Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingo
any time a debate about goaltending comes up I kind of interject the same point.;
Goaltending transcends goaltending. When you're goaltending is weak players start playing differently than they would when they trust their goaltender. They alter their game to prevent all shots which takes them out of position and creates breakdowns that would suggest goaltending wasn't the problem.
There's not trust there (though Ortio may be building) and it's clear by their lack of control in their game this season.
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This runs both ways, though.
If a goalie can't trust the defensemen to take away passes in front of the net, he has to start cheating away from shooting threats and towards the passing threats. "Aww, WTF goalie? You can't even hold your post??"
If the goalie can't trust the defense to support him, he can't just drop off the puck behind the net, he has to try to play it. "Aw man, this goalie handles the puck like a grenade, of course he gets scored on!"
Hockey is a team sport, and most of the time the guy who ends up looking bad isn't the guy who messed things up in the first place.
I'm not saying this is the case in Calgary regarding the goalies, I'm just saying that for the record, I think there are just as many good goalies who look bad because of shoddy defense, as there are teams that play tight because their goalie sucks.