(NOTE: I don't tend to delve into "fancy stats" too often and I am far from considering myself an expert in that area, but for this post I had to go there. Data in this post has been produced from war-on-ice.com, and if you aren't familiar with any of the terminology and the factors that go into determining what is high danger, medium danger and low danger, you can try to read their glossary. Otherwise, as they are the acknowledged leader in fancy stats, I am willing to take their word for it for illustrative purposes!)
In talking with fans on the street, and some comments in this page, there seems to be a hesitation to place any blame on the goaltenders for what went wrong this season.
And I know I am in the minority, because I was critical for much of the season and felt some backlash when I did, but I think that Craig Anderson, and Andrew Hammond, are getting an unearned free pass from any goat horns.
Yes, the Senators gave up a lot of shots, but the numbers bear out that the disparity isn't as great as it is made out to be. Over the course of 82 games, the Senators allowed an average of 31.8 shots/60 minutes at even strength, the second most in the league. But there were 14 teams that allowed over 29 shots/60 at even strength, so there are a bunch of teams in the same ballpark. And the Senators' goaltending was actually pretty good at even strength. They gave up just 2.2 goals/game, 19th in the league and had the 7th best even strength save percentage in the NHL. Still not overwhelmingly positive but considering the rate at which they allowed shots, not the worst thing in the world, and because they were pretty adept at scoring 5 on 5, they were right in the middle of the pack in terms of 5 vs 5 goals for/against.
Most people I talk to (or in this case argue with) point to the Senators horrible defensive zone play and not just the shots but the scoring chances they allow. And while I agree with that to a point, the Senators ranked 27th in scoring chances against/60 in the league. BUT, when it comes to the "high danger" scoring chances allowed, that ranking actually rises to 18th. Again, not parade planning heights but far from sky is falling scenario. Improvements must be made, but they aren't that far off, believe it or not.
Where things really fell apart, and where the goalies need to shoulder some of the blame was on the penalty kill. As the saying goes, you need your goalie to be the best penalty killer, and that certainly wasn't the case for the Sens this season.
The save percentage for the Sens duo plummeted from .930 at even strength to .847 while Ottawa was killing penalties. And yes, for obvious reasons most goalies are going to see those numbers drop, but Anderson and Hammond's numbers were cliff-like.
Hammond, whose numbers actually brought the duo's even strength numbers up, was among the worst in the league when the Sens were on the PK, with a sub-.800 SP on the PK, ranked 58th of the 59 goalies who played 80 or more minutes shorthanded.
The Senators' team save percentage went from a respectable 7th at even strength to 29th while shorthanded, while keeping in the middle of the pack in terms of allowing prime, high danger scoring chances (17th).
That isn't just a case of having the penalty killers running around not knowing what they are doing, it is a case that the goalies need to make a save here and there.
And the stats can say what they say, and I know some people don't buy into them. Certainly there were games where the goalies made the right save at the right time to keep their team ahead, or give them a chance to win and played well, even spectacularly. But that can be said of almost any goalie in the league on any given night, that is the nature of the position. And while they faced more shots than any duo in the league, I think the perception that they were hung out to dry is a little overblown. Shots, yes, real chances, not so much (at least as far as what actually happened vs what people think happened).
It doesn't always come down to pure numbers, there is also the eye test. There were far too many times this season when I would be left shaking my head saying to myself, or anyone else that would listen, that "you just can't let that one in" whether it was time of game, position where the shot came from, or degree of difficulty of the save (or lack thereof).
A lot of people were surprised that goaltending coach Rick Wamsley was a casualty of the Sens coaching purge of 2015, but he had to take his fall as well. The bottom line is there were a lot of things that went wrong in a season where the Senators missed the playoffs, and contrary to what I find is popular opinion, the goalies have to share as much of that as anyone, and they don't deserve the free pass that I think they have been given.
They need to be better, just as much as anyone else on the team, if not more.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»