Moving them laterally matters obviously but goalies are athletic and explosive and if they see the pass the entire time, they can get over and make the save.
The guy in front who can hide the pass from view, amplifies the success of that lateral move. Can give an increased chance that a Suzuki shot from the circle goes in. Or deflects a shot from the point. They can also bump back and be a one timer in the immediate slot.
A lot of goals are scored of tips, screens and lateral movement. But you absolutely need someone around the front of the net. Trust me as a goalie that it makes your job a lot more difficult. I stop what I see and I can get ahead of one timers if I see the origin of the pass and the entire movement of it until it gets to the shooter.
if it’s a shot from the point, then yes, you need the screen tip. Traditional net presence.
cross ice pass to someone like Laine, they put someone like Connor there. He’s a 2nd option, and like you say, hides the pass.
when it’s someone like Ovechkin setting up, they don’t care about net presence. The goalie sees all, but can’t stop it.
anyway, bottom line, if the talent is there to snipe, any of those forwards can provide net presence because it’s no longer needed in the traditional sense.
