Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingo
How so?
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Think back to the "huge advantage" Mike Smith gives a team, for example, starting breakouts with a really accurate long pass. That truly does change a team's potential strategy in their own end (now I think Smith is an example where we saw the occasional great play and quite a few gaffes, to the point where we wished he'd just stay in net).
I bring up that example because it's one obvious way a particular goaltender, in his puck handling style, can affect the whole team's positional game. Now, carry this on, we've seen Markstrom bobble the puck behind the net and get robbed a few times now, going back to that egregious goal some 18 seconds into the game against the Oilers in the playoffs. I think quite a few of us have had some "Just tend the goal" thoughts about Markstrom. Vladar is more conservative or more careful, or just simply better at it maybe. So that's a worry the defensemen might not have with Vladar.
Another vast difference between Vladar and Markstrom that I see, and have no stats or anything to back it up, is a style difference. Vladar goes down early and stays down long. This makes the bottom of the net impenetrable, his weakness is mobility and higher shots because of this. Markstrom is more mobile but he's also not covering quite as much low down as Vladar often does. So scrambly play in front of one goalie might be less common or less worrying than in front of the other, the defense might have an easier time predicting puck movement... I dunno, but they are very different players and that yields very different scenarios on the ice, something the skaters have to react to.
So I don't think it's crazy to say the team looks or plays different in front of one goalie or the other, I think it's a natural result of the play tendencies of each guy. I don't buy the narrative that the Flames are super scared to have Markstrom in net and totally comfy with Vladar. They are different guys is all.