Ruff in No-Win
Situation with goaltenders
Nov 13th, 2003 by
Dave Davis
After splitting a home and home
series with the Montreal Canadiens this past weekend, Buffalo
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff must be going in circles again about
his continuing goaltending saga.
After stealing a game for the Sabres with a stellar performance in a
2-1 victory on Friday, Mika Noronen got the nod the very next night
in the Bell Centre. The Sabres lost 3-0, with Noronen letting
in an arguably bad goal to Chad Kilger following a smart play by
Montreal goaltender Jose Theodore.
Theodore sensed a Sabres line change and quickly sent an outlet pass
to Patrice Brisebois, who fed Kilger near the Sabres blue line.
Kilger saw an opening and beat Noronen to give the Habs an important
two goal lead.
Ruff called it a miscommunication error from defenseman Jay McKee,
but the more important issue is that there are many goaltenders in
the NHL who would’ve handled the shot. Unfortunately it
wouldn’t have mattered as the offense could only muster 16 shots
on Theodore.
This is not a new issue, this goaltending carousel. It started
the moment Dominik Hasek weasled his way out of town and
orchestrated his own trade to the Detroit Red Wings.
Biron and Noronen have similar stats. They both have winning
records. Their save percentages are about the same, .912 for
Noronen and .902 for Biron. Their goals against averages are
in Noronen’s favor (2.26 to 2.80), but Biron’s meltdown against
Atlanta last week is a big reason for that. Then
there’s the ‘X’ factor, that prodigy named Ryan Miller, who is
quickly getting bored with the simplicity of dominating the AHL.
It has been in vogue for folks in this town to take Ruff to task for
this fiasco - for "his failure" to find a true number one
goalie. It’s time for a reality check here - the coach is in
an unenviable pickle, and the ONLY way he’ll get out of it is when
one of his three stoppers finds something that has been missing all
along - consistency.
Here’s a crazy thought: What if Ruff were to insert a
goaltender who could play two or three strong games in a row ?
It happens in many places around the NHL. Consistency is the
main factor which defines the difference between being a true number
one goalie or being what hockey purists would refer to as a
journeyman.
Perhaps it is time to consider the thought that the reason Ruff
hasn’t found a true number one goalie is because he doesn’t have
one. The inconsistent play of Biron has to be wearing on the
Sabres front office, which has given him every opportunity to take
the job permanently. Noronen has not grabbed the bull by the
horns when given the opportunity, and Miller is just not quite there
yet, at least by NHL standards.
Time is running short on both Noronen and Biron. For now,
Noronen has played well enough to earn the right to more starts
despite the bad goal in Montreal. If there is no solution
soon, don’t be surprised if Miller is back in the fold by
Christmas and given the job permanently.
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