Last night's soft overtime goal in a loss to the Sharks is just one more reason to convince anyone that Martin Gerber is completely suspect when under pressure. I find it hard to believe that Bryan Murray is truly convinced that Gerber should be the guy going into the playoffs. Perhaps he is merely giving Gerber a real solid chance to prove something but despite everyone cheering Gerber on, he is still coughing up rebounds and letting in soft goals every game (2 last night).
Ray Emery might be a "bad teammate" but every hockey person will tell you that he is a better goaltender than Gerber in virtually every facet of the position. Are the Senators willing to gamble their season because there is some resentment from management towards Emery? Perhaps they are and it is their right to do so. But it's not the right decision.
There is probably not one person who will agree with me on this but Emery should be given most, if not all the starts going down the stretch. He is still the same goalie who beat Martin Brodeur in last years playoffs and took the team to the final (with an injured wrist as well). If Martin Gerber can actually win a playoff series with that fragile head of his, I will eat my laptop.
The one good thing I see Murray doing here is telling the rest of the team that it's not just up to man in the net. By switching goalies every other game, the players can get the impression that the management is blaming the losses on the keepers.
Murray is a smart hockey man and he may ultimately come out looking brilliant by going to Gerber. But I sense another Patrick Lalime meltdown just around the corner. And don't say that the signs aren't there right here in March when the shit hits the fan in April.
6 comments:
You are out of line. Emery was not the reason for the wins in the playoffs last year. The Sens outscored the opponents--something they are no longer doing. This year look at the goalie statistics. Instead of not LIKING Gerber, look at the facts. His goals against, and his save percentage are better, and they have been ALL season. So even if y9ou don't LIKE him, he is the best goalie we have. So play him. Which Murray is smart enough to do. A win doesn't necessarily mean you have a great goaltender. And in case you haven't noticed, although the Sens are still losing games, they are playing much better since Murray took over the coaching. A considerable improvement in a very short time.
Like I said, no one is going to agree with me on this one.
But I stand by what I said.
It's not about me being a fan of one or the other. Martin Gerber is a recipe for disaster based on his skills and mental fragility. It's not a popularity contest. It's about winning in the playoffs.
If Martin Gerber can actually win a playoff series with that fragile head of his, I will eat my laptop.
Will you post the video of this on YouTube? I suspect you'll have the most difficulty with the hard drive platter, but I could be wrong.
Seriously, though, I'm happy Murray is sticking with a goalie and I'm happy that goalie is Gerber.
I actually don't own a laptop so I've left a nice little loophole for myself.
If Gerber does succeed, he'll certainly get some much due praise from myself and others.
I'll reserve my judgement till then.
my favourite golei is terry sawchuck...so..
Sorry Jeremy. You're half right...ish. True, we can't trust Gerbs any further than we can throw a yodeling Heidi, but Emery wasn't "the man" last year either. If you look back on those three rounds through the East you'll see a stupid good defence covering up for Rayzor's mistakes. We don't have that this year. Add it to Ray's decline...and well...a first round exit is damn near inevitable.
Personally, I'd be tempted to call up Glass and see what he can do. Hell, it worked for Dryden.
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