GAME DISCUSSION THREAD GDT: Florida at Buffalo 1-9-14 at 7:00 PM EST

[Kristian]

He has been playing well and is a great backup, but I think he is getting just as lucky as he has been unlucky. Last night he was saved many times by the posts, and was also saved by the refs blowing a whistle because of an injured Panther.

 

I can see Enroth having a career similar to someone like Biron, where they look good and can be a really good backup goalie, but they won't cut it as a full time starter

 

It's hard to tell when watching on TV only, but to me it seems the opposition has two floors to shoot at up top, every time he goes into the butterfly.

[carpandean]

Yeah, it was. As in.... she never hits the note right off, she slides into it: "Oh say can you see-EEEEE...." The first part of "see" is the wrong note, they she has to fish around for it before she hits it. And she does that through the whole song. Just grates on my nerves, especially with her slow tempo.

 

She seems to be doing more of that recently than she did last year. It almost seems more like she's trying to add in those (#@&$%!!) "creative" runs that pop stars like to use when they forget that they are not bigger than the song that they are signing. I kept thinking that someone was giving her bad advice on "proving" her skills, and that she should just sing the song as written.

 

 

Are we really criticizing a 12 year old who sings that well in front of thousands of people?

 

I believe that she's 9 (or almost; she was 8 last February.)

[darksabre]

It's hard to tell when watching on TV only, but to me it seems the opposition has two floors to shoot at up top, every time he goes into the butterfly.

 

He's too short to play in the modern NHL.

 

Goalies in the NHL who are under six foot:

 

Tim Thomas 5'11"

Jaroslav Halak 5'11"

 

Enroth at 5'10" would make him the shortest in the league.

 

I like the guy. He's just too short.

[FolignosJock]

It's hard to tell when watching on TV only, but to me it seems the opposition has two floors to shoot at up top, every time he goes into the butterfly.

 

It is even more glaring in person. He isnt big enough

[Doohicksie]

Are we really criticizing a 12 year old who sings that well in front of thousands of people?

 

Yes. Yes we are. Because she doesn't sing "that well." It's embarrassing and painful to listen to, and those are not the emotions my national anthem should evoke.

[spndnchz]

Are we really criticizing a 12 year old who sings that well in front of thousands of people?

 

 

 

I hate it when the Sabres suck.

 

She sang last year too. She was much better last year. Kept it simpler, less Christina-esque. I think her voice has changed and just needs some time.

[Robviously]

He's too short to play in the modern NHL.

 

Goalies in the NHL who are under six foot:

 

Tim Thomas 5'11"

Jaroslav Halak 5'11"

 

Enroth at 5'10" would make him the shortest in the league.

 

I like the guy. He's just too short.

Because being 1 inch shorter makes a difference?

 

We're you in the Bills war room when they passes on Russell Wilson a couple years ago?

[darksabre]

Because being 1 inch shorter makes a difference?

 

We're you in the Bills war room when they passes on Russell Wilson a couple years ago?

 

Goalies are expected to cover as much of the net as possible. That 1" height difference means 1" less coverage in the butterfly. 1" higher that Enroth has to extend his shorter arms. 1" more space over his shoulders to shoot. You know how thick a puck is?

[spndnchz]

Goalies are expected to cover as much of the net as possible. That 1" height difference means 1" less coverage in the butterfly. 1" higher that Enroth has to extend his shorter arms. 1" more space over his shoulders to shoot. You know how thick a puck is?

 

Sounds like the 700lb goalie argument.

[qwksndmonster]

 

Brian Koziol ‏@BrianWGR14m

Enroth: "It's tough to win with this team." #Sabres

Enroth Jauron.

[darksabre]

Sounds like the 700lb goalie argument.

 

Or the 7' tall goalie argument.

 

Big and mobile is the recipe these days.

[inkman]

Enroth Jauron.

I would have went with Dick Enroth but everyone would have thoughts was just calling him names.

[apuszczalowski]

Sounds like the 700lb goalie argument.

Atleast at 700lbs, you don't have to worry about the mobility because he should fill up the net nicely and not leave any openings...........

[Assquatch]

Atleast at 700lbs, you don't have to worry about the mobility because he should fill up the net nicely and not leave any openings...........

Trust me - 700 lb people have openings.

[nobody]

Yes. Yes we are. Because she doesn't sing "that well." It's embarrassing and painful to listen to, and those are not the emotions my national anthem should evoke.

 

She was bad last season and is bad this season. She had her shot to show she could improve. They need to move on.

Who cares if she is 9. I don't want "cute" with the athems - I want talent.

 

Maybe they can find a dog that howls along to the anthems - that would be cute.

[apuszczalowski]

Trust me - 700 lb people have openings.

I'm not even going to ask.................

[Robviously]

Goalies are expected to cover as much of the net as possible. That 1" height difference means 1" less coverage in the butterfly. 1" higher that Enroth has to extend his shorter arms. 1" more space over his shoulders to shoot. You know how thick a puck is?

I didn't ask of taller was better, I asked if that one inch is really why Enroth can't be a number one goalie in this league. If he was 6' exactly, would he be unstoppable?

 

How many goals has he let in where his height was a factor?

[MDFan]

Omark has the best puck skills on this team (which ain't saying much, but still). I even saw him make a couple of plays in the defensive zone last night.

 

Teddy might just be turning him into a real NHL player.

 

Also, I could be wrong, but I thought I saw him get 2 shifts in OT last night.

He did get two shifts in OT. It was on the second one where he had his head down and Jovi nailed him. Welcome to the NHL kid. Keep your head up. It looked like Nolan and the coaches were actually having a little chuckle over it. All part of the learning curve.

[darksabre]

I didn't ask of taller was better, I asked if that one inch is really why Enroth can't be a number one goalie in this league. If he was 6' exactly, would he be unstoppable?

 

How many goals has he let in where his height was a factor?

 

His difficulty in covering the net side-to-side is a restriction of his height. A taller goalie can plant his skates much farther apart and get lower while still covering plenty of net up top, whereas a short goalie covering that same distance (again, playing a butterfly style) requires him to cover less net up high.

 

Enroth's style doesn't give him the side-to-side movement that NHL goalies need to have to come across and make saves, especially on odd man situations or when the defense breaks down. Which happens a lot on this team especially. And when it happens on a playoff team, you want your goalie to be there. And a tall goalie is much more likely to be there. And much less likely to hurt himself stretching to make that save. Let's not forget Enroth's cramping issues and his brief injury when he had to leave a game this year(?). One in particular happened right after making a stretching side-to-side save.

 

He's just too dang short for the modern game. And for this team especially.

[JJFIVEOH]

He's too short to play in the modern NHL.

 

Goalies in the NHL who are under six foot:

 

Tim Thomas 5'11"

Jaroslav Halak 5'11"

 

Enroth at 5'10" would make him the shortest in the league.

 

I like the guy. He's just too short.

 

Did you recently measure the length of his legs? last I checked, goals don't go in over a goaltenders head unless he's down. Let's compare Vezinas and Conn Smythes for goaltenders over and under 6 feet.

 

If height makes that much of a difference, surely Miller must have a superior combined save percentage over the last 3-4 years.

 

Advanced stat reference in...............

[MattPie]

I didn't ask of taller was better, I asked if that one inch is really why Enroth can't be a number one goalie in this league. If he was 6' exactly, would he be unstoppable?

 

How many goals has he let in where his height was a factor?

 

Well, from last night one of the posts (towards the end of the game) was the FLA player moving past Enroth to Enroth's left, putting the puck around his skate and hitting the post. If Miller (for instance) at 6'3" is there in exactly the same position, his skate is approximately 2" further out due to longer legs, and that puck is either stopped or goes off the side of the net. The simple fact is a 6'3" goalie is going to be able to reach the corners of the net with less movement. I'm not saying he can't be a top goaltender, just that he's going to have to be better (faster or technique) than everyone else just to have the same results, since he doesn't cover as much of the net.

[JJFIVEOH]

Well, from last night one of the posts (towards the end of the game) was the FLA player moving past Enroth to Enroth's left, putting the puck around his skate and hitting the post. If Miller (for instance) at 6'3" is there in exactly the same position, his skate is approximately 2" further out due to longer legs, and that puck is either stopped or goes off the side of the net. The simple fact is a 6'3" goalie is going to be able to reach the corners of the net with less movement. I'm not saying he can't be a top goaltender, just that he's going to have to be better (faster or technique) than everyone else just to have the same results, since he doesn't cover as much of the net.

 

If he's getting beat in areas where a shorter goaltender would normally get beat, he must be making up for it elsewhere if he's had comparable stats with Miller over the last three years. Reflexes perhaps? Speed? He makes saves with his quickness that Miller or any other 6'+ wouldn't normally make. Every goaltender has weaknesses, it's a matter of how they can minimize those weaknesses and maximize their strengths. Considering he sits for 3,4,5 games at a time, having comparable stats to Miller is impressive to say the least.

[sicknfla]

 

 

Well, from last night one of the posts (towards the end of the game) was the FLA player moving past Enroth to Enroth's left, putting the puck around his skate and hitting the post. If Miller (for instance) at 6'3" is there in exactly the same position, his skate is approximately 2" further out due to longer legs, and that puck is either stopped or goes off the side of the net. The simple fact is a 6'3" goalie is going to be able to reach the corners of the net with less movement. I'm not saying he can't be a top goaltender, just that he's going to have to be better (faster or technique) than everyone else just to have the same results, since he doesn't cover as much of the net.

 

This is something I would like Sports Science on ESPN to do a study on. To me it's pretty simple science. A bigger goalie with the same speed as the smaller goalie is the obvious choice. If the smaller goalie is quicker or reads his angles better then size goes out the window.

[Wyldnwoody44]

 

 

This is something I would like Sports Science on ESPN to do a study on. To me it's pretty simple science. A bigger goalie with the same speed as the smaller goalie is the obvious choice. If the smaller goalie is quicker or reads his angles better then size goes out the window.

 

Is this a sexual reference

Its not the size of the goalie that matters, but the motion of his stick ;)

[MattPie]

This is something I would like Sports Science on ESPN to do a study on. To me it's pretty simple science. A bigger goalie with the same speed as the smaller goalie is the obvious choice. If the smaller goalie is quicker or reads his angles better then size goes out the window.

 

It would be interesting from that standpoint. But that comparison only works for shots the goalie sees. There a fair number of shots that the goalie stops because he's in the right spot and the puck hits him with no reaction. Smaller goalie clearly is at a disadvantage.

 

If he's getting beat in areas where a shorter goaltender would normally get beat, he must be making up for it elsewhere if he's had comparable stats with Miller over the last three years. Reflexes perhaps? Speed? He makes saves with his quickness that Miller or any other 6'+ wouldn't normally make. Every goaltender has weaknesses, it's a matter of how they can minimize those weaknesses and maximize their strengths. Considering he sits for 3,4,5 games at a time, having comparable stats to Miller is impressive to say the least.

 

Or the book isn't quite out him yet, so shooters aren't looking for his holes. These days with Video feeds and whatnot that's hard to believe, but it's possible. I seem to remember a Hasek drill some teams used, where the goalie covered the bottom of the net and shooters practiced lifting the puck over him from in tight. (I remember seeing a clip of it on TV from what looked like a morning skate). I'd guess there's at least "shoot high on Enroth", based on where Florida was last night.

 

Bottom line is Enroth by the numbers is similar in results to Miller with less work. What will happen if Enroth is a starter is he'll either end up a starter and be a top-10 goalie in the league, or he'll become a starter and teams will solve him. If I were betting, I'd say the Biron comparison is apt and bet on solved, but my Fantasy betting total is around $280 which shows why I'm not a betting man.