Vertical Movement vs. Lateral Movement
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Being a Detroit native, I tend to watch more Redwings games then many of the other NHL teams. I do not prefer them to other teams, but they are on TV more often then other non-local organizations. With that being said I tend to be more critical of the Detroit goaltenders due to the additional time that I get to study them vs. other NHL goalies.
In my studies of the Detroit goalies vs. other NHL franchises, I have found one profound difference that has been putting the Detroit goalies at, in my opinion, a disadvantage when compared to the rest of the field. This disadvantage is the over use of Vertical movement.
In a perfect world, goaltenders would have two zones of movement. The 1st zone, being vertical movement only, would be from the top of the crease, out. This is used for any attacking and retreating. The 2nd zone of movement would be lateral, and be used inside the crease only. When moving between the zones, in and out of the crease, these two types of movements should not be intertwined. If you are outside the crease, you should only be moving vertically, and when you are inside the crease you should only be moving laterally. If you use either type of movement outside of its corresponding zone, you will automatically be putting yourself at a disadvantage.
Retreating back to the Detroit goalies; in my studies, I have noticed that all the goalies within the Redwings organization show traits of hyper activity and hyper aggressiveness. These two traits are constantly putting them at a disadvantage, that if not for the stellar defense of Nick Lindstrom and Nick Kronwall, would become much more apparent then currently viewed. The major reason for this hyper activity and hyper aggressiveness stems from not adhering to my last point in the last paragraph. When studying the Redwings goalies, I have found that a majority of the goals that are being let in stem directly from the fact that they are using vertical movement in both zone 1 and 2 instead of adhering to the guidelines set forth in the previous paragraph.
Generally speaking, when you are in the crease, you are in a position of higher threat then when moving outside of the crease on the initial set up. With this being said, if you are moving vertically while in the crease, you are moving when you should be planted in a razor ready stance waiting for the impending shot. That is the biggest difference with the Detroit goalies, they are moving in and out when they should be planted and set. This causes bad goals through the body, under the body, and larger numbers of kill zone rebounds. If you go through the game film, a majority of the goals scored against the Redwings goalies are 5-hole, and rebounds, which directly correlates with the thesis of this article. The reason for these types of goals and rebounds, too much movement of the lower body, which doesn’t allow for the goalies enough time to set up properly and to handle the shot at hand.
The bottom line, be set and ready for each and every shot by adhering to the strict guidelines of vertical and lateral movements within their respective zones.
