For those who missed the Blackhawks 3-1 win over the Nashville
Predators Thursday night, you missed an interesting bit of information
from play by play man Pat Foley.
In the second period, Pat talked about Cristobal Huet, and how he's adjusting to a new style of goaltending.
Huet, along with most goalies in the NHL, play the "butterfly" style of goaltending.
When he was in Montreal, Huet was told to drop to his knees and slide post to post from the butterfly position. If you've been observing, Huet's biggest problem this season is dropping too early.
A goalie that drops too early is vulnerable up high. It causes the glove hand to drop, and roof shots are tougher to save. These are the shots Huet has been beaten with this season.
Rest assured, the Hawks and Huet are working on it.
In the summer, Hawks goaltending coach Stephane Waite and Huet talked about this approach, and agreed it needed changing.
Huet's new goal is to get to the point where he is comfortable playing cross slot passes from his feet, and dropping once the shot comes. This should give him a better chance on high shots, simply because of the fact that he will be standing taller.
It won't happen over night, but it's reassuring to know that Huet and the Hawks are aware of what's wrong, and are working together to get it right.
Jay Zawaski is the Executive Producer of the Danny Mac Show (M-F 9am-1pm) on WSCR 670 The Score.
Filed under: Blackhawks, butterfly style goaltending, Chicago Sports, Cristobal Huet, goaltending, hockey, NHL, sports, stephane waite
Tags: blackhawks, butterfly style goaltending, chicago sports, cristobal huet, goaltending, hockey, NHL, Sports
He shouldn't be as bad as he was early on the entire year.
I'm glad they're working on what he needs to improve, and hopefully by mid-season he is where he needs to be. He gave up a lot of soft goals last year, but he wasn't BAD like he was the first few games. My faith in him is slowly starting to come back.
Jay i dont get it,his style was ok for Mon,Was, now hes not doing things right?Do you think his confidence has any bearing on this? Also is Waite known as a great golie coach as Tretiak was/ Thanks Al