Goal Line Report
What’s the Big Deal With Varly?
by Patrick Hoffman on 04/29/09 at 04:40 PM ET
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Over on Greg Wyshynski’s Twitter account, posters are giving him grief because Washington Capitals’ 21-year-old netminder Simeon Varlamov is not on the Conn Smythe list as a potential Stanley Cup playoff MVP thus far.
What I want to know is why are the fans and media over-hyping this young netminder so quickly? Yes, Varlamov had excellent statistics in the first round (4-2, 1.17 goals against average, .952 save percentage, and two shutouts) and yes, he helped his club advance to the next round. However, this was against a New York Rangers team that only took 145 shots against him, many of the low quality variety and against a team that virtually has no offense.
I’m not saying that he’s a bad goaltender nor am I saying that he doesn’t deserve the accolades that he is getting right now. What I am saying is let’s not over-hype this kid until he gets truly tested in the next round against a much tougher Pittsburgh Penguins hockey club. I doubt he’ll be seeing lo quality scoring chances against the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Chris Kunitz, Sergei Gonchar, Bill Guerin, Jordan Staal, etc.
What’s your take on Varlamov?
Filed in: | Goal Line Report | Permalink
Tags: bill+guerin,
chris+kunitz,
evgeni+malkin,
greg+wyshynski,
jordan+staal,
new+york+rangers,
sergei+gonchar,
sidney+crosby,
simeon+varlamov,
washington+capitals
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Patrick has a tremendous passion for hockey. Besides covering the Rangers and the NHL for Kukla's Korner, you can also find Patrick's work over at Sportsnet.ca, The Red Light District Hockey Blog, NHL Home Ice, and Liam Maguire's Ultimate Hockey web site.
Prior to writing for the above mentioned outlets, you could find Patrick's musings at hockey web sites/outlets such as TheHockeyNews.com, TheFourthPeriod.com, Spector's Hockey, Hokeja Vestnesis, Blueshirt Bulletin, SNYRangersBlog.com and many more.
For questions, comments and hip checks, feel free to e-mail Patrick at patrickhoffman3530@gmail.com.