Goalie issue not going away
When Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville pulled goalie Cristobal Huet on Sunday, he said he did it to change the momentum of the game.
It's the same thing Quenneville has said all five times after pulling his starting goalie this year.
Believe him?
Or is this Quenneville's way of saying he was trying to change the momentum of the game by taking out a goalie who was not playing well?
When Quenneville removed Huet in the second period after Detroit took a 4-2 lead on 17 shots, it was the second time in four games since the Olympic break that the Hawks' starting goalie was pulled.
Quenneville said following the 5-4 loss to the Red Wings he didn't blame Huet and, yes, there were defensive breakdowns made that didn't help Huet. But every team makes mistakes and that’s when big saves must be made. That’s the goalie’s job.
The reality is this goaltending issue with the Hawks is not going away. Quenneville wants one of them to grab the job, but it's not happening and now there are only 17 games left until the playoffs.
Whenever Huet is given the chance to show he deserves to be the guy, games like Sunday happen.
So what are the Hawks do? They don't have much choice now but to keep turning to Huet and Antti Niemi and hope one of them catches fire. If it's Niemi, so be it. Huet shouldn't be handed the net simply because he has a big contract and more experience.
Observations:
Bannerman stood on his head and still let in 6 goals. Stars pull Beaupre in 3rd tied 6-6.
With today's rules and officiating there would be at least 3 penalties on each shift (no exaggeration). Lots of really cheap and dirty stuff that was per normal back then. The game has really changed.
Lots of hostility and everyone was going at, not just the big guys. No tap outs. No one would want to.
If Olzcyk played like Sutter he would be superstar. Soft, timid, makes the same mistakes he points out of others on TV. Stop right there!
I couldn't count all of the players who went on to coach in the NHL with varying degrees of success. Hartsburg, Ron Wilson, Sutter, Olzcyk, B. Murray, D. Wilson, etc...
Fun to watch. In the end, another year without a Cup.
We're struggling.
Huet & Niemi.
Seabrook.
Sharp, Versteeg, Madden, Brouwer.
Those are the definites.
The good news is no other team is high-flying either. The Caps have to choose between Varlamov and Theodore. San Jose surely likes Nabokov, but people have been overrating the Sharks for years and he's never put the team on his shoulders. Kovalchuk has arguably slowed NJ down, so our biggest threat is Luongo, who can steal games but, as has been evidenced, give them away as well.
Tim - What did you think? We will have the goalie issue this year and next. I just wish Niemi would step up.
Of course it is not going to go away, we have the same goalies all year and there was always a question. Even last year - there was doubt.
We did have a stretch in November and December where the team played great defensively and the goalies played well. Soft goals were limited and the Hawks got some lucky bounces. But it is hard to tell if the Hawks were playing better prior or the competition was less. But also during this time, the goalies really didn't have to make many big saves and were not really tested. Many shots on net were weak or the goalie got a good look. Overall, probably one or two good saves a game where Niemi probably made more quality saves than Huet.
But basically Jan and Feb, the goalies have been tested more - not with more shots but better quality scoring chances and they have not risen to the occasion.
But Huet has not showed anything for two years now - nothing has changed. he has always been inconsistent. one good game out of 3 or 4, doesn't hack it. If Huet wins a game 3 to 1 or 3-0 against a crappy or injured riddled team, faces 20 shots with maybe one good save - Is that good goaltending? and then you don't have to worry about goaltending?
Play Niemi!!! Coach Q sucks for not coming back with Niemi. Coach Q sucks for losing to Detroit again.
...is generally a bit overated IMO.
How many times do you see a team outshoot the other by 10, 15, 20 shots and they still lose? I have seen it happen quite often throughout the league for a number of years.
It's the quality of the opportunties that matter, and there is no question, the Hawks goalies have been seeing more quality opportunities in the last 12-15 games.
I'm not excusing the goaltenders, because they have been mediocre, but I also feel Q has been yanking their chain a bit too much as well.
So we don't have the best goalies in the NHL. We shouldn't worry. Our guys have shown us all season what they are capable of doing when their minds are focused.
We need decent performances from our goalies, we don't need perfection. We need the great stuff from the rest of the guys and we KNOW they can deliever.
Relax.
You are correct... As a longtime fan all I have to do is look up in the rafters and know the Hawks will somehow find a way to deliver another Cup, as they have done so many times in their rich history... I believe the Hawks own the record for most Stanley Cups of any Original Six team -- someone correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty positive I'm right on this... I don't know why I, or anyone else, would worry when the evidence is clearly there to support the assumption that somehow, someway, the Hawks will surely win yet another Cup! Who me, worry?
I hope you are being sarcastic (I think you are, but sarcasm doesn't always translate well to text) because The Blackhawks have the fewest Stanley Cups of any original six team...by a lot.
Canadiens 23 Cups
Leafs 13 Cups
Wings 11 Cups
Bruins 5 Cups
Rangers 4 Cups
Blackhawks 3 Cups
CRAP! Now I'm worried... Thanks for documenting my point and for taking the bait so hard! You are a beaut!! At least a 8 pounder, I'd guess!! Seriously, though, my point was that as Hawks fans we have more than enough reason to worry about what will derail this particular cup-bid as history suggests we will find a way to come up short, yet again. When goaltending is the concern, it's a bit over the top for anyone to tell the rest of us to "relax" considering the history and the importance of goaltending in hockey.
Reel 'em in.
...I should have read the whole thing before crafting my response. Towards the end the sarcasm becomes a little more obvious. Doh!
That's why there needs to be a sarcasm font. There'd be a lot less chirpin between posters who get sand in their box because they didn't understand that someone might be pulling their leg....
Coaches know hockey better than we do. How'd you like to be a fly on the wall in the coach's room discussing Huet. They know. I'm sure they've had to repaint the walls a few times. With that .865 save % since the Minny game, Huet has proven he's just not an NHL goalie. Good guy, nice guy...fine, but not worthy of the jersey. Think about how bad that .865 really is considering most of those shots are from the outside considering 90% of the time, the D has been pretty solid. Not many breakaways and 2 on1s this year. My guess is that save % is really around 60 taking out the shots that a 15 year old could stop.
Still, can't be perfect at every position. We'd love to have Ryan Miller in nets, but the Sabres would love to have 19 and 2. That's the nature of sports. It'll be nerve wracking, but really fun watching how this plays out. Think about it. It's gonna be fun. I've played a lot of hockey and winning 10-0 is no fun. Would you like to win the next 35 without a loss? .....Probably lol
To turn to the goalie brought in to lead us to the Stanley Cup...Hannu Toivonen! A shrewd move by Bowman to quietly bring him in at the deadline under the guise of simply being depth for Rockford. While Philly, WSH, and others were foolishly out trying to get Tim Thomas, Dwayne Roloson, or Dan Ellis, Stan went right for the throat. If the NYI can carry three goalies then so can we. There it is. The end of the goalie controversy and the answer is Toivonen.
Huet, .898
Niemi, .909
'Nuff said!
Looks to me like they both suck!
If we could put a cardboard cutout of King Kong Bundy in between the pipes. That save % would be around the same, and for over 6 million dollars less.
I was at the game in Minny in January, and when we were up 3-1 , in the first , shots were even 4-4. That is not Hawk hockey . We control the play , tempo etc. They scored alot on a few shots and stopped playing a complete game . Kind of like we have seen so many times in the second period, the team thinks they have the game in hand by winning the first period and stop playing the small parts of the game . If you finish your check, that player is , at least for a few extra seconds , out of the play . If you just skate and let him skate , he is more able to get open . teams seem to adjust to the game better in the second than us, and then we are like , ok , time to go for it again in the third. We had a great game against the Canucks because if we had our heads down , it was getting punched ,hit etc. You had to play , or get killed. If teams want to beat us , just play and we will beat ourselves by skating around , they just have to pick their spots
Ok, but it's worth a shot . Bring Corey up for a few games...he was great in AHL playoffs last couple of years. He can't do worse then what we have right now. So I say take the chance and see.
You could but Niemi and Huet would both have to clear waivers first. So do you think the Hawks would roll out Niemi and Crawford in the playoffs?
I am not bashing Crawford, but Niemi has a 1 way deal where he has to clear waivers and that isn't happening. I could only PRAY that somebody would claim Huet, but that won't happen.
I think we are stuck with what we have, unless somebody gets hurt.
I believe Crawford is the one who needs to clear waivers, and Niemi wouldn't. I seem to recall THAT being issue number one, when the season started--that if Crawford were to start the season and suck, Crawford would need to clear waivers if he was sent to Rockford, and Niemi wouldn't
But, it's not all the goalies fault! Defense has been much more porous over the last month. I would agree with Sassone though. Okay, so the defense isn't playing as well. That's when the goalie needs to step up and make a big save. If I look at both goalies, Niemi makes the big save much more often than Huet does. That has been my argument all along. That Huet rarely to never makes that big save. I've seen Niemi do it many times. And, waaaay too often, Huet is out of position.
Bottom line for me. Quenneville needs to pick one, tell him he's the guy, and go with it. These guys are human, and they're going to be pressing knowing that if they make a mistake, they're out.
And, if I was going to pick one, it would be Huet. I'm sure that would surprise you based on the rest of my post. But, looking long term. Huet needs to play to have any chance of getting rid of him next year without eating his salary or a portion of his salary. If he sits they're either going to be stuck with him again next year or be willing to part with him for a lower end draft pick if they don't want to have to eat some of his pay.
We can argue about Huet and/or Niemi, but some people are getting a little overboard with the criticizm of the goalies. Huet may not have played his best game yesterday, but to put it all on him is absurd. He overplayed the puck on the tip-in goal? The Detroit skater was all alone on the opposite side of the crease...all alone. No defenseman to be seen anywhere. On the Bertuzzi screen, Seabrook was a good 4 steps in front of Bertuzzi. I love Seabrook, and I know that he knows better, but he absolutely CANNOT allow Bertuzzi to be left alone in front of the net, much less behind him. Turnovers were the reason we lost the game, not the goaltenders.
I'm using yesterday's game as an example, but this is nothing new.
I usally do not agree with Millbury, but he is right about 1 thing. When break downs like you have described occurr in a game. The goalie is counted on to make the big stops, not just the easy ones. Great example, Ryan Miller did that all through the Winter games. Huet is far from a Ryan Miller type, but we expect him to come up big when the rest of the team breaks down. Blame him or not, but 1 big save can be a game changer.
Great post, Panger.
That is exactly the issue. Was Seabrook screening Huet on the 1st goal? I don't know...I watch the game once, and that is it. I dont' go back and study different angles unless it's a game changing play, to cement my point. I rely on the eye test. Howard made a lot of stops yesterday with guys in front of him, based on positioning alone.
But you are right.....If Huet was in the position he was supposed to be in, he probably stops that Rafalski shot as it wasn't high to the corner. That's the difference. The guy isn't coming up with the big save consistently. Makes a huge glove save vs Vancouver, and a diving stop again (out of position, but at least he stopped that one)....but yesterday he was no where to be found.
"Makes a huge glove save vs Vancouver"
I found this quite the contrary on Friday. I watched that save over and over again on the DVR. Huet didn't need to raise or lower his glovehand to stop the puck on that shot during the 5 on 3. However, after snaring the puck he raised his glove wildly over his head to embellish the so called "great" save.
I was then even more surprised how many on Friday after the game posted how wonderful the save was. To me, it was about the best we can expect from Huet. If it's not going to hit him in the chest or be shot directly at his glove chances are it will get through.
That's what all goalies do. It's a natural reaction.
Most of goal tending is positioning. give him his props for having his glove in the right place and taking away that area.
Puck hits glove = glove moves = goalie makes sure glove does not go backwards and windmills it.
BFD.
Not being in position, which is Huet's biggest problem, is a bigger issue.
...positioning is clearly Huet's achilles heel, and you saw it in the Wings 1st and 3rd goals yesterday.
At the end of the day, goalies don't win Stanley Cups, teams do, and the Hawks just need whoever they have in goal to be steady - not great.
Nobody is asking Huet to be immortal. All he has to do is make a key save here or there, and have a save percentage of 90%+. Keep out the soft goals, and don't lose games for this team.
It's funny....none of the Huet apologists are here.....Go figure. Yet, if he bounces back and has a great game vs LA, we'll be dictated to about how great he is, etc.....
OK Steve, let's go over this again,
Jason William's goal: Ladd & Hendry are "covering" Williams in the slot, that's over 400 lbs of man-force and yet they cannot tie up or otherwise lift his stick? Goal, Detroit.
I can't even remember, was it Rafalski's or Lidstrom's goal -- Seabrook PERFECTLY screens Huet, standing right in his line of vision. Doesn't try to block the shot, doesn't try to get out of the way, doesn't try to move anyone out of the slot. Looked like a deer in the headlights. Watch that replay from the camera view behind Huet and you'll see it for yourself.
The Hawks don't get out of the 1st period w/a 2-0 lead if Huet sucked as bad as most of you imply. Total FAIL on the part of the entire team in the 2nd period -- Philco, agree with you, why not just clear the D zone and stop retreating/playing w/the puck in order to have "puck possession time?" Look at the 2nd period stats of this team over the last 45 days -- horrendous. And we can put it on the players, yes -- but we have to ultimately put it on this coaching staff. Both Huet and Niemi are capable of taking this team deep into the playoffs -- however, I happen to believe it is time for a coaching change. How 'bout that??? I'll turn it all around and call for Q's head (and his staff). Let's really fire up this blog and its inhabitants!
Savvyone---I know you played this game, so I expect a little bit more from you....You were dead on last year during the Wings series.
Goal 1: IT has a lot to do with Seabrook holding on to the puck too long behind his net, when he had a chance to fire it off the glass and down. He got stick checked, and did a half-@ss clear. Rafalski then fires a slap slot that is knee high, and easily can be stopped. I'm on Huet for this because he did NOT move over and was in the middle of the net. IF he's in the right position that puck hits him in the chest, regardless of who or what is screening him. You guys act like any goalie who is screened, can't save a puck....Come on.......
Goal 2: Not much he could do on that one. He still wasn't tracking the puck the way he should have been. Goalies rely on fundamentals when they are screened. Look at Miller. He made NUMEROUS saves when he was screened because he was in the right position, with the right mechanics. Hell, Howard made 2 during the 3rd period......
Goal 3: He badly overcommited to the shooter, as he's done a LOT this season (check how many BS wrap-arounds he's given up because of it...@minny, @dallas to name a few), and while the guy should have been tied up, Huet was WAY out of position. SHould have been pulled here. He's partially to blame on this one. He wasn't even IN the picture.
Goal 4: The breakaway isn't his fault, but when you give a guy the whole left side to shoot at, it's not hard to convert. AGain, his positioning was off. Just like Thorton's goal on 12/22 vs San Jose. He made himself small, and was way too deep in his net.
He got smoked 5 hole on 2 BAD goals vs Vancouver. Both were quick wrist shots where he was SLOW to react. Same against edmonton.
Like I said, a .865 save percentage since the Minnesota game in january, and then he proclaims during the Olympics he's ready to go on a roll and then has a .831 save percentage in 4 games!!!! He's trending downward.....This isn't a fluke thing....It's been 14+ games and he's NOT getting any better. Why continue to play him and HOPE he figures it out?
I don't expect him to SAVE everything, but the weak goals, bad positioning are going to KILL this team come playoffs. You can't argue with that. Play Niemi for 7-8 games, see what he has. IN the meantime try to salvage whatever you can with Huet and get this guy right, in case Niemi implodes!!!
Nobody is intimidated by Huet in the west. I can promise you that. Just like nobody is intimidated by Theodore in the east.....
But take a look at what you're saying -- Seabrook f-ing up on the clear, Huet screened on 2 of the shots. I'll give you the overplaying part -- an aspect of it, IMO is simply trying to be aggressive and ending up doing too much. But even though he overplayed, you have to admit (and yes, I have played at the jr level and still play as an old man today), how in the fruitcake do 2 Hawks NOT tie up Jason Williams. C'Mon, the guy is not the Hulk. Pathetic.
It just overall ticks me off -- Q knows we don't have the best goalies in the world -- but I don't believe they are the worst. His game plan has helped expose Huey 1st and now Niemi to the rest of the league that they both can be easily beat. So why not come up with a game plan that allows your goalies to be successful????
To Philco's hammering of the same point -- clear the freaking puck out of the zone, stop playing with it so you can have "puck control."
I do want to remind you all that I never believed Khabi was all that great last year. Look at how many goals he game up in that Vancouver series, even in the clinching game.
I'm going to put most of this "slump" on Q and his staff. Just like last year -- you mean you can't figure out how to best tackle an opponent that does "X" when you face them? Then what are you doing running a team at this level. He also seems to have little feel for making the right line combos. Kudos to the guys for them not complaining about it. I'd still like to see Brouwer back to Toews/Kane. And as for Bolland . . . time to think about trading him come summer. Damaged goods, he's had plenty of time to get his game legs back and he doesn't look very good to me.
Brouwer: 100% agree.....Sharp looks lost on that line.
Bolland: 100% agree....I can't believe we signed this jack @ss knowing he had back issues for 3 million a year. Havlat made this guy last year, and the only way he scores is getting tap ins. Great he's a defensive center.....but he's not a #2 center and if he they can find a taker....happy trails. The Hawks DID NOT miss the guy for 1 minute when he was gone this season.
Oh, I agree with your post about tweaking the system. I think it's time to dump the run n gun, pinching defensemen game and limit who does that and when. Why the hell they pinch in close games early on, or with 1-2 goal leads is beyond me? They are opening themselves up for chances against and leaving the goalies out to dry. THus, they let teams back into games they have no business being in. It's maddening.
Like I said, I would love to see this team get a 2-0 lead, and sit on it. WE have enough skill at forward to keep the pressure on, and let the defenseman sit back. Detroit did this at times on Sunday and forced the Hawks to make hope plays and turn over possession.
Do you see who they started in net last night, and who's been getting a LOT more playing time?
Not the high priced veteran....
They're probably just tired of wasting their superior hockey knowledge on us bafoons who clearly wouldn't know icing from offsides...
He raised his glove hand wildly? I'm gonna have to call you out on that one. Total BS. How fast do you think that puck was moving when it hit his glove? Do you know the first thing about basic physics? Newton's third law of motion? Ring any bells? For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Ever heard that one? When puck hits glove, glove reacts at a force equal and opposite to the force exerted by the puck, therefore glove moves up and back. Add to that the fact that he appeared to be slightly off balance, and the movement of his glove hand may appear to be slightly exaggerated, but if you expect me to believe that it was an intentional embellishment on Huet's part you are friggin' nuts.
I have no confidence in Huet's ability to lead the Hawks to the promised land, but some of these comments are just plain idiotic.
Thanks for the physics lesson QBert but I should have explained that the puck was heading at the glove anyway and his hand was moving up slightly, he then stood up immediately and while doing so swung his arm over his head.
Better yet, instead of calling someone an idiot, go watch the replay yourself and you'll see what I mean.
99% of all saves in the NHL are embelished. I guess it's the goalies way to combat the goal celebrations.
I saw the save live, and it could have gone high...Gave the frenchman the benefit of doubt.
Nobody has mentioned, I don't think, is one of the reasons the save looked so dramatic was because Huet was on his way to overplaying the shot and had to reach back and to his left. However, given the situation and the difficulty of the save, I stood and applauded and commend him on his effort in doing his job: keeping it out of the goal!
...about the goalie situation as well, but I also feel the Hawks overall defensive coverage has been very inconsistant in the last 10-15 games.
With that said, Huet seems to really struggle in regards to fighting through screens, and this is something that isn't going to go away. On the third goal yesterday, he also overplayed that big time (although the Wing player should not have been allowed to tip that in).
I'm going to guess Huet will get the start against the Kings to see if he can bounce back. If he plays fairly well, he will keep getting the net until we see another breakdown on his part. Niemi seems capable, but it is also a concern that he played much better when the expectations on him were lower, and he has struggled a bit when the expectations have increased.
Right now, I'd say its 50/50 whether Huet or Niemi gets the call come playoff time, and let's just hope one of them can raise it up a couple notches.
Great concept, especially for a team game. Can anyone tell me why the Hawks are unwilling or unable to finish checks? How many times did Detwat lay into our players? They were taking the body all the flippin time. How many times did they win loose pucks in the corner on dump ins? How many times did you see the Hawk D-men going for the puck with their heads on a swivel? How many times did Detwat intercept our predictable clear outs along the boards? How many times did we peal away from Detwat players and not even bother? We hit them very few times with authority. Only Ladd was on a tear physically, and the rest were inconsistent at best. Maybe every one of them should have a Kuntsler confrontation to motivate them?
They play a full 60 minutes and the goalie controversy goes away.
Bring on the Hansen brothers. If ya can't beat em, cheat em.
Remember, they raised the cup.
It looks to me like this has turned into HUETS TEAM.
The team needs to go back and start playing the way they did in the beginning of the season.
Forget that huet is even back there..OW WAIT, HE ISN'T BACK THERE.
I still want that Camaro to put his #39 all over it.
I just hated the response to Detwat's repeatedly taking the body. We come out of Friday's game after responding to the Kuntsler led Canucks, and then lay down to Detwat? Ya can't tell me we can't catch them. Over and over again the D got beat to the puck, over and over again we lost board battles or gave it away with our predictable clear outs. I'm not even getting into the officiating. That's a waste of time. It's amazing that the "Detroit Pick" play is still allowed these days, as subtle as they do it now. Refs blown calls or no calls, ya gotta play better.
I'm really tired of the goalie debate which everyone on this blog knew was a team weakness since those two European games to start the year. My concern yesterday and for the last month at least is all those cute give and goes the team is doing. (usually with Kane, Keith and Campbell). I especially hate to see it when they do it just inside the blueline of the offensive zone. Yesterday I watched Kane lose the puck twice trying to stickhandle around Detroit players just inside the offensive blueline. (goal 2 and 5) Detroit was able to breakout with speed and our d men were scrambling because they were caught pinching ! This is a risky play against teams like Detroit who have speed and savvy players like Datsyuk and Zetterberg. The team has played pretty sloppy the last few weeks and definitely have to improve their defense w/ our fragile netminders behind them. I'm anxious to see the game next week with Washington as they seem to be in the same boat w/ weak goalies. Last year everyone seen what happened to them in game 7 against Pittsburgh using a rookie netminder. That possibly cost them the cup! Is the same thing going to happen to us? Bowman Jr should have prevented that problem and got us a playoff proven performer in goal. He had a whole season to figure out a solution and failed !!!!
I'll bet anyone here....the Capitals pump in at least 5. Ovechkin may have a hat-trick before the ridiculous "in-game" giveaway crap is complete. Having seen Kessler score on a weak shot through skates, five hole.....Ovechkin will be firing away from every single angle.
The Capitals will exploit every single bad pinch, or turnover, and put on a clinic. If you haven't watched one of their games....try to before Sunday. They are ridiculous. Yes, their goaltending is just as bad.
If it's Huet vs. Theodore, I wouldn't be surprised if a combined 14 goals will be scored in the game.
As I emailed another guy on this blog late last night, Huet is NOT trending favorably since he imploded in the 3rd period vs Minnesota back in January....Since then?
6-5-2 (he had 1 ND), a 3.11 GAA, and a stellar .865 save percentage.....
Since the Olympic break?
2-1, 3.55 GAA, and a monsterous .831 save percentage
So, how long do you continue to ride this guy? It's not the GAA that alarms me, because that happens.... It's the save percentage that is going to kill this team. Like I said yesterday, even if the Hawks give up 20 shots a game, Huet is going to give up at least 3 goals, and to expect your offense to score 4 goals every single playoff game is expecting a lot. Especially, if they run into a hot goalie, or a guy that steals a game. Which usually will happen. Do you think any team in the western conference team will be intimidated if Huet is in net?
Like somebody else said, I'm done bashing this guy. He is lost technically, and even more so mentally. You can make all the excuses in the world for everytime he gets lit up, but his five hole has been brutal, and his positioning is off.
If he was in position, Ralfalski's shot PROBABLY doesn't go in since it wasn't tipped, and Huet would have that angle covered. Instead he was lost and the whole left side was open. Same on the breakaway to Fippula. Either get this guy right with lots of video, and practice and then put him back in a week.....or ride Niemi. Howver, they need to stop giving away points because they feel they owe this guy the chance because of his contract.
Make no mistake about it...Huet isn't the only one who should be getting ripped:
--Seabrook: Somebody needs to sit this guy down and figure out what the hell is wrong with him. He's been brutal since January, and even got benched in the Olympics for doing what has been costing the Hawks with his turnovers and slow footed play.
--Sharp: Can we end this ridiculous experiment with him on the point on the PP? If he could actually hit the net that would be fantastic, instead he airmails chances that lead to easy clears for the defense. He had a prime to chance to get a rebound with the Hawks lurking but missed badly to the right. He also has been INVISIBLE lately, and maybe it's time to bring Brouwer back up to the top.
GOOD POST Steve..as you might expect the players are standing behind Huet, but some of their post game comments were interesting. Toews.."If we let in 5 or 6 goals in a game it is not our goalies fault. That is a problem where we have to take responsibility as a team, all we can do is let the goaltenders do their job and stay positive. They are working harder than anybody to contribute to our team." Andrew Ladd.."We are not doing our goaltenders any favors, we are giving other teams open looks and turning pucks over so the other teams get breakaways and odd man rushes. We are not getting in lanes and blocking shots. It's easy to blame our goalies, but everyone in this room needs to look at how they are playing. These problems have been going on for a long time before the (olympic) break and they need to get addressed." Duncan Keith couldn't understand why anyone would blame Huet for this game," I don't know why anyone would blame him (Huet), we are giving up breakway goals, odd man rush goals, screened goals, those are all goals we didnt give him any help on. We gave up back door tap in's, us players need to look in a mirror and quit relying on our goalies so much." If these players are correct, and from the look of yesterday they are.
Who's to blame. I have my thoughts, I'll let eveyone post theirs.
They will say that, but their reaction on the ice and the bench says different. Especially, when a soft goal goes in.
If they believed what they were preaching, they wouldn't go into a shell each time their goalies imploded.
The look Q gave Huet when he pulled him yesterday...OUCH..which is the same feeling I get when I look at Q's W-L record vs Detroit in regular and post season. Plus I am sick of lightbulb head on NBC..
He's a joke. What happened to the way he use to be? No bobblehead of him this year.
He already is one live and in person. He can't hold a pass or hit the net with a shot.
But he's sooooooooooo cute! At least that's what my wife (and girlfriend) think! Me, personally, think he's a tad bit overrated and a tad bit overpaid at $3.9MM/year. He has got to do a much better job of hitting the net with his shot which seems to be a fairly consistent problem for several of our Hawk forwards. Put Buff on the left wing with Hossa and Toews, put Sharp on the left wing with Bolland and Hossa, put Brouwer on the left wing with Madden and Ladd and trade Versteeg as part of a package to get a goaltender for the playoffs (oh, wait, that ship has sailed so I guess we have a glut of forwards going forward!). Oh, the humanity!!