He's playing small, is continuing to struggle with fighting through traffic, and has regressed a bit from last year in terms of overcomitting. His 13-14 season, he made those highlight reel saves because he pulled himself out of position constantly. Last season, he was a lot more controlled. This season, he isn't as bad as 13-14, but is worse than 14-15.
I think you may have inadvertently partially answered your own question Rod. I think the difficulty in this is that there’s a very small margin of error for goal tenders in the NHL because the shooters are just that damn good, so the difference between good, average and bad is pretty small. Other than obvious flubs/weak goals or fantastic robbing saves (which everyone can agree on), it can be, at times very difficult to judge a goal simply by watching the play, because much of it is what he does leading up to the shot. There's so much that goes into it that, even on replay it can be difficult to discern as a lot of it isn't visible. (thus much of the disagreement on this board about which ones he should have and shouldn't have stopped).
How well did he read and anticipate the play in advance? Did he come out a bit too far? Did he commit a fraction to early? Did he go down too early? Was his glove 6" lower than it should have been? Is his base positioning sound? Is his recovery a fraction of a second late? Is he confident and seeing the puck well or battling it? Did his stick blade have a bit too much tilt to it? Did he work hard enough to see around a screen? Is his concentration and focus up to snuff, etc.. etc... It's these little things (many of which are in a guys head) that many times are the difference between a save and a goal in the NHL. There isn't much margin for error and sometimes, none of us can tell for sure on each shot, thus the reliance on stats so much (which aren't a be all, end all but do try to normalize things out over time) and why there can be so much disagreement.
When Ward was at his best during that couple year stretch, he seemed to always make it look very easy, always looked calm (people joked he was almost too calm) and made the majority of saves he should have as well as his share ones an "average" goalie wouldn't. He was hung out to dry frequently and bailed the team out. He was borderline elite then and this was at a time when NHL scoring was higher than it is now. His mechanics and positioning were solid, he anticipated well, he was very efficient, and other than "glove side high" and not being a great puck handler, he rarely fought it and stole more than a few games. He faced a lot of shots with some terrible defenses in front of him and he still was outstanding and his numbers reflected that.
Personally, I don't see that guy any more, at least not on a consistent basis. To me, he doesn't look nearly as efficient or confident, even when he makes the save. Like you said, he's playing small, is continuing to struggle with fighting through traffic, and has regressed a bit from last year in terms of overcomitting. Those types of things can be the difference between stopping a goal and letting it in.
He's by no means the sole problem with this team though. PP is LAST in the league with only 2 goals from someone not named Faulk. PK sucks. Goal scoring, in general is down. Skinner, Staal(s), Lindholm, aren't cashing in, etc.. It's a team effort for sure and other than getting an Elite goalie, the end results probably aren't that much different.
At this rate, you'll kill tomorrow off also.
