The Bruins Goalie Preview - The Men Who Get Shot At
"Andrew Raycroft has been traded to Philadelphia."
Say it again.
"Andrew Raycroft has been traded to Philadelphia."
One more time - it doesn't sound real.
"Andrew Raycroft has been traded to Philadelphia."
That's the key. That one move set off the series of events which Bruins fans are hoping will make everything all right this year. Starved for playoff hockey, the dealing of Raycroft was a cutting loose of the pain that accompanied his late-season melt down.
Though in fairness to him, "meltdown" may not be strong enough of a word. The way he crumbled was more like the controlled implosion of a skyscraper, with women and children cleared for blocks away to be kept safe. Children SHOULD have been kept out of the Fleet Center last spring, that's for sure. And they should always be kept away from Montreal and its GM.
Raycroft leaves town in exchange for Scott Balan and Antero Niittymaki, the goaltender who has led the Finnish team in several international tournaments. He also played three games for the Philadelphia Flyers last season, seeing action in forty-seven minutes of play. He allowed one goal against him in twenty shots, and the Bruins were impressed enough with what they saw it was decided he would be the man here. Whether he can withstand the pressure will be seen, but results thusfar are good.
John Grahame returns to the back up spot and is expected to see plenty of action. He may spell Niittymaki wrong, but he will also spell him in the net as well. He is projected to start twenty games, and will likely see action in another fifteen or so filling in for Niittymaki. Last season, he saw thirty-one games as a fill in for Raycroft, going 4-10-0 with a 3.60 goals against average. He also stopped eighty-six percent of the shots he faced.
Roman Malek got nineteen minutes of ice time during the year, stopping six of the seven shots he faced. He will be dressed for several of the games Grahame starts in order to rest Niittymaki. Sebastian Charpentier will backstop the farm league when Malek is needed elsewhere. But honestly, if these two see any significant ice, chances are the season is fucked.
Say it again.
"Andrew Raycroft has been traded to Philadelphia."
One more time - it doesn't sound real.
"Andrew Raycroft has been traded to Philadelphia."
That's the key. That one move set off the series of events which Bruins fans are hoping will make everything all right this year. Starved for playoff hockey, the dealing of Raycroft was a cutting loose of the pain that accompanied his late-season melt down.
Though in fairness to him, "meltdown" may not be strong enough of a word. The way he crumbled was more like the controlled implosion of a skyscraper, with women and children cleared for blocks away to be kept safe. Children SHOULD have been kept out of the Fleet Center last spring, that's for sure. And they should always be kept away from Montreal and its GM.
Raycroft leaves town in exchange for Scott Balan and Antero Niittymaki, the goaltender who has led the Finnish team in several international tournaments. He also played three games for the Philadelphia Flyers last season, seeing action in forty-seven minutes of play. He allowed one goal against him in twenty shots, and the Bruins were impressed enough with what they saw it was decided he would be the man here. Whether he can withstand the pressure will be seen, but results thusfar are good.
John Grahame returns to the back up spot and is expected to see plenty of action. He may spell Niittymaki wrong, but he will also spell him in the net as well. He is projected to start twenty games, and will likely see action in another fifteen or so filling in for Niittymaki. Last season, he saw thirty-one games as a fill in for Raycroft, going 4-10-0 with a 3.60 goals against average. He also stopped eighty-six percent of the shots he faced.
Roman Malek got nineteen minutes of ice time during the year, stopping six of the seven shots he faced. He will be dressed for several of the games Grahame starts in order to rest Niittymaki. Sebastian Charpentier will backstop the farm league when Malek is needed elsewhere. But honestly, if these two see any significant ice, chances are the season is fucked.
posted by JB* at 3:30 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home