Mike Condon: planned desperation leads to back door robbery
With Mike Condon
From rebound control to reading through screens and ultimatly controlled desperation, this week's ProRead has plenty to offer.
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Mike Condon provided one of our favorite Pro Reads to date when he broke down his Winter Classic save in front of friends and family as part of the storied rivalry between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins. So, we’re going back to Condon for another breakdown, his third overall and his second from his three seasons with the Ottawa Senators.
Condon’s body may have let him down the past two seasons, something he discussed at length on the InGoal Radio Podcast last summer, but there’s little doubt about his ability to process the game and the role it played in a pro career few expected to materialize.
The Save
In this sequence against the Winnipeg Jets power play, Condon shares some insights into three different parts: the original screen, the rebound and a rule of thumb on why he’d like to have controlled it, and the resulting desperation on an empty-net backdoor chance.
“A lot of moving parts,” Condon said.
Condon uses the word “lucky” more than once in the breakdown video below, but you know what they say about luck: it’s where preparation meets opportunity.
The Sequence
While the screen in front of appeared simple enough (Condon shares why he chose to handle it from a high stance in the Pro Read below), it’s actually the second layer created by the reaching stick of his own defenseman that causes problems (Pro Tip to any defensemen reading: maybe don’t do that). From there we get a rebound (and, regardless of the screen, Condon will tell you specifically why he doesn’t like it based on where it hit him) and a pass to the backdoor.
From there it’s all desperation — but don’t confuse that with blind desperation.
Taking a look at the two screen caps above, ask yourself what information can you take from the first frame that can help you decide how to come across? What about Condon’s position allows him to gather that information? Now look at the second frame, with Bryan Little skating into the puck with an open net in front of him and ask yourself how you’d handle it? Do you have any guidelines? Any rules on how you build coverage? What you prioritize? Do you practice long-body saves coming across on these? A lot of NHL goalies do.
Earlier this season we saw Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko spend a half hour with Ian Clark focusing on desperate long-body saves – and that was just the blocker side!
The Pro-Read
Maybe then “planned desperation” is a better term, at least for some situations. Condon reviews some of his guidelines for these situations while breaking down the save:
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- Mike Condon breaks down a three-part sequence against the Winnipeg Jets power play: a screened shot, a rebound he didn't like, and a desperation save on a backdoor pass.
- Condon chose a high stance during the screen specifically because it allowed him to gather positional information about the play developing behind it — information that directly informed how he moved on the backdoor pass.
- Condon identifies the rebound as a mistake regardless of the screen, explaining that where the puck contacted his body made a controlled stop the preferred outcome over what actually happened.
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