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In all of sports, is there anyone more famously superstitious than hockey goalies? There are the obvious legends, like Patrick Roy talking to his goalposts and Glenn Hall barfing before every game. Those two Hockey Hall of Famers might be excessive cases, but NHL 'tenders are notorious for their adherence to routine and ritual. Some might consider this superstition (gotta put each piece of equipment on in order, gotta do this, gotta do that), while many likely consider it a way of building focus and eliminating distracting variables. So what happens if something has to change? Does it affect the player's focus? Does it affect performance?
In Game Six of the Stanley Cup Final, with the Tampa Bay Lightning trailing the Colorado Avalanche three games to two in the series, we saw a fascinating case of a goalie dealing with a sudden equipment change with a quick goal to follow. The goalie in question was Andrei Vasilevskiy, the Lightning's dominant superstar netminder.
The Lightning started the second period of the must-win game up 1-0 off a goal from Captain Steven Stamkos. Although the Bolts were dealing with several injuries and at times looked over-matched by the deep and talented Avalanche, they held the edge in shots 10-8 through the first period, and importantly, had the edge in goal: the Avs' Darcy Kuemper was having an average-at-best post-season and was definitely beatable, while Vasilevskiy was coming off two straight Cup wins including a Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, and was considered virtually unbeatable in elimination games.
But early in the second period, something was off.
After an initial minute of back and forth play, the Avalanche were working behind the Lightning net. The puck went into the air and Vasilevskiy reached back and caught it, stopping play at 18:24. He then skated to the bench, indicating there was an issue with his mask. He handed it over to the trainer and skated back to the Lightning crease with his spare mask, slid it on, and squared up for the faceoff.
Eighteen seconds later, Nathan MacKinnon put a laser one-timer under Vasilevskiy's arm, changing the momentum of the game.
It would be unfair to MacKinnon and the Avalanche to suggest that Vasilevskiy's mask issue contributed meaningfully to the goal; after all, the Avs held the zone, made several shot attempts, and Bowen Byram set MacKinnon up to unleash a blast that few goalies would have any chance of stopping.
NEVERTHELESS.
The timing is more than coincidental, and if there are any goalies capable of stopping MacKinnon's shot, Vasilevskiy is certainly among them. He made other seemingly impossible saves in the same game. Saying a different mask contributed to the goal would be silly superstition, but saying that the distraction of a gear change mid-game affected his concentration by even a single percentage point is reasonable. And a single percent can make the difference with players at the level of MacKinnon and Vasilevskiy.
From a Lightning fan's perspective, wondering what would have happened if Vasilevskiy's mask did not require service is enough to drive you crazy: naturally, the Big Cat would have made a stunning save on Mackinnon, momentum would have stayed with the Bolts, and they would have won the game 1-0 before winning Game Seven and collecting their third straight Stanley Cup. Right? Right?
That might be going too far. But, honestly, this has been keeping me awake at night all summer and I had to get it out of my system.
I hope it hasn't been keeping Vasilevskiy up. He needs his rest for the coming season.
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