DieHardFan wrote:
Yes, they absolutely do mean something. They build confidence and pride in a goaltender AND the team's defense AND extra drive. You want to keep that streak going. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but Miller built his Vezina year last year primarily upon his play during the first half of the year, when he had 5 shutouts, and it was his and the team's strong defensive play during the first half of the year that led the Sabres to a division title. During the 2nd half of the year, when the team was playing .500 hockey, coincidentally there were no shutouts. This season, no shutouts, average hockey team so far, not yet in a playoff position.
When a player scores a goal, it creates confidence and relaxation. The same thing happens when a goalie gets a shutout. I'll take a 4-2 win like last night's any time, don't get me wrong, but I like this team's chances a whole lot more if Miller and the D get shutouts now and then.
lol so you think the reason we started off poorly is because Miller wasn't getting any shutouts? Your logic makes no sense, sorry.
The team isn't thinking in the back of their minds, "Oh no...Miller hasn't been getting any shutouts lately! We're DOOMED!!!!"
Shutouts are nice, but they aren't going to destroy a team's confidence if their goalie isn't getting many.
You're putting words in my mouth. I never said a lack of shutouts destroyed the team's confidence. The point of this thread is that our superstar goalie has gone close to a full season's worth of games (say an average season of starts for a goalie is 65 starts) without a shutout, and that their record during that stretch has been very average. Is this purely coincidence? You seem to think yes. I say no. I also know that achievement of personal milestones absolutely affects an individual and team's level of performance and that a few shutouts would set them up nicely for more success during the course of the season.