Written on 12/04/2009 by Jim Cerny
Watching another ugly goaltending performance by the Red Wings during last night's 4-1 loss to the Oilers just makes me wonder how and when Detroit is going to fix this season-long problem.
Jimmy Howard overplayed two shots/passes last night and, as such, allowed a pair of weak goals that helped to undermine his team.
It continues to be a case of one step forward, one step back for Howard during his inaugural NHL campaign. On Monday I thought Howard played one of his best games of the season, positionally-strong and at times outstanding in denying the Dallas Stars during a 4-1 Red Wings triumph. Then last night he looked awkward and allowed a pair of softies.
The numbers bear out Howard's inconsistent play. He has appeared in 14 games, posting a 7-5-1 record with a 2.67 goals against average and .907 save percentage. Howard has been better of late, but he doesn't seem capable just yet of stringing together a slew of solid starts in a row.
Of course this wouldn't matter if veteran Chris Osgood was playing better. Ossie is following up a very mediocre regular season performance from a year ago with another shaky one, so far, this season. Osgood's 2.75 goals against---while better than last year's 3.09 mark---is disappointing, and worse than Howard's. So, too, is his unsightly .897 save percentage.
The thing is, Osgood redeemed himself a year ago by turning in a phenomenal effort during the playoffs, carrying the Red Wings to within a game of another Stanley Cup Championship with a solid 2.01 goals against average.
Just two years removed from his third Cup, a league-best 2.09 regular season GAA, and a ridiculous 1.55 GAA in the post-season, Osgood certainly has the appropriate street cred and quite a bit of cache built up in Detroit. But yet this is the second straight regular season where you scratch your head and wince when you consider his play.
Last season Detroit was fortunate to have Ty Conklin, much more of a proven commodity than Howard, to shoulder some of the load during the regular season. Now the Red Wings have turned to Howard, the 25 year-old goalie of the future who has been apprenticing in the American Hockey League the previous four seasons, and the results are decidedly mixed.
Of course both Howard and Osgood do have somewhat of a built-in excuse for their average numbers, what with how Detroit has been ravaged by injury so far this season.
Still, Wings GM Ken Holland and head coach Mike Babcock are not ones for excuses. So what is their move? And do they have the cap space to make the type of move they may deem necessary?
Anaheim would be willing to unload J.S. Giguere now that Jonas Hiller has emerged as the favored goalie, but his contract is very difficult to move. And I'm not so sure that the Ducks would be eager to send Giguere to a conference rival like the Red Wings anyway.
Perhaps now that Rick DiPietro is closer to returning to the Islanders, New York might consider trading one of its goalies. Dwayne Roloson, who is on a two-year deal, has played better than Martin Biron, who signed a one-year contract this past summer. Likely Roloson and DiPietro, who basically has a lifetime deal to remain on the Island, would stay, and Biron would be shipped somewhere.
The Red Wings could do worse than Biron to split time with Osgood during the regular season, and push him heading into the playoffs.
If such a move would take place, it would not be for amother few weeks, I would think. DiPietro is going to play some games in the minor leagues starting this Saturday, and you'd have to believe that the Islanders want to see him play a few games at the NHL level and see if he can remain healthy, a big IF considering he played only five games a year ago, and has yet to play this season.
In the meantime Howard and Osgood will try and convince Red Wings brass that outside help is not needed.
From my point of view, I disagree. Change is needed in goal for the Red Wings.
Posted in
Chris Osgood,
Detroit Red Wings,
J.S. Giguere,
Jimmy Howard,
Ken Holland,
Martin Biron,
Mike Babcock,
NHL,
Rick DiPietro,
Rink Rap
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Written on 10/12/2009 by Jim Cerny
Taking in yesterday's Rangers-Ducks contest from the press box at The Garden I got to thinking about the importance of back-up goaltenders as I watched New York's Steve Valiquette get the better of Anaheim's J.S. Giguere in a 3-0 Rangers victory.
Interestingly, Valiquette and Giguere are back-ups in distinctly different positions for their respective teams.
On Broadway, Henrik Lundqvist is the King. There is no disputing that Lundqvist is the Rangers' No. 1 goaltender and that Valiquette is No. 2. Yesterday's start was Valiquette's first of the season, and only his 23rd in the past three seasons. Even with John Tortorella's plan to spell Lundqvist more frequently than in the past, it would be hard to imagine the 32 year-old Valiquette starting more than 15 games this year.
And that works because Valiquette has accepted his role on the team, and thrives in it. Yesterday's shutout was his fourth over those 23 starts, a pretty impressive stat.
"He played very well," Tortorella said of Valiquette's performance last night, before adding, "If (we) want to get to where (we) want to be, he's going to have play well for us."
Valiquette is an easy guy to root for. I was there as team broadcaster when he was summoned by the Islanders as an extremely green 22 year-old---fourth or fifth on the organizational depth chart---pressed into NHL duty by a rash of injuries. He won both of his starts during that 1999-2000 call-up, posting a 1.87 goals against average and .949 save percentage over six appearances. His first NHL win in Ottawa that April saw him stop 45 of 46 shots.
It'd be another four years before he saw the NHL again, and not until 2007-08 that he established himself as an NHL goalie, albeit a backup to Lundqvist.
In between, there were thousands of miles on minor league buses, a standout season playing in Russia, and the career-saving tutelege from Rangers goaltending coach Benoit Allaire.
"I owe so much to Benny," Valiquette told me. "From the mental part of the game to on-ice drills and skills, he has been a God-send for my career."
Where Valiquette is today, in my opinion, is right at the top of the list of back-up goaltenders in the National Hockey League.
Surprising to many is that Anaheim's Giguere is on that list, too. Surprising because we are talking about a Stanley Cup-winning, Conn Smythe Trophy-winning goalie here.
But last spring Jonas Hiller emerged as the favored starting goalie in Anaheim, as Giguere's goals against rose to 3.10, a full goal higher than the previous season. And so far this season head coach Randy Carlyle has turned to Hiller as his No. 1, with the 32 year-old Giguere trying to make the most of his starts.
To his credit, Giguere---who likely would have been dealt this past off-season if not for his cumbersome contract---played extremely well last night, making 35 saves as the Ducks were thoroughly outplayed by their hosts. But unlike Valiquette, Giguere has not accepted his No. 2 status, and, in fact, he is more a No. 1a. It is hard to imagine that he would not start at least 30 games this season, if not more, in pushing Hiller constantly for more and more playing time.
As Carlyle told The Los Angeles Times last month, "Both players have been informed that it's not a given here. You have to go out and earn it."
Don't forget that Giguere had to deal with important off-ice issues last year with the death of his father. Perhaps with a more clear head this season, he could reclaim his No. 1 spot in Anaheim. But for now he ranks at the top of the NHL back-ups list with Valiquette.
Who else is on that list? Here's my Top Five of back-up goaltenders in the National Hockey League:
1. J.S. Giguere, Anaheim Ducks
2. Steve Valiquette, NY Rangers
3. Mathieu Garon, Columbus Blue Jackets
4. Ty Conklin, St. Louis Blues
5. Brian Boucher, Philadelphia Flyers
I didn't list any of the two (really three with Rick DiPietro included) Islanders goalies because really there is no clear back-up or starter between Dwayne Roloson and Martin Biron. And until Washington clears up who is No. 1, I can't place either Jose Theodore or Semyon Varlamov on this list, either.
What do you think of the list? Let me know your thoughts.
Posted in
Anaheim Ducks,
Henrik Lundqvist,
J.S. Giguere,
Jonas Hiller,
New York Rangers,
NHL,
Rink Rap,
Steve Valiquette
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