Saves of the week 11/03 - too much details

10 - Osgood vs Perry
Good technique will get you far. This is a perfect example of a post-to-post lateral movement done calmly and in control. Perry also showed his skills by not one-timing it towards the goal but setting his shot and going top corner... but Osgood excellent positioning allowed him to steal the show with a great glove save.

9 - Ward vs Horcoff
One of the most difficult thing for a goalie is to follow a bouncy puck like this. Even a tic-tac-toe play is easier to track as you know where the puck is going... but a bouncy puck like that is going wherever and you cannot anticipate... all you can do is react! exactly what Cam Ward does by stretching the leg on a great shot from Horcoff.

8 - Thomas vs Sedin
The Sedin twins are doing what they do best: controlling the puck then making no-look pass to a suddenly free brother. The shot looks a bit slow on the replay but it was a perfectly timed shot from Henrik and only Tim Thomas excellent reaction saved the day. Thomas must have seen where Sedin was beforehand because he did not do a Superman plunge like he usually does but did a nicely controlled slide, his upper body still facing the shooter and his glove hand ready to grab. The rest of the saves better be good to beat that!

7 - Luongo vs Moller
The quickest glove in the league! Frolov's nice little skate towards the back of the net makes the Canucks D fall asleep and a perfect crisp pass down the middle ends right on Moller's tape and he taps it nicely upwards... but Luongo made a nice lateral movement and his reflexes took over, sending his glove hand up to grab that puck.

6 - Nabokov vs Dupuis
Like the announcer said, this is the exact same shot Dupuis scored on in OT a couple weeks ago. The dude has a very powerful shot and seems to have found a sweet spot in that area up from the face-off circle as the puck just flies for the top corner. Nabokov is however showing why he is among the elite by stepping up, cutting off the angle and letting his glove do the talking. You can see Dupuis's OT goal here.

5 - Thomas vs Hemsky
The play is developing differently but Thomas makes a very similar save to #8 by sliding over in a control manner and keeping his glove up to block the whole net. It warms my heart to see a career journeyman finally get his chance in the NHL in his mid 30s and succeed so nicely... especially doing it with good technique and unbridled energy like Thomas is.

4 - Turco vs the Bruins
Turco has been awful overall this year and this save does show how unfocused he can be. Instead of having his stick flush against the ice, he is flat on his butt hoping the puck will hit him, scrambling about with his limbs flairing, throwing himself in the direction of the puck and somehow deflecting it softly to a spot where he can smother it.

3 - Olesz vs the Thrashers
This is why I disaprove of goalies stepping out of the crease when there are any chances for the play to switch sides. Vokoun is so far in front of the crease that his lateral movement takes him out of the play and the net is now completely empty. Look at that overhead shot! There are 3 Panthers in the shot, none of them the goalie. And somehow the winger (yes the winger!) Olesz ends up in the net, sees the puck bounce off Bouwmeester's behind and bats the puck away right on the red line! Best non-goalie save so far this year!

2 - Kiprusoff vs Stoll
Never make the first move! Kiprusoff got nervous and went down in his butterfly as soon as Stoll grabbed the puck, therefore putting him in a bad position as Stoll skated away to find a better angle... but he stopped short himself and went for an average shot that Kiprusoff was able to stop with his quick glove hand.

1 - Turco vs Yelle
Now this is a save! Turco still was scrambling, down early and forced to throw himself around but he was in the right place at the right time to stop that top corner shot. A better scorer might have waited for Turco's superman to fall flat on his face then shoot over an empty net... When you have a goalie scrambling, you better milk it for all its worth and let him get himself out of the play.

Very nice to see a bunch of glove saves this week! especially after the last couple weeks being almost only pad saves.