Huet vs. Abby
Here's a comment I posted on Jeff J's blog, Sisu Hockey, which can be accessed from my links menu on the right. Jeff, like many other Canadiens followers, was questioning Bob Gainey's decision to play David Aebischer more often than the red-hot Cristobal Huet the last week and a half. My response:
I disagree about Huet. I think Aebischer has proven over time that he is the more durable goalie. Remember, Huet has never played more than 42 NHL games in a season, and he's already 31 (yes, I know that's partly because he came into the league late).
Although playing behind a much better team, Aebischer still has better career stats if you ignore this year's numbers. When he played 62 games for the Avs in 2003-'04, he had a 2.09 GAA and .924 SV%. Huet has yet to accomplish that feat in that many games and he's a UFA looking at a big raise.
I agree that Abby's numbers aren't great with the Habs this year, but every goalie needs a few games to adjust to his new defensemen and, after doing so, he posted two solid wins against a very potent Ottawa offense. Huet wasn't all that great in his first few games as a Hab, but took off when he adjusted.
Gainey's investing in the right man when he plays Abby, in my opinion.
posted by d b @ 7:02 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I think that Huet was the right choice of goalie 4 the playoffs and he proved it in the 6-1 (WIN)against the canes.the canadiens also scored more goals in that one game than they scored in the last three games against them.Ya maybe abby has more experience but lets give the first time playoff goalie have a chance,i mean come on Huet did prove to be the better goalie this season with 7 shutouts.Go Habs Go!!!!!1-0 in the series.
You're right, Huet has definitely proven himself, especially in showing calm after letting in that first goal. He has been excellent since he took over from Theodore and the Habs will need him on top of his game in order to beat the Hurricanes.
What I was saying, though, is that it wouldn't necessarily have been a bad decision to start Aebischer for the playoffs, especially if the Habs were facing Ottawa. People were criticizing Bob Gainey for starting him too much towards the end of the season, but Gainey knew that he was better off having two well-prepared goalies going into the playoffs than one.
In any case, it's Huet getting the call right now, and he will continue to play unless something drastic happens.
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