Wally112pac said:
Meh.
Ward was great early on but probably came a bit back down to earth in the last while.
IMO he could use another year in the AHL starting 50+ games.
That's not to say he won't be a great NHL goalie he just needs to work on consistency like most young goalies.
I can get behind that statement, it's not too far off. Like you said though, his start to the year was just amazing and it was obvious that his confidence was through the roof for that early stretch. If there was one mistake that i've seen that Laviolette made this year, and i'm certainly not trying to criticize, it was benching Ward for that extended period of time after having one off game and not playing him at all for a good stretch. He was subsequently sent down to the AHL to be brought back to playing speed, and aside from a few odd games, he hasn't been nearly the goaltender since coming back.
However, he has shown a few great performances since then but the consistancy needs to be there. The 40 save with 3 goals allowed against Philidelphia was just HUGE for him. 3 goals and 39 saves against NYI was impressive. 29 saves and 1 goal allowed against NYI earlier in the year and another 35 save 3 goals allowed against them. 31 saves 1 goal allowed against Atlanta was clutch as well. See what I mean by those games though? He has been facing a ridiculous number of shots in the games he has been giving up goals in. From those games I just listed, he averaged about 35 shots against per game and those listed were a few of his better games.
In addition to the poster who said that Toivonen only recieved two weeks worth of the improved lineup without Thornton, he actually accrued most of his more impressive games behind that new lineup that was actually winning games. If you don't believe me, take a look at Toivonen's splits after December 1st when Thornton was traded:
http://tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/gamelog/?id=3098&team=BOS
Goals against and Save % before December 1st: 3.22 gaa and .898%
Goals against and Save % after December 1st: 2.00 gaa and .934%
That means the defensive style they have played since the Thornton trade has served him well. I'm not saying he didn't improve over that time, but the free wheeling style, similar to that the Hurricanes play, that the Bruins were trying to employ at the start of the year lead to less impressive statistics for Toivonen like they have done for Ward. Granted, the two situations aren't exactly alike but there are some similarities there. I would be willing to estimate that if Ward played on a team that was more defensively responsible, his statistics would be much improved due to the way he has been playing thus far in the year. If he was playing as terrible as his numbers indicate, Carolina would have gone after a backup goaltender long before now considering the circumstances. He's still 11-5-2, despite his other numbers not looking as impressive.