i dont think the defense has even been that bad. theres only been a few games where weve been outdefended and created nothing. i think teams have been much better at neutralizing our game when they have the lead. especially as the season has gone on. the problem is the soft or lucky goals that lead to that defecit. any team with a half decent defense will just clamp down, ice the puck and secure the lead.
which is why a team like this needs timely goaltending just as much as it needs rate consistent goaltending. i think schneider plays such a consistent butterfly style that in game factors have little impact on his save ability. i think marty was a much better in game goalie than rate stat goalie. of course hockey has as much chance in it than most other games but i do believe there is something to in game competition that rate statistics ignores.
and i dont think kinkaid is better at either than cory but at this point i dont think hes much worse. he seems to have the hot hand and at least puts effort into his tweets.
I'll say this: your entire second paragraph could have come right out of my mouth.
The problem, in a nutshell, is 'inconsistency'. When the defense hasn't been terrible, the goalies have been soft. This whole vicious cycle began with a month of terrible defensive breakdowns that destroyed both goalies' confidence to the point where they got off of their game. It should be obvious to any observer that if both of your goaltenders injure their groin going post to post within a week's time - your defense isn't exactly cutting cross-ice passes....
As much as I've hated the Cory fanboy club for 4 years now, if I'm Hynes, I ride Cory the next X games just so he gets his game back - I also put Santini and Mueller back in the lineup to get some reliable physicality in the crease area to prop up his game. I think he can still be a borderline elite goalie if he doesn't have wildcards like Vats and Moore and Severson and Butcher of for every shift, and a complete nightmare in Lovejoy and a fading Andy Greene on for the others.
I can't believe people point to stats as an argument against these guys, when it should be absolutely apparent that Vats, Moore and Severson absolutely thrive in reduced roles where they aren't forced to be #1 defensemen, and that we don't lose anything by putting the stronger, more physical and simply BETTER defensemen in to play defense.
I get it that everyone likes to be run and gun and 'let's have nothing but offensive-minded guys on defense' - but they don't get the value of building off of a stable base.
Simply put: Our team was at its best early in the year when:
- the forwards were fast, relentless, and hungry
- Moore, Vats and Sevs could play offensively without having to log too many minutes in their own zone in shutdown roles.
- goalies faced many shots, but they were mostly of the low-danger variety.
Now, or forward corps has some boat anchors, and the defense looks great when it has the puck and becomes a turnover-circus act on occasions, and the goalies have absolutely lost their edge.
