Skipping practice could become increasing trend for goalies

VANCOUVER -- When Carey Price didn't take the ice with the rest of his Montreal Canadiens teammates for practice on Oct. 9, the No. 1 goalie wasn't taking a day off.

Instead, Price spent his time on another sheet of ice with Montreal goaltending coach Stephane Waite, at times using a small rebound board to add variety as the two of them worked through a series of position-specific drills.
"It's nice to be able to take a couple days and kind of work on the details of your game and work on those little things you don't get to work on in a full work day," Price said at the time. "I like to do that type of stuff, I do it in the summertime. Obviously, it's important to see shots from NHL players but to be able to do that every once in a while is definitely, I think, beneficial."
In Price's place, the Canadiens used a practice goalie and the following day, the Calgary Flames did the same, allowing Mike Smith to skip practice altogether.
Goalies have been allowed to occasionally skip practice in the past, but rarely this early in the season. Calgary Flames goalie coach Jordan Sigalet said this could be a new trend.
"I think you'll see more of it," Sigalet said.

While the Flames recent use of a practice goalie was to give their 36-year-old starter extra rest on the road after a 43-save shutout of the Nashville Predators the night before, Sigalet has also used it to get one-on-one time with his goalies in the past.
"I've only done it once at home but will do it more and more often," he said.
That type of detailed technical work with a goaltending coach has traditionally taken place before practices. But it can be harder to get that extra work in and still get enough rest as the season goes on, so rather than skip the position-specific goalie sessions they rely on to stay sharp, it makes more sense for goalies to skip the team practice instead.
With a lot of loosely defended rushes, players winding up for open shots from areas they rarely get to in a game, and rarely enough time to recover before the next one comes, a large portion of team practices can be detrimental to a goalie.
"I don't want them to stop every puck," Waite said of the rapid pace of some practices for his goaltenders. "That can make a lot of bad habits."
Former NHL goaltender Jason LaBarbera once said he would cheat in practice on lateral passes and be more aggressive with his positioning to give himself a better chance against shooters who got too much time and space to pick a corner. Kari Lehtonen admitted to doing the same last season with the Dallas Stars.
With that in mind, it's no wonder spending extra time working on controlled drills with the goaltending coach is sometimes preferred to a wide-open team practice, especially the end-to-end rush drills that usually lead them off.
Although the shooters would prefer to face NHL goaltenders every practice, it's not always an ideal situation for the goalies themselves. Hence the increasing trend of goalies missing practice.
"It's a good idea, especially with recent data on practice and how high the heart rates are for goalies the first three or four drills," Washington Capitals goaltending coach Scott Murray said. "Combine that with travel and [one-on-one practice time] and it is a lot for a No. 1 guy."

Minnesota Wild No. 1 goalie Devan Dubnyk credited a three-goalie rotation for being able to start a team-record 38 straight games late in the 2014-15 season. With Niklas Backstrom and Darcy Kuemper also on the team, Dubnyk was able to get on the ice early for goalie drills with goaltending coach Bob Mason without worrying about having to stick around for the rest of practice. It allowed Dubnyk to focus on his mechanics without getting worn out making hundreds of practice saves.
Murray used then third-stringer and current backup Pheonix Copley in a similar role as a practice goalie in order to get rest and extra one-on-one time with Philipp Grubauer and Braden Holtby during the Capitals' run to the 2018 Stanley Cup championship.
"It definitely allows for more individualized work with either goalie," Murray said.