Goalie situation
- Thread starter djboos22
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FlyingSquirrels
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- Jul 5, 2011
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It's Pyotr's crease until Marchand runs him Round 1, Game 1. From that point on, we're completely f***ed.
At this point, I will be OK if there is a currently professional goalie in net for game 1.
AhosDatsyukian
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Pyotr has looked ok so far, not very confidence inspiring on paper but the D also played very well in front of him in suppressing shots which can make a goalie's save% look worse and be difficult for goalies to get in a rhythm with low shots. I think how he does the next 2 games, especially the Rags game, will help formulate my opinion IF it is him going into the playoffs. Also fact is, he's 2-0 so far.
I'm assuming Raanta and Freddie are going to miss the start of the playoffs, unfortunately. If Freddie is back at 100% by then, I'm confident in him as starter. Not much confidence in Raanta or a still-banged-up Freddie though.
If Pyotr went down/struggled and LaFontaine is the backup, we may as well just forfeit.
All in all, I'm not really too concerned. Pyotr's upside is insane and if he can get into a groove, which he's done everywhere he's been this year, we shouldn't really miss a beat going from Freddie to him.
I'm assuming Raanta and Freddie are going to miss the start of the playoffs, unfortunately. If Freddie is back at 100% by then, I'm confident in him as starter. Not much confidence in Raanta or a still-banged-up Freddie though.
If Pyotr went down/struggled and LaFontaine is the backup, we may as well just forfeit.
All in all, I'm not really too concerned. Pyotr's upside is insane and if he can get into a groove, which he's done everywhere he's been this year, we shouldn't really miss a beat going from Freddie to him.
Joe McGrath
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I get the feeling that the first guy in the NHL that runs Pytor is going to be eating his blocker so if that happens to be Marchand it would be quite the bonus.
djboos22
Aho (insert pun)
I'm oddly ok if Pyotr starts off these playoffs. Could he be better? Yes, but he has shown some really good positioning and calmness. Clearly we are better off with Freddie, but no idea what's going on there.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as other netminder situatons go in the East, NY and Tampa have the only goalies that can really dominate.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as other netminder situatons go in the East, NY and Tampa have the only goalies that can really dominate.
Nikishin Go Boom
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Svechhammer
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He's let in 3 goals in basically a game and a half. Lets take a look at the angles he was letting in on all 3....
Ok, lets just call it out. Horrible defense on the 1st and 3rd allowing a guy to park it like that in front of Koch to screen him that much. Seriously, what the hell, there's absolutely nothing Koch can do there except make a lucky save. As for the Hischier goal, I mean that's just a hell of a shot placement from that angle. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap. Maybe Koch could have covered a little more glove side, but there wasn't much that Hisch could shoot at, and he found twine.
Ok, lets just call it out. Horrible defense on the 1st and 3rd allowing a guy to park it like that in front of Koch to screen him that much. Seriously, what the hell, there's absolutely nothing Koch can do there except make a lucky save. As for the Hischier goal, I mean that's just a hell of a shot placement from that angle. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap. Maybe Koch could have covered a little more glove side, but there wasn't much that Hisch could shoot at, and he found twine.
When I look at Kochetkov's position, I don't see how you can move more glove side on Hischier. You can't give up any short side space with that positioning by Skjei.
Svechhammer
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Honestly, agreed. He just got beat by a hell of a shot on that play. Not much you can do when a guy just shows elite skill like that.
Svechhammer
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Oh, and apparently Kochetkov's nickname in the lockerroom is Coochie, so I can't wait for PNC to yell 'Coooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooch" after every save and chant Coochie when he's on a roll.
djboos22
Aho (insert pun)
Svechhammer
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He's also playing his first ever NHL games after starting the year playing in the KHL. You have to think the past month or so of his life has been a complete whirlwind. Can't fault anyone for being a little overwhelmed at that. I wouldn't be surprised if he settles in even more with some more practice and in game play while he gets used to his teammates.
He's also supposedly an excellent puck distributor. You can tell he wants to try right now but he's just not at all comfortable with it, yet with this team.
- Dec 6, 2011
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I'm not really worrying about it too much until we know a bit more about the timetables for the goalies.
But for the hypotheticals, if either Freddie or Antti can be back reasonably healthy by the start of, or early in, the playoffs, I'll feel pretty good.
If neither is able to make it back at a high level, I've already said I don't see a huge run with Pyotr. Anything is possible, but I'd personally put a cap on how far we can get in that scenario. The kid is talented for sure, but it'd be hard given his level of experience and the relatively small number of starts the past few seasons, in my opinion. I don't think he's been particularly good or bad thus far. More of an incomplete grade.
If it's Freddie, I think we are as good as anyone. If Antti had to take the lead and could actually stay healthy, I think we can beat anyone, but our odds are diminished. As I said with Pyotr, I'd say maybe win a round.
The one situation that is interesting to me is if the two starters are out for a while, and Lyon becomes available soon, would Rod go with the vet minor leaguer that they signed to be the #3 this season? Or roll with the kid.
But for the hypotheticals, if either Freddie or Antti can be back reasonably healthy by the start of, or early in, the playoffs, I'll feel pretty good.
If neither is able to make it back at a high level, I've already said I don't see a huge run with Pyotr. Anything is possible, but I'd personally put a cap on how far we can get in that scenario. The kid is talented for sure, but it'd be hard given his level of experience and the relatively small number of starts the past few seasons, in my opinion. I don't think he's been particularly good or bad thus far. More of an incomplete grade.
If it's Freddie, I think we are as good as anyone. If Antti had to take the lead and could actually stay healthy, I think we can beat anyone, but our odds are diminished. As I said with Pyotr, I'd say maybe win a round.
The one situation that is interesting to me is if the two starters are out for a while, and Lyon becomes available soon, would Rod go with the vet minor leaguer that they signed to be the #3 this season? Or roll with the kid.
CanesUltimate11
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1 and 3 were also PP goals and that seems to be the MO of the PK is they don’t spend too much time trying to move or tie up the guy in front.
AhosDatsyukian
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A lot of people overlook what an incredible culture shock it is for such a young kid moving to a new country with a different language/culture, etc. It's like being dropped on another planet initially. Imagine when you were 22 just being dropped in Russia and not knowing any Russian language... Yes Koch has Svech for some support and google translate helps but it's still a huge adjustment that needs to be made. And as is true for anyone, big changes/stress like that in your personal life can absolutely affect your work. Yes to some degree going out and playing goalie here vs. in the KHL isn't much different (ice size, play styles, some rules, etc. are different but at the end of the day just gotta stop the puck). But those huge life changes are absolutely factoring in, and the more he gets settled here in NA, the more comfortable he'll be on the ice too.
The question would be: do we go Ayres in front of Koch? Or do we go LaFontaine?
It seems like the room really loves the guy, and not that you need even more motivation to perform in the playoffs, but I could see the team going psycho mode for a few weeks. Keep in mind - it's not necessarily all or nothing. If we can get through Boston with Koch or whoever, maybe that gives enough time for someone to get healthy.
It seems like the room really loves the guy, and not that you need even more motivation to perform in the playoffs, but I could see the team going psycho mode for a few weeks. Keep in mind - it's not necessarily all or nothing. If we can get through Boston with Koch or whoever, maybe that gives enough time for someone to get healthy.
Navin R Slavin
Fifth line center
The team needs to win one round with Kooch. They will, and the team will be fine.
Svechhammer
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There's also a decent chance that Koch settles in and shows he's worth the hype, which allows the team to open up their games a bit.
At the end of the day, he's arguably our best goalie prospect with insane stats this year in both the KHL and AHL. If ever there was the potential for a kid to step into a team and absolutely light the world on fire in net, its Koch right now. Could he end up a bit overwhelmed? Yeah, definitely possible, but he very well could show to be as legit as the numbers say. And with guys like Slavin, Skjei, and Pesce playing massive minutes in front of him during a playoff run, there are worst positions for a goalie to be thrown into.
Worst case, its gets him a decent amount of experience to build off of for the future when he's ready to take over as our starter in a season or 2. Best case, he's legit and backstops us to a Cup. Its not a great position for us to be in, but not exactly hopeless.
I'm more worried about the play of our skaters than our situation in net. I don't care who we have in net, we need to build off the last 2 games and continue performing offensively or we're gonna be a quick out against anyone.
AhosDatsyukian
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I can't even begin to tell you how happy I'd be if Koch went on an insane Cup winning playoff run this year. Would immediately become one of my all time favorite sports stories. Please hockey gods let our miracle dreams come true
Boom Boom Apathy
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and El Cheapo Dundon will have Jacob Kucharski as Kochetkov's backup a few years down the road, thus saving money on nicknames as fans can scream "Coooooooooooooch" regardless of what goalie plays.
Svechhammer
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Thing is, I don't even think he needs to light the world on fire. There's a big gap between Hasek and Darling. As long as he can remain positionally sound, make the routine saves, and bail us out 1/2 to 2/3 of the time our defense shits the bed, he's good enough for what we need. Anything above that is just icing on the cake.
The thing is, his long term potential is legitimate Vezina candidate and someone you can lean on to win a Cup. Is he ready for that right now? Most likely no, but it wouldn't necessarily be unexpected if he did. But... like, there's a reason he's 16-1-1 as a pro in North America since he came over from the KHL. He's got a hell of a lot of talent and maybe this is his time to show it on the biggest stage.
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And he would still qualify for Calder the next season too.
Svechhammer
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And now lets look at how he played after he allowed the tying goal (and after we retook the lead)....
Small sample size, but his rebound control is pretty good. I love the save where he attacked with his blocker, because that actively pushed the puck to an open spot in the zone, allowing Necas to clean it up and take it the other way. I don't even think most goalies would have even made a play on the puck right there, and he knew exactly what to do. And then, where he fought through a screen by Chara to make the glove save, which is more impressive than it looked in real time.
Small sample size, but his rebound control is pretty good. I love the save where he attacked with his blocker, because that actively pushed the puck to an open spot in the zone, allowing Necas to clean it up and take it the other way. I don't even think most goalies would have even made a play on the puck right there, and he knew exactly what to do. And then, where he fought through a screen by Chara to make the glove save, which is more impressive than it looked in real time.
WreckingCrew
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And on top of that your home country is public enemy no 1...in case there wasn't enough stress
