Player Discussion All Purpose Goaltending Thread

WhereAreTheCookies

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Feb 16, 2022
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He was given every chance to stay here. He chose to leave.

Besides.....do you really think he'd put up those numbers behind THIS defense??

Narrator: No, he would not.
Not to mention Boston has some of the best defensive forwards in the league, along with Bergeron who may be the best defensive center ever. They are near or at the top of the league in just about every defensive metric that gets tracked. Ullmark's been great, but so has the team in front of him.
 

dortt

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Sep 21, 2018
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NHL goalies are expected to make a few of the saves they shouldn't make in a given game.

They likely have 4 or 5 such shots a game. Our team only needs the goalie to make 1 or 2 of those saves to give us a chance, while not allowing any soft goals. Anderson usually does this. UPL does not.

It's not just making the saves they should make. We need a big save or two each game, as an NHL goalie gives his team
 
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Chainshot

Give 'em Enough Rope
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Really glad we didn't acquire John Gibson. His performance is not surprising to me, but I know some on here really wanted him.
Yep. Here's what I posted a little while ago in the Ducks thread. He's getting absolutely shelled:

"That -60 goal differential is impressive. Woof. The next worse team is Chicago at -36. They are almost twice as bad as the 2nd worst team in that stat. And that's with John Gibson in net.

Gibson has endured the highest xGA and High Danger Shots Against of any goalie in the league. Just to put that in perspective -- he's faced 211 high danger shots. The next highest is Helley at 157. Guys like Sorokin, Oettinger and Vasilevsky have faced in the 125-135 range. Martin Jones in SEA has faced only 97 high danger shots and has played only 1 less game than Gibson. [All advanced stats courtesy of naturalstattrick]

TLDR: Gibson is facing a short-range firing squad every night."

Gibson has been left out to dry. See above.
 
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TehDoak

Chili that wants to be here
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I think that at this point, if Demko isn't available, you find a dice roll and just carry 3 goalies. It's not like Anderson is going to play more than 20 games anyways.
 

Jim Bob

RIP RJ
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Gibson has been left out to dry. See above.
Gibson is not a guy that I would expect can really help the Sabres. He has beaten down behind a bad Ducks team. If he is to get back to being a top tier goalie, he needs a change of scenery to a better team. For instance, if they swapped Bobrovsky and Gibson, that might be a place where Gibson could turn things around.

The other challenge is whether Gibson would be willing to make the technical changes that he may need to make due to the change in offensive play throughout the league.

The changes that Matt Murray started after the trade to Ottawa are similar to what Gibson might need to make. And I have heard a report or two that suggested that he has been resistant to change.
 

Jim Bob

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One additional point to be made here is how public data tend to under-value odd-man rushes as it pertains to xG. The 2022-23 Sabres are a high-event team. I believe that goalies are at times disproportionately punished (statistically speaking) in that type of environment. Odd-man rushes in particular are an aspect of the game that requires some fine-tuning in most public xG models.

Based on both the underlying, (and what I remember from watching the 2009-2011 teams over a decade ago) the Sabres are way more high-event now than they were under Lindy Ruff. So, the idea that the 2022-23 Sabres would be a fringe playoff team with a league-average GSAx rate may be slightly ambitious.

There’s also the possibility that Comrie could come back from injury and provide positive results. The team’s goaltending trajectory isn’t necessarily set in stone. Still, the addition of a reliable starting netminder needs to be a top priority for this organization between now and opening night in 2023-24. No single roster spot has cost them more points in the standings (or has the propensity to continue to do so).

This isn’t as easy as it sounds. We just saw an example where even an elite goalie like Ryan Miller experienced a massive GSAx drop from one year to the next. Goalies are volatile, and even one with a historically strong track record could drop off a cliff in a given season. No other position is so prone to random (and dramatic) spurts of success and/or failure.

Data, scouting, and luck all need to factor into the equation. Just because it’s a difficult task, however, doesn’t mean the Sabres shouldn’t be exhausting all efforts to accomplish it.
 

Chainshot

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Gibson is not a guy that I would expect can really help the Sabres. He has beaten down behind a bad Ducks team. If he is to get back to being a top tier goalie, he needs a change of scenery to a better team. For instance, if they swapped Bobrovsky and Gibson, that might be a place where Gibson could turn things around.

The other challenge is whether Gibson would be willing to make the technical changes that he may need to make due to the change in offensive play throughout the league.

The changes that Matt Murray started after the trade to Ottawa are similar to what Gibson might need to make. And I have heard a report or two that suggested that he has been resistant to change.

Buffalo is not a good defensive team either as we see. I would like them to look harder at finding a way to prevent goals via skaters in the near term before re-assessing who is their tandem for next season this summer.
 

Jim Bob

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Feb 27, 2002
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Buffalo is not a good defensive team either as we see. I would like them to look harder at finding a way to prevent goals via skaters in the near term before re-assessing who is their tandem for next season this summer.
With the team being so good offensively and so good on the PP and so bad defensively and so bad on the PK, it does seem to lead back to two things besides the goalies:

1) System and coaching
2) So much youth

Faceoffs and defensive play are two things that tend to come with experience. And you cannot microwave that no matter how much we want to.

The question is whether the coaching staff can figure out a way to scheme stuff up so that they give up fewer cross seam passes and ultra high danger chances against without stifling the offense.

We also have to hope that Comrie can give them some better goaltending when he gets back.

And Adams has to come up with a better tandem than Comrie-UPL for 23-24.
 

Jacob582

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Oct 16, 2012
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I think that at this point, if Demko isn't available, you find a dice roll and just carry 3 goalies. It's not like Anderson is going to play more than 20 games anyways.
Detroit is carrying 3 goalies after claiming Hellberg a few weeks back.
 

Jim Bob

RIP RJ
Feb 27, 2002
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Rochester, NY


A goaltender's style and game plan indicate how they play the position. Some goaltenders are more aggressive and rely on quick reflexes to make saves, while others are more conservative and rely on positioning and anticipation. A goaltender's style and game plan can significantly impact a team's success, and matching it with its genetic structure is crucial.

A team's genetic structure refers to the player's physical and mental attributes. This includes size, strength, speed, endurance, and mental traits such as competitiveness, determination, and resilience. A team's genetic structure can significantly impact their style of play and how they approach the game.

When a goaltender's style and game plan are mismatched with a team's genetic structure, it can lead to problems. For example, if a team has a lot of big, physical players who like to play a physical, aggressive style, but their goaltender is more suited to a conservative, positional game, it can cause conflict and lead to a lack of success.

On the other hand, when a goaltender's style and game plan are well-matched with a team's genetic structure, it can lead to success. For example, if a team has a lot of small, skilled players who like to play a fast, up-tempo game, and their goaltender is agile and quick, they can complement each other and create a winning formula.

This last part would seem to point towards Devon Levi being a good long term fit if the Sabres keep playing this style of game.
 
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ValJamesDuex

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Nov 4, 2021
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Great news. I'm still a Comrie supporter, I thought he's been fine this season. It's next season that I'm worried about with only UPL as a backup.
I will give him a few months, but if things look the same...

 

Fjordy

私たちはそうでした - 私たちはそうではありません。
Jun 20, 2018
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Heard rumblings about Vejmelka

Does Portillo + get it done?
One Arizona fan on the main board asked Portillo + 2nd. Although probably Arizona GM would ask for 1st+.
 

Club

zach benson fan club.
Mar 2, 2015
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One Arizona fan on the main board asked Portillo + 2nd. Although probably Arizona GM would ask for 1st+.
Most GMs overrate their players. 1st is very coveted the next 2 drafts. I think what that Arizona fan warrants for him, is very fair for both sides.
 

Fjordy

私たちはそうでした - 私たちはそうではありません。
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Most GMs overrate their players. 1st is very coveted the next 2 drafts. I think what that Arizona fan warrants for him, is very fair for both sides.
Yes, but Arizona GM seems to be patient and principled. If Portillo + 2nd was enough, of course I would easily do it.
 
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Club

zach benson fan club.
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Yes, but Arizona GM seems to be patient and principled. If Portillo + 2nd was enough, of course I would easily do it.
He's just not worth the 1st. A top end draft filled with players that project to have elite careers (coming from the peanut gallery as I personally haven't paid much attention to the draft)

A top end goalie prospect + a prospect who could very well be #1 in the pipeline for a team, is just not worth it for a guy, I do like. Who you never know where he'll be in 3 years.

That's just me. I've been wrong before. Time will tell.
 

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