Joey Daccord ProRead 5

THE SCENARIO

As if finding out you’re getting a surprise start against the high-flying Toronto Maple Leafs during warm-ups wasn’t enough pressure — scheduled starter Matt Murray told Daccord pre-game during to get ready because of an injury issue – here’s skilled forward William Nylander cutting in off the rush with speed and a trailing John Tavares just 20 seconds into the game.

Because we’ve yet to show a goal here in Pro Reads, you already know how this sequence ends, and it’s a heck of a way to kick off what became Daccord’s first win in the NHL!!! But the details are what matter to us goalies, so let’s check in with him to explain how it happened.

With Nylander cutting around the defense on his backhand, is there anything you can pick up about how he is carrying the puck that might affect how you would play this? In terms of a rush chance, what do you make of Daccord’s depth at this point? How worried should he be about Tavares trailing this rush with two defenders coming back hard as well?

With Nylander nearing the faceoff dot, are you expecting him to cut across the crease, or shoot? Is there anything about his positioning that provides a hint? What about Daccord’s positioning? Is anything there a clue about what he’s expecting Nylander to do?

 THE SAVE

Like most rush chances we’ve reviewed in this space, speed matters to how a goalie plays it, so take a look at the entire sequence in real time and see if any of your answers above change:

Did Nylander’s decision surprise you at all? Did you see anything about the way Daccord played this chance that might have set the Leafs sniper up to make that decision?

THE PRO READ

Now let’s get Daccord’s thoughts on the play and why he managed it that way.