Goaltenders putting on puckstopping clinic in playoffs

Nearly 20 years ago, Kevin Weekes and goaltending coach Sudarshan Maharaj rented some ice time at a Toronto arena with a Chinese food buffet above them and worked on the fundamentals of the position.

It took Weekes’ game to a new level and he was reminded of the extra work as he watches these unusual NHL playoffs. Goaltenders are putting on a clinic in the crease, combining for a .922 save percentage through 66 games, up from .910 in the regular season and .916 in the playoffs last year.

“It’s as if they’ve had the opportunity to go to goalie school right before playoffs start,” said Weekes, an NHL goalie for 11 seasons who is now an NHL Network analyst. “I’ve heard several guys tell me that they feel like their focus is even sharper.”

The improvement can be traced to a combination of things: Goalies had time to recuperate after the season was called off in March. They were able to practice on fundamentals before the playoffs began. And they are playing in empty arenas without distractions, with all due respect to the lights and music from the NHL production staffs in Toronto and

Edmonton, Alberta.

Little if any ability to sharpen specialized skills while quarantined threatened to put goalies at a disadvantage when the season resumed with 24 teams in the playoffs — and eight of them facing elimination right away. Suddenly, every save mattered after months of not being able to put on gear, let alone face live shots.

“It was really tough,” Dallas goaltender Anton Khudobin said. “I was going to the gym and stuff like that. I was working off the ice. But I wasn’t able to find the ice in my city at that time because everything was on quarantine and was closed. Me and my coach back home, he found a way how we’re gonna work and I only skated on the ice just a little bit, only five times.”

Getting back on the ice for voluntary workouts and training camp allowed netminders to get back to the basics. There have been fewer bad goals allowed and more stellar performances from the likes of Montreal’s Carey Price, Columbus’ Joonas Korpisalo, Arizona’s Darcy Kuemper and Calgary’s Cam Talbot.

There have already been 12 shutouts through 66 games after just nine the entire 2019 playoffs (87 games).

“It’s amazing the goaltending that’s been played so far,” said Kirk Muller, who has taken over for Claude Julien coaching Price and the Canadiens 27 years after winning the Stanley Cup with goaltender Patrick Roy.

“If there’s one area that if someone said you could make a comparison of when we played and today’s game, I’d say the most improved obviously is goaltending: the teaching, these guys now, they’re in such great shape, they’re athletic, they’re competitive and they’re big,” Muller said. “It’s difficult to score on these goalies today.”

Two coaches who have successfully rotated goalies in the playoffs have different theories on why that is.