Who Should Be The Leafs #1 Goaltender?
Posted October 30, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Once training camp ends and the season begins, an N.H.L. team collectively battles the rest of the league for ultimate supremacy. But that doesn’t mean individual struggles amongst teammates cease to exist, especially amongst goaltenders, who are constantly under an intense microscope.
A few bad games can see a starting goalie suddenly on the bench while an eager backup looks to take over as the top gun.
That situation isn’t foreign to the Toronto Maple Leafs and goalies Andrew Raycroft and J.S. Aubin. After letting in a slew of goals against the Senators, Raycroft sat out Saturday’s battle against the Canadiens, and Aubin more than held his own, winning the game in a shootout.
The result made one thing clear — the fight for starting goaltender is alive and well in Toronto.
“I think any time anybody feels like there’s pressure at their position, they’re being pushed, you’re going to have success throughout that position,” said Leafs forward Mike Peca. “Like any time you get any sort of goaltending competition, I think it’s healthy because it makes the guys compete a little bit harder I think.”
Coach Paul Maurice seems to agree.
“It’s healthy if the personalities are, and they are,” he notes.
As for Raycroft, he doesn’t let the distractions affect his play.
“I don’t really care a whole lot about everybody’s opinion,” he says. “Not everyone’s going to like us as a team and you know, it’s just the way it is. You can’t keep everybody happy.”
