USA Goaltending...

[g52*]

is going to kill this team

DiPietro- awful
Ghrame- inconsistant
Esche- doesnt play much

Is it true Flyer fans that Niitimaki ( cant spell ) is taking up most of the time between the pipes in Philly?

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[John Flyers Fan]

is going to kill this team

DiPietro- awful
Ghrame- inconsistant
Esche- doesnt play much

Is it true Flyer fans that Niitimaki ( cant spell ) is taking up most of the time between the pipes in Philly?

Esche was out injured, and that's why Niitty played 17 straight games. They're currently alternating games.

 

[KH1]

Can a moderator please just merge all of these "DiPietro/Grahame/Esche are terrible" threads into one?

 

[Rabid Ranger]

I would say that goaltending is a question mark for the U.S. Will it be a weakness? Who knows? Grahame has played well lately (three shutouts in his last five starts), DiPietro has been inconsistent, but his team's defense blows, and Esche has just returned from an injury. The thing is, both Esche and DiPietro have played very well on the world stage, so it's concievable they can return to form. The good news is, a few other countries have question marks in goal as well.

 

[BMOK33]

is going to kill this team

DiPietro- awful
Ghrame- inconsistant
Esche- doesnt play much

Is it true Flyer fans that Niitimaki ( cant spell ) is taking up most of the time between the pipes in Philly?

DiPietro has been terrible, as an Islanders fan I have to see it, and seemingly every other game. If not for DiPietro's play in October and early November the Isles are way more than 7 points way from a playoff spot now....then again he has likely cost them games since. He shows up one night, the next he gives up 2 bad goals...I cannot figure it out. The bottom line is Rick has shown he can play before such as in the world cup and I think he's going to get the nod regardless of his bad stats this season. Grahame has proven he is just an average goalie and Esche is awfully similar to DiPietro, he shows up one night and then does not the next.

 

[Big Phil]

Not saying Esche is bad or nothing but neither him or Dipietro will be able to steal a gold medal the way Richter did in '96. Plus they wont have a very good defense in front of them either and they will be facing the top snipers in the world. The Americans have not had an "elite" goaltender in quite some time. But if I'm a betting man I'd put Dipietro in there.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Not saying Esche is bad or nothing but neither him or Dipietro will be able to steal a gold medal the way Richter did in '96. Plus they wont have a very good defense in front of them either and they will be facing the top snipers in the world. The Americans have not had an "elite" goaltender in quite some time. But if I'm a betting man I'd put Dipietro in there.

While I'm not sold on the U.S. goaltending at this point, both Esche and DiPietro have shown the ability to stand on their heads in international play. As for the defense, I think it's going to be very good, especially from a puck-moving perspective.

 

[boltsgirl41922]

Johnny Grahame isnt as bad as people are making him out to seem. look at the stats of the three USA goaltenders.



JOHN GRAHAME TBL 36 19 15 1 894 91 2.69 803 .898 4
RICK DIPIETRO NYI 38 16 15 3 1095 119 3.42 976 .891 0
ROBERT ESCHE PHI 20 12 5 2 558 62 3.13 496 .889 0

John Grahame is the best shot this team has.

And if the name Ryan Miller comes up, i might scream. he wouldnt give this team a chance.

 

[joshjull]

Johnny Grahame isnt as bad as people are making him out to seem. look at the stats of the three USA goaltenders.


RYAN MILLER BUF 22 15 7 0 643 50 2.26 .922
JOHN GRAHAME TBL 36 19 15 1 894 91 2.69 803 .898 4
RICK DIPIETRO NYI 38 16 15 3 1095 119 3.42 976 .891 0
ROBERT ESCHE PHI 20 12 5 2 558 62 3.13 496 .889 0

John Grahame is the best shot this team has.

And if the name Ryan Miller comes up, i might scream. he wouldnt give this team a chance.

I would scream too, at Waddell. You think he wouldn't give them a chance.

 

[NYIsles1*]

I would scream too, at Waddell. You think he wouldn't give them a chance.

You better scream at Laviolette and Jason Blake too.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/ny-spisles0130,0,1996286.story?coll=ny-sports-headlines

Blake: DiPietro deserves to go to Olympics

There is a possibility that Miller will be on a "taxi squad" for the Olympics, meaning he can be activated if one of the three is injured before the Games open Feb. 12.
Some in the media have suggested that Miller should outright replace one of the three. But Team USA coach Peter Laviolette said Friday that he has no plans to make a change in goal. "Right now I can tell you that our goaltending will remain the same," he said.

Jason Blake, a forward for the Americans, defended his Islanders teammate's spot on the U.S. roster. "First of all, let's be a little honest here: Rick DiPietro is the future of USA Hockey just like he's the future of the New York Islanders," Blake said. "Just because Ryan Miller has better numbers than Rick DiPietro or whoever has scored more goals than whoever, it doesn't matter.

"If someone's going to say something like that, you have to look at our team in general," Blake added, pointing the finger at the skaters in front of DiPietro and the faltering defense. "We haven't played up to our potential in front of Rick."

 

[joshjull]

You better scream at Laviolette and Jason Blake too.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/ny-spisles0130,0,1996286.story?coll=ny-sports-headlines

Blake: DiPietro deserves to go to Olympics

There is a possibility that Miller will be on a "taxi squad" for the Olympics, meaning he can be activated if one of the three is injured before the Games open Feb. 12.
Some in the media have suggested that Miller should outright replace one of the three. But Team USA coach Peter Laviolette said Friday that he has no plans to make a change in goal. "Right now I can tell you that our goaltending will remain the same," he said.

Jason Blake, a forward for the Americans, defended his Islanders teammate's spot on the U.S. roster. "First of all, let's be a little honest here: Rick DiPietro is the future of USA Hockey just like he's the future of the New York Islanders," Blake said. "Just because Ryan Miller has better numbers than Rick DiPietro or whoever has scored more goals than whoever, it doesn't matter.
"If someone's going to say something like that, you have to look at our team in general," Blake added, pointing the finger at the skaters in front of DiPietro and the faltering defense. "We haven't played up to our potential in front of Rick."

Is Blake serious? You performance doen't matter because you are the future?

 

[Fantom]

IMO rick does deserve his shot. His team has been really bad in front of him all season.

 

[shawn_kemp*]

I wonder what is Grahame doing on this team? Maybe they don't know that another goalie led Tampa to the Stanley Cup!!!

Miller has to be there!

 

[Sotnos]

How many threads does this stuff have to be rehashed in anyway? Grahame put up a lot of excellent performances early in the season and had a hot win streak right before the team was named, hence he was included, end of story. Is bringing a more experienced goalie really that big of an issue?

The only good thing to come out of all this crying is some folks are finally spelling Grahame's name right at least some of the time.

 

[blueandgold*]

Johnny Grahame isnt as bad as people are making him out to seem. look at the stats of the three USA goaltenders.



JOHN GRAHAME TBL 36 19 15 1 894 91 2.69 803 .898 4
RICK DIPIETRO NYI 38 16 15 3 1095 119 3.42 976 .891 0
ROBERT ESCHE PHI 20 12 5 2 558 62 3.13 496 .889 0

John Grahame is the best shot this team has.

And if the name Ryan Miller comes up, i might scream. he wouldnt give this team a chance.

Why hate on Miller... he is the best of the 4

 

[shawn_kemp*]

How many threads does this stuff have to be rehashed in anyway? Grahame put up a lot of excellent performances early in the season and had a hot win streak right before the team was named, hence he was included, end of story. Is bringing a more experienced goalie really that big of an issue?

The only good thing to come out of all this crying is some folks are finally spelling Grahame's name right at least some of the time.

Correct me if I'm wrong but you defend Grahame because you're a Tampa Bay fan.

 

[CDeeps]

Don't forget about Tim Thomas. He's an American (Flint, MI) and he's hot right now. Backstopped my Bruins to a shutout this evening with 44 saves against Ottawa! He's the main reason for the Bruins resurgence of late. And he's represented USA Hockey before, being the third goalie on the 2005 World Championship squad. So if any of the three USA goalies go down with an injury, dont' be too surprised to see Thomas named. Of course, Miller would be selected ahead of him, but if something were to happen to two goalies, then Thomas would certainly get the call.

 

[BMOK33]

Why hate on Miller... he is the best of the 4

I would just say he has been the most consistent of all of them this season, the problem is he does not have the experience in the world cup or prior tournaments Dipietro does. Also I have noticed Miller seems to unravel on occassion after a couple of goals go in on him.

 

[RangersFan88*]

Mike Richter ?!?!?!?!?!?

Where Is Mikeee ????

at least take miller with u

but where is richter

 

[Sotnos]

Correct me if I'm wrong but you defend Grahame because you're a Tampa Bay fan.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but since you rip on Tampa players every chance you get, are you not a Tampa hater? Yeah, thought so.

I defend Grahame because there are reasons he got picked and I'm tired of seeing people jump on him.

 

[NYIsles1*]

Mike Richter ?!?!?!?!?!?

Where Is Mikeee ????

at least take miller with u

but where is richter

No goaltender will ever do worse than Richter did in Nagano with a very good team, he was also marginal in 2002.

 

[Big Phil]

No goaltender will ever do worse than Richter did in Nagano with a very good team, he was also marginal in 2002.

Yeah but the USA had a much better team in front of him in '98 and '02. It wasnt all his fault for the losses. He did make some big stops against Canada in '02 when the game was close.

 

[TVanek26*]

And if the name Ryan Miller comes up, i might scream. he wouldnt give this team a chance.

Your right he wouldn't give this team a chance to finish in 6th, which is the highest they'll be with DiPietro starting

Miller not being the starter is a joke.Miller not being on the roster is just pathetic.

 

[KH1]

Your right he wouldn't give this team a chance to finish in 6th, which is the highest they'll be with DiPietro starting

Miller not being the starter is a joke.Miller not being on the roster is just pathetic.

You clearly either have not seen the Islanders play this season or do not know a lot about hockey. In any case you stubbornly refuse to acknowledge any of the logical arguements in support of DiPietro but instead continually just post "DiPietro sucks, Miller has better stats" and I'll tell you what--I'm getting really sick of reading it.

Like I said before, I really wish a moderator would merge these all into one thread.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

Jason Blake, a forward for the Americans, defended his Islanders teammate's spot on the U.S. roster. "First of all, let's be a little honest here: Rick DiPietro is the future of USA Hockey just like he's the future of the New York Islanders," Blake said. "Just because Ryan Miller has better numbers than Rick DiPietro or whoever has scored more goals than whoever, it doesn't matter.

If DiPietro is the best the US has at the moment (questionable) I have no problem with him starting. If he starts because "he's the future of USA Hockey" that's just assinine.