Unmasked: More NHL goalies embracing acrobatic saves

In the not-too-distant past, NHL goalies viewed many of the saves that ended up on highlight-of-the-night replays with a measure of disdain.

For them, a save requiring a headfirst Superman-like dive or dramatic stretch wasn’t a cause for celebration. It was tangible proof a mistake had been made by the goalie.

Tuukka Rask, the former Boston Bruins goalie, long argued that acrobatic saves often meant the goalie was out of position, adding that the fact such a save was often required to make the highlights reels was a product of TV. 

Many of Rask’s peers felt the same.

Former NHL goalie Devan Dubnyk, now an analyst on NHL Network, said throughout his playing career that he took pride in not making the highlight reels. 

That mindset is not as prevalent among current NHL goalies, who can afford to embrace scrambling in the face of increasingly dynamic attacks. 

“I understand what past goalies said and I would have agreed at that time, but now I think there's just too much skill,” said New Jersey Devils goalie Jake Allen, who is in his 13th NHL season. “The game's not as structured as it used to be. There's way more variability and speed in the League than there ever was, even when I first started.”

The increased focus on speed and skill, combined with a better understanding that east-west plays and passes increase the odds of scoring, have made life harder than ever for NHL goalies. With that comes the acceptance by that some of those desperation saves that their predecessors may have frowned upon are becoming more necessary. 

“Now if you ask every single goalie, everyone loves a highlight-reel save at this point,” said Washington Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren, who is in his 10th NHL season. “The game has definitely changed. There are so many more great chances -- the laterals, the playmaking skills. Our opponents now are so good at creating open nets just by the high level of skill in the game today. So that highlight-reel save, that extra effort, whenever you can keep a puck out of the net, especially in this day and age, you'll take every single save you can get.”

That doesn’t mean that current goalies still don’t prefer to take a puck in the chest. 

The sprawling saves that end up on highlight reels might look more athletic and reactive, but goalies know there is often more athleticism in harnessing the lateral power worked on throughout the offseason to maintain body control in order to make good reads to beat those side-to-side plays and passes across the ice.

Most would rather, as Dubnyk put it in 2018, “make a big save or a great chance look like nothing than a medium chance look like a lot more than it should be” and point to saves that don’t make the weekly top-10 highlights as a favorite. 

Current goalies have to accept that they’ll probably have to break from their structure more often against ever more-skilled opponents.

“There's a lot of different factors and guys aren't afraid to try anything (on offense),” Allen said. “There's zero fear anymore, which generates more offense and more chances, and when these guys have a little bit of time and space, it's special what they can do. It's part of the game now.”

Balancing when those plays require more desperate reactions with the technical foundation goalies work so hard to perfect is part of the shifting balance at a position that is always evolving.

“I could see that thought process (of not wanting to make flashy saves) when you're out of position, so you've got to come across in a desperation-type thing,” said San Jose Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, who is in his ninth NHL season. “You can also look at it like these guys are so good now at making plays and being deceptive. It's a cat-and-mouse game, and guys are so good at picking corners now and shooting from anywhere, it's really hard to play that in-between [approach] of, ‘OK, I got the shot, but also I'm in a good position to get that backdoor pass if that's what happens. 

“So, I see it both ways but I think goalies are so athletic now, there's always a chance to make a save and that's part of it. You have to have that athleticism, that desperation, that competitiveness, to want to make those big saves. So, it's part of the game. You don't want to be making a bunch of them, but at the same time if you're making them, you're probably having a good stretch.”

Goalies must embrace those abilities even if they don’t want to rely on them too often.

“It's the position we signed up for,” Allen said, “So you’ve got to roll with the punches.”

Or roll across the ice to get to the puck, and if it ends up on a highlight reel, so be it.