Game Thread: Red Wings @ Sabres - 11|2|2014 - 5:00 PM

[phoenixrising]

Some of the specific things that elite goaltenders do with regularity, Jimmy doesn't do often enough or, in some cases, ever. In saying that, he does make routine stops, outstanding ones at times, and some highlight reel gems; but, too often, when he needs to keep the play going (for various reasons), he will smother the puck with his glove, usually because there is an opponent in close proximity of the crease, often close because he waited too long to make a decision. It isn't a secret why he resorts to this, though, it's simply because his puck-handling skills aren't very good. This alone drops him below the top-echelon of other guys, who will stop the puck behind the net when it is shot into the zone of the boards to allow his dman to start the possession. He'll often let the puck continue to travel behind the net allowing the onrushing forward to challenge us for the possession.
We hardly ever see him move the puck up ice to maintain continued play to utilize the PP time, when the opposition clears the puck into our end. We seldom see him make a stop, then clear the puck to the corner; instead, he will freeze it, where sometimes the puck will come loose when players jam at it, making it more difficult to resettle it with all the traffic in and around the crease. c) He seldom makes a stop then a pass to another Wings' player in our zone with a fore-checker approaching him; he will cover it, instead, forcing a faceoff in our zone ending the possession in a heart beat. As far as shootouts are concerned, don't expect him to win very many, mostly because he lets the player skating in on net get his center of gravity moving far too much from an early deke, which makes it quite challenging to recover to make the stop when the puck is released. Also, in this situation, his activation responses are not as immediate as so many other netminders around the league. Those are some of the reasons that drop him down from the top level of guys that will literally steal the cup for a team. It is my opinion, he isn't the guy that can ultimately get your team to hoist the trophy. If Holland and the gang are waiting for him to develop further in his maturation as an elite goaltender, we're going to find that the guy is going to die of thirst out there in that arid vastness because the camel train isn't coming along any time soon - their search for him is over, they've given up on him for dead.

I can not disagree with you on this. Mike Vernon had the stuff, when Oz was in goal our 'D' had the stuff. Howard looks like a deer caught in the headlights on breakaways and shootouts.

 

[RP-29]

I still vote to have Mrazek back up Howard, and if a game goes to a shootout, put Mrazek in.

 

[Tomas Tatar]

No I meant just last night for the goaltender as an example. And if they had a (Hull type)sniper that would fix the PP. And with the offensive weapons the Wings have I wouldn't care if the 'D' doesn't score.

You need scoring defenseman regardless. Hull isn't an easy find. Pulkkinen has Hullnstyle though.

I still vote to have Mrazek back up Howard, and if a game goes to a shootout, put Mrazek in.

Cold goalies in shootouts have loe win percentages. Hell, Mrazek has struggles this year.

 

[RP-29]

Cold goalies in shootouts have loe win percentages. Hell, Mrazek has struggles this year.

Cold or not, the only way our team wins shootouts now is if the opposing shooters mess up worse than ours do. Jimmy is simply terrible at stopping pucks 1-on-1. Why not try something a little unorthodox?

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

Howard's numbers will have to move back towards a mean, he can't stay this low all season.

He was a .692 last year and a .579 the year before. Definitely below average in the NHL, but a lot better than his .200 so far this year in only two games.

 

[Winged_Wheel88]

Some of the specific things that elite goaltenders do with regularity, Jimmy doesn't do often enough or, in some cases, ever. In saying that, he does make routine stops, outstanding ones at times, and some highlight reel gems; but, too often, when he needs to keep the play going (for various reasons), he will smother the puck with his glove, usually because there is an opponent in close proximity of the crease, often close because he waited too long to make a decision. It isn't a secret why he resorts to this, though, it's simply because his puck-handling skills aren't very good. This alone drops him below the top-echelon of other guys, who will stop the puck behind the net when it is shot into the zone of the boards to allow his dman to start the possession. He'll often let the puck continue to travel behind the net allowing the onrushing forward to challenge us for the possession.
We hardly ever see him move the puck up ice to maintain continued play to utilize the PP time, when the opposition clears the puck into our end. We seldom see him make a stop, then clear the puck to the corner; instead, he will freeze it, where sometimes the puck will come loose when players jam at it, making it more difficult to resettle it with all the traffic in and around the crease. c) He seldom makes a stop then a pass to another Wings' player in our zone with a fore-checker approaching him; he will cover it, instead, forcing a faceoff in our zone ending the possession in a heart beat. As far as shootouts are concerned, don't expect him to win very many, mostly because he lets the player skating in on net get his center of gravity moving far too much from an early deke, which makes it quite challenging to recover to make the stop when the puck is released. Also, in this situation, his activation responses are not as immediate as so many other netminders around the league. Those are some of the reasons that drop him down from the top level of guys that will literally steal the cup for a team. It is my opinion, he isn't the guy that can ultimately get your team to hoist the trophy. If Holland and the gang are waiting for him to develop further in his maturation as an elite goaltender, we're going to find that the guy is going to die of thirst out there in that arid vastness because the camel train isn't coming along any time soon - their search for him is over, they've given up on him for dead.

Schlegs and my uncle would get along famously.

 

[higgyfan4]

Schlegs and my uncle would get along famously.

Why, is your uncle about 97 and a little ?

 

[Winged_Wheel88]

Why, is your uncle about 97 and a little ?

Why, yes he is...but I fail to see where you're going with this.

 

[higgyfan4]

Why, yes he is...but I fail to see where you're going with this.

I'm saying schlegs is old and a tad .

I wasn't implying you were old.

Well, maybe the part, but not old...

 

[Winged_Wheel88]

I'm saying schlegs is old and a tad .

I wasn't implying you were old.

Well, maybe the part, but not old...

 

[detroit_schlegs]

Hey, Higgy, you got me on that one, however, that age number is way off, but the wacko part - you've been talking to my wife haven't you?