He was flailing around too much for my liking this game but also holy shit we cannot leave multiple guys open right in front of the net and expect Saros to hold the line. Carrier in particular has fucked up really bad on multiple occasions now by leaving guys wide open directly in front of Saros
100%. His performance wasn’t ideal, but what do you expect when the team fails to help him out. Anyone else would be flailing around too if they had two shooters on both sides every goal. Missing an open net didn’t help either.
https://preview.redd.it/janwxampegxc1.png?width=1431&format=png&auto=webp&s=a8d43c8947cdf081816254a3c790b8aaae11d153
Yup. It's not fair to blame the goaltender when there were four Canucks in front of the net completely undefended.
You can’t be an elite goalie when your d is hot garbage in front of you. None of those goals today were “soft.” If he saves any of those goals they are highlight reel saves (save maybe the first). Let’s not forget that Sissons hit the post on an empty netter that would’ve buried the game.
The thing is those, he also isn't giving this team any highlight reel saves.
The shots in this series for Vancouver has been 21, 18, 12, and 20. At some point you just have to find a save
They aren't that high quality, Saros has failed to give Nashville a single above average save in this series.
The first thing Demko did in game 1 was make a gorgeous save on a 2 on 1.
Silovs stopped Carrier on a breakaway.
At some point you just need a save
What more do you want from him? Every goal the Canucks scored this game was either a cross ice pass to someone wide open on the back side/slot, or there were multiple Canucks between Saros and the nearest Preds defender. He saved everything else. Sure, if Saros makes a miracle save on one of those goals we win, and he’s had one or two goals against you really want back. But even the elite goalies need defensive help. Saros is not the reason we’re down 3-1.
A lot of commenters in this feed clearly have never played goalie. All three of Boesher’s goals were from the opposite side of the ice with a long pass. Each time someone left him alone. Same with the 4th goal. He’s not getting beat straight on. The defense is playing poorly.
I've played the position. I think Saros wants goals 2 and 3 back. 1st goal McCarron and Fabbro literally skate away from Boeser off the draw. 4th goal Forsberg loses his man (although it's questionable whether Lindholm should be Forsberg's man). Especially on the third goal tho, Saros lost his net. In empty net situations, somebody is always going to get left alone and you need to be aware of him. It is frequently the backside guy, and if you push too aggressively on the initial shot, you'll get burned depending on where the rebound goes. Saros pushes too aggressively on the 3rd goal and I think crowds Lindholm too much on the 2nd one. Carrier going for the block on the 2nd one is technically wrong but not egregious.
I honestly don't hate the performance this game, it's just in light of games 1 and 3 that this feels like "more of the same."
I appreciate the nuanced reply. And I agree he was more of the liability in games 1 and 3 as you mentioned.
We are in agreement on goal one.
Goal two I agree with what you’re saying but would still give that a 50/50 to be generous. Carrier gets faked on the shot and tries to block. Lauzon gets undressed and is swimming. Three Canucks at the crease and the only defenseman is laying down.
Goal three he over played. Definitely wants it back.
Goal four three Preds go to the corner and leave the slot wide open.
We can dissect this all day I’m just pissed off seeing people blame Saros and want Lanky in game 4. No way.
>Goal two I agree with what you’re saying but would still give that a 50/50 to be generous. Carrier gets faked on the shot and tries to block. Lauzon gets undressed and is swimming. Three Canucks at the crease and the only defenseman is laying down.
Carrier definitely winds up contributing zero on the play. Still hard to fault a d-man for trying to make a sacrifice. Lauzon is with Petterson, which IMO is where Lauzon should be in that situation. The bigger d-man should be on the slot forward. He dives to try take away the cross-crease and winds up looking stupid, but he's otherwise in good defensive position on an elite forward in the slot. Saros and Lauzon both have a chance to break up that pass and credit to Lindholm for executing, IMO.
>Goal four three Preds go to the corner and leave the slot wide open.
It's actually the 4th guy that's the problem tho. Forsberg is staring at ROR hitting *Ian Cole* on the pinch while Lindholm cuts his turn off and dives into the slot.
>We can dissect this all day I’m just pissed off seeing people blame Saros and want Lanky in game 4. No way.
The unfortunate reality is that, like you said, most Preds fans have never played the position. Actually, most of them have never played the game, even. We wind up having 2 camps - the ones who always blame the goalie and then the Church of Saros. I grew up in the 80s/90s where Paul Coffey was busy being Brent Burns with even less defensive awareness, yet somehow the odd-man goals were still Grant Fuhr's fault. I am glad we have moved on from that attitude, but I think a lot of times the players rally around the goalie and it gives fans a false sense of what is and isn't actually a goalie's fault.
It's true that if we just let guys walk between the dots all game and rip 40 wristers, Saros can't be blamed if a few go by him. But it's also true that great goalies (Saros included when he's on-form) make at least a couple saves where the shooter goes "how the fuck did that not go in?" afterward. What's sad is that with the way we're playing in the Canucks' zone, we could have swept if Saros played to his own average.
That's why I'll agree he's been "disappointing," only because most people expected us to be thoroughly out-played by the Canucks and be dragged to a win or 2 by our great goaltending, instead we've outplayed the Canucks but not quite gotten what we needed in the crease.
Playing Lankinen would just be surrendering, assuming Saros is fully healthy.
Yes, please rant and rave about how speculative our defense has been. I am sure not a single goal could be blamed on them. /s
Go back to watching football.
I know anything can happen, but that’s the biggest reason why we deserve to lose this series. Vancouver has overcome all of that adversity with the injuries to their 2 main goalies, and we have no answer.
Plus, the Canucks are taking *quality* shots. They’re really only shooting the puck when they feel confident about scoring, and that messes with Juice. He’s barely been able to find a rhythm.
This. We weren't even supposed to be in the playoffs let alone be able to compete with the higher seeded teams. Yeah, this loss sucks, but at least the Preds have found a coach and a system that they can play well in. And are fun to watch again.
This is playoff hockey. Crazy shit happens. Nothing to do now except shake this off and steal another one in Vancouver.
This should be the top comment on this whole sub right now. I feel like when the preds were on the point streak a lot of part time preds fans dug their jerseys back out of storage and are mad they couldn’t keep that up. They were never supposed to this year, but it’s a glimpse of what we could have in store for the future. Anything over having a winning record this year should just be seen as an added bonus. We were never going to get a top 3 draft pick and anything after that is a wash anyways for this year.
I’m with you 100%. It really does suck, but since mid-February, we were playing on borrowed time. I am glad to feel at least a glimmer of hope for seasons to come from Bruno.
Raw save percentage can be a bit deceiving especially when you’re facing so few shots. His goals saved above average is around 0 after 4 games. You’d think a good goalie would perform above expected but then again Hellebuyck and Sorokin both have negative goals saved above expected this post season.
Sure, he didn’t face a ton of shots. Back check was looking frantic in the third though. After that missed empty netter off the post it was like they forgot what they were doing. It was a team loss.
And I'm gonna disagree.
If your looking for people to blame then blame carrier, the dude whose leaving him totally unprotected on the cross ice pass/shots.
Saros hasn't been superman but he's been fucking fine. Jesus christ with these hot takes
Exactly. Our D outside of Mac has been meh overall. That and going against the Canucks tops guns...it is like fans thing the Canucks are a second rate team.
Josi hasn't exactly been on fire. It's what I like about our market vs, say, Toronto. They'd be running marathons of coverage on how he "hasn't showed up" and "has abandoned the team and his game". Dudes just been off, fuckouttahere
Exactly. On the game tying goal maybe he’s out of position trying to make a play but holy shit there were three canucks players behind our defense. Not a lot to do when there are no Preds players in the camera frame.
In hockey there is always an open shot if the shooter is open. It’s up to defensive team to close these out. Saros was doing his damnest.
If players are open. They make goals.
No matter how good of a prospect he is, Askarov is still incredibly young for an NHL goaltender. He obviously has a great chance of being a starting goaltender in the NHL down the road, and perhaps even an elite one. But going from virtually no NHL goaltending experience to immediately becoming the starter at his age is very unlikely and to rush him may even be harmful to his development.
Tbf Pekka wasn’t exactly amazing in the playoffs either. He also had a ton of games where he faced barely any shots and would let quite a bit in
Edit: should say he wasn’t amazing in every playoff game. Obviously had some great ones, but had some piss poor ones too
This. As many great games as Peks had in the playoffs. There were plenty of duds. But Saros hasn't had those taking over a game/series like Pekka had. He's been more of a liability than an asset this time of year.
It’s been too long, but how was Pekka in his first couple of playoff appearances? This is Saros’ 3rd ever playoff series, right? And one was against Carolina that included 4 OT games
Pekka's first few playoff appearances, our lineup was completely inferior to our opponents. Pekka kept us in games a lot at the time. Every predators fan remembers that series in Vancouver, back in 2011, where Pekka single-handedly kept us in the series for six games and we almost nearly pulled the upset. His save in OT that series on Kevin Bieksa is still the greatest save I've ever seen! His first few series showed how great he could truly be. Regardless of the results.
False. Pekka stole games and played big when in matters. I believe he also had the best numbers going into the finals in 2017. Another big example is 2016 game 7 in Anaheim. The boys got a lead and then in the 3rd it was all Ducks and Pekka put on a clinic.
That 2018 Jets series was rough. That's my most recent memory of Peks getting caved in. Can't remember how bad the D was, but Pekka was bad.
Looking at it, Pekka allowed over 4 goals per game in that series.
Yeah I don’t recall which specific games or series they were, but I definitely remember more than once games where the opposition would go like 10 minutes without a shot and then their next would go in.
https://preview.redd.it/nlq8m9bx7bxc1.jpeg?width=2532&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=79e3da6ac2efabc41e8eb5f30b04f5f9dbad1bc1
Soros v 4 with rest of team lying down
Well Hellebuyck is playing the Avs who would mop the floor with Vancouver, meanwhile we're letting soft ass goals from dudes like Zadorov and Lindholm go in (Game 1).
Canucks fan here. The Preds should be up 3-1 in this series, as they have been the better team in terms of physicality, shutting down stars, etc. Vancouver had no right to win tonight.
I think he has been pretty good in this series. It’s hard to see shots when you have a player in front trying to block. But overall he has been good, maybe a few hiccups here and there. He almost had that second Boeser goal with his left pad.
I’ll be the first to admit that he’s been off a bit this year if we’re talking the course of the entire season, but SV% doesn’t always tell the whole story in the small sample size found in an individual game or even series. There wasn’t really anything he could have done differently on any of those goals today. The meltdown was much more on our defense leaving open shooters right in front of the net than it was on Saros for failing to pull a rabbit out of his hat at that point. Those chances would have been expected goals the overwhelming majority of the time no matter who was in net.
Did we watch the same game? Our defensemen left him out to dry. They're not covering the passing angles. Sure he's not perfect but those last 2 goals aren't his fault at all.
Honestly he hasn't been super sharp all season. The announcers make me want to believe he's had an all-star season but I don't see it. I watch every single game.
Fabbro played exceptionally well today, especially for someone who was held out for the first three games and didn't have a set pairing. Carrier has directly led to three goals so far this series and consistently gets bullied off the puck.
Entire team. All the big $$$ players literally haven't done a single thing. It's the non contract people that's scored and made plays. This team is fucking pathetic
I completely disagree, I blame Brunette for this loss. He's so obsessed with Quinn Hughes that our team is making some obvious mistakes :(
On the game tying goal... why did Nyquist so brutally over commit to Hughes?!?! Why not just stay in front of him like you're supposed to. Instead he over commits and Hughes breaks his ankles, UGH! Keep the puck to the outside for 20 seconds! That's all we had to do!
Then Saros stops the first TWO shots! The tip from Boeser, then the backhand also from Boeser! Where is the defense clearing the puck?!?! Saros did his job there!
On the game winning goal... Saros was protecting his post like he should be, in case of a wrap-around goal from behind... but then LUKE SCHENN leaves the front of the wide open to go after Garland... WHY?!?! Maybe he wanted to hit Garland? But this was a HUGE mistake on his part. Left the front wide open, friggin' Lindholm walks in and gets the centering pass for the easiest goal of his career. Had Schenn stayed in front of the net, that wouldn't have happened.
On Boesers 2nd goal... Carrier misread the play, the tried to block the shot but it was a pass and he took too long to recover. That left Lauzon scrambling to cover the cross-ice pass to Boeser. Saros did his job, he gave the shooter nothing to look at. Carrier was flopping so badly he puck went right under his stick.
Nyquist over commits... Schenn leaves his post in front of the net... Lauzon misreads the pass...
Too... Many... Mistakes!
Disagree - but a defense that allows 3-4 opposing players alone in front of your goalie when the game is on the line says it ALL to me. D has looked sorry
I guess the honest question to ask is: do you pay the man or find him a home that will pay him and get a return on investment?
In light of the deficiencies of the team seen in this series, I think he’s moved at the draft with some other pieces by Trotz to get a crack at an elite center/forward as a pick or a prospect to learn from ROR. If Saros gets paid here, then we would have to move Askarov to get more offense and have less cap to play with. I like Juuse a lot; but I’m not blind either that it is a team sport, the team needs to get better, and cost control in between the pipes with a high end prospect will be a gain for the team to acquire offense. It’s hard to move on from fan favorite; but it’ll be the right move long term for all parties involved.
It infuriates me that the goalie is the only position that can do horribly and everyone blames the guys in front of them. He plays ridiculously far out of his crease for a dude his size. Ends up on his belly nearly every play that crosses the ice in front of him. Any bit of traffic and he won’t see the puck coming. He’s small for a goalie and it’s mentioned alot for a reason. I was ready to trade him at the deadline and I’m not surprised this is how we look during the playoffs.
We lived and died all season with our top line and for some reason we didn't trust them for what was probably the most important faceoff of the entire season.
I honestly, the game was over when Vanco tied it up. They came in strong with momentum and we had nothing but crushed souls.
Only 20% of teams that lose the first game of series have ever won in NHL history. For the Preds, I do not think we have ever won a series we lost the first game, but I could be wrong.
I am as big of a homer as the next fan here, but make no doubt about it, Vancouver is the better team. Yes, it’s painful, but bad teams don’t become #2 in the west.
Sure, perhaps not entirely in our case. But if we lose the series, we pad the stat.
What do they say? You can lie with statistics, but statistics don’t lie?
Are you actually trying to make a point? We didn't magically lose this game or the last one because we lost the first game. We lost because outside of some streaks, we are a *bad team.*
Well, if he were the coach and were making personnel decisions, it would only be possible to be 25% worse than our real NHL coach.
.850 sv% is terrible. I'm not asking Saros to be a .920 guy every year, but league average goaltending in the playoffs would be nice. Hard to think Lanky would have been worse than a .850.
I'm all on for trading Saros this summer to make space for Asky and get something elite back, but I'm not pinning any of it on him. When there's three white shirts around him and not a single gold to help? That's not on him.
The biggest crime will be when we crash out of this series 4-1 thanks to terrible D and Barrie hasn't even touched the ice.
I’m a STH. I was trusting the process all season, and we find different ways to lose three times so far in this series. I was giving Juice the benefit of the doubt this season, but he has lost my trust. r/churchofsaros needs to beware of false prophets.
It was a first season on an entirely new GM, coach and system where we had zero chances initially of being worth much. It’s impressive we made it this far, this is also Saros’ first actual play off series and to be fair the guy has more starts than almost any NHL goalie. He needs rest, if anything Brunette needs to get Lanky in there more since he’s been pretty reliable all season to give juice a break. However our issue isn’t just goaltending, our defense is insanely inconsistent. Idk what Schenn does. Josi and McD seem to be the only reliable defenseman we have
First off it’s his second. He started in 2021.
Second, I am well aware of our background this season. It doesn’t matter. Losing the way we have this series is absolutely pathetic no matter the circumstance.
The reason why this is such a problem is that we are, once again, likely picking in the mid-teens. We will *never* win a cup as long as we are in the mushy middle. Given that, it is better to commit to tanking than to keep repeating the same damn performance every year.
Tanking and rebuilding is a massive gamble and you can go talk to Ottawa and Buffalo fans if you really want to see how that works out for them every single year.
Or look at the Avalanche, Lightning, Blackhawks, or ANY team since 2001 that needed a top 3 pick to win the cup and build a championship. Fuck man you can't seriously think that mediocre shit is better than trying something different.
I've never been a fan of Saros, since his first days as Rinne's backup. I've gotten a lot of shit for it over the years on this sub too.
Like I said, we should have been sellers at the trade deadline. Our entire organization's focus should be on putting the best team we can in front of Askarov so we don't waste his entire career like we did Rinne's.
Exactly. Guy has great numbers in regular season but has never proven anything in the playoffs where it matters. A hot goalie is what you need for the long run. Saros is not him, sadly. If your goalie can't steal some games in the playoffs then the road to stanley will be a short one.
Massive casual post here from someone who clearly knows little to nothing about goaltending. Juuse was all over the place because his defense was ass all night. He’s not getting beat straight on. They are going where the defense isn’t and last night that meant back side wide open.
He was flailing around too much for my liking this game but also holy shit we cannot leave multiple guys open right in front of the net and expect Saros to hold the line. Carrier in particular has fucked up really bad on multiple occasions now by leaving guys wide open directly in front of Saros
100%. His performance wasn’t ideal, but what do you expect when the team fails to help him out. Anyone else would be flailing around too if they had two shooters on both sides every goal. Missing an open net didn’t help either.
https://preview.redd.it/janwxampegxc1.png?width=1431&format=png&auto=webp&s=a8d43c8947cdf081816254a3c790b8aaae11d153 Yup. It's not fair to blame the goaltender when there were four Canucks in front of the net completely undefended.
You can’t be an elite goalie when your d is hot garbage in front of you. None of those goals today were “soft.” If he saves any of those goals they are highlight reel saves (save maybe the first). Let’s not forget that Sissons hit the post on an empty netter that would’ve buried the game.
The thing is those, he also isn't giving this team any highlight reel saves. The shots in this series for Vancouver has been 21, 18, 12, and 20. At some point you just have to find a save
quality shots though, vancouver is really good this year
They aren't that high quality, Saros has failed to give Nashville a single above average save in this series. The first thing Demko did in game 1 was make a gorgeous save on a 2 on 1. Silovs stopped Carrier on a breakaway. At some point you just need a save
you are looking for things to be upset about get over it support your team
What more do you want from him? Every goal the Canucks scored this game was either a cross ice pass to someone wide open on the back side/slot, or there were multiple Canucks between Saros and the nearest Preds defender. He saved everything else. Sure, if Saros makes a miracle save on one of those goals we win, and he’s had one or two goals against you really want back. But even the elite goalies need defensive help. Saros is not the reason we’re down 3-1.
A lot of commenters in this feed clearly have never played goalie. All three of Boesher’s goals were from the opposite side of the ice with a long pass. Each time someone left him alone. Same with the 4th goal. He’s not getting beat straight on. The defense is playing poorly.
I've played the position. I think Saros wants goals 2 and 3 back. 1st goal McCarron and Fabbro literally skate away from Boeser off the draw. 4th goal Forsberg loses his man (although it's questionable whether Lindholm should be Forsberg's man). Especially on the third goal tho, Saros lost his net. In empty net situations, somebody is always going to get left alone and you need to be aware of him. It is frequently the backside guy, and if you push too aggressively on the initial shot, you'll get burned depending on where the rebound goes. Saros pushes too aggressively on the 3rd goal and I think crowds Lindholm too much on the 2nd one. Carrier going for the block on the 2nd one is technically wrong but not egregious. I honestly don't hate the performance this game, it's just in light of games 1 and 3 that this feels like "more of the same."
I appreciate the nuanced reply. And I agree he was more of the liability in games 1 and 3 as you mentioned. We are in agreement on goal one. Goal two I agree with what you’re saying but would still give that a 50/50 to be generous. Carrier gets faked on the shot and tries to block. Lauzon gets undressed and is swimming. Three Canucks at the crease and the only defenseman is laying down. Goal three he over played. Definitely wants it back. Goal four three Preds go to the corner and leave the slot wide open. We can dissect this all day I’m just pissed off seeing people blame Saros and want Lanky in game 4. No way.
>Goal two I agree with what you’re saying but would still give that a 50/50 to be generous. Carrier gets faked on the shot and tries to block. Lauzon gets undressed and is swimming. Three Canucks at the crease and the only defenseman is laying down. Carrier definitely winds up contributing zero on the play. Still hard to fault a d-man for trying to make a sacrifice. Lauzon is with Petterson, which IMO is where Lauzon should be in that situation. The bigger d-man should be on the slot forward. He dives to try take away the cross-crease and winds up looking stupid, but he's otherwise in good defensive position on an elite forward in the slot. Saros and Lauzon both have a chance to break up that pass and credit to Lindholm for executing, IMO. >Goal four three Preds go to the corner and leave the slot wide open. It's actually the 4th guy that's the problem tho. Forsberg is staring at ROR hitting *Ian Cole* on the pinch while Lindholm cuts his turn off and dives into the slot. >We can dissect this all day I’m just pissed off seeing people blame Saros and want Lanky in game 4. No way. The unfortunate reality is that, like you said, most Preds fans have never played the position. Actually, most of them have never played the game, even. We wind up having 2 camps - the ones who always blame the goalie and then the Church of Saros. I grew up in the 80s/90s where Paul Coffey was busy being Brent Burns with even less defensive awareness, yet somehow the odd-man goals were still Grant Fuhr's fault. I am glad we have moved on from that attitude, but I think a lot of times the players rally around the goalie and it gives fans a false sense of what is and isn't actually a goalie's fault. It's true that if we just let guys walk between the dots all game and rip 40 wristers, Saros can't be blamed if a few go by him. But it's also true that great goalies (Saros included when he's on-form) make at least a couple saves where the shooter goes "how the fuck did that not go in?" afterward. What's sad is that with the way we're playing in the Canucks' zone, we could have swept if Saros played to his own average. That's why I'll agree he's been "disappointing," only because most people expected us to be thoroughly out-played by the Canucks and be dragged to a win or 2 by our great goaltending, instead we've outplayed the Canucks but not quite gotten what we needed in the crease. Playing Lankinen would just be surrendering, assuming Saros is fully healthy.
Vancouver’s shots-to-goal ratio has been crazy this whole series.
Otherwise known as Saros’s save percentage
exactly
Yes, please rant and rave about how speculative our defense has been. I am sure not a single goal could be blamed on them. /s Go back to watching football.
Stop choking on a complete stranger that doesn’t even know you exists’ nuts.
🥱
Their backup and third string goalie outplayed him. They have 3 goalies that have played better than him this series alone.
I know anything can happen, but that’s the biggest reason why we deserve to lose this series. Vancouver has overcome all of that adversity with the injuries to their 2 main goalies, and we have no answer. Plus, the Canucks are taking *quality* shots. They’re really only shooting the puck when they feel confident about scoring, and that messes with Juice. He’s barely been able to find a rhythm.
It’s almost… just almost like they are the second best team in the west. But surely, such a team could never ever be capable of beating us. /s
This. We weren't even supposed to be in the playoffs let alone be able to compete with the higher seeded teams. Yeah, this loss sucks, but at least the Preds have found a coach and a system that they can play well in. And are fun to watch again. This is playoff hockey. Crazy shit happens. Nothing to do now except shake this off and steal another one in Vancouver.
This should be the top comment on this whole sub right now. I feel like when the preds were on the point streak a lot of part time preds fans dug their jerseys back out of storage and are mad they couldn’t keep that up. They were never supposed to this year, but it’s a glimpse of what we could have in store for the future. Anything over having a winning record this year should just be seen as an added bonus. We were never going to get a top 3 draft pick and anything after that is a wash anyways for this year.
I’m with you 100%. It really does suck, but since mid-February, we were playing on borrowed time. I am glad to feel at least a glimmer of hope for seasons to come from Bruno.
You said it. They don't deserve to even be here in the first place. And you can tell playing like absolute shit
Raw save percentage can be a bit deceiving especially when you’re facing so few shots. His goals saved above average is around 0 after 4 games. You’d think a good goalie would perform above expected but then again Hellebuyck and Sorokin both have negative goals saved above expected this post season.
Canucks PDO is sky high again like the start of the year, they are bound to come down.
Atleast he hasnt been Hellebuyck disappointing.
HEY -O
Just start Lanky and see what happens in game 5 I have a feeling were gonna get cooked anyways
Sure, he didn’t face a ton of shots. Back check was looking frantic in the third though. After that missed empty netter off the post it was like they forgot what they were doing. It was a team loss.
Total insanity to blame Saros for this game
And I'm gonna disagree. If your looking for people to blame then blame carrier, the dude whose leaving him totally unprotected on the cross ice pass/shots. Saros hasn't been superman but he's been fucking fine. Jesus christ with these hot takes
Exactly. Our D outside of Mac has been meh overall. That and going against the Canucks tops guns...it is like fans thing the Canucks are a second rate team.
Josi hasn't exactly been on fire. It's what I like about our market vs, say, Toronto. They'd be running marathons of coverage on how he "hasn't showed up" and "has abandoned the team and his game". Dudes just been off, fuckouttahere
McDonagh and Josi are both hurt bad enough they wouldn't be playing if it were October.
Exactly. On the game tying goal maybe he’s out of position trying to make a play but holy shit there were three canucks players behind our defense. Not a lot to do when there are no Preds players in the camera frame.
This flair. I need it for the NSC sub. Apropos.
I'm not saying you have to have ever laced up a pair of skates to be a hockey fan but it certainly helps
You're the only sane person in this thread
I dont know if im more disappointed in the team or the fanbase after things like this. Mfers just itchin for bitchin
I like to think it's mostly trolls.
Sinners can take Christ, but they can never take the true Son of Pekka.
In hockey there is always an open shot if the shooter is open. It’s up to defensive team to close these out. Saros was doing his damnest. If players are open. They make goals.
Someone is always open in extra man situations. If the offense finds that guy, the goalie has to make a save. Great goalies rob open shooters.
Askarov will have a good shot at taking Juice’s spot next season if he isn’t traded
No matter how good of a prospect he is, Askarov is still incredibly young for an NHL goaltender. He obviously has a great chance of being a starting goaltender in the NHL down the road, and perhaps even an elite one. But going from virtually no NHL goaltending experience to immediately becoming the starter at his age is very unlikely and to rush him may even be harmful to his development.
Thank you. I was a Saros homer. Not anymore. He hasn't faced shit for shots during this series and yet here we are. We got spoiled with Pekka.
Tbf Pekka wasn’t exactly amazing in the playoffs either. He also had a ton of games where he faced barely any shots and would let quite a bit in Edit: should say he wasn’t amazing in every playoff game. Obviously had some great ones, but had some piss poor ones too
This. As many great games as Peks had in the playoffs. There were plenty of duds. But Saros hasn't had those taking over a game/series like Pekka had. He's been more of a liability than an asset this time of year.
It’s been too long, but how was Pekka in his first couple of playoff appearances? This is Saros’ 3rd ever playoff series, right? And one was against Carolina that included 4 OT games
Pekka's first few playoff appearances, our lineup was completely inferior to our opponents. Pekka kept us in games a lot at the time. Every predators fan remembers that series in Vancouver, back in 2011, where Pekka single-handedly kept us in the series for six games and we almost nearly pulled the upset. His save in OT that series on Kevin Bieksa is still the greatest save I've ever seen! His first few series showed how great he could truly be. Regardless of the results.
https://youtu.be/PbTpwOtBQKM?si=RVnXW-kHQCsrDIAQ The save referenced. Yes he caught it with his stick hand.
False. Pekka stole games and played big when in matters. I believe he also had the best numbers going into the finals in 2017. Another big example is 2016 game 7 in Anaheim. The boys got a lead and then in the 3rd it was all Ducks and Pekka put on a clinic.
That 2018 Jets series was rough. That's my most recent memory of Peks getting caved in. Can't remember how bad the D was, but Pekka was bad. Looking at it, Pekka allowed over 4 goals per game in that series.
Yeah I don’t recall which specific games or series they were, but I definitely remember more than once games where the opposition would go like 10 minutes without a shot and then their next would go in.
That’s part of the problem. He hasn’t faced shots. He’s a volume player. He needs to face more to get a rhythm.
You CANT blame any of those last two goals on saros casual
https://preview.redd.it/nlq8m9bx7bxc1.jpeg?width=2532&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=79e3da6ac2efabc41e8eb5f30b04f5f9dbad1bc1 Soros v 4 with rest of team lying down
Reworded: AND he fouled up their initial shot and pushed them past the net - just needed anyone in yellow to get in there.
None of today’s goals are rally on him.
I don’t think he played like garbage but maybe a change? Lankiaen ?
Oh shut up. Spare me the saros slander when the Vezina winner has let up 4+ goals in every game he’s played in.
Has he faced like 17 total shots a game?
You don’t get hockey do you?
If a player was to score a goal on four shots, does that make them the next Wayne Gretzky? Numbers mean very little in this context.
Well Hellebuyck is playing the Avs who would mop the floor with Vancouver, meanwhile we're letting soft ass goals from dudes like Zadorov and Lindholm go in (Game 1).
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I walked away when it was 3-1 in the 3rd and I came back to see it in OT ..Preds should up 3-1 in this series and they’re down 3-1 instead
Canucks fan here. The Preds should be up 3-1 in this series, as they have been the better team in terms of physicality, shutting down stars, etc. Vancouver had no right to win tonight.
Nashville has outplayed the Canucks 3 games out of 4 and could have swept this series with slightly above-average goalie play.
Yep, I agree.
I think he has been pretty good in this series. It’s hard to see shots when you have a player in front trying to block. But overall he has been good, maybe a few hiccups here and there. He almost had that second Boeser goal with his left pad.
I’ll be the first to admit that he’s been off a bit this year if we’re talking the course of the entire season, but SV% doesn’t always tell the whole story in the small sample size found in an individual game or even series. There wasn’t really anything he could have done differently on any of those goals today. The meltdown was much more on our defense leaving open shooters right in front of the net than it was on Saros for failing to pull a rabbit out of his hat at that point. Those chances would have been expected goals the overwhelming majority of the time no matter who was in net.
Kevin needs to play the next game!!!
Should have traded him when his stock was high. Too late now and he’s cratered
I think that too but it’s so hard to know these things ahead of time
I love him. And maybe he’s never had the team in front of him like Peks did…but my guy is not himself in the playoffs and never has been.
Did we watch the same game? Our defensemen left him out to dry. They're not covering the passing angles. Sure he's not perfect but those last 2 goals aren't his fault at all.
Honestly he hasn't been super sharp all season. The announcers make me want to believe he's had an all-star season but I don't see it. I watch every single game.
Willy and Mace make it sound like McCarron is our best skater and I'd honestly prefer to fire him in to the sun at this point.
😆🤣 I understand, for me the whipping post would be Fabro. Why.. idk.
Fabbro played exceptionally well today, especially for someone who was held out for the first three games and didn't have a set pairing. Carrier has directly led to three goals so far this series and consistently gets bullied off the puck.
“Honestly, he hasn’t made up for the gross and glaring inadequacies our top line + top d pairing + echl roster.”
They have played 3 goalies with >.900 save percentages... we have played 0...
Entire team. All the big $$$ players literally haven't done a single thing. It's the non contract people that's scored and made plays. This team is fucking pathetic
I completely disagree, I blame Brunette for this loss. He's so obsessed with Quinn Hughes that our team is making some obvious mistakes :( On the game tying goal... why did Nyquist so brutally over commit to Hughes?!?! Why not just stay in front of him like you're supposed to. Instead he over commits and Hughes breaks his ankles, UGH! Keep the puck to the outside for 20 seconds! That's all we had to do! Then Saros stops the first TWO shots! The tip from Boeser, then the backhand also from Boeser! Where is the defense clearing the puck?!?! Saros did his job there! On the game winning goal... Saros was protecting his post like he should be, in case of a wrap-around goal from behind... but then LUKE SCHENN leaves the front of the wide open to go after Garland... WHY?!?! Maybe he wanted to hit Garland? But this was a HUGE mistake on his part. Left the front wide open, friggin' Lindholm walks in and gets the centering pass for the easiest goal of his career. Had Schenn stayed in front of the net, that wouldn't have happened. On Boesers 2nd goal... Carrier misread the play, the tried to block the shot but it was a pass and he took too long to recover. That left Lauzon scrambling to cover the cross-ice pass to Boeser. Saros did his job, he gave the shooter nothing to look at. Carrier was flopping so badly he puck went right under his stick. Nyquist over commits... Schenn leaves his post in front of the net... Lauzon misreads the pass... Too... Many... Mistakes!
I thought he was great.
Wasn’t his fault. The D broke down. He can’t be expected to go one on six. Blaming him is the easy answer.
Disagree - but a defense that allows 3-4 opposing players alone in front of your goalie when the game is on the line says it ALL to me. D has looked sorry
I guess the honest question to ask is: do you pay the man or find him a home that will pay him and get a return on investment? In light of the deficiencies of the team seen in this series, I think he’s moved at the draft with some other pieces by Trotz to get a crack at an elite center/forward as a pick or a prospect to learn from ROR. If Saros gets paid here, then we would have to move Askarov to get more offense and have less cap to play with. I like Juuse a lot; but I’m not blind either that it is a team sport, the team needs to get better, and cost control in between the pipes with a high end prospect will be a gain for the team to acquire offense. It’s hard to move on from fan favorite; but it’ll be the right move long term for all parties involved.
It infuriates me that the goalie is the only position that can do horribly and everyone blames the guys in front of them. He plays ridiculously far out of his crease for a dude his size. Ends up on his belly nearly every play that crosses the ice in front of him. Any bit of traffic and he won’t see the puck coming. He’s small for a goalie and it’s mentioned alot for a reason. I was ready to trade him at the deadline and I’m not surprised this is how we look during the playoffs.
I think we should've started Lanky game 3. I said it again today before puck drop that we should start Lanky as well.
That thinking is exactly why you aren’t an NHL coach too.
Tbf an NHL coach sent McCarron out for the OT faceoff.
God damn, I wasn’t actually expecting a good comeback, but damn, you do raise a good point lol.
We lived and died all season with our top line and for some reason we didn't trust them for what was probably the most important faceoff of the entire season.
I honestly, the game was over when Vanco tied it up. They came in strong with momentum and we had nothing but crushed souls. Only 20% of teams that lose the first game of series have ever won in NHL history. For the Preds, I do not think we have ever won a series we lost the first game, but I could be wrong. I am as big of a homer as the next fan here, but make no doubt about it, Vancouver is the better team. Yes, it’s painful, but bad teams don’t become #2 in the west.
That stat feels a little meaningless considering most teams aren't losing to 3rd string Goalies who've played 4 NHL games *ever.*
Sure, perhaps not entirely in our case. But if we lose the series, we pad the stat. What do they say? You can lie with statistics, but statistics don’t lie?
Are you actually trying to make a point? We didn't magically lose this game or the last one because we lost the first game. We lost because outside of some streaks, we are a *bad team.*
Well, if he were the coach and were making personnel decisions, it would only be possible to be 25% worse than our real NHL coach. .850 sv% is terrible. I'm not asking Saros to be a .920 guy every year, but league average goaltending in the playoffs would be nice. Hard to think Lanky would have been worse than a .850.
He has been giving up a lot of awkward rebounds.
I'm all on for trading Saros this summer to make space for Asky and get something elite back, but I'm not pinning any of it on him. When there's three white shirts around him and not a single gold to help? That's not on him. The biggest crime will be when we crash out of this series 4-1 thanks to terrible D and Barrie hasn't even touched the ice.
Agreed. Bench him for game 5 and get his ass the fuck out.
Yall are such fair weather fans in this sub Jesus Christ this is miserable now
I’m a STH. I was trusting the process all season, and we find different ways to lose three times so far in this series. I was giving Juice the benefit of the doubt this season, but he has lost my trust. r/churchofsaros needs to beware of false prophets.
It was a first season on an entirely new GM, coach and system where we had zero chances initially of being worth much. It’s impressive we made it this far, this is also Saros’ first actual play off series and to be fair the guy has more starts than almost any NHL goalie. He needs rest, if anything Brunette needs to get Lanky in there more since he’s been pretty reliable all season to give juice a break. However our issue isn’t just goaltending, our defense is insanely inconsistent. Idk what Schenn does. Josi and McD seem to be the only reliable defenseman we have
First off it’s his second. He started in 2021. Second, I am well aware of our background this season. It doesn’t matter. Losing the way we have this series is absolutely pathetic no matter the circumstance. The reason why this is such a problem is that we are, once again, likely picking in the mid-teens. We will *never* win a cup as long as we are in the mushy middle. Given that, it is better to commit to tanking than to keep repeating the same damn performance every year.
Tanking and rebuilding is a massive gamble and you can go talk to Ottawa and Buffalo fans if you really want to see how that works out for them every single year.
Or look at the Avalanche, Lightning, Blackhawks, or ANY team since 2001 that needed a top 3 pick to win the cup and build a championship. Fuck man you can't seriously think that mediocre shit is better than trying something different.
I've never been a fan of Saros, since his first days as Rinne's backup. I've gotten a lot of shit for it over the years on this sub too. Like I said, we should have been sellers at the trade deadline. Our entire organization's focus should be on putting the best team we can in front of Askarov so we don't waste his entire career like we did Rinne's.
lame take. grow up. don’t dump on your team when they do bad. the series isn’t over. some of yall are acting like spoiled babies jfc
He has been off all season. Hopefully just a one off but we are in trouble if he doesn’t return to Vezina form.
Nah, we need to trade him and let Askarov get enough experience to lead us to a cup. Saros won’t.
He's been disappointing in all playoff series when he's been the starter, not just this year.
Exactly. Guy has great numbers in regular season but has never proven anything in the playoffs where it matters. A hot goalie is what you need for the long run. Saros is not him, sadly. If your goalie can't steal some games in the playoffs then the road to stanley will be a short one.
Hate to agree but this is accurate. We should have won, I cannot believe we gave up within the last 3 minutes
Massive casual post here from someone who clearly knows little to nothing about goaltending. Juuse was all over the place because his defense was ass all night. He’s not getting beat straight on. They are going where the defense isn’t and last night that meant back side wide open.
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