They can, but they often don't. Only the truly elite goalies excel in their first playoff year. What if Turco is another Turek or Cechmanek?
CuJo has always been a good playoff prefomer and he has NEVER had a team in front of him like he does now.
Originally posted by: Aquaman
I would love thatBut I don't see it happening
Cheers,
Aquaman
Turco won two championships at Michigan (WOO GO BLUE!). I don't think he will have the typical first-year playoff issues that some goalies have.
I recall 2 years ago that there were 6 goalies in the playoffs who were there for the 1st time. Only Johan Hedberg made it out of round 1. NHL goalie might be the most demanding postion in sports, and the NHL playoffs are the most demanding postseason. IIRC Roy is the only 1st timer to take his team all the way, at least in the last 25 years or so.
I don't think Turco is going to bring the Cup to Dallas this year, but I also don't think he will be a spectacular failure, like many other rookie goalies have done in the playoffs.
This is what the Canadian Press Says
=============
CP predicts Sens will be lone Canadian team to survive
(CP) - While it has been a good while since three Canadian NHL clubs have entered the Stanley Cup playoffs as legitimate contenders, it says here that only the Ottawa Senators will reach the second round this spring.
Fellow contenders Toronto and Vancouver will be felled by tough first-round matchups. Here's a look at who will win each series:
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Ottawa vs. No. 8 N.Y. Islanders
Two words: Garth Snow. The only hope the Islanders have to win this series is to bang the living hell out of the highly skilled Senators and hope their goalie can steal a few games. That's not going to happen with Snow, no matter how big his pads are.
The Sens are a confident and healthy group who can now take the hits and give it back, too. Look for Ottawa forward Vaclav Varada to make life miserable for Isles centre and former Senator Alexei Yashin.
Prediction: Sens in four.
No. 2 New Jersey vs. No. 7 Boston
One wants dearly to pick the Devils for an upset special, not only because they lost to Carolina in the first round last year but more importantly because they can't score goals this season.
Still, the Bruins are going with either Steve Shields or Jeff Hackett in goal, meaning the Devils' offence won't have to work all that hard to manufacture goals.
How effective Sergei Samsonov will be in his return from a lengthy wrist injury could be a key in the series, particularly if it gives the Bruins two scoring lines. No. 1 centre Joe Thornton, meanwhile, looks to redeem himself from a poor playoff last spring against Montreal.
This one will be tougher than most people think.
Prediction: New Jersey in seven.
No. 3 Tampa vs. No. 6 Washington
The Capitals have all the big names - Jaromir Jagr, Peter Bondra, Sergei Gonchar - but the Lightning have all the heart. It could be argued that Tampa has the best team chemistry in the Eastern Conference. Led by Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis, Tampa's young core has fun playing the game and has continued to prove the experts wrong, including Sports Illustrated, which had them finishing dead last in the 30-team league this year.
Jagr, meanwhile, has looked disinterested for large chunks of the season, and rookie head coach Bruce Cassidy will need to light a fire under him if the overpaid and underachieving Caps have any chance.
Key of the series: Tampa goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who can steal a game early if the young Bolts need time to settle down.
Prediction: Tampa in five.
No. 4 Philadelphia vs. No. 5 Toronto
This will be the hardest-fought and probably most entertaining series of the first round. Both teams tried to match each other's moves at the trade deadline, Toronto's acquisition of star winger Owen Nolan answered in the form of star winger Tony Amonte in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia has the most depth at forward of any team in the conference and their forecheck will be hard to handle for the overmatched Toronto blue-line corps.
Ed Belfour will be a Vezina Trophy nominee and gives the Leafs an edge in goal over Philadelphia's Roman Cechmanek. But keep in mind that Cechmanek has had a solid season of his own and allowed only 11 goals in five playoff games last year.
The Flyers have been playoff pretenders in recent years, losing in the first round in four of the past five springs, but this is Ken Hitchcock's first playoff with the team. The former Dallas Stars head coach has instilled a defensive responsibility that was sorely lacking in Philly. Hitchcock also knows what makes Belfour tick, which could be an intriguing factor.
This series will ultimately be decided by home ice, reminding the Leafs that losing games in October does mean something in April.
Prediction: Philadelphia in seven.
Western Conference
No. 1 Dallas vs. No. 8 Edmonton
Again? When do these two teams not meet in the first round of the playoffs?
Both clubs are back in the playoffs after missing out last year. The Stars, however, came back to the post-season party with a bang, winning the tough Western Conference and re-positioning themselves as Cup contenders.
Dallas is banged up with star forwards Bill Guerin and Pierre Turgeon both likely to miss the start of the series, which will lead many to think there's upset potential here.
When Edmonton beat Dallas in '97 it was largely because of goalie Curtis Joseph. Unfortunately for the Oilers this spring, the Stars have the better goalie in Marty Turco, whose 1.77 goals-against average this season was the best in the modern NHL era. Edmonton's Tommy Salo, quite frankly, has never been the same since giving up The Goal to Vladimir Kopat of Belarus at last February's Olympic Games.
Prediction: Dallas in five.
No. 2 Detroit vs. No. 7 Anaheim
A perfect first-round matchup for the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings. The Mighty Ducks are a skilled roster that won't bang around the veteran Wings too much, which is just fine with the likes of Steve Yzerman, Chris Chelios and Igor Larionov - Detroit's star geysers.
The Ducks have one great scoring line in Paul Kariya, Adam Oates and Petr Sykora, but that's really it. The Wings counter with four balanced lines that can all do damage.
Prediction: Wings in five.
No. 3 Colorado vs. No. 6 Minnesota
No team was better than the Avalanche in the second half of the season.
Adam Foote, Rob Blake, Derek Morris, Bryan Marchment, Greg DeVries and Martin Skoula gives Colorado the No. 1 blue-line corps in the NHL.
The 1-2 punch at centre isn't too shabby either with Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic. The critics say there's not enough scoring from the third and fourth lines. That won't matter against the Wild, who despite being the hardest-working team in the league, don't have enough firepower outside of Marian Gaborik to challenge Colorado's top two lines.
The Wild would have been better matched against the Canucks.
Prediction: Colorado in five.
No. 4 Vancouver vs. No. 5 St. Louis
Like the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup in the East, this one will be a long and nasty affair. The Blues led the league in penalties this season and don't make it a secret they like crashing the net.
The Canucks need to recover quickly after the shocking turn of events over the weekend, giving up the division lead to the Avs on the last day of the regular season and leading it for nearly the entire year.
The Blues have all of their players back in the lineup, including defenceman Chris Pronger, after playing most of the season without key personnel at different times. Vancouver may have the best line in hockey with Markus Naslund, Todd Bertuzzi and Brendan Morrison, but the Blues have more depth up front with their top three lines all generating offence.
Just a hunch, but the young and talented Canucks may need to taste playoff failure before taking the next step.
Prediction: Blues in seven.
Cheers,
Aquaman
=============
CP predicts Sens will be lone Canadian team to survive
(CP) - While it has been a good while since three Canadian NHL clubs have entered the Stanley Cup playoffs as legitimate contenders, it says here that only the Ottawa Senators will reach the second round this spring.
Fellow contenders Toronto and Vancouver will be felled by tough first-round matchups. Here's a look at who will win each series:
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Ottawa vs. No. 8 N.Y. Islanders
Two words: Garth Snow. The only hope the Islanders have to win this series is to bang the living hell out of the highly skilled Senators and hope their goalie can steal a few games. That's not going to happen with Snow, no matter how big his pads are.
The Sens are a confident and healthy group who can now take the hits and give it back, too. Look for Ottawa forward Vaclav Varada to make life miserable for Isles centre and former Senator Alexei Yashin.
Prediction: Sens in four.
No. 2 New Jersey vs. No. 7 Boston
One wants dearly to pick the Devils for an upset special, not only because they lost to Carolina in the first round last year but more importantly because they can't score goals this season.
Still, the Bruins are going with either Steve Shields or Jeff Hackett in goal, meaning the Devils' offence won't have to work all that hard to manufacture goals.
How effective Sergei Samsonov will be in his return from a lengthy wrist injury could be a key in the series, particularly if it gives the Bruins two scoring lines. No. 1 centre Joe Thornton, meanwhile, looks to redeem himself from a poor playoff last spring against Montreal.
This one will be tougher than most people think.
Prediction: New Jersey in seven.
No. 3 Tampa vs. No. 6 Washington
The Capitals have all the big names - Jaromir Jagr, Peter Bondra, Sergei Gonchar - but the Lightning have all the heart. It could be argued that Tampa has the best team chemistry in the Eastern Conference. Led by Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis, Tampa's young core has fun playing the game and has continued to prove the experts wrong, including Sports Illustrated, which had them finishing dead last in the 30-team league this year.
Jagr, meanwhile, has looked disinterested for large chunks of the season, and rookie head coach Bruce Cassidy will need to light a fire under him if the overpaid and underachieving Caps have any chance.
Key of the series: Tampa goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who can steal a game early if the young Bolts need time to settle down.
Prediction: Tampa in five.
No. 4 Philadelphia vs. No. 5 Toronto
This will be the hardest-fought and probably most entertaining series of the first round. Both teams tried to match each other's moves at the trade deadline, Toronto's acquisition of star winger Owen Nolan answered in the form of star winger Tony Amonte in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia has the most depth at forward of any team in the conference and their forecheck will be hard to handle for the overmatched Toronto blue-line corps.
Ed Belfour will be a Vezina Trophy nominee and gives the Leafs an edge in goal over Philadelphia's Roman Cechmanek. But keep in mind that Cechmanek has had a solid season of his own and allowed only 11 goals in five playoff games last year.
The Flyers have been playoff pretenders in recent years, losing in the first round in four of the past five springs, but this is Ken Hitchcock's first playoff with the team. The former Dallas Stars head coach has instilled a defensive responsibility that was sorely lacking in Philly. Hitchcock also knows what makes Belfour tick, which could be an intriguing factor.
This series will ultimately be decided by home ice, reminding the Leafs that losing games in October does mean something in April.
Prediction: Philadelphia in seven.
Western Conference
No. 1 Dallas vs. No. 8 Edmonton
Again? When do these two teams not meet in the first round of the playoffs?
Both clubs are back in the playoffs after missing out last year. The Stars, however, came back to the post-season party with a bang, winning the tough Western Conference and re-positioning themselves as Cup contenders.
Dallas is banged up with star forwards Bill Guerin and Pierre Turgeon both likely to miss the start of the series, which will lead many to think there's upset potential here.
When Edmonton beat Dallas in '97 it was largely because of goalie Curtis Joseph. Unfortunately for the Oilers this spring, the Stars have the better goalie in Marty Turco, whose 1.77 goals-against average this season was the best in the modern NHL era. Edmonton's Tommy Salo, quite frankly, has never been the same since giving up The Goal to Vladimir Kopat of Belarus at last February's Olympic Games.
Prediction: Dallas in five.
No. 2 Detroit vs. No. 7 Anaheim
A perfect first-round matchup for the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings. The Mighty Ducks are a skilled roster that won't bang around the veteran Wings too much, which is just fine with the likes of Steve Yzerman, Chris Chelios and Igor Larionov - Detroit's star geysers.
The Ducks have one great scoring line in Paul Kariya, Adam Oates and Petr Sykora, but that's really it. The Wings counter with four balanced lines that can all do damage.
Prediction: Wings in five.
No. 3 Colorado vs. No. 6 Minnesota
No team was better than the Avalanche in the second half of the season.
Adam Foote, Rob Blake, Derek Morris, Bryan Marchment, Greg DeVries and Martin Skoula gives Colorado the No. 1 blue-line corps in the NHL.
The 1-2 punch at centre isn't too shabby either with Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic. The critics say there's not enough scoring from the third and fourth lines. That won't matter against the Wild, who despite being the hardest-working team in the league, don't have enough firepower outside of Marian Gaborik to challenge Colorado's top two lines.
The Wild would have been better matched against the Canucks.
Prediction: Colorado in five.
No. 4 Vancouver vs. No. 5 St. Louis
Like the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup in the East, this one will be a long and nasty affair. The Blues led the league in penalties this season and don't make it a secret they like crashing the net.
The Canucks need to recover quickly after the shocking turn of events over the weekend, giving up the division lead to the Avs on the last day of the regular season and leading it for nearly the entire year.
The Blues have all of their players back in the lineup, including defenceman Chris Pronger, after playing most of the season without key personnel at different times. Vancouver may have the best line in hockey with Markus Naslund, Todd Bertuzzi and Brendan Morrison, but the Blues have more depth up front with their top three lines all generating offence.
Just a hunch, but the young and talented Canucks may need to taste playoff failure before taking the next step.
Prediction: Blues in seven.
Cheers,
Aquaman
Did Turek or Cechmanek break the NHL record for goals against average in their first year as a full-time starter? Do either of them have a better career goals against average than the Star's predecessor, Eddie Belfor? Turco has and does. There is a reason why the Stars let Turek go and kept Turco. They knew what they were getting in each case.
Like I said, Dallas has the best goalie of the playoff teams, PERIOD. You cannot argue this fact, the stats don't lie. If you think he will not perform in the playoffs like he has his entire career, then the burden of proof is on you because his entire career states otherwise. You could be right, the chances are slim. If the Stars lose, it will have more to do with missing Turgeon and Guerin than anything else.
rh71
No Lifer
- Aug 28, 2001
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About the young goalies in their first playoff year situation... keep in mind Playoff Hockey is like no other... the intensity and the crashing forwards will certainly get to the young netminders... no joke. In playoff hockey, there's some nasty contact being made... everywhere.
It's one thing to say he's a good regular season goalie but the playoffs is a who different animal. Personally I think He will do well but I think the best goalie in the playoffs is either Roy or Broduer.
Cheers,
Aquaman
Just a little note for any of you who didn't see the Stars game last night and who don't have faith in Turco - it was a shut out and he broke the record for the all time lowest goals against average for a goalie EVER! The Stars have the defense, the offense, and the goalie to do it all... You can all buy me a beer after they win.. Those of you also have confidence that the Stars will end up on top - we'll have a party in 2 months!
Originally posted by: redheadednurse
Just a little note for any of you who didn't see the Stars game last night and who don't have faith in Turco - it was a shut out and he broke the record for the all time lowest goals against average for a goalie EVER! The Stars have the defense, the offense, and the goalie to do it all... You can all buy me a beer after they win.. Those of you also have confidence that the Stars will end up on top - we'll have a party in 2 months!
You just jinx'd your team dude
Cheers,
Aquaman
err?
Alex Auld (Canucks farm/backup goalie) : 7 382 3 3 0 10 1 1.57
Marty Turco : 55 3203 31 10 10 92 7 1.72
and what about goalies who've only played on game (a shutout)?
Uhm, OK. Do you think that your view is just SLIGHTLY biased? Turco had a great regular season, but has proved NOTHING in the playoffs.
Broduer and Roy are better than Turco. How many Stanley Cups has Turco won? Zero. Wait until he wins 16 games in the playoffs before you anoint him the greatest goalie in the playoffs.
Sheesh.
So? They both had excellent years and both fell flat on their faces once the playoffs began. Anyone remember Jim Carey?
True about the games played. I don't even understand why those statistics were posted. Anybody could have a hot 7 game streak, especially if they don't play night in and out.
As far as the defense goes, Ron Tugnut is a competent backup goalie. He had a significantly higher goals against average than Turco. I would use this as an argument that Turco's accomplishments had more to do with his abilities than it had to do with his defense's.
As far as the defense goes, Ron Tugnut is a competent backup goalie. He had a significantly higher goals against average than Turco. I would use this as an argument that Turco's accomplishments had more to do with his abilities than it had to do with his defense's.
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