DirtyMick34
Dipietro: To Play or Not to play?
Posted 3:06 PM ET | Comments 2
After reading Garth's blog, the Islanders certainly have a problem on their hands. Ricky D, who you'd have to think when healthy, is far and away the better of the two if not a straight up world class goalie. Dubielewicz is a young, upstart guy with a lot of potential: I really like this kid, he's not afraid of anything and challenges the shooter very aggressively. But never the less you'd think Doobie would have to be on the bench form this point forward in favor of the guy who had played well all season and carried the load.
However, while Ricky is damn good a rusty goalie, no matter how good he is, is never a good goalie. If you start DiPietro when he's not ready and the Sabres come out and steam role him in a very hostile arena, of which is hostile toward him in particular ever since Ryan Miller's Olympic snub (and yes everyone in Buffalo will remember this), then you can kiss his and islander's confidence as a whole good bye. Doobie may not be the best of the two, but right now he's the better option. He played great in last night's loss, and really is a victim of slow defensemen and a lack of two way play on the part of the forwards. The Islanders were pressured all night and never really set a tempo in any direction. DiPietro can't fix that, and while maybe he makes an extra save or two, it doesn't change the outcome. He is a very good goalie, but not truly great...yet anyway. To put him in a league of Luongo, Hasek, or even Kiprusoff, all game changing netminders, is probably incorrect. I wouldn't even consider Ryan Miller there yet, though he is inching closer and when all is said and done might end up in this class.
Rick DiPietro will not be a savior to this hockey team, and if I am wrong, so be it, but what I am correct about is a rusty and unprepaired DiPietro, or any goalie for that matter in a position like this, is most definately NOT going to make a real difference... unless Dunham were in in net.
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A real tip of my hat to Dubielewicz's performance last night. The saves he made were quality saves, and there are a ton of goalies in the league that would have allowed 7 or 8 goals last night. Drury could have lit up a guy like Dunham for 4 goals easy with the types of chances he generated. However, he has to find a way to stop those shots from the point on the power play. It is much harder for a short goaltender to challenge on a power play because you have to cover more bases then when its 5 on 5. Because of this, he's forced to either sit back in the net and look small, giving shooters a bunch of holes to pick, or he can come out and risk being massively out of position if a rebound or certain type of deflection happens. In his case, I say be aggressive and put the responsibility of boxing your crease out on your defensemen. He did this last night but he has to find the puck in traffic and not let those point shots through. I'll be interested to see how he plays it in game 2, if he gets the chance.
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I didn't feel Ryan Miller was anything special last night, but when you take a morbid 21 shots in a playoff game I can see why. Miller had stressed before the series the importance of positioning because all teams would be studying his habits, but if he were in the right position then at least he's already one up on the shooter. Miller's big flaw, to me, is he's a positional cheater. When he is in games like this he tends to allow some random high corner shot in from the top/middle of one of the circles, usually on a two on one or the end of a transition. He has gotten better with this, but it's something to look for, especially in games like this where not much is happening. If the Islanders want a chance in this series, they have to find ways to surprise the speedy and relentless attack of the Sabres.
However, while Ricky is damn good a rusty goalie, no matter how good he is, is never a good goalie. If you start DiPietro when he's not ready and the Sabres come out and steam role him in a very hostile arena, of which is hostile toward him in particular ever since Ryan Miller's Olympic snub (and yes everyone in Buffalo will remember this), then you can kiss his and islander's confidence as a whole good bye. Doobie may not be the best of the two, but right now he's the better option. He played great in last night's loss, and really is a victim of slow defensemen and a lack of two way play on the part of the forwards. The Islanders were pressured all night and never really set a tempo in any direction. DiPietro can't fix that, and while maybe he makes an extra save or two, it doesn't change the outcome. He is a very good goalie, but not truly great...yet anyway. To put him in a league of Luongo, Hasek, or even Kiprusoff, all game changing netminders, is probably incorrect. I wouldn't even consider Ryan Miller there yet, though he is inching closer and when all is said and done might end up in this class.
Rick DiPietro will not be a savior to this hockey team, and if I am wrong, so be it, but what I am correct about is a rusty and unprepaired DiPietro, or any goalie for that matter in a position like this, is most definately NOT going to make a real difference... unless Dunham were in in net.
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A real tip of my hat to Dubielewicz's performance last night. The saves he made were quality saves, and there are a ton of goalies in the league that would have allowed 7 or 8 goals last night. Drury could have lit up a guy like Dunham for 4 goals easy with the types of chances he generated. However, he has to find a way to stop those shots from the point on the power play. It is much harder for a short goaltender to challenge on a power play because you have to cover more bases then when its 5 on 5. Because of this, he's forced to either sit back in the net and look small, giving shooters a bunch of holes to pick, or he can come out and risk being massively out of position if a rebound or certain type of deflection happens. In his case, I say be aggressive and put the responsibility of boxing your crease out on your defensemen. He did this last night but he has to find the puck in traffic and not let those point shots through. I'll be interested to see how he plays it in game 2, if he gets the chance.
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I didn't feel Ryan Miller was anything special last night, but when you take a morbid 21 shots in a playoff game I can see why. Miller had stressed before the series the importance of positioning because all teams would be studying his habits, but if he were in the right position then at least he's already one up on the shooter. Miller's big flaw, to me, is he's a positional cheater. When he is in games like this he tends to allow some random high corner shot in from the top/middle of one of the circles, usually on a two on one or the end of a transition. He has gotten better with this, but it's something to look for, especially in games like this where not much is happening. If the Islanders want a chance in this series, they have to find ways to surprise the speedy and relentless attack of the Sabres.
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Last night, I didn't sense anything unique about Ryan Miller. Miller emphasized the significance of location before the series since every team will analyze his routine, but if he's in the right position, he's at least one of the shooters. Miller's main trick is that he cheats on his poses. foodle