Vasilevskiy Save of the game? Night? Year?

[FrozenJagrt]

Felt like I was watching Hasek last night.

 

[Caeldan]

Tampa goalie played superb.But honestly when I look at him I wish a team would request a measurement of his pads or something .Seems so damn big in the net.

All goalie equipment is measured and signed by Kay Whitmore.

 

[DownIsTheNewUp]

Actually he’s probably an above average starter. Hard to say with some of the elite backups though. He’s 12th in GSAA among the 29 goalies with 2500 5v5 mins since the start of last season despite the diminishing returns of GSAA on goalies with extreme xSV% like Vasy. (Only Dubnyk has a higher xSV% than him among those goalies, and the only goalies in the top 10 xSV% who are top 10 in GSAA are Raanta Rinne and Varlamov). So Vasilevskiy could be a top 15 goalie but he needs more consistency for me to move him higher than that.

You've got it backwards Dom.

You watch the game, look up the advanced stats, and conclude "Vasilevzkiy isn't very good."

Everyone else watches the game, looks up the advanced stats, and concludes "these advanced stats aren't very good."

 

[tony d]

He's a very good goalie, among the best in the game. Save was pretty good as well.

 

[MaxV]

That’s just pure instinct, I don’t think he had any idea of where the puck was.

EDIT: actually, looking at the top view, he turned his head and looked behind him.

 

[HanSolo]

I mean that strikes me as pure luck so part of me is a little confused as to the borderline praising him as a God for this. But I can't deny that looked really cool. Save of the year from what I've seen.

(just so people don't think I'm intentionally being down on Vasi because of some underlying bias, I do think he's a top 2-3 goalie in the league. I also think most of the most visually stunning/impressive saves through the years had some element of pure luck. Here Vasi had no eyes on the puck and was digging with his feet hoping to pull the puck out and he got it right. I think there's a lot to say for his flexibility and refusal to give up on the play but this was an easy play for even the most talented goalie to f*** up.)

 

[DFC]

I mean that strikes me as pure luck so part of me is a little confused as to the borderline praising him as a God for this. But I can't deny that looked really cool. Save of the year from what I've seen.

(just so people don't think I'm intentionally being down on Vasi because of some underlying bias, I do think he's a top 2-3 goalie in the league. I also think most of the most visually stunning/impressive saves through the years had some element of pure luck. Here Vasi had no eyes on the puck and was digging with his feet hoping to pull the puck out and he got it right. I think there's a lot to say for his flexibility and refusal to give up on the play but this was an easy play for even the most talented goalie to **** up.)

He's done things like that before, and he'll do it again. I don't think he's quite the best goalie in the league just yet either, but I do think his "desperation mode" is near Hasek-level. He does weird things to stop pucks when it seems like pucks can't be stopped. And he does it enough that I don't think it's a coincidence. He gets better and better as he learns to rely on positioning more than reflexes, and as his rebound/game control gets better. In a couple of years, I don't think there'll be a better goalie in the league. He's still getting better, IMO. Developing consistency.

 

[HanSolo]

He's done things like that before, and he'll do it again. I don't think he's quite the best goalie in the league just yet either, but I do think his "desperation mode" is near Hasek-level. He does weird things to stop pucks when it seems like pucks can't be stopped. And he does it enough that I don't think it's a coincidence. He gets better and better as he learns to rely on positioning more than reflexes, and as his rebound/game control gets better. In a couple of years, I don't think there'll be a better goalie in the league. He's still getting better, IMO. Developing consistency.

I'll take your word for it. If it has been done with regularity then that is a rather unique trait among his peers.

Again, I am a big fan of Vasi. As goalies go he and Gibson are among my favorite players in the NHL. Fleury joins that group more on personality (and bias) than pure talent (it actually spins me out to see Vegas fans or players say something like "he's the best goalie in the world" like...I love the guy but no he isn't).

 

[Bizz]

Vasilevskiy had the undisputed save of the year last year too. He already plays on an elite team, all he needs is a Vezina or two and maybe a Cup and he'd be in the Best Goaltender of this Generation discussion.

 

[Eternal Leaf]

He put on a clinic against the Leafs.

Could have put 100 shots up after the 1st period and he would’ve stopped them all.

 

[Deadly Dogma]

He put on a clinic against the Leafs.

Could have put 100 shots up after the 1st period and he would’ve stopped them all.

The shot/scoring chance #'s are impressive on their own but when you add in our highdanger conversion rate it makes the #'s unbelevable

 

[DFC]

I'll take your word for it. If it has been done with regularity then that is a rather unique trait among his peers.

Again, I am a big fan of Vasi. As goalies go he and Gibson are among my favorite players in the NHL. Fleury joins that group more on personality (and bias) than pure talent (it actually spins me out to see Vegas fans or players say something like "he's the best goalie in the world" like...I love the guy but no he isn't).

Honestly I think he made that exact type of save last year. I don't think he knows exactly where the puck is or anything. But I think he knows to sweep out rather than in. That type of thing. I think he works on tiny details.

 

[VoluntaryDom]

He's alright. Over rated. Probably will lose him due to Tampa's #Capageddon. Andersen and Gibson are better.

You can be a good goalie and still be worse than John Gibson and Freddy Andersen lmao

 

[Tofveve]

That was a beauty.

 

[VoluntaryDom]

He was incredible tonight. I haven’t seen a goalie steal a game like that in a while.

Idk if I would say he stole the game. Tampa did score 4.

 

[robertmac43]

Honestly such a frustrating night be in the building as a Leafs fan. Got to hand it to Vas though, he is amazing and that was one of the best goalie performances I have ever been.

 

[DistantThunderRep]

You can be a good goalie and still be worse than John Gibson and Freddy Andersen lmao

Vasy easy isn't a top goalie in the league. Easy 20 better goalies, because my algebraic advanced calculus mathematics percentile/60*12000 stat says so. I prefer that over watching hockey.

 

[Ezekial]

Save of my life because of how controlled it was. I've seen some great flailing saves before, but this was a calculated masterpiece.

 

[Makar Goes Fast]

the first time i saw it i laughed to myself about how lucky it was, the more i watch it the harder it is to pick up my jaw from the floor because i now think it was exactly on purpose.

 

[Big Cactus]

Idk if I would say he stole the game. Tampa did score 4.

63% Corsi 49-21 shots 21-9 high danger scoring chances. I’d call that stealing a game

 

[The Macho King]

63% Corsi 49-21 shots 21-9 high danger scoring chances. I’d call that stealing a game

Imagine using Corsi to judge a single game in 2018.

Vasi didn't steal the game. He made the score more lobsided than it would have been. But the Leafs lost by 3, not 1. They needed 4 more goals to win.

 

[Big Cactus]

Imagine using Corsi to judge a single game in 2018.

Vasi didn't steal the game. He made the score more lobsided than it would have been. But the Leafs lost by 3, not 1. They needed 4 more goals to win.

I'm not so sure how good your reading is but I clearly used more statistics that just Corsi. To score only 1 goal on 21 high danger chances is pretty rare and would point to a stellar goal-tending performance. I'm not really sure whats so hard to grasp here...

 

[The Macho King]

I'm not so sure how good your reading is but I clearly used more statistics that just Corsi. To score only 1 goal on 21 high danger chances is pretty rare and would point to a stellar goal-tending performance. I'm not really sure whats so hard to grasp here...

Shot location overrated the quality of the Leafs chances. The vast majority were along the ice - they challenged Vasi high very few times, and you don't score many goals in the NHL along the ice. So yeah - don't really care what the heatmap says.

Vasi played well. Definitely had 2 ten bell saves that stopped sure goals. That still leaves the score 4-3.

 

[Big Cactus]

Shot location overrated the quality of the Leafs chances. The vast majority were along the ice - they challenged Vasi high very few times, and you don't score many goals in the NHL along the ice. So yeah - don't really care what the heatmap says.

Vasi played well. Definitely had 2 ten bell saves that stopped sure goals. That still leaves the score 4-3.

I don't think i've ever had to work so hard to compliment a player.

 

[Eat The Rich]

Shot location overrated the quality of the Leafs chances. The vast majority were along the ice - they challenged Vasi high very few times, and you don't score many goals in the NHL along the ice. So yeah - don't really care what the heatmap says.

Vasi played well. Definitely had 2 ten bell saves that stopped sure goals. That still leaves the score 4-3.

You're operating under the assumption the game would have played out exactly the same if those amazing saves were goals instead.

By the time the Lightning scored their 3rd goal the Leafs already had over 30 shots on goal. Had even one of those went in the entire outcome of the game would have changed. The fact that he kept them in it long enough to score the 3rd and 4th goals is how he stole a win.

Don't be so pedantic, accept the fact that the goaltender won this game, lol

 

[TeslaCoilFan]

Those of us at Amalie applauded the save in real time, then absolutely lost it when we saw the replay on the Jumbotron. He really should have gotten all three fricking stars that night.

It's amazing to watch the replay (over and over, lol) and see that he is indeed LOOKING back AT THE PUCK as he sweeps it out. So yeah, like all goalies, he gets his share of lucky stops, but that one was pure puck tracking skill and scary good athleticism.