|
|
|
If you watched Thursday night's game between Western Conference heavyweights the and , you were treated to one of the great Tommy Tremble Jersey goaltending duels we're bound to see this season. In the end, it was Los Angeles netminder besting as he made 43 saves and thwarted all three St. Louis shooters, including Olympics shootout batterymate T.J. Oshie, to earn a shutout in its truest form.For Quick, it was 65 minutes and three shooters of perfection. It's the kind of game that reminds you why some will call the Connecticut native the greatest goalie in the world.It is that very distinction that brings about much debate about Quick. A look at his numbers would suggest considering him "the best in the world" to be hyperbolic at best.His career save percentage stands at .915, which would put him right around the league average, which has been hovering between about .911 to .914 over the past few years. There are fewer statistical measuring sticks better for a goaltender than save percentage, and perhaps even more on even-strength save percentage. There's something different about Quick, though. Maybe it's his unconventional playing style or raw athleticism, but there are a lot of things he can do that other goaltenders can't. His reflexes and overall quickne s (no pun intended) allow him to be one of the more aggre sive goalies in the league. That aggre sivene s comes with plenty of risk, too.Quick has the benefit of a fantastic po se sion team and defensive group Brandon Zylstra Jersey in front of him. However, as Thursday night showed, when Quick is locked in, he can remain aggre sive and make an impact even when his team is struggling. By pretty much all measures, the Kings were outplayed by the Blues on Thursday. The problem with Quick is staying consistent in that brilliance. His style probably makes it impo sible.Still, when it pays off, it's thrilling to watch, much like Thursday night's performance. Those are the kind of performances that make you forget for a few minutes that his save percentage isn't among the elites in the game. There were a lot of moments where it looked like the Blues would finally break through, but even when they had clean shots, Quick was on top of it.Save percentage remains an important measure and over the largest of sample sizes, that is how Quick will ultimately be judged, but you can understand why so many, including his teammates, feel he is the game's best goalie. Maybe he's not, but it's difficult to question his status as one of the game's most talented goaltenders from a pure skills perspective.There are a lot of safe and technical goaltenders out there and they're becoming more and more common. Quick is virtually on an island all his own and when he's really going well, it's incredibly fun to watch. Team of the Day: The have been one of the more interesting teams to watch to start the season. In their opening game, they completely outplayed the , but lost. They looked listle s against the in the next game and lost. Then they woke up, or rather shots started dropping for and . Seguin scored a hat trick against the and Benn added four points, then the duo combined for the biggest goals against the on Thursday night as the Stars improved 2-1-1. The addition of has yet to fully pay off as the Stars need more consistency from other lines to reach their full potential as an offensive juggernaut. Watching Benn and Seguin create, however, should be terrifying for pretty much every team in the league. Having a line that can be thrown out there in late-game situations and just make things happen is dangerous. Once the rest Terrace Marshall Jr. Jersey of the lineup starts clicking, it's going to be a pretty good year in Dallas.Daily Digits: The perfect record to start the season and only the third time in franchise history they won their first four games in a year. Points for Islanders captain , who has had at least two points in each of New York's first four games this season. He leads the NHL with seven a sists on top of his league-best nine points. Seconds remaining in regulation when was whistled for tripping Jamie Benn. That was all the time Dallas needed to get their power play set up. Spezza found Seguin, who buried a quick shot with 3.6 seconds remaining on the clock to steal a win for the Stars.GIF of the Night: This is the one everyone will be talking about Friday as taunted Habs fans after taking a Thomas Davis Sr. Jersey bad penalty late in a game his team trailed. He was fined $5,000 by the league for his lewd gestures in the penalty box. ( )Save of the Night: After a lot of NHL action last night, I didn't get a chance to post this incredible save from goalie . What makes it even better is just how beautiful the pa sing play was to set up the eventual shot from forward . I liked the NHL's description of this sequence on Facebook, too: Tic-Tac-NO! Goosebumps moment: The season-opening ceremony is always really cool. With legendary goaltender Ken Dryden on hand to help the team usher in the new season at Bell Centre, the Habs had their annual pa sing of the torch. In a moment that surely gave every Habs fan in the building chills, accepted the torch from Dryden. Donte Jackson Jersey If there's one thing the Canadiens do well, it's linking their past and present. What a cool moment. This video is somewhat long, but the best part comes within the first minute.On tap for Friday: Fridays are usually pretty light around the NHL, but there are six games on the slate. The late game, however, appears to be the most exciting of the bunch.The Wild haven't played a game in almost a week since starting their season with eight goals over two games against the . They'll face a very stiff test in their first game after their unusually long layoff. The Ducks have won their past three games since falling in the season-opener. Friday night also represents Anaheim's home debut, so it should be a really electric game between two solid Western Conference foes. The rest of your Friday night schedule in the NHL (all times ET): at , 7 p.m. at Blue Jackets, 7 p.m. at , 7:30 p.m. Predators at , 8 p.m. at , 9:30 p.m. Wild at Ducks, 10 p.m. |
|
发表于 