Tale of Two Goalies

[PASabreFan]

Halak faces the top offense in the league and goes 2.46, .939, 4-2. He stands on his head for entire games.

 

Miller faces the worst offense in the league and goes 2.34, .926. 2-4. He stands on his head for a period here and there.

 

Halak is given a 1-0 lead in Games 5-7 and makes them stand up. The Sabres hand Miller a 1-0 lead in the first five games and Miller loses three of the games (and two games where he enjoys a 2-0 lead).

 

As long as we're into crazy theoretical scenarios around here, here's a good one. Would Montreal trade Halak for Miller for the rest of the playoffs?

[carpandean]

Nobody will ever trade the hot hand (goaltender) in the playoffs, but if you asked them to trade straight up in the offseason ...

 

I didn't see enough of that series to really say, but the commentators suggested that Montreal played a NJ-esque trap after getting leads. From what I did see of that final period, the defensemen were blocking a ton of shots. Not saying that Miller was stellar - he was at times and not at others - but there are some differences that favor Halak, too.

[PASabreFan]

Nobody will ever trade the hot hand (goaltender) in the playoffs, but if you asked them to trade straight up in the offseason ...

 

I didn't see enough of that series to really say, but the commentators suggested that Montreal played a NJ-esque trap after getting leads. From what I did see of that final period, the defensemen were blocking a ton of shots. Not saying that Miller was stellar - he was at times and not at others - but there are some differences that favor Halak, too.

 

They should have blocked some more. Halak faced 134 shots in the last three games of the series. He allowed three goals. By all accounts he was incredible. "System" can help Miller in a comparison with Brodeur, but I think this is pretty far-fetched.

[VansTheMans]

I still say that Miller > Rask, Halak, Howard whatever other young goalie you want to throw in there.

 

Technique wise, there is no comparison.

 

Let's see how well Rask and Halak do next season.

 

Remember Steve Mason in Columbus? How did he do this season?

 

I watched the Caps/Habs series, and there's no denying the system of play the Habs utilized was nothing short of pure genius. It could not even be categorized as the dread "trap". The trap takes place in the neutral zone of the ice. Montreal's game plan lied in their own zone. Every time Washington broke over the Montreal blue line, four skaters collapsed on whomever had the puck. This was something Washington could not get around.

 

The entire Montreal team was on board this plan. I'm sure they knew that they were facing a superior Washington team, and that their only hoped lied in playing together as a team.

 

That's more than I can say for the Sabres did against the Bruins.

[tom webster]

I have had this conversation with a good friend of mine and I should give credit to my good friend TomSmith a/k/a whatever, there is such a small difference in the top 15 goaltenders in todays game that I am not sure that spending over $5 million on one is a smart move. Ken Holland will definitely say it is not.

 

And for the record, I am a big Miller fan.

[Buffalo Fan]

Let's just hope it was an "off" series for Miller...I think it was.

[theend]

Halak faces the top offense in the league and goes 2.46, .939, 4-2. He stands on his head for entire games.

 

Miller faces the worst offense in the league and goes 2.34, .926. 2-4. He stands on his head for a period here and there.

 

Halak is given a 1-0 lead in Games 5-7 and makes them stand up. The Sabres hand Miller a 1-0 lead in the first five games and Miller loses three of the games (and two games where he enjoys a 2-0 lead).

 

As long as we're into crazy theoretical scenarios around here, here's a good one. Would Montreal trade Halak for Miller for the rest of the playoffs?

 

I think it's one of those scenarios where a goalie just gets hot. Like Cam Ward or Dwayne Roloson in '06. But who knows? Halak is only 24, and has played 1/3 the amount of games Miller has, but his career stats are about the same:

 

Halak - 101 GP, 2.62 GAA, .919 SV %

Miller - 333 GP, 2.57 GAA, .914 SV %

 

He could easily be a better goalie than Miller over the long haul. Same as Rask. Only time, and more games, will tell.

[rickshaw]

Halak faces the top offense in the league and goes 2.46, .939, 4-2. He stands on his head for entire games.

 

Miller faces the worst offense in the league and goes 2.34, .926. 2-4. He stands on his head for a period here and there.

 

Halak is given a 1-0 lead in Games 5-7 and makes them stand up. The Sabres hand Miller a 1-0 lead in the first five games and Miller loses three of the games (and two games where he enjoys a 2-0 lead).

 

As long as we're into crazy theoretical scenarios around here, here's a good one. Would Montreal trade Halak for Miller for the rest of the playoffs?

 

 

Miller needed to do what Halak did for the Sabres to win it all. He didn't. Too bad.

[VansTheMans]

But did Halak face similar scoring chances that Miller had to face?

 

I think most of the goals Miller let in against Boston weren't on him, his defense was to blame. Where as for Halak, his defense appeared nearly perfect.

[spndnchz]

But did Halak face similar scoring chances that Miller had to face?

 

I think most of the goals Miller let in against Boston weren't on him, his defense was to blame. Where as for Halak, his defense appeared nearly perfect.

 

Gill and Gorges rocked that series.

[theend]

But did Halak face similar scoring chances that Miller had to face?

 

I think most of the goals Miller let in against Boston weren't on him, his defense was to blame. Where as for Halak, his defense appeared nearly perfect.

 

Certainly Montreal's defense played better than Buffalo's. But Washington's offense is also a lot more potent than Boston's. I feel like those balance out in the end. I love Miller, too, but he didn't play his best in this series. Not that it's on him for the loss, but he didn't carry the Sabres the way Halak is carrying Montreal right now.

 

I mean, just look at Halak's saves:

 

Gm 5 saves: 37

Gm 6 saves: 53

Gm 7 saves: 41

 

And none of those games went to OT.

[darksabre]

When a goaltender is in the zone, he's in the zone. It can change like the weather though. You think it's hard to find consistent scorers? Being a consistent all-star goaltender has got to be the most high pressure position in sports. You have to be focused and on your game at every moment, and when you're not, it really shows.

 

I still think Miller is a better goaltender in the long run. But for Montreal, not trading Halak at the deadline was a good decision. That guy is simply on fire. The next round should be a lot of fun to watch if he can stay in this groove.

[BetweenThePipes00]

Yes, Halak stole some games for Montreal, and it won them a series. He also got torched in while blowing a 4-1 lead in Game 2 and then got yanked in a Game 3 loss. He did make some great saves but I remember ONE odd-man rush in Game 7 and the guy hit the post. Miller faced an odd-man rush every period it seemed and stopped a few breakaways ... he gave the Sabres a chance to win every game. Halak really can't say that ... I would contend his team's tenacious defense gave him a chance more than vice-versa.

So to answer your question, yeah, if I was in charge of Montreal, I would trade Halak for Miller for the rest of the season in a second. You can't give a game or two away against Pittsburgh with a meltdown, I don't care how hot you get a week later.

The kid is only 25 ... in four years maybe he is not so streaky ... but for the next month and a half, I'd still take Miller.

 

 

[TheMadCap]

Can't really compare the two. The Toilet Seats blocked something like 41 shots last night, not counting saves by Halak. That is insane!!!!

 

If the Sabres had a defense like the Toilet Seats we would be preparing for Pittsburgh right now...

 

 

[thesportsbuff]

Miller played superb at points, but he was definitely to blame for a handful of goals. You can say "so and so should have been there to clear the rebound" or whatever but truth be told Miller overcommitted a LOT and when a shot was blocked or a rebound came out, he was no where near where he needed to be.

[darksabre]

Miller played superb at points, but he was definitely to blame for a handful of goals. You can say "so and so should have been there to clear the rebound" or whatever but truth be told Miller overcommitted a LOT and when a shot was blocked or a rebound came out, he was no where near where he needed to be.

 

Goalies tend to overcommit when they have no faith in their D. They cheat the pass and generally try to do too much. Miller had all the reason to be wary of his D, because they hung him out to dry a lot. I can't even count on my hand the number of times I saw players completely blow coverage in front or to the side of the net. Isn't this stuff you learn in Bantams?

[Midnight]

Halak was pulled in game 3. They started Price in game 4. There was consideration given to starting Price in game 5. If Price had given up say 3 goals in game 4, Halak may have stayed on the pine for the rest of the series. Who knows?

 

Most of it is unforeseeable. Maybe someone can predict which goaltender will stand on his head for the next three games, but I can't. I don't think the coaches can either (except that anyone following it at all knows that Halak should do better than Price in general, because for the regular season he was better).

 

No one could have seen that coming. In any case, I'd rather have Ryan Miller in goal.

[tom webster]

Can't really compare the two. The Toilet Seats blocked something like 41 shots last night, not counting saves by Halak. That is insane!!!!

 

If the Sabres had a defense like the Toilet Seats we would be preparing for Pittsburgh right now...

 

 

Actually the Sabres would be preparing for Washington.

[bunomatic]

If you watched the Montreal team they all collapsed in on their goaltender and actually became about 5 goalies all blocking shots.To keep that up over 4 series to win a cup would be impossible and the injuries would mount.Not to mention it would'nt work against every team they meet because they would eventually come up against a creative coach who would counter.What they did do that impressed me was play their hearts out.Wish we could say the same for our guys.