My understanding is that Schwab primarily handles the goalies in the pipeline (Stockton, Worcester, etc.) and Thomas oversees that while also working day-to-day with the parent club's goaltenders but I could be wrong. Easy? LS? Nem? 210?
niemis letting in a ton of goals against a crap fwd corp, i dunno...
but in all fairness to him our defense is really bad. we have crapins who is always a defensive liability and boyle is having probably the worst series i have ever seen him have. murray can't defend the 2 on 1 for the life of him.
seeing how bad we are, i woudlnt be too disapointed if we lost to a hot det team in the 2nd round. a first round exit tho is just not good enough.
Hm ... Todd must like the challenge of coming from behind.
it's an interesting strat which worked in game 3. start niemi, go down 0-3 within 9 minutes and 4 shots and bring in nitty. at this point LA is way overconfident and they start doing stupid things like double pitching. then boom we have them right where we want them, and somehow score 4+ points against quick.
yes, they were turnovers but the way nitty has been playing, you can easily make the argument that Nitty should get the start, Nemo could very much be our Luongo.
yes, they were turnovers but the way nitty has been playing, you can easily make the argument that Nitty should get the start, Nemo could very much be our Luongo.
My understanding is that Schwab primarily handles the goalies in the pipeline (Stockton, Worcester, etc.) and Thomas oversees that while also working day-to-day with the parent club's goaltenders but I could be wrong. Easy? LS? Nem? 210?
Didn't see your post. WT has the goalies in SJ. Schwab is pipeline. Schwab does do some work in SJ.
AV said that Luongo was going to be the starter then changed it to Schneider at warmups. So, Todd still has the option of changing to Nitty at warmups.
I agree with the call - start Nemo, again and again and again.
He is our best goalie, he hasn't been excessively at fault-laden in this series and the second you start sacrificing your starter, you open up a whole new can of worms (read: Luongo, Robert).
Whoever plays is under pressure - the team itself needs to start with a bit more fire and energy. Being 3-0 down quickly is more a reflection of the team's sloppy defensive play as it is the goalie.
I expected nothing less for the calls to start Niitymaki - it's the San Jose Overreacting Way. Alas, those of you accusing McClellan of being stubborn need to look in the mirror - your personal record is well and truly stuck in a groove...
he hasn't been excessively at fault-laden in this series
He's been at fault enough.....more than most playoff teams can afford, and without the tremendous other saves to back him up.
I mean look at Quick's performances. Most of the goals he's had absolutely no chance at. Maybe could've had one in Game 1 (Couture's goal) and maybe one or two in Game 4. BUT, Quick is also getting absolutely peppered with shots by wave after wave of talented forwards. He's already had a shutout. He posted a 51-save performance. He was otherwise fantastic in the Game 1 loss. Niemi had a few big saves in Game 4, and otherwise he's just looked mediocre to bad.
The Kings are losing DESPITE Quick. Even if Quick does give up a bad goal in a game, you go back to him because his track record in each game and the entire series affords him a mistake or two. The same cannot be said of Niemi thus far.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Le Rosbeef
and the second you start sacrificing your starter, you open up a whole new can of worms (read: Luongo, Robert).
Niemi is only the "starter" because Niittymaki went down to injury earlier in the year.
In either case, you start the guy who gives you the best chance to win. I still thought Niemi might give the Sharks the best chance to win after Game 3. Now after seeing two solid performances by Niitty, I believe he is the one who gives the Sharks the best chance to win right now. At least in this series.
Maybe Niemi is fighting the puck more than usual right now. Maybe Niemi *could* be better than Niitty, he's not playing like it right now. Whatever the reason (fatigue, defense, whatever), I don't believe Niemi gives the Sharks the better chance of winning tonight. That being said, that doesn't mean the Sharks won't win with him tonight.
And if we're going to compare to other teams, then you should also look last year at Montreal and Philadelphia. Philly in particular got to Game 6 of the SCF going with whichever goaltender gave their best chance of winning....or at least, whoever had the best chance of finishing the game in one piece.
I mean look at Quick's performances. Most of the goals he's had absolutely no chance at. Maybe could've had one in Game 1 (Couture's goal) and maybe one or two in Game 4. BUT, Quick is also getting absolutely peppered with shots by wave after wave of talented forwards. He's already had a shutout. He posted a 51-save performance. He was otherwise fantastic in the Game 1 loss. Niemi had a few big saves in Game 4, and otherwise he's just looked mediocre to bad.
And if we're going to compare to other teams, then you should also look last year at Montreal and Philadelphia. Philly in particular got to Game 6 of the SCF going with whichever goaltender gave their best chance of winning....or at least, whoever had the best chance of finishing the game in one piece.
I'm not claiming to be a goalie expert here, but I think that the fact Quick sees the puck a lot is an advantage. The Sharks take a ton of shots from the outside, into the giant crown on his chest, clear lanes from the blue line... You'll notice the games where Niemi has been good he's seen 30+ shots. I think he, like just about every other goalie, needs to make a couple of saves early to feel the puck, get his bearing and get comfortable. When the very first shot you see is a double deflection and the 2nd is a 2 on 1, doesn't give him much time to find his groove.
He needs to be better, no doubt about it and I'm not making excuses for him but there are goaltenders who need to see a lot of shots and he seems to be better when that happens. I also know the Sharks don't often give up a lot of shots, I'm just making an observation.
Also, comparing the Sharks goalie situation to the Flyers is just silly...you want to talk about a team winning despite their goaltending. Although, I really do miss Boosh and his Nabby impressions.
I'm not claiming to be a goalie expert here, but I think that the fact Quick sees the puck a lot is an advantage. The Sharks take a ton of shots from the outside, into the giant crown on his chest, clear lanes from the blue line... You'll notice the games where Niemi has been good he's seen 30+ shots. I think he, like just about every other goalie, needs to make a couple of saves early to feel the puck, get his bearing and get comfortable. When the very first shot you see is a double deflection and the 2nd is a 2 on 1, doesn't give him much time to find his groove.
He needs to be better, no doubt about it and I'm not making excuses for him but there are goaltenders who need to see a lot of shots and he seems to be better when that happens. I also know the Sharks don't often give up a lot of shots, I'm just making an observation.
Also, comparing the Sharks goalie situation to the Flyers is just silly...you want to talk about a team winning despite their goaltending. Although, I really do miss Boosh and his Nabby impressions.
Look at the other side on the Flyers' series. After the outset, the only goals that Miller is letting through are the ones that are not savable by any goalie. And he is stopping shots that he has no business stopping. Philly is one of the most potent offenses in the league for a reason and he shut them down twice. And Buffalo has no business in the playoffs with their injuries and thin talent. Big thing for Miller is he got one of those enforced respites just at the end of the season. The balance is again falling to the goalies that are more rested. It keeps happening year after year; it isn't just the Sharks.
