Blame and the Butterfly

Disgracing his nation and bringing disappointment to millions of Canadian children, Martin Brodeur, in the words of The Globe and Mail, failed to "provide the lights-out sensational net-minding that the Canadians saw at the other end of the rink - from Ryan Miller [of the U.S.] and before that, from Switzerland's Jonas Hiller."

Understood, and full credit to Canadians for caring about this.  The Canada-U.S. game was that rarest of events - an exciting sport, played at the highest level, for pride.  No one got paid a dime.  Both teams desperately wanted to win.  The fans cheered their lungs out and saw great hockey.  And, says The Globe and Mail, they saw Brodeur let them down.

Canada coach Mike Babcock blames Brodeur's hybrid style.  He's not getting low enough, you see, he stands too tall in the crease.  "[Replacement Roberto] Luongo is a great big butterfly goaltender.  With traffic and people in front of you a lot, sometimes just being in that big butterfly, things bump into you."

Brodeur couldn't be reached for comment, but, in his stead, allow me to offer the view that, had he been playing butterfly style, he could easily have bettered his career total of 23 playoff shutouts, and avoided the ignominy of have to share the record with Patrick Roy.

Unless, you know, this is an exercise in scapegoating by a coach who's not up to the job of pulling together the greatest hockey players in the world and welding them into an effective unit.

The [Toronto] Star isn't fooled.

None of this had to happen. Babcock could have announced in Calgary that it was time for the youngsters to take over and anointed Luongo and Fleury as the two goalies, with Brodeur in reserve.  Failing that, he could’ve made it clear once in Vancouver that Luongo would be the starter. Again, that would have been an entirely defensible strategy.  Instead, he dithered, and in so doing has made the country’s national goaltender the lightning rod for all criticism about the team.

Blame the goalie, blame the hybrid style - but it's a dangerous game.  The Star notes that "the last time Luongo had a chance to step forward and assert himself as Canada’s top netminder he coughed up the bit in the deciding game of last year’s playoffs for the Canucks and surrendered seven goals to the Chicago Blackhawks."  Moreover...

Anytime Babcock has had success—1997 world juniors, 2002 Stanley Cup final with Anaheim, 2008 and ’09 Cup finals with Detroit—he has identified a starting goalie and rode him hard.  He didn’t pull Marc Denis in ’97 when that team struggled, or J.S. Giguere in ’02, or Chris Osgood in either of the past two playoff season.  But with Team Canada, he’s gone to a different playbook. It better work.

 And if it doesn't...will he blame the butterfly?