Quick hits today, folks. Remember, two outta three. Two outta three.
—
The Goalie Guild was in Dever last night, and they had some running commentary that is much more interesting than anything I have to say about the Stars‘ new goaltender or that Dave Jackson special last night. (Not that I think Jackson ruined anything; his games just have a way of being incredibly maddening. Confirmation bias probably.)
So let’s have a glance over some of the accumulated wisdom from a dedicated goaltending observer:
Wrote this about Enroth’s vision and tracking skills way back in 2011, still applicable today: http://t.co/0H5hCysDFq
— The Goalie Guild (@TheGoalieGuild) February 15, 2015
From that article (which I highly recommend you read):
Simply put, Enroth tracks the puck with an innate and detailed precision. This allows him to anticipate plays, arrive at angles early, and square up to pucks before they can sneak past him.
In the goalie glossary, this term is called situational awareness. It refers to a goalie’s ability to read plays with a clear understanding of how they develop, and how to place the body in the best position to effectively eliminate as much net space as possible.
When you see Enroth make a save while standing up, or in the half-butterfly, it is visual proof that he’s tracking pucks and shots extremely well. Instead of routinely or robotically dropping into the butterfly, he’s patient, poised, prepared, and confident in his angles and natural reactions. He doesn’t drop until he absolutely has to, because he knows that filling unnecessary space is a luxury he simply can’t afford. [NHL]
There was one save in particular that I loved last night in which a shot from the slot saw Enroth just challenging the shooter without dropping. Enroth leaned into the shot, which hit him in the side, and he dropped down and covered the puck before the rebound became available. Very pretty to watch and effective to boot.
Have already seen at least six tricky dead-angle centering feeds into Enroth’s crease, has managed all but one of them nicely. #activestick
— The Goalie Guild (@TheGoalieGuild) February 15, 2015
I definitely noticed that. Anything going in front of Enroth tended to be slapped outta there toot sweet when it was within his reach.
Another tough deflected shot for Enroth to manage with bodies converging in front. Can’t really blame him for two of the goals tonight.
— The Goalie Guild (@TheGoalieGuild) February 15, 2015
True that. I’d be hard-pressed to fault Enroth for any of the goals that went in last night, as the first three were all tipped or weirdly screened, and the fourth one was effectively on a 2-on-0 after Enroth had already done like five sprints to and from the bench.
Finally, this one wasn’t about goalies per se, but I liked it:
Guy on jumbotron just tried to propose to his girl and dropped the ring. Someone needs to work on his glove hand. #disaster
— The Goalie Guild (@TheGoalieGuild) February 15, 2015
* * * * *
Links for Sunday. Go eat a bagel and have a cuppa joe on this beautiful morning.
Recap of a weird, silly game. It was silly, wasn’t it! [Stars]
By the way, Jhonas Enroth is really, really good in shootouts, in case you didn’t know that. Reminds me of another former Stars goaltender. [Buffalo Hockey Beat]
Kari Lehtonen will miss Lindback, but he knows what’s up. [DMN]
Dmitry Kulikov was offered an in-person hearing. He waived his right to that, so he will have a phone hearing Monday. Kulikov has been suspended already, so whatever punishment is doled out may take the intervening time into account. [SI]
Fiddler called the Kulikov hit “gutless.” [National Post]
Some interesting quotes from Anders Lindback here. Could he be a “hidden gem” for Buffalo? Sure, he could. Very well-hidden. Best of luck to Lindback, who certainly was in a tough spot from the beginning. [Buffalo Hockey Beat]
The SportsNet crew talked about Seguin’s injury and the big tradefest last night. [SportsNet]
Jamie Benn says he is learning how to handle all the new tech gizmos that tell everyone in the world whenever you make an inappropriate comment. [DMN]
Detroit decided not to help out the Stars as they fell to the Jets in a shootout last night. [NHL]
Carolina is terrible this year, and the Wild managed to beat them because Devan Dubnyk will never lose again. [NHL]
The LA Kings are back in the playoff conversation because they are in the Western Conference and are not the Oilers or Coyotes. [Puck Daddy]
P.K. Subban played over 35 minutes last night, the highest for any player so far this year. [Habs Eyes on the Prize]
Glen Metropolit was a mentor to the young Trevor Daley, who also came from Regent Park. Good longer piece on Metropolit here. [CBC]
Finally, in commemoration of yesterday’s Hockey Day in Canada, this video on Maritime hockey. [SportsNet]