for all. Scores shrink. Whistles are put away by the men in black and white. Pressure builds. Emotions boil over. Sanity is tested. The goalies seem to suffer the most, because that next goal might be the fatal one. A tired, old veteran who was written off, an under-appreciated tender lost in the mix of superstars, a forgotten playoff hero of some years past. And a promising rookie. Each was in a tough situation with the postseason spotlight shining right on them. And while their teams may have come up a goal or two short too many times, these masked marvels came through when the playoff pressure was there.
References
http://www.nhl.com/
http://www.hockey-reference.com
http://www.puckrant.com/index.php/component/k2/item/325-the-10-biggest-scapegoats-in-the-nhl
http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/islanders-have-confidence-in-jaroslav-halak-1.10335868
The focus in Ottawa was, of course, on Andrew Hammond. Just so that you know, his GAA and S% was actually lower then Carey Price in the regular season. But in order to qualify, you must play 25 games. Hammond played 24. So it was The MVP-Caliber Goalie vs. The Hotshot Rookie (But he doesn't qualify for being a rookie). Craig Anderson, always clutch in the playoffs, was not even supposed to be a factor.
But Ottawa went out and lost the first two games, and by just a single goal. With that, Hammond had more losses in the postseason then the regular season. Enough to prove that his bubble had burst perhaps? Maybe. Game three was a must win for Ottawa, and they turned to Anderson, who only played four games since January 21st. An injury and the emergence of Hammond seemed to spell the end for his time in The Nation's Capital. And the Habs won game three, 2-1 in overtime. Montreal was one win away from advancing. But before I started to feel sorry for Anderson, I just had to look at the stats: 49 SOG, 47 SV! Rust? None!
A performance for the ages. Anderson then pitched a shutout in game four as the series went back to Montreal for it's conclusion. But wait! Anderson had another ace up his sleeve. A dazzling 45-save performance sent it back to Ottawa for game six. It was hard not to be amazed by this, but Anderson has a habit of doing this in the postseason. It took a 43-save performance by Carey Price to beat Anderson and Ottawa in game six, but Montreal only scored once on Craig.
The Sens season was over. Obviously, management has some thinking to do about Hammond and Anderson. Robin Lehner is also there. My money is on Anderson staying. Here's something to consider: In the 2015 postseason, he posted a 0.97 GAA and .972 S%!
Career wise, it's been much of the same, as Anderson has a .933 S% and 2.35 GAA. The guy is just born to play in the postseason. No way is Ottawa parting ways with that kind of postseason performance savy!
The Rangers needed just five games to take out Sid and co. in the first round. The Pens had injuries, of course. And it was enough to turn this potentially-great seven games, into a short, five-game affair. But this one had some goaltending!
Marc Andre Fleury. It's just human, isn't it, to blame him? I mean Sidney Crosby (2 goals and 4 points) and Malkin (0 points) aren't going to get blamed, are they? No way, no how. Now, I didn't think Crosby was too bad in this playoffs. I've seen him play better. But I've also seen him play worse (Think 2014). But back to Fleury. What stat proves all his detractors right? His poor S%, right? Never mind that this year he topped everyone, Price included, in shutouts with 10. Never mind he posted a .933 S% in the 2008 postseason, right? But I know, that save percentage never really been that good. And it needs to be in the postseason. Yet, his GAA is usually pretty good in the playoffs, right? He's had years of 1.97, 2.52, plus 2.40 in 2014 and 2.12 in these playoffs. It just seems like poor Marc never gets the goal support he needs, eh? Where are Sid and Evgeni when you need them? Their offence, as well as their teammates, just seemed to hit a wall by the name of Henrik Lundqvist the last two postseasons.
True enough. The Pens lost all four games, 2-1. They won game two. Fleury gave up three goals, but one was in the waning seconds and Pittsburgh was up 4-2. Crosby got two goals. But Pittsburgh proceeded to lose three straight games, two of which were in OT (Including the deciding game five). So, actually, Fleury allowed a grand total of one goal through sixty minutes of hockey in two of the five games, while posting a S% of .927 throughout that and OT. Those kind of numbers, and his S% of .920 in the regular season, might be a sign of Fleury (All of 30 years and with over 300 wins to his name already) maturing into one of the games' better goalies. Will he ever be elite? We will have to wait and see.
One of Fleury's postseason losses was back in 2010. You might recall it was to Montreal, with Jaroslav Halak in goal. They also topped Washington that year, the round before. Halak almost seemed like a forgotten playoff goalie. The kind that steal the show, as well as a few games. Traded to St. Louis, he had some fine years, but didn't get much playoff action. Which is odd considering that's what St. Louis got him for. When he played in the regular season, he was good. Given a chance to play in the playoffs in 2012, he posted a 1.73 GAA and .973 S% in two games. But that's just that, two games. Was what he did in 2010 all a fluke? Would he ever get a chance to prove himself again? He was there, in 2014/15 with Jonathan Tavares and company. What did he do?
The Islanders, as mentioned before, were playing out their last season in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and Halak was there for the ride. All he did was set a franchise record for wins in a single season with 38 in only 59 games. I guess the big problem was his low S%, just .917. Ah, so just like Fleury, he shouldn't even been in-between the pipes in the playoffs, right? Even his GAA (2.43) seemed to prove it was all Tavares and teammates doing the job for him in those 38 wins. What would another crack at Ovie mean? Discomfort, Down-to-earth? Distaster?
What it meant was a seven-game defeat. But, Halak kept 'em in it. He allowed four goals in game two, and another five in game five, but those were Jaro's only bad games. In games one and three, he stopped 24 of 25 shots for the win. In game six, a must win with the Islanders down 3-2, Jaroslav was even better, stopping 38 of 39 Washington shots in huge win. And, in the finale, Halak allowed just two goals while New York could only pot one. The future looks bright for Halak. He also has 182 regular season wins to his name already (Coincidentally, so does Anderson) and 30 playoff games with a .924 S% under his belt. That number is actually better, if you throw away his .889 mark from back in 2008 with the Habs. Halak has been money in the playoffs ever since, and I think you can count on that every postseason from here on in.
Petr Mrazek for Detroit, is the kid among these men. He's just 23 and played in his first game seven about an hour or so ago. It was a tough one, as he took a 2-0 loss to Ben Bishop and the Lightning. For a while, this kid was steering Detroit to an upset. Mzarek was the Andrew Hammond of the playoffs. But in the regular season, he appeared in just five more games then Hammond (29) and won 16 of them. But his .918 S% did not bode well for the postseason. But Detroit, can make any goalie look good, right?
But Mrazek was good, and made Detroit look that way in game one. And he made Tampa Bay look human. He stopped 44 of 46 shots on goal right there in Tampa as Detroit stole game one. In game three, he recorded his first playoff shutout. With things all even at two games for game five (Again in Tampa), Petr stepped up again. Another shutout. And now just one win away!
Detroit, alas, never got it. Mzarek was ordinary in game six (four goals on twenty-seven shots) and not quite up for the task in game seven. He did, however, stop 15 of 16 SOG, only to lose 2-0 (Tampa got an ENG to seal the deal) in the final game.
A tough way to lose, but the kid showed so much poise. Two shutouts in his first playoff series. Taking Tampa to game seven? I say we give Petr the benefit of the doubt. Detroit has a bright future with this kid.
The playoffs are a tough time for all. Scores shrink. Whistles are put away by the men in black and white. Pressure builds. Emotions boil over. Sanity is tested. The goalies seem to suffer the most, because that next goal might be the fatal one. A tired, old veteran who was written off, an under-appreciated tender lost in the mix of superstars, a forgotten playoff hero of some years past. And a promising rookie. Each was in a tough situation with the postseason spotlight shining right on them. And while their teams may have come up a goal or two short too many times, these masked marvels came through when the playoff pressure was there.
References
http://www.nhl.com/
http://www.hockey-reference.com
http://www.puckrant.com/index.php/component/k2/item/325-the-10-biggest-scapegoats-in-the-nhl
http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/islanders-have-confidence-in-jaroslav-halak-1.10335868
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