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7 responses to “USA Men's Hockey Game 3”

  1. KQ

    Roy as of now had a better career then Brodeur, but Brodeur is likely to be better then Roy by the end of his career. Ryan Miller right now is the best goalie in the olympics, but he is not the best in the world. The best in the world is not playing in the olympics for reasons i do not know. Mark Andre Fleury is the best goalie in the world. He is a Canadian and should be the starter backed up by Brodeur instead of Brodeur backed up by LaLongo. Fortunatly for the USA hockey team and the rest of the teams in the olympics, Fleury is not playing. Canada would have won last night and would win the olympics if he had played.

  2. Bob Long

    Marc-Andre Fleury is NOT the best goalie in the world. Consider this. For one, he has arguably the most explosive offense in the NHL, and the Penguins are currently in 4th place in the Eastern Conference, only 1 point ahead of Buffalo with 2 more games played. In addition, Fleury has a GAA (Goals Allowed Average) of 2.65 and a save percentage of .908. Miller has a GAA of 2.16 and a save percentage of .930. As mentioned, Buffalo only trails Pittsburgh by 1 point with 2 less games played, and Miller has a much less of an explosive offense playing in front of him. Fleury isn’t one of the top 5 goalies in any of the 4 most important goalie statistical categories (GAA, save %, shutouts, wins). There is no way one can argue the Fleury is better than Miller, and certainly one cannot argue that Fleury is better than everyone else in the world.

    In terms of Martin Brodeur, he has a GAA of 2.32 this season and a save percentage of .915. Brodeur is not even in the top 5 goalies in either of these 2 categories. Everyone decided that he was the best goalie in the world this year because the Devils were playing well and he was playing well as an old goaltender. However, the facts show that in the two most reliable statistics that determine a goalie’s play (GAA and save %), Martin Brodeur isn’t even a top 5 goalie in the league. Although I do believe Brodeur is a top 5 goalie in the league, the fact that he isn’t one of the top 5 goalies in these statistical categories shows that he isn’t as dominant as everyone gives him credit for.

    Now to Miller. There is no goalie in hockey that has had the success Miller has had this year in net, and no one has put up the stats he has. Coupled with the fact that, in only his 5th year, Miller has been a great goaltender since he entered the league, he will only continue to improve upon his talent, which is scary for the rest of the league. He is undoubtedly the best goalie in the world right now.

    1. Jordan

      No way is Fleury the best in the world, but I will say he is the best for canada and I have no idea why the hell they haven’t played him. Miller is having an absolutely amazing year and its unbelievable. its incredibly easy to make the argument that he is the best in the world for this year.

  3. KQ

    If fleury is in the olympics, why is he the 3rd string behind loungo? he is better then both and playing better than any canadian goalie in the world. last year in the playoffs we saw that when he is playing at the top of his game he is UNDENIABLY the best in the world.
    I do agree with you that the way miller is playing right now he is the best in the world, but when fleury is at his best… no contest.

    1. Bob Long

      KQ,

      So first you backed off your statement that Fleury is the best right now (because I gave proof that he hasn’t been close to the best this year in the NHL), and then change your argument by saying that no one is better than Fleury when he is at his best. Then you give as your evidence his performance in the 2009 NHL Playoffs. However, you bring no facts to the table. I have the 2009 NHL Playoff statistics for Marc-Andre Fleury. He had a GAA of 2.61 and a sv% of .908. Do these stats seem familiar? If not, I’ll jog your memory. Fleury has a GAA of 2.65 this season, and a sv% of .908, and this is a season where he isn’t in the top 5 in any of the 4 goalie statistics that best indicate performance (GAA, sv%, wins, shutouts). In addition, it is a season where you yourself admitted that Miller was playing better than Fleury. The point is, Fleury got a lot of attention last year in the postseason because he made some good saves and played on the Stanley Cup winning team, but in fact he did not play extraordinarily well on the whole. He was good, and no one questions that, but he didn’t play nearly well enough to be considered the best in the world, and he still hasn’t.

  4. KQ

    the best always come up big when it is needed most by their team. fleury showed this in both game six and game seven when his team was leading by only one goal and he stopped waves of shots to clinch a must win in for his team to win the stanley’s cup. he also only allowed 2 goals in game 6 and 7 with his offence barely doing anything for him in the entire stanley cup (only 14 goals in the 7 game finals)

    1. Bob Long

      KQ,

      That’s fine. I never had any problem saying that Fleury played well, because he did. By no means is his 2.61 GAA in the playoffs bad, but is it not a number the best goalie in the world would put up. His performance in Games 6 and 7 were very good, but 2 good games aren’t enough given the rest of his statistics and performances to be considered the best of all time. And if you are talking about the entire Stanley Cup Series, his GAA was 2.42, which again is not bad, but not world class. I’m sorry, that is just the way it is. Keep in mind that losing goalie Chris Osgood also had better statistics in the finals, with a GAA of 2.01 and a sv% of .926.

      While Fleury won, and played well (no argument on either), you still haven’t made a solid, thorough argument of why you think Fleury is the best ever.

      You started by saying that Fleury is flat out the best goalie in the world based on his career play. Then, after I promptly gave you statistics to show that your assertion simply wasn’t the case, you retreated by saying that he was the best because of his performance last postseason. After I disproved that by showing that Fleury really didn’t play any better during last year’s postseason than he has for his career, you retreated again by saying that he was great in Games 6 and 7 of the Stanley Cup. That is true, he played great in Games 6 and 7, but that makes his 2.42 GAA over the whole series less impressive, because that means he gave up an average of 3 goals in Games 1-5. In addition, if two games can make a player the best of all time in his sport, then Mark Buehrle is a top 5 pitcher of all time because he has pitched both a perfect game and a no hitter in his career. However, his career statistics are a 135-97 record, an ERA of nearly 4, and zero 20 win seasons. He is a very good pitcher who has had several good seasons but 2 tremendous games (perfect game and no-hitter) in his career. However, this does NOT mean that he is anywhere close to the best pitcher of all time.

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