Devils @ Leafs - Oct. 21st, 7:00pm - TSN4
- Thread starter CarltonTheBear
- Start date
It is a good theory. But I think sometimes our expectations get a little higher than what is reasonable.
NHL Edge clocked that slap shot by Hughes at 80.31 mpg which is 117.8 feet per second at 30 ft out from the center of the goal line.
Stolarz was outside the 6 foot radius of the blue paint to cut the open net down. So the shot traveled roughly 23 feet until it was past Stolarz.
Let's not get all NASA and ignore air friction, etc.
So the shot is past Stolarz in 0.195 seconds - a fifth of one second.
The visual reaction time for NHL goalies is approximately 0.16 to 0.21 seconds - the time for their brains to assimilate what they see and begin to react. And then there is the movement time after the goalie has figured out what to do.
So if Stolarz had the best reaction time, he would have 0.035 seconds (a 28th of a second) to move to stop that shot. If he's on the other end of the reaction time range, the puck is in the net before he can move.
Any hard shots around the dots or closer - they're beyond most human reaction time. For 99.999% of the people watching, they wouldn't even flinch before the puck was in the net if they were goaltending.
80-90% of goaltending stops now is more positioning - not reacting. Stolarz came out to cut the available net down as he should and he didn't leave a lot on the blocker side for Hughes - as Stolarz should. Unfortunately for Stolarz and many goalies in his situation, the puck had eyes for the little opening he left because he cannot possibly block 100% of the net.
Stolarz challenged, had pretty/very good positioning and got beat by a well placed hard shot that defied reaction time.
If Stolarz cheated on one side of the net, the other side would be open.
I do not think that Hughes shot was practically 'stoppable' unless it hit Stolarz. Unfortunately for Stolarz and the Leafs, it didn't.
Guilt Trip
Well-known member
It was stoppable...Stolarz himself said he blew it.
I think he's just taking the heat because of his remarks after the last game - that the team preferred stayed in the locker room.
He doesn't control the laws of physics and the limits of human reaction time.
His body basically had to be pretty close to wherever that puck was going to be before Hughes took the shot.
It is wishful thinking. And like all NHL goalies, he knows it. So do his teammates.
herman
Well-known member
Stolarz may think he blew it (goalies should believe they can stop everything), but I give credit to Hughes' deceptive release on this slapshot. He showed glove side with his body, and finished it blocker side, and even gave it a very slight delayed launch.
Goaltending positioning is prediction based on the presented information and Hughes did a great job manipulating Stolarz to give up an opening. Of course most players don't have that kind of time to make a play like that and it's a bit on the skaters for overloading to the bench side without coverage.
Goaltending positioning is prediction based on the presented information and Hughes did a great job manipulating Stolarz to give up an opening. Of course most players don't have that kind of time to make a play like that and it's a bit on the skaters for overloading to the bench side without coverage.
L K
Well-known member
Absolutely they are....and the Raptors. Even at the start of the season I was flipping back and forth between Leafs and Blue Jays in the Yankees series. I'm less concerned about missing the Leafs. The play style is just way too frustrating even when they are winning
Guilt Trip
Well-known member
I'm going to take his word for it and I agree with him. He blew it.
Goalies should be looking at the puck and the angle of the stick to get a sense of where it's going. If he's looking at Hughes' body, then he made a big mistake.
azzurri63
Well-known member
You know this team is in trouble when you lose one of your top D and the next guy in is Phillipe Myers. Goes to show you how this team has given up so much, scouted poorly possibly that we have nothing to look forward to when someone goes down and that goes for the forward group as well. Piss poor management over the years.
Joe S.
Moderator
To be honest I’m agreeing with most of your sentiments, but let’s be real, what team really has a top 6 nhl ready defender just sitting there waiting outside of their top 6?
bustaheims
Well-known member
Exactly. Some teams might have a spare 5/6 guy, but you're not getting much better than that unless there's a prospect waiting in the wings to take the next step - and most teams don't really have that, either, as the kind of prospect you're talking about is probably already in the lineup.
That being said, I'd like to see the Leafs give Villeneuve a shot, but I don't see it happening.
azzurri63
Well-known member
My main point is the farm, juniors anyone there isn't anything that has me looking forward for any call up. We are probably in the bottom 5 teams as far as what there is to look forward to. I'm sure there are ample teams who have promising players in the minors etc that bring hope to the future. Some teams dont want to rush. We don't have anything that falls in that category. Danford maybe our best D prospect. Meh. Cowan our top forward prospect will be fine but we'll have to wait and see if he'll be a game changer in the NHL. I get it that comes with being a contender in managements eyes not mine to try and trade at the deadline to win a cup. Lot on here knew that wasn't going to happen and we gave up a lot of players and draft picks high ones for nothing that put us over the top. We would have been better off to stick with what we had and not given up anything. The results in the playoffs couldn't have been worse.
No, that is not accurate. Studies have shown that elite goalies stop the puck better when they can assess the body movements of the shooter as opposed to just seeing the puck and video studies have shown that elite goalies make good adjustments for positioning prior to the shot being taken based upon the limbs and body position of the shooter. Again, some of that is due to the physics and limits of reaction time. Is the shooter going to take a wrist shot, snap shot or slap shot - you get some of that from his body mechanics, his shoulders/hips and some from the puck position relative to his feet. If you wait until the puck is launched, a high percentage of the time, don't have time to react. You have to preposition prior to the puck being launched. Figuring this out is what extended older Ed Belfour's career for example when his reflexes had slowed.
OldTimeHockey
Well-known member
Something being stoppable and something being stopped every time are two very different things.
The Leaf's goaltending is least of their worries. With the amount of odd person rushes/breakaways the Leafs gave up, without Stolarz in net, that's a 8 or 9-2 game.
Give your head a shake and quit blaming the goalies for what is a listless team that doesn't look engaged in the least.
OldTimeHockey
Well-known member
You're right, a goalie's focus should be on the puck. Never once has a goalie been looking at the angle of a stick. What does that even mean?
herman
Well-known member
This is why Phil Kessel was so successful for a period of time, because he could rip down the wing and snap off an accurate, heavy shot from a posture that most goalies did not recognize as a shooting situation (inside leg). Same with Matthews earlier on in his career. The curl and drag wrist shot, especially as a pseudo one-timer was unreadable at the time. Every kid is going it nowadays so every goalie is ready for it.
Guilt Trip
Well-known member
How it comes off the stick. The angle of the blade tells you where it's going. That's how I used to do it.
Guilt Trip
Well-known member
Shake you own bloody head. I don't blame him for what the team is sucking at but he's not exempt to criticism. I'm also not in the least concerned about the Leafs goaltending.