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What’s the Big Deal With Varly?
by Patrick Hoffman on 04/29/09 at 02:40 PM ET
Comments (5)
Over on Greg Wyshynski’s Twitter account, posters are giving him grief because Washington Capitals’ 21-year-old netminder Simeon Varlamov is not on the Conn Smythe list as a potential Stanley Cup playoff MVP thus far.
What I want to know is why are the fans and media over-hyping this young netminder so quickly? Yes, Varlamov had excellent statistics in the first round (4-2, 1.17 goals against average, .952 save percentage, and two shutouts) and yes, he helped his club advance to the next round. However, this was against a New York Rangers team that only took 145 shots against him, many of the low quality variety and against a team that virtually has no offense.
I’m not saying that he’s a bad goaltender nor am I saying that he doesn’t deserve the accolades that he is getting right now. What I am saying is let’s not over-hype this kid until he gets truly tested in the next round against a much tougher Pittsburgh Penguins hockey club. I doubt he’ll be seeing lo quality scoring chances against the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Chris Kunitz, Sergei Gonchar, Bill Guerin, Jordan Staal, etc.
What’s your take on Varlamov?
Filed in: | Goal Line Report | Permalink
Tags: Bill+Guerin, Chris+Kunitz, Evgeni+Malkin, Greg+Wyshynski, Jordan+Staal, New+York+Rangers, Sergei+Gonchar, Sidney+Crosby, Simeon+Varlamov, Washington+Capitals,
Comments
I’d have to agree with you there… He’s a really good goaltender. He poised and mature for his age. But isn’t it a little early to be talking about Conn Smythe? It’s only the first round. I really like Varlamov but you can’t judge someone on ONE playoff series. If he gets to the Stanley Cup playoffs, then maybe we can make a case for Conn Smythe material. Because as far as I can tell, no player has ever won the Conn Smythe that didn’t get to the Stanley Cup finals, am I right?
Posted by Matt Fry from Winnipeg on 04/29/09 at 03:03 PM ET
He hasn’t faced the likes of Malkin and company yet. And then there’s either BOS or CAR. That’s three teams with offensive weapons far better than the Rangers.
Posted by SYF from a "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on 04/29/09 at 03:13 PM ET
Varly did a great job against NYR. However, he’ll be facing an entirely different animal in the second round. The Caps D cannot be overly aggressive, they’ll have to insulate Varly against the likes of Malkin, Crosby, Guerin, Staal, Gonchar, etc.. If Varly and the Caps have some early success against Pittsburgh he may be alright. But if the Pens get to Varly early, the Caps may have to go back to Theodore before long and it will be a short series.
Typically, very young netminders struggle in their first playoff experience. Just ask Carey Price. Young goalies who experience success are very much fewer and further between. It can be done, Cam Ward did it just a few years ago. And Varly has the benefit of playing behind an offensively potent club, he’ll get some goal support.
All in all, I think it’s a bit much to ask of Varly to beat Pittsburgh. I think he’ll get touched up a bit and we’ll see both Caps goalies before the Pens win in six.
Posted by Portnoy from Las Vegas, NV on 04/29/09 at 03:50 PM ET
As a Caps fan I’m surprised this is a story. Let’s get to the Cup Finals before worrying about Conn Smyth nonsense. He played really well and should be our longterm franchise goalie, as he’s been advertised for 2 years by the Caps front office. But the Cam Ward comparisons are a little ridiculous and reactionary. Lundqvist got pulled in back to back games, so to think Varlamov isn’t going to struggle at some point this post season is wishful thinking. Can he beat the Pens? Sure. Will he have a GAA under 2? No way. This will be a high scoring series and for the Caps to win they need to show why they finished higher then Pit even with the lesser Theo and that’s having 3 lines that can score plus Green. They almost lost to NYR because only Ovechkin,Backstrom and Semin showed up.
Posted by eric from baltimore on 04/29/09 at 04:58 PM ET
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I’m a Rangers fan so I feel especially qualified to comment having watched him those last 6 painful games. He showed tremendous poise for his age and lack of experience… beyond that not much else is proven. He hasn’t had to make too many really good saves yet. The Penguins will be a true test for him and will be one hell of an entertaning series to watch.
Posted by Adam on 04/29/09 at 02:47 PM ET