Thursday, February 24, 2011
Posted: 9:45 a.m.
By Tim Panaccio
CSNPhilly.com
The decision on who will be the Flyers starting goalie in the playoffs took an interesting turn this week.
All things being equal between rookie Sergei Bobrovsky and veteran Brian Boucher, there is one tangible asset that Boucher not only excels in, but his defensemen believe sets him apart: puck handling.
Bobrovsky has had trouble lately deciding how and what to do with pucks outside and behind the net.
This, said Kimmo Timonen and Matt Carle, among others, is a critical area that allows the defense to begin a quick, clean breakout without the Flyers d-men getting pinned into their own end.
The Flyers host the Islanders Thursday and Bobrovsky is expected in net.
NHL
During Tuesdays game against Phoenix, you could actually hear Timonen shouting instructions to Bob off Comcast SportsNets TV feed.
Yeah there are problems, Timonen admitted. But its his first time here and its going to take him time to get better. He has to feel comfortable going behind to stop the puck. Thats the first thing.
Then its talking. What he is going to do with the puck. Its going to take time. Its not easy and we all understand that.
He has to first learn how to stop the puck. Sometimes, he has to go there even if he cant get it just to try. If hes going to do that, he will get better. Then when he stops the puck it comes down to talking.
Bobrovsky speaks very little English and it makes it harder to communicate with his defense. That will improve over time.
Yet unless his puck-handling skills improve against quick teams, the Flyers are going to struggle on the breakout.
Its going to make it hard for us to make a good first pass, Timonen said. If you look at the goalies who are good at stopping pucks, it helps the defense a lot. More than you think.
There are so many teams coming with a lot of speed and if the puck goes around, they can create a forecheck and turnovers and everything. If you stop the puck behind the net, you break out right away. Its a simple thing but it makes a huge difference.
Carle and even Sean ODonnell agree with Timonen that Boucher is far more adept at this, which makes sense, given Boosh has been around more than a decade in the NHL.
Bob needs to develop confidence in going out and playing the puck, Carle said. Its about keeping it simple. When he is coming out, everyone is more, I wont say on edge, but more aware of the possibility of something going wrong.
Whereas with Boosh, theres more confidence with him playing the puck. Bob has progressed with it and he works on it a lot. And thats all you can do. Be patient with him and keep it simple with him.
Boucher said puck-handling is not a skill easily developed by a goalie. Bobrovsky is in his first NHL season. He played in the KHL in Russia where goalies were instructed not to leave the net. Why? Because players in Europe skate the puck into the zone. And because the rinks are wider, they dont dump the puck in.
Theres a lot of possession and a lot less handling of pucks, Boucher said. He is learning on the job here. This is something that sometimes takes years to get better at and getting better reads on the forecheck. Knowing where your defensemen are going to be. It takes time. I cant say practice. Its not practice. Its situations in a game.
Ron Hextall was among the all-time greats at handling pucks. Boucher is not Hextall, but hes far more advanced than other goalies the Flyers have had since Hextall. How long did it take him to be comfortable doing that?
My God, probably 3-4 years, Boucher replied.
Because of the trapezoid rule, theres less puck-handling by goalies now in the NHL. But there are still enough pucks that come close enough to the net that Bobrovsky should get and be able to turn up ice to assist the defense.
This could be why Boucher will win the job as the Flyers playoff goalie. His skills are more refined at this point and his puck handling transition is cleaner.
For me, it comes down to him really getting comfortable going behind the net to stop it, Timonen said. Its actually a big thing. I think its a bigger thing than we give it credit for. So, Boosh is really good doing it and it makes a huge difference for us.
Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said he wants to cut Bob some slack here because this is his first NHL season.
You work on things you do well, as well as things you need to improve on, Laviolette said. That is certainly an area to work on. Like all players, coaches, you take the good and bad and continue to work at it. Those are positions of emphasis on the ice as we go down that road.
If you havent done much of it your whole life, its hard to expect someone to go in and be perfect at it. Hes a hard working kid who works hard at practice ... We have time, we have lots of time
Time? This is not something that figures to be solved in time for the playoffs.
Which is why Boucher figures to get the nod when April rolls around.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net
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