Is Ryan Miller Overrated As A Starting Goalie In The NHL?

[IPostedWhat]

Justin Goldman chooses Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres: When handicapping Ryan Miller's odds against the Flyers, there are very few succulent statistics on which I can feast.
He only posted a .915 save percentage in 66 games this season and went 2-2 against the Flyers with a 3.60 goals-against average. He also suffered a few curious injuries, including a recent one wrapped in a bit of a riddle.

But Miller knows what it takes to carry an entire team, city and country on his shoulders. His play in the 2010 Winter Olympics proved he's capable of coming up big in the biggest moments imaginable. It's a valuable experience he'll certainly draw upon as he prepares for what is sure to be a grueling and potentially high-scoring series.

Technically speaking, Miller is one of the finest butterfly goaltenders in the world. His footwork is as sharp and precise as a diamond-tipped knife. He understands the intricate points of positioning, including rebound placement, reading odd-man rushes and killing penalties. His gloves are active, lightning-quick and one of his most established strengths.

We both know that goaltending, especially in the playoffs, is 90 percent mental. So when it comes to preparing the mind for a must-win situation, nobody gets "in the zone" better than Miller. His pre-game routine is a benchmark for goalies everywhere, so you can't deny the fact that he's a true mental warrior. To me, he's pure goaltending Zen.

Like a durable Chevy engine, the American-born Miller is also tried, tested and true. He has experienced tough playoff losses and suffered through the excruciating pain of a failed poke check on Sidney Crosby in a gold-medal game. Yet through it all, he has faced the press and the pundits with plenty of poise.

As Buffalo's responsible, reliable and even-keeled leader, Miller won't collapse after a bad goal or an unfortunate bounce.

I also expect Miller to make smarter decisions in key moments. Instead of lunging for a poke check, he'll be more patient. Instead of making a risky pass through the slot, he'll use the boards. Instead of kicking out a rebound on an extended shift, he'll absorb the puck and get a whistle.

Ultimately, a goalie of Miller's pedigree has to dig in the trenches before he can win the war. At age 30, his past has been plenty muddied by big mistakes in monumental games. But his chance to transform those tough losses into big wins is now or never. He won't make the same mistakes twice.
Baker counters: Trying to argue that Sergei Bobrovksy is the better goalie in the Flyers-Sabres matchup would be like arguing I'm better looking than Brad Pitt. In other words, I'm not even gonna go there.

But what I can say with a straight face is this: Bobrovsky's chances of stealing the series from Miller's clutches aren't as bleak as you might think at first glance.

Even though Bobrovsky probably would be the first to admit (in a thick Russian accent, of course) that his play dropped off in his Pronger-deprived second half of the regular season, the fact remains that, with a 28-13-8 record and .915 save percentage, the rookie more than got the job done. And if he can dig deep and rediscover some of that brilliance -- and find that certain Hall of Fame d-man whose name rhymes with "wronger" -- from earlier in the season, Bob-sky could prove a frustrating foil for some of Buffalo's top guns.

But in order to pull this off, Bobrovsky (at 22 the youngest starting goalie in the playoffs) will have to show off his strengths:

• An ability to scramble as effectively as an egg in a $200 frying pan, meaning he finds a way to stop impossible pucks in chaotic situations
• An athleticism that leaves him never out of a play
• His net-clogging positioning far atop the paint on straight-on shots

But he must also pray Buffalo doesn't expose his flaws:

• Pucks that pinch through his five hole, armpits and anywhere else his body should have been
• Repeated trouble finding the rubber in traffic and body screens
• Sloppy post coverage on wraparounds and walk-ins from the corner
• Rebounds that are juicier than a perfectly fried Buffalo Wing

Everyone knows that if Bobrovsky falters early, Brian Boucher and/or the just called-up Michael Leighton will be put in faster than hometown fans can say "Philly-hasn't-had-a-legit-goalie-since-Hextall." (So, like, three seconds.)

But if Bobrovsky rises to the occasion and surprises the goaltending intelligentsia and actually beats Buffalo, it might be mostly due to him having one thing Miller doesn't: No injury.

Goalie matchup: Sabres-Flyers - Flyers v Sabres - 2011 Stanley Cup Conference Quarterfinals

 

[Destroydacre]

I'm working on it, darn it! Do you have any idea how tough it is to send a sandwich via the internet?!

Willy Wonka could send sammiches into a television so really how tough could it be? :p

 

[SuperFlyer13]

Goalie matchup: Sabres-Flyers - Flyers v Sabres - 2011 Stanley Cup Conference Quarterfinals

Well Fuck us then,! If Justin Goldman said it we don't stand a chance in hell..By the way who the Fuck is Justin Goldman? Exactly!

But let's keep rehashing this same convo over and over, again.. Miller will have to be the shinning star you all claim he is in order for you to win. If we play solid defense and great offense like we did in the first half of the year, Miller wont save you..

 

[SuperFlyer13]

Willy Wonka could send sammiches into a television so really how tough could it be? :p

Wiily had oompalompas? helping him, She just has Pens fans,

Oompalompas>Pens fans

 

[IPostedWhat]

Well Fuck us then,! If Justin Goldman said it we don't stand a chance in hell..By the way who the Fuck is Justin Goldman? Exactly!

But let's keep rehashing this same convo over and over, again.. Miller will have to be the shinning star you all claim he is in order for you to win. If we play solid defense and great offense like we did in the first half of the year, Miller wont save you..

Yeah, Heaven forbid I post an article talking about why Miller is one of the top goalies in the League in a thread that is about whether or not Miller is an overrated goalie based on the opinion of a Flyers fan in another thread.

And as far as who Goldman is, the article tells you if you bothered to read it:

Goldman, meanwhile, is one of the preeminent goaltending experts on the Web. His site, The Goalie Guild serves as a haven for those who share a passion for goaltending with a mission to enhance and advance knowledge of the goaltending position through a wide variety of interactive and in-depth scouting services.

 

[jerseyjigroe]

Well Fuck us then,! If Justin Goldman said it we don't stand a chance in hell..By the way who the Fuck is Justin Goldman? Exactly!

But let's keep rehashing this same convo over and over, again.. Miller will have to be the shinning star you all claim he is in order for you to win. If we play solid defense and great offense like we did in the first half of the year, Miller wont save you..

Remember last year when everyone was picking the Devils to crush the Flyers because of Brodeur? Yeah, well that didn't work out too well. Anything can happen. We will find out tonight.

 

[IPostedWhat]

Remember last year when everyone was picking the Devils to crush the Flyers because of Brodeur?

Really, everyone? Really?

Just looking at some of the Expert picks from last year, I see that 3 out of 6 experts picked the Flyers to beat the Devils.

2010 Stanley Cup playoffs: Experts' picks - ESPN

 

[IPostedWhat]

I'll just add a couple more articles for the hell of it:

Miller a big advantage for Sabres against Flyers | Philadelphia Inquirer | 04/14/2011
Goalie Miller always the key for the Sabres | Posted Sports | National Post

You have to admit that even though Miller did struggle for the first few months, he came up really big to lead this team to the playoffs starting on Jan 1, 2011 when the Sabres were practically dead last in the League.

This season, Miller got off to a poor start before he found his game in January. He goes into the Flyers series 21-10-5 with a .919 save percentage since Jan. 1.

 

[TheRobotDevil]

Remember last year when everyone was picking the Devils to crush the Flyers because of Brodeur? Yeah, well that didn't work out too well. Anything can happen. We will find out tonight.

The devils destroyed themselves with undisciplined post against the flyers last year.I don't even want to begin to remember how many dumb penalties we took that series including the carcillo phantom high stick.To be honest between that and some sloppy defense I can't say Marty was why we lost.and ipw was right A lot of experts picked philly they owned us in the regular season that year.Philly's win over Boston was more impressive to me

 

[Ties5o11]

Goalies are the most valuable players on the ice. They have more bearing on what happens in a game than anyone else. I don't think any great goalie can be overrated, because they really are that important.

Thats actually sort of the crux of the argument I (have yet to) make. Goalies have a greater impact on the game, so a goalie with equal talent as a skater often gets a lot more credit than the skater.

Millers a good goalie, and I don't watch a ton of Sabres, but I feel like he can be great at times, and look fairly pedestrian at times. It seems like the Media is set on calling him great, which makes him slightly overrated IMO. Still a heck of a goalie.

 

[SuperFlyer13]

Yeah, Heaven forbid I post an article talking about why Miller is one of the top goalies in the League in a thread that is about whether or not Miller is an overrated goalie based on the opinion of a Flyers fan in another thread.

And as far as who Goldman is, the article tells you if you bothered to read it:

I know why you are posting all this shit, I don't care what experts say, I can break down the analysis just as well from stats, Miller is and always has been a beast, but remember, it was ONE Flyer fan who got this thread rolling. As long as you have it up though I might as well give you as much crap about it as possible..

 

[SuperFlyer13]

The devils destroyed themselves with undisciplined post against the flyers last year.I don't even want to begin to remember how many dumb penalties we took that series including the carcillo phantom high stick.To be honest between that and some sloppy defense I can't say Marty was why we lost.and ipw was right A lot of experts picked philly they owned us in the regular season that year.Philly's win over Boston was more impressive to me

This is the same thing that happened to me during the National Championship game! Lol..

 

[IPostedWhat]

Millers a good goalie, and I don't watch a ton of Sabres, but I feel like he can be great at times, and look fairly pedestrian at times. It seems like the Media is set on calling him great, which makes him slightly overrated IMO. Still a heck of a goalie.

If you look at the first few months of this season, you would see that the ENTIRE Sabres team played like shit. The offense wasn't scoring, and the defense left Miller out to dry in almost every game. I also believe that Miller was dealing with some nagging injuries as well? Starting almost every game as well for such a long period of time didn't help either.

Then starting Jan 1st of this year, the team made a HUGE turn around, and no one was more responsible for that than Ryan Miller. He got back on his game and practically put the team on his back and helped carry them along to the 2nd best record in the League from Jan 1st, and into the PO's.

Miller is great because he took a mediocre team and thrust them into the PO's when they looked dead in the water.

 

[IPostedWhat]

As long as you have it up though I might as well give you as much crap about it as possible..

Well as long as you have a good reason I guess.

 

[SuperFlyer13]

If you look at the first few months of this season, you would see that the ENTIRE Sabres team played like shit. The offense wasn't scoring, and the defense left Miller out to dry in almost every game. I also believe that Miller was dealing with some nagging injuries as well?

Then starting Jan 1st of this year, the team made a HUGE turn around, and no one was more responsible for that than Ryan Miller. He got back on his game and practically put the team on his back and helped carry them along to the 2nd best record in the League from Jan 1st, and into the PO's.

Miller is great because he took a mediocre team and thrust them into the PO's when they looked dead in the water.

Or it could be that there were a lot of injury bugs amongst the team, Miller included, but when they got healthy they started playing a lot better..

 

[IPostedWhat]

Or it could be that there were a lot of injury bugs amongst the team, Miller included, but when they got healthy they started playing a lot better..

Not at all. For a long time, the Sabres were a relatively healthy team. It wasn't until Roy was injured back in December that the Sabres actually had anything that could be considered detrimental to the team as far as injuries go.

The Sabres have actually dealt with more injuries to players from Jan 1st till now that then did from the start of the season to the end of December. That's why it's so impressive that they are even in the PO's right now, and a huge part of that has been Miller.

 

[TheRobotDevil]

This is the same thing that happened to me during the National Championship game! Lol..

LOL damn auto correct devils came out dead last year

 

[Comeds]

Just wanted to get some feedback on this based on a recent conversation on here, and to figure out if I'm just being an absolute homer.

I personally believe that Miller is an elite goalie in the NHL today, and his stats don't really tell the whole story as to how great a goalie he really is.

What say you?

I found that if you want to avoid silly arguments like I feel this one is, its best to avoid 90% of the GNTs. Especially ones that start long before the games do.

 

[SuperFlyer13]

I found that if you want to avoid silly arguments like I feel this one is, its best to avoid 90% of the GNTs. Especially ones that start long before the games do.

Where would the fun it that be? lol..

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

Not at all. For a long time, the Sabres were a relatively healthy team. It wasn't until Roy was injured back in December that the Sabres actually had anything that could be considered detrimental to the team as far as injuries go.

The Sabres have actually dealt with more injuries to players from Jan 1st till now that then did from the start of the season to the end of December. That's why it's so impressive that they are even in the PO's right now, and a huge part of that has been Miller.

I think that's what they needed. Their heads weren't in the game and they seemed to be stuck in this "why aren't we winning" rut, which was weighing them down.

Suddenly Roy goes down and they finally get some hardship and they seemed to rally around that really well.