NYR must be pretty nervous about Montoya

[SmokeyClause]

Look at how many shots the USA goaltenders have seen, then look at how many shots Canada's goalies have seen.

I've looked, many times, and that shows you a complete team breakdown. But Glass and Co. aren't giving up goals from just inside the blueline (Rylov) and beyond (Kukushkin), of which Montoya has done a few times. It's not all his fault and don't take this as a knock on Montoya as he's just played a few bad games, it happens. It's unfortunate that it happens on this stage, but oh well.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

No, Fleury was shakey the whole tournament and NEVER got into a groove. I don't know which goalie you were watching.

Fleury was shaky but not Montoya-shaky.
I mean, this whole team is horrible but Montoya is part of it and his play has been a huge disappointment for me. This isn't in any comparable to Fleury's tournament, IMO.

I still like a lot of what I see in Montoya but really, Fleury wasn't *nearly* that bad. It's too bad that this tournament has become larger than life because it's going to haunt Montoya a little more than it should. I guess it is a little fitting, seing as he is also in part a product of this tournament.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Fleury was shaky but not Montoya-shaky.
I mean, this whole team is horrible but Montoya is part of it and his play has been a huge disappointment for me. This isn't in any comparable to Fleury's tournament, IMO.

I still like a lot of what I see in Montoya but really, Fleury wasn't *nearly* that bad. It's too bad that this tournament has become larger than life because it's going to haunt Montoya a little more than it should. I guess it is a little fitting, seing as he is also in part a product of this tournament.

Fleury wasn't *nearly* that bad because he had a ****ing great defense in front of him to cover his mistakes.

 

[SmokeyClause]

In no way has it been MOST of the "weak" variety. It's been 1-2 BAD goals a game and then the team collapsing in front of him. The defense has been awful. Casey Borer has been the ONE defenseman who's played solid for all the games so far. Even Suter had on off night.

With that said, Montoya has also let out some wicked rebounds but the defense must also be there to at least HELP to clear them (the Olesz goal, for example).

Hopefully he comes back as the big game goalie he is. He only let in 2 goals in the Czech game.

It's been atleast two bad goals per game, sometimes even 3 (the Belarus game). Not every goal is the fault of someone. Sometimes there are awkward bounces, but there have been too many where the goalie should have made the save and didn't, regardless of all these breakdowns. And yes, Suter had a bad game against Belarus. But Montoya/Scheider combo has had 4 bad games.

Edit, I count two bad ones against Rusian. Two bad ones against the Swiss. Three bad ones against Belarus and 1 bad one against the Czech's (the second one is the only one I saw). That's 8 bad goals. Well, team USA only gave up 15 goals for the tournament (not counting the empty net).

 

[Hunter Gathers]

It's been atleast two bad goals per game, sometimes even 3 (the Belarus game). Not every goal is the fault of someone. Sometimes there are awkward bounces, but there have been too many where the goalie should have made the save and didn't, regardless of all these breakdowns. And yes, Suter had a bad game against Belarus. But Montoya/Scheider combo has had 4 bad games.

How did he have a bad game VS the Czechs? I thought he sounded pretty solid.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Fleury wasn't *nearly* that bad because he had a ****ing great defense in front of him to cover his mistakes.

I disagree. Many of those shots were of the routine variety. They should have been stopped by any goalie and the defense couldn't do much.

It's all good that in this thread, Montoya-lovers are trying to blame the defense and Suter-lovers are trying to blame goaltending but the reality is, both the defense and goaltending have been beyond awful.

Fleury was not that bad, no way.

 

[SmokeyClause]

How did he have a bad game VS the Czechs? I thought he sounded pretty solid.

According to the posters who posted about them, both goals were weak. Then one I saw was the second one which was a very questionable goal down low on Montoya. One poster said it went five hole, the one replay I got I couldn't tell.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

I disagree. Many of those shots were of the routine variety. They should have been stopped by any goalie and the defense couldn't do much.

It's all good that in this thread, Montoya-lovers are trying to blame the defense and Suter-lovers are trying to blame goaltending but the reality is, both the defense and goaltending have been beyond awful.

Fleury was not that bad, no way.

I'm saying that Montoya has been bad. We all know that. But all these goals aren't ONLY his fault, which most are saying. When you say that like 3-4 goals in a 4 or 5 goal game are one persons fault... Well, it's Pejorative Slured, frankly. He's let in 1-2 bad goals a game. Definately. I wouldn't really say any more than that, however. The other times he's left out to dry by his defense or lack of offense backchecking.

You should watch his Michigan games sometimes (I'm not saying that as a dick, just something of interest). It's kinda bad when every 5 seconds there's another odd man rush.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

According to the posters who posted about them, both goals were weak. Then one I saw was the second one which was a very questionable goal down low on Montoya. One poster said it went five hole, the one replay I got I couldn't tell.

The Olesz goal, I've heard, really was the fault of no one being there to clear the front of the net and the rebound. The other goal seemed to be completely his fault, though.

 

[SmokeyClause]

the reality is, both the defense and goaltending have been beyond awful.

Agreed on that. There is plenty of blame to go around. And I'll even through some more blame in there. The only reason the forwards know where the defensive zone is is because they were trying to score there one period earlier.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Agreed on that. There is plenty of blame to go around. And I'll even through some more blame in there. The only reason the forwards know where the defensive zone is is because they were trying to score there one period earlier.

Yeah. The forwards have been AWFUL in their backchecking, save players like Callahan and Brown who are solid two-way players anyway. It's just Sandelin. He's running this team so piss-poor...

 

[FLYLine27*]

Im not worried at all. He young, hes still a KID, and he has much learning to do, this might have been the BEST thing for his development..he knows he's going to have to prove to himself he is MUCH better then he has been so far at the WJs... and hes not going to quit but only get better. He will overcome this. But saying that he not a good pick or prospect after 4 games is just stupid. If we did that for everyone at the WJS then there would be a lot of nervous GMs and Fans wouldnt there?

 

[SmokeyClause]

The Olesz goal, I've heard, really was the fault of no one being there to clear the front of the net and the rebound. The other goal seemed to be completely his fault, though.

I'll buy that. I don't want to come across as riding Montoya more than he deserves because, while I think he's in a funk, the team isn't allowing him to come out of it. Goalies like Glass are getting those rebounds taken care of and their confidence boosted. Goalies like Montoya and Schneider, while they are giving up bad goals, are being hung out to dry on the other ones. It's just a nasty combo that snowballs.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

How did he have a bad game VS the Czechs? I thought he sounded pretty solid.

He bounced back and showed elite qualities later in the game, which is why I still like him. But to say he was solid that game... he's directly at fault for the loss. I mean, one of goals was pure comedy gold. It was that bad and the whole team looked devastated by it.

Solid average goaltending is better than the hot and cold variety Montoya has provided. That kid is good. He has the ability to make saves that should not be made. But it's all going to be irrelevant if he lets in really, really bad goals like that for stretches.

What do you mean by "sounded pretty solid"? Did you watch that game or listen to it?

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Agreed on that. There is plenty of blame to go around. And I'll even through some more blame in there. The only reason the forwards know where the defensive zone is is because they were trying to score there one period earlier.

Completely agree. The forwards have gone off easy. I'll raise your raise: that coaching has been very erratic as well. When almost nothing is going for you, those things can happen. I'd be hardpressed to pin point the one single thing that has derailed this team.

Overall, it's just one bad year. Maybe the US will bounce back in dramatic fashion now that it's crunch time. If they don't, it will just be a year to forget.

Many of these players are very talented. Not the first time a very talented country disappears for a year.

 

[Evilo]

Alex Goligoski has been disapointing I think.
I expected him to have more of an impact, but I guess he's too young.
On the other hand, Lukas Bolf has been a pleasant surprise.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

You should watch his Michigan games sometimes (I'm not saying that as a dick, just something of interest). It's kinda bad when every 5 seconds there's another odd man rush.

Yeah, I've watched Michigan 4-5 times this year I think. I've shared my impressions in other threads. He looked solid to me most games there. Not superhuman but a good goaltender.

I think I said before the tournament I was expecting him to do well. I'm very disappointed. But that is just one tournament.

I still don't like his selection that high but that has nothing to do with his performance at the WJC this year. As you probably know, I just think it is a mistake to draft goalies that high. It's not that bad this year because it was not such a deep year. But I wouldn't have done it.

 

[SmokeyClause]

Completely agree. The forwards have gone off easy. I'll raise your raise: that coaching has been very erratic as well. When almost nothing is going for you, those things can happen. I'd be hardpressed to pin point the one single thing that has derailed this team.

Overall, it's just one bad year. Maybe the US will bounce back in dramatic fashion now that it's crunch time. If they don't, it will just be a year to forget.

Many of these players are very talented. Not the first time a very talented country disappears for a year.

I'll call your bad coaching. There hasn't been one aspect of the coaching that I've been enamored with. I don't like the line combos, I don't like the defensive pairings. People have even questioned the handling of a goaltenders. The team just isn't playing with focused intensity. The times they play defense first and within themselves, they appear tentative and slow to react. The times they play with passion and intensity, they forget their assignments and responsibilities.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Alex Goligoski has been disapointing I think.
I expected him to have more of an impact, but I guess he's too young.
On the other hand, Lukas Bolf has been a pleasant surprise.

I agree. After reading so much about Goligoski on these boards, I had high expectations. I thought he was better last night, though. Not a bad pick at all if you ask me.

 

[SmokeyClause]

Alex Goligoski has been disapointing I think.
I expected him to have more of an impact, but I guess he's too young.
On the other hand, Lukas Bolf has been a pleasant surprise.

He's young, but I don't think that's the problem. No one on the D-core has impressed like expected. No forward has impressed me like expected (save for Kessel, but he had little expectations from me). No goalie has impressed either.

 

[Enoch]

Completely agree. The forwards have gone off easy. I'll raise your raise: that coaching has been very erratic as well. When almost nothing is going for you, those things can happen. I'd be hardpressed to pin point the one single thing that has derailed this team.

Overall, it's just one bad year. Maybe the US will bounce back in dramatic fashion now that it's crunch time. If they don't, it will just be a year to forget.

Many of these players are very talented. Not the first time a very talented country disappears for a year.

Russia did last year for starters.

When you look at team USA's play of late, you can find fault with so many things. Bad point play on the PP, poor defensive zone coverage by the forwards, inability to clear the net on almost every scoring chance, weak goals consistently let in.........The whole team has played poorly. Being a Nashville fan, I have kept my eye on Ryan Suter, and while his play in one game was not up to my expectations......I have liked what I saw. Regardless of how this tournemanet pans out, I think he is a good prospect and will be on Nashville's blueline in the near future. That aside, I can be critical of his game as well. He made a horrible breakout pass in the Belarus game. Sure the US was already down 4 - 1, and the ensuing goal was savable......it still doesn't excuse his mental lapse. Montoya and Schenider, lets not kid ourseleves, have been horrible. Schneider just looked bad in his brief tenure, and Montoya has been so inconsistent its hard for him to give his team confidence. Still, I think Smokey was a little easy on the goaltending when he said only 8 of the goals were soft goals. I would say 3 of the Russian goals, 4 (if not 5) of the Belarus goals, 2 against the Swiss, and from others comments 1 against the Czechs (and the other was slightly questionable). Thats a lot of bad goaltending and when your goaltender lets you down, its hard to play with confidence in front of him. On the flip side, the barrage of good scoring chances other teams can accumulate on the US certainly plays a role in the lack of saves the goalies are making. Basically, the US team stinks right now from coaching to players. They need to wake up against the Swedes if they want to repeat their win over the Russians and medal.

 

[CH Wizard]

Against Belarus , the us defence was brutal.They were making too much errors.It's funny because sometimes the Belarus offence was able to keep the puck in the US zone by forechecking.Suter had really bad luck vs Belarus.

And yeah I still don't know why they picked Lee over J.Johnson.I just can't beleive it.Plus what a great season Jack Johnson is having.

Don't forget that Shneider also wasn't doing well either.There's something wrong with their goalie department.

As for Montoya.Montoya has a big weakness and it's confidence.The thing is that When his moral/confidence is down , He's brutal and lost.He's losing the desire to play.He should work on that.When this guy is playing with confidence then it's another story.It seems that He doens't even have the desire to play.

 

[chuckie]

The Olesz goal, I've heard, really was the fault of no one being there to clear the front of the net and the rebound. The other goal seemed to be completely his fault, though.

I watched the game, the first goal by olez was awful, olez was at the side boards on the outside edge of the facoff circle.Montoya looked like he fell forward, and olez shot it over him.

 

[LesCanadiens]

My thoughts on Montoya over the two games I watched:

• He looked small in his net - not square to the puck cutting down the angles
• Terrible rebound control
• Stick-checked way to much
• Often out of postion - even on routine rushes
• He went down early and often
• He overplayed the puck a lot

In a nutshell, lets just say he didn't inspire confidence. His teammates must had been chitting bricks every time the puck came into the US zone. That said, there was way too much room in the US D-zone. The US D did not cover all to well - no backchecking. But, Montoya was clearly the weakest link - he let in some real softies.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Russia did last year for starters.

Exactly.