If the Avs had a good goalie, these games wouldn't be close, but they don't.
Kuemper was a top 5 goaltender in the NHL during the regular season. So he's either choking from the pressure and the improved teams as the rounds continue....or his eye
is really bothering him. So....let's review, shall we?
General Discussion / Re: NHL (2021-2022) v. 1st Round Playoffs (Golden Knights not allowed this year)
« on: May 08, 2022, 09:42:49 AM »
With the exception of Colorado, I felt any of the other #1 Seeds could be vulnerable.
Well, they might be up 3-0....and it seems like they are playing with a different mindset/confidence from the last couple of years. But..
- Kuemper's eye injury not supposed to be "serious", but he's questionable for Game 4. And even moving forward, it's difficult to know how it might affect him in the coming games.
- Francouz is a very credible backup, but initially you could see Nashville gaining more confidence when they tied it up at 2-2 in Game 3....the first goal against Francouz. Granted, Ingram looked human after a stellar 49 save showing in Game 2. But the goaltending musical chairs is not typically a good thing for any team in the playoffs.
- Even with Kuemper unaffected by the injury, the competition gets tougher in each round....and he has to prove he's ready for THAT as well.
So check this short video out.....
https://youtu.be/XjX1PEnwSYwSo yeah, I made that potential prognostication on May 8th not as an excuse....rather a possiblility that has now come into play. Goaltenders don't pull themselves out unless there's a real issue.....they are like the MLB pitcher who thinks he can throw that next strike when the manager is ready to yank him.
If you watched him closely, he wasn't reacting AT ALL to the cross ice pucks that the Oilers kept scoring on. Granted, they were great passes, but he's usually SOLID between the pipes....so something must be going on between his!
But just for the sake of argument....let's say Kuemper is FAKING his eye injury because he looked bad (really?)....and he's playing his best. Other than the Blues Game 5 (meltdown by entire Avs team and yes, St. Louis fans....a very spirited comeback by the never say die Blues team!)...and the extremely high powered offense of the Edmonton Oilers...he hasn't been bad at all in the playoffs so far. He's obviously not on the same level as Shesterkin or Vasilevkiy...but his stats during the season were indeed #5 ranked. Do you think the Avs would have bailed on Philip Grubauer (who was 30-9 with a 1.93 GAA in 2020) if they didn't think Kuemper was the guy?
Ultimately, though.....no excuses. Avs will have to keep trying to outscore the Oilers against their porous defense....or Francouz is going to have to absolutely stand on his head for 3 periods. Which one of those two things you going to bet on?