Playoffs Great Reminder Goalies Can’t ‘Try Harder’
The 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs started with a bang
- Darcy Kuemper warns that 'trying harder gets you in trouble' for goalies in the playoffs — the key is channeling extra energy into focus, not physical effort.
- Casey DeSmith told InGoal Magazine that goaltending is 'not an effort-based endeavor,' comparing over-trying to a skater gripping the stick too tight.
- Tension is the primary enemy of goaltending performance: stiff limbs lead to bad rebounds and slow hands, regardless of whether it's playoffs or a mid-season slump.
- The same mental rules that apply to playoff pressure also apply to fighting through an in-season slump — harder practice is fine, but trying too hard in games is counterproductive.
- Playoff intensity — including doubled hit totals and higher stakes — can pull goalies out of the reactive, relaxed state they need to perform at their best.
Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk dropped the gloves with Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Stall off the opening face-off of the first game, setting the tone for a physical, intense opening weekend in which the average number of hits doubled from the regular season.
It’s part of an annual playoff tradition.
Forwards finish every hit on the forecheck.
Defensemen make sure there’s a price to pay to stand in front of their net.
But what about the goalies? For goalies, the key not getting caught up in any of it because they play a position where trying to do more usually does more harm than good.
“Trying harder gets you in trouble,” said Los Angeles Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper, who won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022. “It’s about balancing that extra energy of playoffs. I think it’s good to have those butterflies and excitement going into those games, and it’s just about channeling it the right way. If you start flying around the net and getting out of the play, you get yourself in trouble. But if you use it and channel it to be more focused and be more in the moment, then it can become a huge advantage.”
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