Friday, January 21, 2011

why starting karlsson tonight is a mistake

brent sutter has announced that henrik karlsson will get the start tonight between the posts at against the dallas stars. here's why it's a fucking terrible idea:

1. the coach is setting his starting goalie up to fail. bigtime. if karlsson gets the start tonight, it pretty much assures that miikka will get the nod tomorrow against INARGUABLY the hottest team in the nhl. when you're playing a goaltender with fragile confidence, this can easily amount in total destruction. the dirty nucks will light him up for a half dozen easy.... a smarter coach would let kippy work out his issues against a (slightly) lesser team in the stars.

2. if sutter intends to start karlsson in both games and wait for a truly diminutive opponent to let kipps work out his issues (*cough*nashville*cough*), i think the damage might actually be increased because poor miikka's confidence will be shattered by the middle finger described by the two back-to-back karlsson starts...

3. if sutter is serious about wanting to win games, he need only look at karlsson's record at home to know that he's probably tossing this one in the trash.

all in all, this is a tough choice for the coaching staff. i bet noodles is getting less sleep now than when he got his heart broke....

sads.

11 comments:

A Z R said...

Have to start Karl. Kipper needs to have his pride challenged so we can see how he responds. If Karl gets a shut out, start him again. Competition will be good for Kipper

KingJafi said...

There is also the flip side that Karlsson gets the lamp lit on him 3+ times in the first period and Kip comes in there to save the day (or night in this case).

Unlikely scenario given Dallas' low GFs tho. In any case, if #34 is put to start tomorrow, he's definitely being thrown to the wolves.

Personally, I don't think he is as mentally shaken as everyone is making him out to be.

Nuuuuugs said...

F-bomb, love it.

You summed it up best at the end, its a tough call. But if you're lining your best goalie against your best opponent than don't you have to do this. Sounds like you're already conceding a 6-goal night for the Nucks, how much worse would that be with Karlsson in?

mikeH said...

I think its obvious what's going on. Brent and and the management have come to the right conclusion, and decided to just tank the season.

Karlsson gets a chance to continue developing with a fresh team in front of him, and Kipper gets a chance to learn humility. Both will probably be valuable lessons over time, in games that most would expect the Flames to lose anyway.

Maybe not the best strategy to win this weekend, but not exactly detrimental to the team's long term health.

JA said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JA said...

My brother (who happens to be a goalie) says that the only way he was ever able to get out of a slump was to play his way out of it. Of course, that's assuming that Kipper is in a slump rather then just getting old/bad.

walkinvisible said...

i don't think anyone believes that kippy is as bad as his current play. it's just a question of whether he's doing his part to make the flames lose for landeskog, or just opting to not save games anymore.

bets that hank goes on a tear and the flames end the season with a 5.83 milion dollar backup goalie, two points out of a playoff spot ?

shep said...

but have you seen the karlsson på taket (karlsson on the roof) theme?

link

the lyrics are basically "karlsson, karlsson, the worlds greates karlsson"

KingJafi said...

I miss living in Sweden when I watch that.

walkinvisible said...

shep, are YOU coming for the heritage classic ? it would be SO AMAZING.:)

shep said...

wi:

i hate to disappoint you but the answer is no.

i may go to california this summer though..

no loob either from what i gather?