Were Goalies That Bad In 9-8 Loss?

The Jets had plenty of breakdowns, and unlucky bounces that resulted in 8 goals ending up in their net. But they still came away with the win in  a ridiculously wild game. All because we gave up 9 freaking goals. And of course Bryzy’s post game comments shift all the blame towards the men in the masks. But in today’s Video Breakdown (thanks Tosh), let’s see how much at fault they really were?

1st Period

• 10:01 – Randy Jones: Blake Wheeler took a shot to the left, and as Jones skated through the middle, the puck hit his skate and went the complete other way. Not much that starter Sergei Bobrovsky could do on that one.
• 13:39 – Jim Slater: This one was a bad goal. It was a hard shot, but Bob left his near post too early. If the puck had been right under the bar, maybe I’d say it’s a great shot. But that’s not the case, and it should have been stopped. It’s also on the defense for even allowing that shot to happen. They got caught watching the puck, and he found a little open space.
• 18:37 – Kyle Wellwood: Not Bob’s fault at all. The shot is going high, and Read hits it with his hand, completely changing the trajectory of it. Rarely can you blame a goalie when the puck is deflected so severely.

2nd Period

• 3:39 – Tanner Glass: Another flip towards the net, another tip in front, and it’s in the net. This one, again, is on the D for allowing the Jets to cycle, and for not clearing the porch. On one hand, rules prevent defenders from simply mauling a guy in front, but the least you can do is tie his stick up.
• 4:39 – Nik Antropov: This one is hard to judge because it happened to quickly. On one hand you want Bob to outwait the shooter and not go down early, but you also want him to react quickly and take the shot away. What if he’d waited for a move, and Antropov had shot it past him right away instead? This one was stoppable, but it wasn’t exactly easy.
• 10:39 – Evander Kane: Pass right the the crease, easy tap in for Kane. Not much that Bryzy could have done there. But the Flyers allowed Kane to slip through and get right in the crease untouched. All of this, again, because they were watching the puck and not their man.

3rd Period

• 3:30 – Alex Burmistrov: After a brutal giveaway by Jody Shelley, the Jets have a 2 on 1 down low. A quick little pass and another goal is in the cage. It’s a good pass and a quick shot. It’s always tough to make stops when you’re moving laterally, but it’s even harder when the passes are in tight because it gives the goalie less time to react. Maybe Bryz could have read it and jumped the gun early. Maybe it happened too fast. I’m not sure about this one.
• 4:31 – Mark Stuart: Goalie was set, goalie was ready, goalie got beat. This is one that no goalie should be giving up. This was a normal rush, at a quick pace, but nothing out of the ordinary at the pro level. Either Bryzgalov didn’t know where the net was, or he didn’t set right, but it’s one he definitely should have had. This was a poor goal to give up.
• 18:54 – Andrew Ladd: Wheeler came out of the corner, Ladd skated freely down the middle, right through 4 Flyers, and rammed home a one-timer into the far side. Horrible defense aside, it’s a shot that also should have been stopped. As soon as the pass came, rather than reacting to the shot, Bryzgalov should have slid out to the shooter. e should have cut the angle, and it would give him a better chance to make the shot hit him. Yes, the shot was perfectly tucked into the far post, so maybe it would have still gone in. But by only sliding across, he gave the shooter a lot more room than he should have had.

I hate sounding like an apologist, but I don’t want to just say the goalies sucked because of the total number of goals. So by my count, that’s 2 goals that should have been stopped, 3 that might have been stopped if the goalies had played them differently, and 4 that the netminders had no chance on. This was a total team loss. The defense was brutal. Not just the 6 guys on defense, but the 12 guys that should be helping out in their own zone. Everyone was terrible. They were caught so often looking at the puck rather than sticking their man. They let way too many guys get in close shots on net. The team defense didn’t even look like amateurs. They looked like enthusiasts that get together to play hockey just for fun, who have never been coached or played organized hockey in their lives. This is not about Pronger being out of the lineup. The problems are much, much bigger than that. Now they get another day to rest, before facing the Hurricanes tomorrow night.

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