Unbelievable

[Le Golie]

If the Finnish D wasn't so weak then why the teams we played against outshot us in every game. Did you even watch the games Finland played? For instance in the Swe game there were only one team on the ice. Finland had only 20 or so shots on goal while Sweden had 53 and watching the game was 60 minutes of pain for me. Our D couldn't do anything to stop the Swedish players coming into our zone to create plays and scoring chances.

That being said our D was flat out horrible.

Yes I watched the game. Which of those 53 shots should have gone in? Which of those shots was from a great position? Finland's D contained Sweden's offence, forced shots from the perimeter and beat them to all the dangerous rebounds.

 

[Joe MacMillan]

Yes I watched the game. Which of those 53 shots should have gone in? Which of those shots was from a great position? Finland's D contained Sweden's offence, forced shots from the perimeter and beat them to all the dangerous rebounds.

For example Salomonsson's shot from the rebound on PP in the third. Rask was left out to dry once again in that play.

I'm not saying all the 53 shots Rask faced were difficult ones, but if you make 53 saves in a game you must perform better than averege.

 

[Le Golie]

For example Salomonsson's shot from the rebound on PP in the third. Rask was left out to dry once again in that play.

I'm not saying all the 53 shots Rask faced were difficult ones, but if you make 53 saves in a game you must perform better than averege.

Left high and dry? When a goalie kicks out a rebound like that, it's the defence left high and dry by himself. That rebound should have never been put out into the slot first of all. And second of all - to his credit, Rask was in the middle of the net and waiting for the shot. He would have had to get out of the way for it to be a goal.

It was probably the best chance the Swede's had all game but A) It was Rask's fault that the rebound was ther, and B) Salomonsson hit him.

53 saves is an impressive number no matter how you slice it, but Stephen Hawking could stop 53 poorly aimed shots from the perimeter.

 

[BuppY]

Le Goalie I usualy side with you and I think your a very bright poster and your very well knowledgable guy when it comes to Hockey. I know you play in net and I know you know your goalie stuff well. I've read alot of your stuff. In this case I disagree I think your not giving enough credit the Tuukka. He was very solid in net I agree he didn;t face a lot of difficult shots in that game against the Swedes but he came up big when he had to, He kept his team init facing 53 shots in a game gets tiring and sometimes you let in a weak one due to fatigue. He played well against Canada and kept them in the game until the 3rd when Canada scored another 2 goals to make it 4-0. The Finns had a chance in the first and 2nd to come back but showed no desire whats so ever and had no Offense. The States game today he made few big saves and the Jackson was a weak goal that got past him and you can see he was very frustrated after that goal but he kept playing well and took hoem the Gold.

 

[Lobstertainment]

A goalies job is to make the initial save, any after that is bonus, rebounds are the defense's job to clear, Rask needs to work on rebounds, but they're not 100% controlable, especially off the pads, you can't blame rask for a rebound off a pad save.

I worked weekly for years on controling my rebounds, and off the pads there isn't much you can do except pounce on them if you can.

Rask would do good to do what I did though, get an instructor to use a machine to fire low shots on net and work using his stick to direct those shots into the corners.

I disagree with your assement that the Finnish defense did a good job, I really think the Finns defense was really shallow this year, they gave up over 200 shots on goal in 7 games, that's a porous defense, I'm not expecting a Canada defense that can limit teams to sub-15 shots, but Finland could really have done a lot better then 30+ a night.

and 53 shots, be it from the perimiter or up close is really tiring on a goalie, physiclly and mentally, dealing with a workload like that is being left hung out to dry. in the Quarter and Semi's they gave up 90+ shots, 90+!

 

[Joe MacMillan]

Left high and dry? When a goalie kicks out a rebound like that, it's the defence left high and dry by himself. That rebound should have never been put out into the slot first of all. And second of all - to his credit, Rask was in the middle of the net and waiting for the shot. He would have had to get out of the way for it to be a goal.

It was probably the best chance the Swede's had all game but A) It was Rask's fault that the rebound was ther, and B) Salomonsson hit him.

53 saves is an impressive number no matter how you slice it, but Stephen Hawking could stop 53 poorly aimed shots from the perimeter.

I think everyone agrees with you on his rebound control but that's the D's job to take Salomonsson out there because A) he deflected the shot so the rebound wasn't Rask's fault and B) if the defencemen had done their job there wouldn't have probably been the rebound in the first place (not deflection).

And I disagree that it was the only 'real scoring chance' for the Swedes. There were others too.

 

[67Cup]

As a Leafs fan, I'm not going to complain about Rask getting the award. I would have given the award to Pogge, however. I think big, positionally sound, technically solid goalies are usually underestimated, particularly if, as in this case, they play behind a good defense.

I think the Martin Brodeur comparison is a good one. (I don't mean Pogge will turn out to be as great as Brodeur. It's just a comparison of style.)

All that being said, Rask was a spectacular reflex goalie throughout the tournament. I can understand why for both hockey and political reasons, the decision went to Rask. I disagree with the choice but it wasn't "unbelievable."

By the way, I also thought the Finnish defence was very weak, especially against Canada.

And, finally, as a Leaf fan, I'm giddy about both of them.

 

[Rover*]

Hard to argue with the choice cause both played well, but rask was more deserving. Other than the russian game, pogge didn't really have to do anything in the other games, but just had to be there for the odd save here and there which he was. Without rask, finland doesn't even sniff a medal, without pogge, we still win gold or silver. Can't believe how many people are discrediting his 53 save shutout performance, first pierre mcquire and now this poster. If pogge had a 53 save shutout game, everyone would be praising it as the best goalie performance in world juniour history.

 

[Metallian*]

Rask was a standout and carried his team as far as he could. Pogge just did his job. The only time I was impressed with Pogge was the 1st period of the gold-medal game, the rest I was just satisfied with him doing his job.

Rask faced far more shots than Pogge and was definately the most valuable goaltender in the tournament.

 

[therealdeal]

Even though I think Pogge should have won (he set goals against and shutout records and was probably Canada's best goalie in the last 5 years or so) Rask won it based on his performance against Sweden, which, lets face it, was pretty good. It wasnt the best choice but it wasnt unbelievable.

 

[Metallian*]

Even though I think Pogge should have won (he set goals against and shutout records and was probably Canada's best goalie in the last 5 years or so) Rask won it based on his performance against Sweden, which, lets face it, was pretty good. It wasnt the best choice but it wasnt unbelievable.

i dont think of it in terms of who performed the best, but who was the most valuable to their teams success

and between the two, rask was far more valueable to the fins getting a bronze, as pogge didnt carry his team to a gold

 

[tml_4ever]

First off, I am NOT a homer. Second off, I consider myself a damn reliable source when it comes to goaltending....

That being said, how the %&@* does Rask get top goalie over Pogge?!

Unbelievable. Pogge is head and shoulders above every other goalie in this tournament. Obviously this award was decided before the semi finals, because Pogge was unbelievable and Rask was average, playing behind a good and honest defence. This was the most unbelievable award winning decision I have ever seen at this tournament, bar none. It is a joke to see.

not to burst you bubble over threre but uh....did you see his game against the Swedes? Yeah yeah, rebound control, blah blah blah... but in all honesty, Pogge was playing behind solid solid D. Not to offend the Finns, but er....when we compare the finnish D to Canada D, who wins?

 

[Matti_A]

First off, I am NOT a homer. Second off, I consider myself a damn reliable source when it comes to goaltending....

That being said, how the %&@* does Rask get top goalie over Pogge?!

Unbelievable. Pogge is head and shoulders above every other goalie in this tournament. Obviously this award was decided before the semi finals, because Pogge was unbelievable and Rask was average, playing behind a good and honest defence. This was the most unbelievable award winning decision I have ever seen at this tournament, bar none. It is a joke to see.

That is just a grossly ignorant statement.

The finnish D in this tournament is the worst I have ever seen at the wjc's, heck it's the worst I've seen at any international tournament or level for that matter.

And Rask's effort against the Swede's is one of the most amazing goalie performances I have seen in a long time.
If that was average I can't wait to see what a solid performance from Rask looks like.

And I don't believe Pogge stole any games for Canada, not that he ever had to, but he never had to come up with that spectacular game that often earns you recognition. He probably was the most solid and technically sound goalie of the tournament, but imho thats not enough to beat what Rask did in this tourney.

That being said I think both goalies could have won it, but Rask deserved it because he carried an entire team on his back.

 

[Raimo Sillanpää]

I think many are missing the true gist here.

With Rask, Canada would still win gold.
With Pogge, Finland would not win a medal.

Pogge would have worse stats than Rask on team Finland, Rask would have similar stats to Pogge on team Canada. Therefore, best goalie is Rask.

 

[Metallian*]

any team that lets up 40+ shots on any given night does NOT have a solid defensive corps

 

[Metallian*]

I think many are missing the true gist here.

With Rask, Canada would still win gold.
With Pogge, Finland would not win a medal.

Pogge would have worse stats than Rask on team Finland, Rask would have similar stats to Pogge on team Canada. Therefore, best goalie is Rask.

I think I put it the clearest it could possibly be on the Leafs forum, but, when judging an MVP you have to look at who was the "most valuable" to their given team. Rask was by far more valuable to Team Finland's bronze medal than Pogge was the catalyst to Canada's gold medal. Rask was the most valuable goaltender in this tournament, that's why he got the award.

 

[McGuillicuddy]

I think many are missing the true gist here.

With Rask, Canada would still win gold.
With Pogge, Finland would not win a medal.

Pogge would have worse stats than Rask on team Finland, Rask would have similar stats to Pogge on team Canada. Therefore, best goalie is Rask.

Completely baseless speculation on your part. Total bollocks.

 

[McGuillicuddy]

I think I put it the clearest it could possibly be on the Leafs forum, but, when judging an MVP you have to look at who was the "most valuable" to their given team. Rask was by far more valuable to Team Finland's bronze medal than Pogge was the catalyst to Canada's gold medal. Rask was the most valuable goaltender in this tournament, that's why he got the award.

(corrected)

That's a fair assessment, I think.

 

[Joe MacMillan]

I think many are missing the true gist here.

With Rask, Canada would still win gold.
With Pogge, Finland would not win a medal.

Pogge would have worse stats than Rask on team Finland, Rask would have similar stats to Pogge on team Canada. Therefore, best goalie is Rask.

We can never know that. Pogge is a very good goalie too.

 

[PecaFan]

Both goalies were incredible. Pogge however, had 10 times the team in front of him. Edge, Rask.

They made the right call on this.

 

[GKJ]

Rask had the 53 saves vs Sweden and beat out a favourite USA for bronze. I bet that played a huge part.

a save percentage over 94 helps too

 

[Pepper]

First off, I am NOT a homer. Second off, I consider myself a damn reliable source when it comes to goaltending....

Sorry but nobody believes either of your claims.

Unbelievable. Pogge is head and shoulders above every other goalie in this tournament. Obviously this award was decided before the semi finals, because Pogge was unbelievable and Rask was average, playing behind a good and honest defence. This was the most unbelievable award winning decision I have ever seen at this tournament, bar none. It is a joke to see.

You hear that sound? It's your credibility that just flew out of the window. Anyone who makes claims like that really hasn't been paying any attention. Damn reliable source? Oh boy

 

[Resolute]

It would have been nice if they had named co-winners of that award. Pogge's numbers were simply mindboggling. 1 GA even strength...

However, Rask very much deserved the award as well. He faced more quality scoring chances in that Sweden game alone than Pogge did the entire tournament. It's not so much that Rask outplayed Pogge, but that Canada outplayed Finland. Pogge did not have to work nearly as hard because the team in front of him was always there to back him up.

 

[Platapie]

The only people making any kind of case for rask are Finns or Leaf fans

I'm just wondering why Leaf fans would try and rationalize Rask's play? Pogge is a Leaf prospect too, there's no homerism here-- hell I'd rather see Pogge win everything, or Rask win everything, and know that one goalie is a stellar prospect, then to have two who played very well but didn't dominate enough to win all the hardware possible.

IMO it was a tough call, but in terms of value to their team, there's no doubt that Rask saved the Fins from falling out of medal contention. Short of the first period in the Gold medal game, Pogge didn't get that opportunity-- and thus we can never know how he would have done.

What we do know, is that both goalies played stellar, but in very different situations. Rask's situation was tailored for this award, his defense was very shakey (I entirely disagree that it was solid), and he stood on his head.

Pogge was steady, did his job, and came up with the big saves when they were needed. In either event, I think you can make a case for Pogge, but I do not think it ludicrous that Tuuka got some credit for his stellar play.

 

[Wondercarrot]

Whatever, Leafs fans can't complain

i find that hard to believe. they'll find a way.