Matt Ross: Statement Made: #60 Plays Solid
- Matt Ross
Driedger played lights out and looked like a poised veteran. I was impressed by his solid positioning and how pucks seemed to melt into his gear. No rebound chaos last night. The boys let him see the shots that they forced from outside. No screens or free guys to tip pucks in, no forgotten men standing all alone in front. No careless turnovers leading to breakaways or 2on1s. If they put that kind of effort in while playing in front of Bob...maybe Bob wouldn't feel he had to be perfect and could settle down and just play goalie. Bob seems to get in trouble when he's thinking too much. ESP-like anticipation seems to turn into random guessing. He's maybe now worried about where he puts the rebound and ends up missing the save. Bob just seems to be thinking a lot, instead of just doing. Support from his team like they showed they are capable of last night would go a long way to settling Bob down.
A brilliant move by Q to let Bob sit, it was needed. But, Bob didn't morph into Depietro over the summer. The wake up call was for the team as a whole, as much as it is for Bob. Driedger had to deal with none of the shoddiness in front of him that Bob has seen so frequently. If they play like that in front of Bob I bet he'll look more like Vezina Bob rather quickly.
Edit; saw the "heat map" from the game, it looks very different from others I remember seeing so far this season. Nothing much from in close on Driedger. The boys can play defense.
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