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Meltzer's Musings: 8-3-10 |
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It's amazing what one Stanley Cup Final can do to alter the time-honored conventional wisdom in hockey. This summer, there is a popular belief that a team needn't receive stellar goaltending -- just a competent goalie who doesn't allow soft goals at critical junctures -- to win the Stanley Cup or reach the Final, as long as the rest of the team is strong.
I think the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins may beg to differ, after losing to Montreal in the playoffs, largely because opposing goaltender Jaroslav Halak played long stretches of spectacular hockey. The Canadiens only had two reliable scorers in the playoffs -- Michael Cammalleri and Brian Gionta -- and solid strong penalty killing support for Halak, who lived up to the adage that a goalie has to be your best penalty killer. Washington and Pittsburgh were much more talented and deeper clubs than the Habs. What's more the Caps did not get horrible goaltending from Semyon Varlamov against Montreal (Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury had a rather poor series) -- the other goalie was just better.
If the Flyers were truly being honest with themselves, they would also have realized that subpar goaltending was the number one reason -- not the only reason, but the single biggest one -- that the club lost the Stanley Cup Final to Chicago. I will not take away any of Michael Leighton's accomplishments in the comeback against Boston or in shutting out Montreal three times in the Conference Final. He outplayed both Tuukka Rask and Halak in those series and deserves full credit, just as Brian Boucher cranked up a tremendous series against New Jersey in outplaying Martin Brodeur. In the Final, however, Leighton played poorly in a series in which four of the six games were decided by one goal.
In Game 1, he deserved to get pulled after the Flyers blew three leads. Yes, the game play was wide open and life was made tough on both Leighton and Antti Niemi. The Finn settled down midway through the game, and was actually quite strong in the third period when Chicago had a lead to protect. Leighton didn't get the same opportunity, but Boucher didn't play poorly in relief, game-winning goal notwithstanding.
In Game 2, Leighton played fairly well, but Ben Eager's goal -- scored on the next shift after Chicago finally got on the board --- was stoppable, and was the difference in the game. The Flyers actually forechecked more consistently in the second game and dominated the third period in an attempted comeback, getting one goal back. But Niemi was clearly the better of the two goalies in that game, especially in the second and third periods.
In Game 3, neither goaltender was very good. The Flyers were the better forechecking club through most of the game, and that ultimately was the main difference in the outcome, despite the fact the contest was settled in overtime.
In Game 4, Leighton played his best game of the Final. Despite Chicago's late game rally, that saw the Hawks nearly erase a 4-1 deficit, Leighton held up his end of the bargain in making numerous tough saves along the way. Niemi let in arguably his softest goal of the series on the Mike Richards tally that got the Flyers off to an early 1-0 lead, although Niklas Hjalmarsson's gaffe certainly contributed as well.
In Game 5, Leighton single-handedly held the Flyers in the game during a lopsided first period, but then he imploded late in the period, and a manageable 1-0 deficit and even a semi-manageable 2-0 deficit suddenly became a 3-0 mountain to climb. Unfortunately, in hockey, allowing a bad goal often cancels out a fistful of tough saves. When Boucher came in to replace Leighton for the rest of the game, the club made several comeback bids but could never get back within one goal, in part due to Chicago's potent offensive capabilities and in part due to mediocre goaltending from Boucher and poor defensive play by the Flyers. At the other end of the ice, Niemi was adequate. He was at his best when the Flyers were pressing to trim two-goal deficits, and otherwise had so much goal support that his own play was of little consequence in the outcome.
In Game 6, neither Leighton nor Niemi were exactly stellar, but Niemi was again the better of the two. As in Game 5, Leighton started out well, but the chinks in the armor soon became evident. We all know what happened in overtime, which overshadows the fact that Leighton allowed a stoppable goal (with help from loose defensive coverage) with his team leading in the second period. Niemi didn't exactly conjure up memories of Patrick Roy ca. 1986 but I wouldn't say he allowed soft goals either.
As for the Patrick Kane series winner in overtime, it was obviously one of the flukiest goals in playoff history, and the worst possible time for Leighton to give up a goal like that. Oddly enough, Ryan Miller got beaten on a rather similar overtime goal by Sidney Crosby in the Olympic gold medal game a few months earlier. Much of criticism and hand-wringing about Leighton focuses only on that one play. While it was a crushing, season-ending letdown, if that one play was Leighton's lone sin in an otherwise solid series, I would defend him to the hilt. All goalies allow some soft goals, and sometimes they can happen at the worst possible junctures, ala Miller in the Olympics.
It's the big picture that counts and, in the big picture, the Flyers goaltending was not good enough to get them past an opponent with multiple potent scoring lines. All of Philly's own depth and valiant, never-say-attitude went for naught. Improving the defensive depth this off-season can only help, but it will still ultimately come down to the goaltending.
If Michael Leighton can be trusted to get the club through Eastern Conference playoff rounds that, sooner or later, are likely to have the club square off against the potent Washington or Pittsburgh attacks in the conference semis and/or conference final, the club can get back to the Stanley Cup Final and handle whichever club comes out of the West. If he can't , it doesn't matter what else the team does in other areas, they won't go as far as they did last season.
If Paul Holmgren, Peter Laviolette and Peter Luukko are truly comfortable with that idea, then I'm all in favor of going into the 2010-11 season without an upgrade on Leighton, Boucher and Johan Backlund as the Flyers' goaltending options. If not, then the club did not set aside enough cap space for what is still -- like it or not -- the most important position on the ice come playoff time.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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