After reading some Canucks fans talk about how Luongo hasn't made the post season because the teams in front of him haven't been very good, I decided to look at Kiprusoff and his contribution to the Flames success this year. What I found is not real surprising; Kiprusoff makes a bad team look pretty good.
Look at how poor the Flames were when he was struggling at the start of the season:
Oct 5 @ EDM L 1-3
Oct 7 EDM W 2-1
Oct 9 SAN L 1-4
Oct 12 @ OTT W 1-0
Oct 14 @ TOR OTL 4-5
Oct 17 @ MON L 4-5
Oct 19 @ BOS L 2-3
Oct 24 PHO W 6-1
Oct 28 NAS L 2-3
Oct 30 WAS L 2-4
Flames go 3-6-1 in October, with their 3 wins coming from games where Kipper lets in 1 or less goals.
Now let's check out Kipper's play when the 'Flames' got hot in November.
Nov 1 @ DET L 2-3
Nov 4 @ STL W 3-2
Nov 7 DAL W 3-1
Nov 10 ANA W 3-0
Nov 11 @ VAN W 3-2
Nov 14 STL W 3-0
Nov 17 DET W 4-1
Nov 21 @ EDM L 1-2
Nov 22 CHI W 4-1
Nov 25 @ LOS L 1-3
Nov 28 COL W 5-2
The Flames go 8-3 with Kipper in net. All 8 wins come from games where Kipper lets in 2 goals or less goals. Also, he isn't too bad in the three losses either, posting a 2.67 GAA (a little better than league average).
Looks to me like Kiprusoff makes a bad team look pretty good. In every single game the 'Flames' have manage to win this year, Kiprusoff has let in 2 goals or less. In fact, out of the 13 wins the Flames have this season, Kiprusoff has allowed 1 or less goals in 10 of them. That's right folks, the Flames have only manage to win 3 games with Kiprusoff letting in 2 or more goals (two of them being 3-2 victories).
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6 comments:
Last time I checked, the goalie was part of the team. Asking counterfactual questions like how good a team would be without a particular goaltender makes as little or as much sense as asking how good they would be without any other particular player at any other particular position. Teams should not feel the need to apologize for having a kick-ass goalie, or for that kick-ass goalie making them better. We Oiler fans should appreciate that this year just as much as Flames fans should, don't you think?
And it does make sense to ask how good they'd be without player X rather than goalie X (or more accurately with a replacement level player in place of player/goalie X), so I don't see the problem. It is a good way to think about player contributions.
Last time I checked, the goalie was part of the team. Asking counterfactual questions like how good a team would be without a particular goaltender makes as little or as much sense as asking how good they would be without any other particular player at any other particular position. Teams should not feel the need to apologize for having a kick-ass goalie, or for that kick-ass goalie making them better. We Oiler fans should appreciate that this year just as much as Flames fans should, don't you think?
Who said anything about apologizing? You're pretty much putting words in my mouth.
Why I made this post:
1. I was tired of hearing Vancouver fans make excuses for Luongo.
2. I found some compelling evidence that suggests the Flames only win when Kiprusoff plays spectacular (10 wins when he lets in 1 goal or less, 3 when he lets in 2 goals, and 0 (up until last night) when he lets in 3 or more).
3. I felt I was correct in my assumption that Kiprusoff is the difference between a good Flames team and a bad Flames team.
4. I decided to share this information.
What I didn't do:
1. Say a goalie wasn't part of a team.
2. Ask that teams apologize for having a kick ass goalie.
3. Ask that teams apologize for that kickass goalie making them better.
4. Suggest that Roloson isn't a huge part of Oilers success.
Side note,
Clearly 'anonymous', you're not an Oilers fan, so why pretend in your rhetorical question? Just curious.
I'm not gonna be a complete wanker here (or at least try not to). Is Kiprusoff exceptional? Yes. He is arguably the best goalie in the league. Replace Kiprusoff with an uninspiring but solid starter? Of course the save percentage would drop, and the GAA would rise. How about, keep Kiprusoff, but replace Phaneuf, Hamrlik, Regehr, Ference, Zyuzin and Warrener with Smith, Staios, Tjarnqvist, Bergeron, Greene and Smid.....same result actually. Whenever the Flames aren't on, and the Oilers are, I watch. If you look at the last few Oilers 1 and 2 goal games (wins and losses alike) you'll find that the Oilers get outshot by a few. In the 2-1 win over Calgary, the Oilers outshot the Flames "anemic offense" by 1. If you want people to read your blog, try to be a little less subjective.
I'm not gonna be a complete wanker here (or at least try not to). Is Kiprusoff exceptional? Yes. He is arguably the best goalie in the league. Replace Kiprusoff with an uninspiring but solid starter? Of course the save percentage would drop, and the GAA would rise.
Glad we are in agreement.
How about, keep Kiprusoff, but replace Phaneuf, Hamrlik, Regehr, Ference, Zyuzin and Warrener with Smith, Staios, Tjarnqvist, Bergeron, Greene and Smid.....same result actually.
I agree, the Flames defense is better.
Whenever the Flames aren't on, and the Oilers are, I watch. If you look at the last few Oilers 1 and 2 goal games (wins and losses alike) you'll find that the Oilers get outshot by a few. In the 2-1 win over Calgary, the Oilers outshot the Flames "anemic offense" by 1.
I don't remember saying anything about the Flames 'anemic offense'. All I said was that Kiprusoff is the difference between a good team and a bad team.
If you want people to read your blog, try to be a little less subjective.
Look, I'm an Oiler fan, and this is an Oilers blog. Naturally, it's going to be subjective. Generally I don't post about other teams, but when I got in a discussion on HFboards about Luongo and the Canucks, I felt that my findings were worth sharing.
Not to pick sides or anything, but any other player is more replaceable than a No. 1 goalie because no other player plays more than 30 minutes a game. Missing minutes by a stud Dman or sniper can be covered over to some extent by other skaters. But when a great goalie goes cold, that can spell trouble for a team that doesn't have a lot going for it otherwise. That's true for the Flames and it's true for the Canucks. If Luongo or Kiprisoff went missing, those teams would be lucky to win a single game, like the Blackhawks when Khabibulin has been hurt.
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