It's A Rough Road for an NHL Playoff Goalie

Squatting on blue ice between two red metal posts yet again, he is the only thing between Alex Ovechkin’s lightning wrist shot and the net. Pads surely are not the heaviest thing carried on a NHL goalie’s shoulders.

In this pants-wetting situation again and again, the pressure of a net-minder in the playoffs is one of the most nerve wracking experiences one can imagine. Ultimately, a team’s ability to win consistently in the playoffs is decided by the way a goalie can handle pressure in extreme situations against the best players in the NHL playing at their highest level. As daunting as this task may sound, it is the common expectation of a net-minder in the NHL playoffs. Yet if these pressured puck-stoppers can handle their expectations, they have the ability to single-handedly carry their team to a Stanley Cup.

Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward perfected the example of carrying his team in the playoffs last year. Ward completely shut down his opponents in the first three rounds of the playoffs, scrapping the odds that his team would have an early exit with a severe lack of offensive firepower and defensive skill. Ward was the sole reason the Hurricanes were in any position to compete in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009. Goalies really can make all the difference.

Star players deserve their own credit for leading their teams in the playoffs. Their squads rely on them to score timely goals and perform at their highest ability. But the expected level of consistency is nothing compared to a goalie’s daily workload. If Sidney Crosby fans on an open-net shot or Henrik Zetterberg goes pointless in one or two games, it won’t be the deciding factor in a series or even a game.

Yet if a goalie is out of position or doesn’t have the right mindset in a game, they could give up a goal too early or miss too many easy saves that could easily lose a game (or two) for his team. Furthermore, goalies have to be on the ice the entire game, expected to hold their net through power plays, two-on-one breakaways and the aforementioned zooming all-star alone on the ice.

On the other side, no matter how consistent or clutch a star player may be, if the goalie can match that intensity he can single-handedly ensure a victory. Disabling a team’s leading goal-scorer can demoralize a team or even make them change their overall strategy, which would easily change the momentum of a team in a series. Of course, even when a goalie is consistent, he can still lose a series for his team.

When every player is playing at their highest level to try and win a game for their team, even the mediocre skaters will step up in big moments. As hard as it is for goalies to be consistent, if they can’t stop the nifty stick-work and speedy slap-shots from any spot on the ice, they’ll hear their name chanted in mockery for the next five minutes of ice-time.

With starting goaltender Jose Theodore struggling against the Rangers, the Capitals went with rookie Simeon Varlamov to guard the net for the remainder of the playoffs. Varlamov started off hot and proved to be the main factor in his team’s comeback to win their first series 4-3 against the Rangers. Yet just as hot as he started, he dropped three out of four games against the Penguins in the next round. The Capitals pulled him in game seven after he clumsily let in five unanswered goals in the first period. Talk about a goalie losing a series for his team.

The Penguins, on the other hand, relied on Marc-Andre Fluery to keep their team in contention. After sliding through the first round against Philadelphia, the goalie prepared to face his most difficult competition against Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals. Before Varlamov began to let in anything that crossed his pads, Fluery made an incredible save on Ovechkin-one that ended up making all the difference for the Pittsburgh team. After the save, Pittsburgh began its assault on the young opposing goaltender to seal a series victory. Who knows what would’ve happened if Ovechkin had scored the first goal.

The Capitals’ goaltending issues last year led to their downfall in the playoffs against the Penguins. But the Caps have the same issue this year, which leaves their fans wondering if the team will reach a similar and disappointing ending. Washington has already replaced its starting goalie, with Varlamov starting yet again in a high-pressure situation.

In a league full of talented players looking to earn the spotlight in this year’s playoffs, it is the goaltender that faces the highest expectations from his team. As much pressure as the job requires, the goalie’s performance is the deciding factor in which teams will be in serious contention for Lord Stanley.

NFL Draft Goes Prime Time

Scooch over drama scripts and sitcoms, because the NFL draft is now a smash hit in prime time television. This year, the league decided to move the draft from its normal weekend afternoon slot to prime time action on Thursday. Developing from Monday Night Football to Sunday night and Thursday night action, the successful draft in prime time is just another testament to the ever-expanding, and possibly dangerous, popularity of the NFL.

The ratings of this debut were, without question, impressive. As reported in a Sports Illustrated article by Richard Deitsch on April 23, the draft viewership increased by 32 percent from last year’s event on the first day. Here’s a startling statistic: the first round of the draft was the eighth most watched cable program this year.

After the first day of the now three-day-long event, Commissioner Roger Goodell said, “...to see the kind of extraordinary increase in viewership I think does reinforce the idea that we can put the draft on a bigger platform, and that’s great for everyone,” as reported in the aforementioned Sports Illustrated article.

There’s no question that growing popularity is beneficial to the league, but where does Goodell draw the line? Moving the draft to the prime time slot might’ve gone too far, as the NFL is sending the wrong message to its veteran and incoming players and fans alike.

The draft is undoubtedly an important component to the NFL season. Success in the draft is crucial to the depth and growth of each organization, and while it also boosts the popularity and interest in college football, that’s not to say that it should be made into a night show spectacle. Establishing the draft as a rating-boosting show only adds to the unnecessary glorification of these young athletes.

The league already deals with this problem from an economic standpoint. Rookie contracts have grown to a ridiculous figure, prompting veteran players to question why kids straight out of college are earning more than their proven teammates before even stepping on NFL grass.

Media coverage of the draft is just as overblown. ESPN assigns two experts in Todd McShay and Mel Kiper, Jr. to cover the draft for the entire year. Their job in its entirety is analyzing college athletes and making mock drafts. Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated has already posted a mock draft for next year on their website. What more could the media do to give college athletes overconfidence and hype about an event that has nothing to do with the competition or current players?

Other sports have ridiculous media coverage as well. NCAA Basketball has Bracketology, while most leagues are smothered with weekly power rankings, but these commentaries are at least rooted in actual competition. The flood of mock drafts leads to even more superfluous hype.

Other sports leagues may have even taken note of the switch and how it impacts their own operations. Mark Cuban, the outspoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks, voiced his displeasure about the decision to move to prime time, mainly because it took place during an NBA playoff game.

“I just don't think the NFL is playing themselves out to be a good partner,” Cuban said, as reported by Todd Archer in an an April 21 article in the Dallas Morning News. Cuban also mentioned that the NBA doesn’t schedule games during the NCAA Basketball championship. The Mavericks owner isn’t the most level-headed or entitled voice to speak this opinion, but he does make a necessary point concerning inter-league relations.

The draft also took place during the first week of the NHL playoffs. The fact that some playoff hockey games aren’t even nationally televised presents an important question for the sporting world: should the NFL draft really take precedence over these crucial playoff games?

In the end, what the fan wants is what the league is going to provide, especially if it means an increase in money and popularity. How much will the NFL change based on the fan’s demand? The spectacle that the draft has become is dangerously crossing the line that separates fan entertainment from true competition.

College stars deserve to celebrate their entry to the NFL, but having that process on a prime time marquee is going far overboard.