Here is my favourite trivia question of all-time and guaranteed to stump even your nerdiest of friends:
Q. Which goalie has the lowest goals-against-average in the NHL playoff history (minimum 40 games played)?
A. Patrick Lalime (1.77 GAA)
Yes, that Patrick Lalime.
The paradox of Lalime being the stingiest goalie in playoff history from a statistical standpoint seems to perfectly sum up the problems with goaltending in Ottawa. No matter how you try and sugarcoat it, someone can always poke a hole in your flimsy argument.
The good - The best GAA in playoff history.
The bad - Joe Nieuwendyk
Dominik Hasek:
The good - He was the best goalie in NHL history.
The bad - Just not in Ottawa.
Ray Emery:
The good - Led Senators to Stanley Cup Final.
The bad - Did not seem to enjoy practice.
Lalime, Hasek, and Emery have all been buried in Ottawa's goalie graveyard. And before we've even played a regular-season game here, the most passionate Ottawa fans are trying to push Pascal Leclaire and Brian Elliott into the same place. But before you get your shovels out, here are three things to remember:
1. When is the right time to panic?
As much as I don't want to sound like Carey Price, the time to panic about goaltending isn't on October 7th. I can't defend Leclaire and Elliott's pre-season statistics, but let's not put too much stock into those exhibition numbers. The last time I did so, I ended up prematurely purchasing a Brandon Bochenski jersey.
But if we're having this same conversation at Christmas, then yes - it's time to push the panic button. Last season, a number of playoff teams in the Eastern Conference started the season with one goalie and then changed partway through the season. Boston (Tim Thomas), Montreal (Carey Price) and Philadelphia (Ray Emery) started the season with hopes of having a clear-cut, established No. 1 goaltender. But either through injury or poor play, all three of those netminders were replaced midway through the season. You don't necessarily have to have top-level goaltending in October to make the playoffs. It's okay to have a little goalie controversy and inconsistency in the first few weeks of the season. However, if your crease issues aren't solved two or three months into the season, then you will likely be headed towards a lottery pick.
2. The No. 1 Guy is vverrated
In the post-lockout era, the goaltenders with the heavy workloads don't seem to have much playoff success. I'm talking about the netminders who regularly play 65 or more games and are counted on to carry their teams into the post-season. Martin Brodeur, Ilya Bryzgalov, Mikka Kiprusoff, Henrik Lundqvist, Ryan Miller and Roberto Luongo all fall into this category. Look at the games-played leaders last season and it's basically a list of goalies that either missed the playoffs or got knocked out in the first round. So you shouldn't envy those teams who have the 70-game workhorses. If Leclaire and Elliott split the games during the regular season it's not the end of the world. How they are playing - and not how many games they've played - will dictate the playoff fate of this team. Having a clear cut No. 1 goaltender doesn't guarantee you anything.
3. Good (not great) goaltending can win the Stanley Cup
Take a look at the list of goalies that have won the Stanley Cup in the past five years. The only one who was a proven, legitimate No. 1 netminder when he won the Cup was J.S. Giguere in 2007. The other four goalies all had serious question marks surrounding them entering the playoffs. Cam Ward was an unproven rookie when he hoisted the Cup in 2006. Even after Chris Osgood and Marc-Andre Fleury won their respective championships, there were lingering doubts about their abilities. And Annti Niemi didn't exactly win over his critics - or Blackhawks management - with his performance in the Final last year. You can win with pretty-good goaltending these days. Check out the playoff statistics from the last two Cup winners:
2010 - Niemi - 2.63 GAA, .910 save pct.
2009 - Fleury - 2.61 GAA, .908 save pct
Those numbers seem fairly close to what Brian Elliott put up during the regular season last year. (2.57 GAA, .909 save pct). The problem for Ottawa is that Elliott faltered in the playoffs and didn't play up to his regular season standards. The point is, he doesn't have to magically transform into Patrick Roy circa-1993 for the Senators to have playoff success. You need timely saves and solid goaltending to win in the playoffs, but you don't always need a goalie to steal games for you every night. If the Senators had a goalie that could give them a save percentage around .910 and a GAA around 2.35 - 2.50 in the playoffs, they could make some serious noise in the spring.
But before we start talking about playoff goaltending, I suppose we should let the regular season play itself out. And if you don't like what you see after six or eight weeks from Elliott and Leclaire, then by all means - go ahead and hit that panic button and call for a new goalie.
