The Goalie Guy

Craig Anderson ahead in Vezina Race

2013-03-08T14:04:00.004-08:00

Some of this season’s best goaltenders find themselves in an even time share. Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks has started 14 games and is second in the National Hockey League with a 1.41 goals-against average and .940 save percentage. Viktor Fasth of the Anaheim Ducks has come on strong in place of Jonas Hiller, posting a 9-1-1 record and 2.08 GAA with 11 starts.

Other goaltending leaders have dealt with injuries and haven’t played as many games as the season reaches the halfway point. Craig Anderson of the Ottawa Senators leads the League with a 1.49 GAA and .952 save percentage, but an ankle injury has limited him to 15 games. Kari Lehtonen has carried theDallas Stars this season with a 2.26 GAA and .930 save percentage, but has started 13 games because of a groin injury.

How will general managers decide on this year’s Vezina winner if the trend continues? As of now, Crawford, Fasth, Anderson and Lehtonen have played less than 65 percent of their teams’ games. Will GMs reward the flashy numbers, or the goaltenders who carry a far heavier load in this shortened season and have less-impressive numbers?

At this point, NHL.com is awarding the Vezina to Anderson, who has been the best goaltender during the first half of the season. Anderson banked a lot of his numbers before getting hurt -- he's been out since Feb. 21 -- but he’s still been the most impressive to this point.

Jimmy Howard on Hot Streak

2013-03-08T08:24:00.000-08:00

Jimmy Howard made 22 saves, and Jakub Kindl and Cory Emmerton scored in the second period to lift the Detroit Red Wings over the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 on Thursday night.

Howard made 36 saves in a win Tuesday against Colorado, but coach Mike Babcock wasn't all that impressed with his team's overall performance that night. The Red Wings were sharper defensively against Edmonton and took control in the second period, when they outshot the Oilers 15-7.

Detroit is 10-0-1 in its last 11 regular-season games against Edmonton.

The Red Wings have gone five games without allowing a goal in the first or second period, and the Oilers didn't do much to threaten that streak. Edmonton is 0-3-1 in its last four games.

Howard had to make a couple of terrific saves against the Avalanche and came within 90 seconds of a shutout in that game. He wasn't tested as much by Edmonton, even after the Oilers pulled their goalie with more than 2 minutes remaining.

Howards Stats this season:
SV% 0.915
GAA 2.50
W:10 L:7

Chicago Blackhawks Stellar Goaltending

2013-03-06T12:47:00.001-08:00

The Chicago Blackhawks started the season with questions about their goaltending situation.

Corey Crawford and Ray Emery have changed the conversation.

Thanks to having perhaps the NHL's best goalie tandem, the Blackhawks have broken a league record by opening with at least a point in 22 straight games. They have matched Montreal's multi-season points run from the 1977-78 season and trail only the Philadelphia Flyers' streak of 35 straight games with at least a point during the 1979-80 season.

Chicago's next chance to extend its streak will be Tuesday at home against the Minnesota Wild.

"No matter who is in the net, the guys have been playing very well in front of them, and they give us confidence as well," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said Sunday, when his team extended the mark with a 2-1 shootout win at Detroit. "The consistency there has been one of the key factors to the start."

The Blackhawks (19-0-3) welcomed back Crawford against the Red Wings for the first time since he left last Thursday's game at St. Louis with an upper-body injury. He didn't give up a goal in the shootout and finished with 32 saves, including a spectacular one with his glove to prevent Detroit from taking a two-goal lead in the third period, helping Chicago win a ninth straight game.

When Crawford was not healthy enough to play, Emery has been perfect.

"Ray's been outstanding," Crawford said. "We're both kind of feeding off each other.

"It's a big confidence boost."

Emery is 9-0 in starts and is among league leaders with a 2.02 goals-against average in 10 games. But the 30-year-old backup insisted he doesn't mind sitting and watching his 28-year-old teammate play.

"I understand that there are roles and Corey's the guy," Emery said.

Quenneville said it has been a "healthy situation," on and off the ice.

"Both guys want to play and both guys have proven in this league they can be a top goalie," Quenneville said. "It seems like no matter what player you look at in our lineup, everybody is contributing in a meaningful way and it starts with our goaltenders."

How challenging is it to decide who plays, especially when Crawford is less than 100 percent healthy and Emery's record is unblemished this season?

"We don't mind tough decisions," Quenneville said with a grin.

The Blackhawks, though, didn't like the difficult, but necessary, call they had to make after the franchise won its first NHL title since 1961.

After hoisting the Stanley Cup three years ago, Chicago cut ties with its championship-winning goalie, Antti Niemi, in a salary-cap move and tried to keep winning with past-his-prime Marty Turco and Crawford.

It didn't work out too well when it mattered most: Chicago got knocked out of the playoffs in the opening round of each of the past two postseasons.

Crawford gave up 13 goals in losses during the first round last year to Phoenix, which won two games in overtime on soft goals against him with Emery as his idle backup. Crawford beat out Turco for the job two years ago and allowed 11 goals in setbacks against Vancouver in the opening round as Chicago's revamped team failed to defend its championship.

Crawford is coming through this season, allowing a league-low 1.41 goals per game and ranking second with a .945 save percentage. Emery ranks sixth in the NHL with a 2.02 GAA and with his .926 save percentage.

"They've got depth all over the place, but it's a particular luxury to have two goalies like they have," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "If they don't have one, they can put the other one in without missing a beat."

Anderson Signs Big Contract

2011-03-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

The last-place Ottawa Senators have signed goalie Craig Anderson to a four-year, $12.75 million contract.

Anderson was acquired Feb. 18 in a trade with Colorado. He also has played for Chicago and Florida. With the Senators, he is 6-4-1 with one shutout, a .938 save percentage and 2.11 goals-against average.

Ottawa general manager Bryan Murray said Monday the 29-year-old goalie has brought "stability" to the Senators, and goaltending is crucial "if you're going to rebuild, retool this team."

Anderson would have been eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. He will earn $2.75 million next season, $3 million in 2012-13 and $3.5 million in the final two years of the deal, which extends his current contract.

Source: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=556721#&navid=nhl-search

All Star Game Goalie Skating Race

2011-02-03T18:07:00.000-08:00

2011 NHL All-Star Fan Balloting after six weeks

2010-12-29T10:08:00.000-08:00

*write-in candidate

Goaltenders

Marc-Andre Fleury Pittsburgh 311,623

*Carey Price Montreal 309,598

*Sergei Bobrovsky Philadelphia 237,575

Tim Thomas Boston 139,182

Jaroslav Halak St. Louis 117,151

*Jimmy Howard Detroit 116,503

Ryan Miller Buffalo 94,206

Cam Ward Carolina 76,594

Henrik Lundqvist NY Rangers 67,450

Roberto Luongo Vancouver 67,375

Jonathan Quick Los Angeles 64,906

Antti Niemi San Jose 48,801

Craig Anderson Colorado 33,466

*Michal Neuvirth Washington 33,254

*Marty Turco Chicago 31,512

*Corey Crawford Chicago 30,800

Jean-Sebastien Giguere Toronto 25,647

Martin Brodeur New Jersey 24,096

Miikka Kiprusoff Calgary 20,642

Ilya Bryzgalov Phoenix 19,274

Niklas Backstrom Minnesota 16,279

Pekka Rinne Nashville 15,607

*Jonas Hiller Anaheim 14,033

*Antero Niittymaki San Jose 11,942

*Semyon Varlamov Washington 10,461

*Kari Lehtonen Dallas 9,846

Nikolai Khabibulin Edmonton 8,861

*Jonas Gustavsson Toronto 8,725

*Ondrej Pavelec Atlanta 7,985

Tomas Vokoun Florida 7,013

Carey Price playing at a high level for Canadiens

2010-11-16T12:27:00.000-08:00

The Montreal Canadiens rolled the dice by trading playoff hero Jaroslav Halak to St. Louis during the summer. Thus far, Carey Price is making their gamble pay off.

Halak is playing superbly in St. Louis -- but Price is playing the kind of hockey the Canadiens expected of him when they made him the fifth pick in the 2005 Entry Draft. He earned his 10th victory of the season on Saturday with a 28-save performance in a 7-2 victory against Carolina.

The win capped a week that saw Price go 3-0-0 while outplaying Roberto Luongo in a 2-0 victory against Vancouver and a 34-save performance in a 3-1 win at Boston. After barely making the playoffs, the Canadiens are on top in the Northeast Division, and Price is the biggest reason why.

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Tim Thomas and Jaroslav Halak making things Tough on Shooters

2010-11-11T10:44:00.000-08:00

What's the toughest thing to do in the NHL right now? Is it getting a puck past Tim Thomas? Or it could be turning on the red light behind Jaroslav Halak?

Who's better? That could be answered (at least for now) Saturday in Boston, where the two could be at opposite ends of the ice when Halak and the Blues come to TD Garden for a game against Thomas and the Bruins.

It's hard to argue with the performance of either goaltender so far

Thomas already has made history by becoming the first Boston goaltender to start the season by going 7-0-0 -- he outdid Tiny Thompson, who started 6-0-0 in 1937-38 before playing to a pair of ties. More amazing is the fact that Thomas didn't even begin the season as the Bruins' No. 1 goaltender. Tuukka Rask took away Thomas' starting job last season and got the opening-day start against Phoenix. But after Rask surrendered four goals in a 5-2 loss, Thomas got the call in Game 2, responded with a 3-0 victory and has spent the next four weeks looking like Jacques Plante, Glenn Hall, Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur rolled into one.

Consider this: Thomas didn't allow as many as two goals in a game until Wednesday, when Buffalo got a pair in Boston's 5-2 victory. The second-period power-play goal by the Sabres' Drew Stafford was the first man-advantage goal allowed by Thomas all season. In all, he's surrendered just five goals -- giving him a goals-against average of 0.72. He's faced 220 shots and stopped 215, a .977 save percentage (Rask led the NHL last season at .931).

Were it not for Thomas, Halak might well be the talk of the NHL.

Halak was a playoff hero for Montreal this past spring, but with Carey Price also in the fold, the Canadiens opted to send Halak to St. Louis. All he's done is go 7-1-1 in his first eight games with the Blues, including 6-0-0 at home, while putting up a 1.53 GAA and a .940 save percentage (14 goals allowed on 232 shots). He's second to Thomas among starting goaltenders in GAA, third in save percentage. The two are even with seven wins and a League-leading three shutouts.

Home cooking -- Perhaps the biggest difference Halak has made to the Blues is their play at home. The Blues are 6-0-0 at Scottrade Center this season, and Halak has been in goal for all six games -- including two shutouts. The Blues needed to win their last six home games last season just to finish at 18-18-5.

The 12 consecutive home wins (including last season) is a franchise record. The 6-0-0 mark at the beginning of the current season leaves the Blues five short of Chicago's record of 11 consecutive home victories at the start of a season, set in 1963-64.

Retrieved From: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=542623

Halak, Very Important to Blues

2010-10-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

The Blues' big summer splash was the trade that brought Halak to St. Louis. The Slovak goalie was Montreal's playoff hero in the spring, leading the eighth-seeded Habs to improbable series wins over Washington and Pittsburgh. He was deemed expendable, though, because Montreal's management believes Carey Price is that club's goalie of the future.

Halak didn't come without a price. St. Louis had to sacrifice its top forward prospect, Lars Eller, as well as promising right wing Ian Schultz. The Blues also parted ways with Mason as a result of the Halak trade. Mason wound up signing with Atlanta.

Halak, who was a restricted free agent, agreed to a four-year contract extension July 6 that reportedly will pay him $3.75 million annually. He went 26-13-5 last season. His .924 save percentage was fourth in the NHL and his 2.40 goals-against average was ninth. Halak also won a pair of Game 7s on the road, in Washington and Pittsburgh.

Halak is set as the No. 1, but he has a nice warm blanket behind him in Ty Conklin, one of the top backup goalies in the NHL over the last couple seasons. Conklin won 10 games last season and posted a 2.48 GAA and .921 save percentage.

The Blues' brass believes Halak could start between 55 and 60 games this season (he started a career-high 43 last season), with Conklin filling in the rest. That looks to be the perfect amount of work for each goalie as Conklin stayed fresh last season with 21 starts and 26 appearances.

"I think we have one of the best goaltending combinations in the game," Blues GM Doug Armstrong told the Post-Dispatch.

Retrieved From: http://www.gdihockey.com/goalie_news/top_stories/index.html?goalieNewsId=2428

Jose Theodore With Minnesota Wild

2010-10-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

In nine years of existence, the Minnesota Wild has had just 10 goaltenders start a game. That includes four that played a game last year. Goaltending has always been a strength for the young franchise, because it always featured an experienced and talented tandem.

Manny Fernandez and Dwayne Roloson. Fernandez and Niklas Backstrom. Backstrom and Josh Harding.

The Wild's goaltending tandem looks formidable again. The Wild lost Harding to a devastating knee injury early in the preseason, but picked up the owner of a Hart and Vezina trophy, and the winner of 30 games in 47 appearances last year with Washington.

Jose Theodore agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the Wild today, and will join the Houston Aeros training camp until the Wild returns from Finland. Anton Khudobin will serve as Nik Backstrom's backup while the team is in Europe.

"Jose's a veteran who's won 245 games in the NHL," said General Manager Chuck Fletcher in a hotel lobby in Helsinki. "We're fortunate he was still available. He makes us a deeper team and we have a terrific one-two punch again."

Theodore ranks sixth among active goalies in games played (518) and wins. His best year came in 2002 as a member of the Montreal Canadiens, when he went 30-24-10 with a .931 save percentage and a 2.11 goals against average, earning him the Hart and the Vezina.

Wild fans are no stranger to Theodore, who posted a 2.81 goals against average and a .911 save percentage last year. In 2008, he was brilliant in leading the Colorado Avalanche to a first round upset of Minnesota, which had won its first-ever Northwest Division title.

Retrieved From: http://www.gdihockey.com/goalie_news/top_stories/index.html?goalieNewsId=2429

Top-5 NHL goalies to watch in 2010-11

2010-09-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

Cam Ward (CAR)
Perhaps for the first time in his career, Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward has something to prove. He entered the league in 2005-06 and tallied a 14-8-2 regular season record. He followed that up by stealing the starting job from Martin Gerber in the playoffs and then leading his team to a Stanley Cup championship.

He also got his name on the coveted Conn Smythe Trophy. It was a harbinger of things to come. Year after year, Ward's wins and shutout totals rose, his save percentage continued to improve and his goals-against average continued to shrink.

The 2008-09 season was his best: 39-23-5 with six shutouts, a .916 save percentage and 2.44 GAA. Ward did nothing but exceed expectations through his first four seasons. But last year, Ward came back to earth.
A leg laceration and an upper-body injury limited Ward to just 47 games in 2009-10 and he finished the season with just 18 wins and no shutouts. There's no reason why you shouldn't expect Ward to regain his form - if he can stay healthy.

Jaroslav Halak (STL)
Now that Jaroslav Halak is with the St. Louis Blues, he doesn't have Carey Price and the Montreal media looking over his shoulder each night, and he can finally turn his full attention to proving he deserves to be a bona fide starting netminder.

His new backup, Ty Conklin, likely won't give him the type of challenge Price did, as Conklin played second fiddle to Chris Mason last year (Mason's now tending the pipes in Atlanta). With a young team like the Blues and a hungry Halak, who's coming off a stellar playoff run with the Canadiens, good things could happen in St. Louis this season.

Steve Mason (CBJ)
It's not unusual for an athlete to have a good first professional season, only to take a step backwards in their sophomore year. Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Steve Mason has found himself in that exact position.

Mason won the Calder Trophy in 2008-09 with an impressive record: 33-20-7, 10 shutouts, a .916 save percentage and a 2.29 goals against average. But last year he underachieved by going 20-26-9 with a GAA over three and a save percentage just barely above .900. This season, Mason will look to rebound and prove his Calder-winning season was no fluke.

Tuukka Rask/Tim Thomas (BOS)
In Boston, the goalie tandem of Tuukka Rask and Tim Thomas will once again be interesting. Some experts are picking Rask to be this year's Vezina Trophy winner, but he'll have to win more than 22 games to get there. Thomas may have something to say about it. After all, fighting for playing time is something Thomas is used to, having toiled in the minors for years. Look for the former Vezina Trophy winner to fight Rask tooth and nail for that coveted No. 1 job. Just a word of caution here: This doesn't mean I'm suggesting taking Thomas with a high pick or selecting him before Rask, but it does mean he could ultimately be a steal among those considered "backups" and that Rask may not get the stats some are anticipating. Remember, two crucial elements to drafting a good fantasy team are: 1) Don't overpay by drafting a player too high and; 2) Go for the players in the later rounds that have the potential to exceed expectations.

It's all about where you draft a player. That means Rask may be a superstar in net, statistically speaking, but if he continues to split time with Thomas, he's only half as good as a full-time starter like Vancouver's Roberto Luongo, Buffalo's Ryan Miller or Los Angeles' Jonathan Quick.

Kari Lehtonen (DAL)
Much to the chagrin of Atlanta fans, former Thrashers netminder Kari Lehtonen is getting another shot at being a starter. Dallas plucked him out of Atlanta last season, where he primarily underachieved with brief spurts of greatness.

In Lehtonen's three and a half injury-plagued seasons with the Thrashers, the biggest knock on the Finnish goalie was his inability to stay healthy. Despite the fact he turns 27 in November, this could very well be Lehtonen's last chance in the NHL and that in itself could serve as the motivation he needs to succeed.

Retrieved From: http://sports.sympatico.cbc.ca/news/contentposting?newsitemid=sp-nhl-top-goalies&feedname=cbc-sports-v3&show=true&number=3&showbyline=true&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=true&pagenumber=2

Brodeur Leads the Way for Fantasy Goaltenders

2010-09-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

A few key goalies changed teams this offseason, specifically Jaroslav Halak, Marty Turco and Antti Niemi, but the No. 1 keeper remains the same: the Devils' Martin Brodeur. Despite being 38, Marty continues to put up outstanding numbers year after year. Ryan Miller follows closely behind Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist comes in as the surprising third-ranked goalie. "King Henrik" just barely edged out Vancouver's Roberto Luongo. Consistency is a hard thing to find between the pipes, and Lundqvist defines reliability and consistency. After Luongo, you can find plenty of depth, but just be sure to try and grab at least one dependable goalie come draft day.

1. Martin Brodeur - New Jersey Devils

2. Ryan Miller - Buffalo Sabres

3. Henrik Lundqvist - New York Rangers

4. Roberto Luongo - Vancouver Canucks

5. Miikka Kiprusoff - Calgary Flames

6. Jimmy Howard - Detroit Red Wings

7. Ilya Bryzgalov - Phoenix Coyotes

8. Jaroslav Halak - St Louis Blues

9. Marty Turco - Chicago Black hawks

10. Pekka Rinne - Nashville Predators

11. Jonas Hiller - Anaheim Ducks

12. Tomas Vokoun - Florida Panthers

13. Niklas Backstrom - Minnesota Wild

14. Marc-Andre Fleury Pittsburgh Penguins

15. Cam Ward - Carolina Hurricanes

16. Craig Anderson - Colorado Avalanche

17. Antti Niemi - San Jose Sharks

18. Tuukka Rask - Boston Bruins

19. Semyon Varlamov - Washington Capitols

20. Carey Price - Montreal Canadians

Retrieved From: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=537146#&navid=nhl-search

Luongo Drops the "C" and gets a New Goalie Coach

2010-09-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

It was truly an offseason of change for Roberto Luongo.

Let's start with the obvious: the all-star netminder is no longer the captain of the Vancouver Canucks. Luongo separated himself from the title a week ago, as well as the extra distractions that came with being the outright leader of a team with huge expectations in a market starved for success.

As much as Luongo enjoyed being the captain, the main man in the room, he showcased a great deal of maturity and selflessness in returning the captaincy. Nothing has actually changed with Luongo, though, who is approaching training camp and his game the way he always has.

"I'm the same guy, I'm not going to change the way I was whether I'm captain or not," Luongo said Saturday. "I'm going to be vocal when I feel I need to be and I'm just going to go about my business the same way. At the end of the day, really it's just a letter and a title and it doesn't really change much for me."

The true change for Luongo comes on the ice, as for the first time in his tenure with the Canucks, and dating back to his second year in Florida in 2001-02, he won't be working with goalie coach Ian Clark.
Clark was unable to the commit to the Canucks on a full-time basis and the team was convinced having someone around for Luongo every practice would benefit the 31-year-old goalie, so former Montreal Canadiens assistant coach Roland Melanson was brought in.

Melanson, the first goaltender born in New Brunswick to play in the NHL, spent 12 years in the League playing for five teams, winning three Stanley Cups with the Islanders from 1981-1983. His resume is impressive, but he and Luongo still need to establish a strong bond for their relationship to flourish. They put in some time this summer to get ahead of the game.

"I had a chance to work with him this summer when he came down to Florida for a week -- we had a chance to get a good ground and develop a relationship and work on some things," Luongo said.
"It's good to have that happen in August, because then once I get to camp I'm already familiar with certain things that he wants me to bring to my game."

Retrieved From: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=538004#&navid=nhl-search

Roberto Luongo ready to drop the "C"

2010-09-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

For weeks after the season, Roberto Luongo grappled with whether he wanted to remain the Vancouver Canucks captain.

He's expected to announce his decision in September when he arrives in Vancouver and meets with GM Mike Gillis for the first time since the spring.

"We decided to wait until I see him in September," said Gillis, who scrapped his original plan to meet with Luongo in July. "We're going to have a discussion about it and see where he's at. It's going to be a combination of input."

The most likely scenario is Luongo will give up his 'C.' Recent speculation has Henrik Sedin, the Hart Trophy winner, replacing him based on logic, if not sources.

The question then is why would Luongo choose to step down? He is the one who had a 'C' painted on his goalie mask when the league told him a goalie couldn't wear one on his jersey. He's the first Vancouver Canucks captain in 16 years to lead the team to the second round in consecutive seasons. And he told the Canucks in last season's exit meeting he "loves being captain."

But, at the same time, Luongo expressed frustration at the end of the year with "the other stuff." The distractions. He already vowed he will no longer talk to the media the morning of games.

Luongo said in May: "You want to be focused on the game and stopping the puck."

Retrieved from: http://www2.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/news/sports/story.html?id=a3d0e6dd-fc29-4989-89d0-e741e6e676bbAs

Henrik Lundqvist to be honored with bus in NYC

2010-08-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

A ceremony will take place in front of Madison Square Garden on Tuesday at noon to honor Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist with his very own bus.

Lundqvist will join Whoopi Goldberg, Donald Trump and Rachael Ray as the latest celebrity inducted into Gray Line New York's "Ride of Fame" campaign which honors exemplary New Yorkers by bestowing a bus in their fleet. A ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil Lundqvist's personalized Gray Line New York bus will take place on the Seventh Avenue side of the Garden. Immediately following the ceremony, Lundqvist will board his bus to take the inaugural ride with 50 lucky fans.

"I'd like to thank Gray Line New York for their support of the Rangers and particularly their continued support of the Garden of Dreams Foundation," said Lundqvist. "The kids always look forward to the tours of the city, sitting on the upper deck. Being able to now do them on a bus featuring myself and the Rangers is a great honor."
After the event, the official Henrik Lundqvist bus will enter into Gray Line New York's regular rotation, granting millions of sightseers the opportunity to ride the bus every day.

Retrieved from: http://www.nhl.com/ice/newsindex.htm#?navid=nav-nws-hdlines

Jaroslav Halak Amazing in Playoffs

2010-05-07T09:49:00.000-07:00

A great deal of why the Montreal Canadians have come as far as they have is because of the stellar play of their goaltender Jaroslav Halak.

Last year Halak only got to see 20 minutes of ice time in the playoffs. This year he has already played in 10 games where he has been playing at his best. Out of the 10 games he has played he has been named first star of the game 5 times and second star once.

Halak has posted a first place 0.934 SV% and a 2.43 GAA.

Even the top players in the NHL admit that Halak has been great for the Canadians. "He played really well," Crosby said. "We had some second opportunities that we didn't get our sticks on, or we got our sticks on and missed the net. He played solid, there's no doubt. He made the saves he had to."

"I think we played great and we just didn't score," said a still confident but definitely stunned Alex Ovechkin. "It's only one guy. They just score goals and go back and leave all the pressure for their goalie. He (did) an unbelievable job. What more can you say?"

Roberto Luongo Has Strong Game 1

2010-05-02T17:29:00.000-07:00

The last time Roberto Luongo was on the United Center ice in the postseason, he had to deal with a case of whiplash from looking back into his net as the Blackhawks scored seven goals to eliminate the Vancouver Canucks from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2009.

One year later, Luongo erased any of those bad vibes with a 36-save performance in Vancouver's 5-1 win on Saturday night against the Blackhawks while recieving the first star of the game. He faced a barrage of shots in the first period -- 17 in all -- and stopped them all, allowing his teammates time to find their legs and score twice before the first intermission.

Luongo's best save came against the Patrick Kane, who was stoned on a breakaway with just under seven minutes to go in the first period and the score still just 1-0 in favor of the Canucks.

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Martin Brodeur's Standout Season

2010-04-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

Martin Brodeur the winner of the Jennings Trophy for the 5th time in his career has officially finished in top spot for games played, wins, shutouts, and minutes played.

Brodeur started in 77 out of the 82 games played by the New Jersey Devils. In those 77 game he captured 45 wins, only 3 wins behind his all-time high. This was the most wins out of any goalie this season. He also extended his all-time record of shutouts with an extra 9 this season to finish in first place in that area too.

Brodeur finished his season off with a 0.916 SV% and an amazing 2.24 GAA which was 3rd in the league. To add to a great season like that he helped Team Canada take home the gold medal in the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.

A Battle Of The Goaltenders

2010-04-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

In the first round of the playoffs, the Buffalo Sabres will be taking on the Boston Bruins. The Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask and the Sabres goalie Ryan Miller have been the hottest in the league this year battling all year for the top spot in GAA and SV%.

Tuukka Rask ended up leading the league with a GAA of 1.97 and a league leading 0.931 SV%. Ryan Miller was not far behind him in second place with a GAA of 2.22 and second with a 0.929 SV%. Both of these goalies had a standout season while each posted 5 shutouts.

The biggest concern is experience. For Ryan Miller, he has all the experience he needs starting 69 games this year for the Sabres, 2010 Winter Olympics, 34 NHL Playoff games, and playing in the NHL for 5 consecutive years. Rask on the other hand is a NHL rookie this year. He only got to play 45 games (24 less than Miller) and has no NHL Playoff experience.

Overall this should be a good match up for both teams and will be a great series. The first game of the series will be played on Thursday April 15th in Buffalo.

Philadelphia Flyers Up To 6 Goalie This Season

2010-04-04T15:22:00.000-07:00

The way things are going for Philadelphia Flyers' goaltenders this season, chances are the next time your phone rings it might be GM Paul Holmgren asking if you're available.

But the injury problems are no laughing matter for Holmgren and the Flyers, who enjoyed a rare laugher Sunday night, routing New Jersey 5-1.

In that game, Carter Hutton dressed as the backup to Brian Boucher and became the sixth goalie for the Flyers this season. The previous rookie backup, Johan Backlund, injured his groin in Saturday's loss to the Penguins and was replaced by Boucher. Another rookie, Jeremy Duchesne, dressed as a backup for a couple games after Michael Leighton was lost to an ankle sprain. And Leighton, who was 16-5-2 this season, was picked up on waivers after Ray Emery was injured. Emery was subsequently lost for the season after hip surgery.

Holmgren told the Delaware Country Times that the club has explored other options in adding a more experienced goalie, but nothing has worked out yet.

One name being reported in the Philadelphia media was former Flyer Robert Esche. He's played for SKA Saint Petersburg in Russia the past two seasons. This past year he was 29-7-5 with a 2.07 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.

"We went through a lot of different options," Holmgren said. "We won't be naming names, but I will tell you we explored every option.

"Some of the players we looked into and talked to just for whatever reason can't do it. It might be because they're playing (in Europe), which is the obvious one, but we have some guys we talked to that just, the team they're playing with just won't let them out (of their contract) right now. We explored a lot of different options."

content retrieved from: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=523147

Cam Ward Stellar Since Return

2010-04-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

Cam Ward has been out since February 3rd missing 18 games with a back injury. Since his return on March 29th he has been playing unbelievable.

He has played two games, one against Atlanta Thrashers and Montreal Canadiens. In those two games he has put up two wins with a 0.968 SV% and a 1.00 GAA. He was 3rd star of the first game and first star of the second.

"I felt more and more confident as the game went on," said Ward. "I was excited and also a bit nervous, because i had been away from the game for so long."

Jonas Gustavsson on a Hot Streak

2010-03-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

Jonas Gustavsson the rookie goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs has been living up to his nickname "monster" lately with his six game winning streak against Ottawa (2 games), Boston, Edmonton, Montreal, and Atlanta.

In his last 6 games he has put up an impressive 0.925SV% and a 1.92GAA wich has really helped out his overall season stats.

"First of all I think we started playing better as a team," Gustavsson said after Saturday's win. "We back check even harder now, that helps me a lot. I can focus on the shooter, so I think when we start playing better that gives me self-confidence, too. We started scoring some goals, too, in the first period, which also gives some self-confidence."

Brian Elliott Post's 2 Consecutive Shutouts

2010-03-24T12:23:00.000-07:00

Brian Elliott has earned his second shutout in two days with Chris Kelly and Daniel Alfredsson scoring to give the Ottawa Senators a 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Elliot turned aside 26 shots with an amazing glove save on James van Riemsdyk with only 3:55 remaining in the third to keep the shutout alive. Elliot was named first star of the game.
Only the night before Elliot faced the Montreal Canadians where he was faced with 29 shots and made all 29 saves and was named the first star of the game.
"He's played unbelievable the last two games and we've been able to score the first goals, too, in the last two games, which definitely helps. The way Elliott played was huge for us. I mean that gave us a lot of confidence" said team captain Daniel Alfredsson.

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2010-03-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

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Josh Harding Playing Great For Minnesota Wild

2010-03-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

Josh Harding from the Minnesota Wild has been impressing everybody with his standout performances lately. Although he hasn't played as many games as he would like and his stats don't jump right out a you with a 0.911 SV% and a 2.78 GAA. The Wild have given him a chance to play a lot more since Nilas Backstrom is out with a groin injury.

He played his first game on March 11, it was his first game since February 4th so he was a little rusty letting in 5 goals on 30 shots. He states that his performance was "brutal" so he decided to play his next few games with a vengeance. Since that game he has played three more games and posted 3 wins against Buffalo, St Louis, and Edmonton while posting a 2.00 GAA and 0.95 SV%.