Playoffs Great Reminder Goalies Can’t ‘Try Harder’

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.”