Why the Penguins Might Want To Consider Making a Goaltending Change

I wrote a piece for Sportsnet.ca on why I think the Pittsburgh Penguins should consider starting their "back-up/1B netminder" Tomas Vokoun tonight in Game 4 against the New York Islanders.

I would like to share that piece with you folks here.

Penguins should turn to Vokoun for Game 4

It cannot be said enough that with good goaltending in the NHL postseason, a team can accomplish a lot of things.

Looking at the Pittsburgh Penguins, they have enough superstars and goal scoring that they do not necessarily have to worry about who is in between the pipes for them in order to win hockey games. Heck, the Edmonton Oilers did not have to worry in the 1980’s right?

With all of that said, however, Penguins’ goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury might need to sit on the bench come Game 4. Yes, his team is up 2-1 in their first round series against the New York Islanders but that is only because the Penguins have been able to score more goals than their opponent.

In three games in this series, Fleury has allowed eight goals on 104 shots. Yes, Fleury has a shutout and yes, Fleury has the team two wins away from advancing to the second round but again, Fleury is not the reason why the Penguins have the lead in this series.

For starters, Fleury’s style appears to be too wild to handle the Islanders. The Islanders come into the zone with a lot of speed and a lot of puck movement and a few times in this series, Fleury has been caught out of position and it has led to Islander goals.

Fleury also has a knack for allowing soft goals in the postseason. The Islanders were able to get on the board early in Game 3 because Fleury was not able to be square up against the post when Islanders’ forward Matt Moulson opened up the scoring.

Yes, there was a lot of commotion in front of the net on that particular play and yes, Fleury was in an awkward position while trying to keep the puck out of the net. With that said, however, Fleury either needed to try and do a better job of covering the puck or being up tighter against the post in that situation.

With that in mind, Penguins’ head coach Dan Bylsma might want to consider giving back-up netminder Tomas Vokoun a chance to show his stuff. While one cannot deny that Fleury has been a solid starter for the Penguins and a Cup winner for the franchise, bad goals need to be kept to a minimum in the postseason and a change to Vokoun might help that.

One reason Bylsma should consider going to Vokoun is because of his success against the Islanders this season. Vokoun played four games and stopped 98 of 101 shots and had one shutout.

Secondly, Vokoun’s style might be more suited against the Islanders. Vokoun is a patient netminder who waits for the play to come to him and does not play too far above the crease, something that Fleury does and has burned him for two goals in this series.

Starting Vokoun in Game 4 may also force Fleury to play better when he gets back in the net. For the first time in a long time, Fleury has a goaltender behind him that has a lot of experience as a starter, has won over 300 career games in the league and is someone who gives the team just as much of a chance to win a hockey game that Fleury does.

The Penguins may be up 2-1 in this series and just two wins away from getting out of this round but a change in between the pipes might just do both the Penguins and Fleury some good.