Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Jaroslav Halak: A Brief History

The date is March 4th, 2010. The Montreal Canadiens are squared off against the San Jose Sharks in a road game at the then HP Pavilion. The score is 2-1 Montreal entering the third period and while they are being outshot 29-19, 22 year-old goaltender Carey Price is holding the Habs in the game. At the 11:18 mark of the final frame, Canadien defenceman Roman Hamrlik commits a hooking penalty against winger Ryane Clowe, sending the Sharks to the power play. A minute and fourteen seconds later, Dany Heatley tips a Dan Boyle shot past Price, tying the game at 2 per side. The Sharks don't relent and just over two and a half minutes after the man-advantage marker, they score again to take the lead and, after the final 4:55 ticks off the clock, the game.

Waking up the following morning, Montreal found themselves sitting in 10th in the East. On the previous night, 7th seed Boston bested conference-worst Toronto in a shootout and 8th seed Atlanta rolled over the New York Islanders in a 6-3 decision. While Atlanta, as well as the 9th place New York Rangers, all had matched Montreal with 66 points, the Thrashers held three games in hand over the Canadiens with the Rangers' one game providing the buffer. As is usual in the NHL, the playoff bubble was a crowded place, but the odds were slowly starting to turn against the team from Quebec.

Head Coach Jacques Martin had, for the most part, been splitting time in the crease, but with time running out he knew he had to pick a horse in the race and stick with him to make it to the postseason. While the young Carey Price had built up a respectable resume in the two years prior, he wasn't living up to his expectations in 2009-10.

On March 6th, Martin turned to 2003 9th-round draft pick Jaroslav Halak for the start in Southern California against the Los Angeles Kings on the first night of back-to-back games. Halak faced 25 shots that night and turned aside 23 en route to a 4-2 victory. Carey Price would start the next night in Anaheim and, despite only seeing 11 shots while the Canadiens sent 15 in the opposite direction, Price would allow 3 goals in the first period while Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller shut the door completely.

Enter Jaroslav Halak who, facing 15 shots through the next two periods, would blank the Ducks as the Canadiens mounted a comeback by scoring one in the second and tying the game with two goals in the final minute and fifty seconds. The contest would reach the shootout and while Halak would be the first to flinch in the second round, Montreal would score in the third and fourth rounds to collect the win. With just two wins in four days, Montreal crept up to 7th in the playoff picture and Martin knew which of his netminders would be his ticket into the playoffs.

Including the March 6th and 7th games, Halak would close out the season 9-3-3, bringing a .926 SV% and 2.07 GAA to the table. Price would only see action in two more games during the regular season and while his .942 SV% and 1.94 GAA were good marks for those games, his 0-1-1 record wouldn't inspire much confidence. Montreal would hold on to the 7th seed, collecting only two points in their final three games, until the final day of the season when Philadelphia would win their final matchup and slide ahead in the standings.

Montreal's playoff run in 2010 was nothing short of dramatic. In facing the 1st place and President's Trophy-winning Washington Capitals, the Canadiens went 1-3 in the first four games with Halak starting the first three, being pulled half-way through the third game, and Price starting Game 4. After allowing 11 goals in those first two and a half, Halak stopped all but 3 through Games 5, 6, and 7 to backstop the Habs to an upset of the Caps and into the next round. Halak would get pulled in Game 1 of the Semifinals against the 4th seed Pittsburgh Penguins, allowing 5 goals on 20 shots, and would alternate losses and wins throughout the series before breaking the trend and winning Game 7, progressing the Cinderella story even further.

While Halak would manage to outplay both the Washington and Pittsburgh powerhouses, he could not find an answer to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Final. He would allow 13 goals in 5 games, winning only once, and the Flyers would go on to face the Chicago Blackhawks and the Canadiens would hit the links.

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In the 2010 offseason, Montreal traded Restricted Free Agent Halak's contract rights to the St. Louis Blues. He played well for the team, accruing a .916 SV%, a 2.23 GAA, a 83-47-19 regular season record, and a franchise record 20 shutouts in his tenure. If there is one blemish to his career with the Blues however, it would have to be his playoff performance.

It wasn't that he was bad, in fact he had only played 100 minutes and 23 seconds for the Blues in the playoffs. In 2012, he had just entered the second period of Game 2 of the Quarterfinals before suffering an ankle injury from a collision with teammate Barret Jackman. In 2013, he aggravated a prior groin ingury in early April and missed the playoffs all together. With back-to-back dismissals at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings, granted with backup Brian Elliot manning the crease, the uncertainty surrounding Halak's health (and likely questions regarding his consistency) seemed to be enough to send him packing.

Jaroslav Halak became the key piece bringing coveted rental Ryan Miller to St. Louis from the clearly rebuilding Buffalo Sabres this year. Instead of dressing Halak for action, Buffalo sent Halak to, guess who, the Washington Capitals at the trade deadline.

It's no secret that the Eastern Conference is a very top-heavy collection of teams. The Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins are the only ones to have separated themselves from the pack through 68-70 games but, from 3rd to a conservative 10th, the field is wide open to anyone capable of a streak in either direction. The specifics may be unique from season to season, but the narrative itself never ceases to reappear.

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The Washington Capitals already provided a crowded crease with 2011-12 playoff darling Braden Holtby holding starting duties, a discontent Michal Neuvirth kind of sometimes serving the backup beat, and call-up Philipp Grubauer performing well as far as numbers go but not putting up the wins necessary to push the Caps over the edge. Neuvirth found an out, heading to Buffalo as Halak came in, and now the team had some true competition in net.

Halak was officially in the organisation on the afternoon of March 5th but didn't join the team until the following day. The night past the trade deadline, Holtby would spot the Flyers a 4-0 lead before getting pulled and Grubauer would be unable to hold strong in the comeback and the team would wind up with a 6-4 loss. Holtby would get the nod on the 6th, allowing 2 goals on 42 shots, which would turn out to be the only stellar Capitals performance in a 3-0 shutout at the hands of the Boston Bruins. The loses kept the Capitals 2 spots outside of a Wild Card position for the playoffs which sets the stage for a play we've seen before.

With about 9 days off, Jaroslav Halak was back on the job on March 8th and Head Coach Adam Oates hasn't started anyone else since. Halak is 4-2-0 in his 6 games with the Capitals, including wins in each of his last 3, posting a .931 SV% and a 2.35 GAA. The climb up the standings has been slower, having only crept one spot back of a Wild Card bid, but at present they only sit 3 points back of 2nd in the Metropolitan Division and are tied in points with the final playoff qualifier though have played 2 more games. The odds aren't great but in the course of 12 games, anything is possible.

Washington has a lot to overcome but as we have seen in the past, a goaltender turning hot at just the right time can propel a team into the postseason. They play 7 of their final 12 against teams all but mathematically locked into a playoff spot and only 3 against teams firmly outside of the race while 6 of their games come against conference rivals. They will need some slumps by teams ahead of them in the bubble race but as long as they continue to win they have a fighting chance.

Jaroslav Halak has proven that he can take your team from potential also-ran to playoff shocker. The St. Louis Blues wanted to solidify their crease at the expense of Halak but the relocation placed him squarely in a position he has been in before in his career. If the Capitals elbow their way ahead in the standings, don't be surprised. History has a funny way of repeating itself.

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