Watch: Top 5 Saves by Detroit Red Wings Goaltenders 2016/17
By Trevor Shaw
From spectacular diving saves to pure robbery, the Detroit Red Wings goaltenders had plenty of fantastic saves during the 2016-17 campaign. Here are the top five.
Who is the Red Wings number one goaltender?
It was the biggest question thrown around all season, but with the tremendous effort by both Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek (Jared Coreau at times as well), that question never got answered. Issues with injuries and a poor defensive core led to a season full of disappointment for the Wings, but some huge saves along the ride made many games extremely enjoyable. Here are our top five saves by Red Wing goaltenders in the 2016-17 season.
#5: Jimmy Howard against McDonagh and Vesey – (10/19/16)
First, at number five we have a last second reaction with the stick on the rebound shot from Jimmy Vesey. What makes this save so great is Howard’s initial one-timer save on Ryan McDonagh. Howard’s one-man effort on this play shows his never give up attitude and definitely solidifies this at number five.
#4: Petr Mrazek against Tavares – (2/21/17)
Second, we have a huge last second desperation save by Petr Mrazek on the shot by John Tavares. Tavares is a well-known veteran goal scorer with precision accuracy on his shots, but resulting from a quick deke, Mrazek appeared down and out. Here Mrazek show’s his never give up attitude like Howard’s in the previous pick, giving us another reason it’s so hard to pick a number one goaltender.
#3: Petr Mrazek against Bonino – (2/19/17)
Sometimes the boards can act like a sixth man during a teams cycle, and this a prime example. If you thought the Joe Louis boards were susceptible to lucky bounces, then check out this play at the Pittsburgh Penguins PPG Paints Arena. Here, Mrazek steals the show against Nick Bonino’s quick backhand shot with his trapper after a bounce off the boards leaves the net wide open, or does it?
#2: Petr Mrazek against Lehkonen – (11/26/17)
Want a definition of larceny? Petr Mrazek uses his actions instead of words to explain the true meaning of robbing what seems to be a sure goal. This glove stop on Artturi Lehkonen of the Montreal Canadiens is absolutely a sight to see as it left Lehkonen with a facial expression of disbelief.
#1: Jimmy Howard against Rask – (3/28/17)
The give and go is an extremely high scoring play in the NHL, as it takes a goalie with quick split-second reactions to properly read the play. This save solidifies itself at number one due to Howard’s amazing tracking of the puck, followed by a flashy glove save to seal the deal. Victor Rask’s quick wrister off the give and go into the trapper of Howard is definitely something Wings fans can watch over and over.
We hope you enjoyed another top five list from the 2016-17 season. Will we finally see an answer to who the Red Wing’s number one goalie is this season?