Streaky goalies could cause fits
Last Updated: Thursday, January 14, 2010 | 12:56 PM ET
Bruce Arthur, of National Post for CBC Sports
Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller could be the great equalizer for the Americans in Vancouver. (Don Heupel/Associated Press) As long as professional hockey players compete in the Olympics - and maybe even if their serves are removed - Jaromir Jagr's words will hang over any Olympic hockey tournament. "The best team doesn't win this tournament," Jagr once said, while playing for the Czech Republic. "The luckiest team does."
Luck, however, can be manufactured by goaltenders. One hot streak, in a single-elimination tournament, can tilt the ice. In fact, this sort of streak should be called the "Hasek."
And so as the 2010 Olympics draw nearer, here is today's update on the various netminders. Warning: These standings will change often.
Save percentage of likely starters, with primary backups noted, through Jan. 13, by country.
- Ryan Miller, USA, .935, 1st (Likely backup: Tim Thomas, .918, 14th).
- Miikka Kiprusoff, Finland, .927, T3rd (Likely backup: Nicklas Backstrom, .905, 28th. Not on the team: Tuukka Rask, .933, 2nd) .
- Jaroslav Halak, Slovakia, .927, T3rd (Likely backup: Peter Budaj, .925, not enough games to qualify among leaders).
- Martin Brodeur, Canada, .925, T6th (Likely backup, Robeto Luongo, .923, 11th).
- Tomas Vokoun, Czech Republic, .925, T6th (Likely backup: Ondrei Pavelec, .902, 32nd).
- Evgeni Nabakov, Russia, .924, T8th (Likely backup: or perhaps starter, Ilya Bryzgalov, .921, 12th).
- Henrik Lundqvist, Sweden, .924, T8th (Likely backup: Jonas Gustavsson, .901, T34th).
- Jonas Hiller, Switzerland, .918, T13th (Likely backup: Irrelevant).
So to sum up, everyone's got someone good. And these numbers could all get jumbled within the next three weeks. And when it comes down to it, games are probably going to be decided by a bounce, a skate edge, a mistake. But since we're all overanalyzing, this seemed like a good place to start.
