Quote:
Originally Posted by GioforPM
It was 5 on 4 IIRC (4 on 4 plus an extra man). He was deep to begin with because there was a fair bit of traffic. He was also likely worried about a cross crease, though the shot was the main threat. And it was still on the post. It was one of the harder shots I’ve seen all year.
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It was a 4 on 4, and there was no traffic (everyone was tied up), and Kopitar had a clear lane. He skated in about 10 feet and was clearly going to shoot. Markstrom was set for the shot, and was at the top of his crease. However, when Kopitar shot, Markstrom collapsed backwards and was actually a couple feet inside his crease when the shot went past him. If he is at the top of the crease - and there was no reason not to be - he would have made that save. Great shot, yes. But there would have been no net if Markstrom played it properly.
I have referred to him collapsing inward a few times now - it has been an ongoing problem this year. When the shot comes, instead of pushing forward, aggressively, he is collapsing inward and as a result, is too small in his net.
I posted a pic of where he was in the crease when the shot was passing him. It shows that there were no other Kings to be concerned about. I wish I knew how to capture a video clip because a few frames earlier, when Kopitar is in the act of shooting, Markstrom is further out than he is in the pic.