Tomas Vokoun – you’re not in Florida anymore. For four years the Capitals’ new goalie toiled in obscurity for the perpetually rebuilding Florida Panthers. With little offensive talent in front of him, Vokoun was asked time and again to bail out a blueline that just wasn’t very good. The numbers tell the story. The Panthers allowed 33.6 shots on goal/game in 2007-08 – Vokoun’s first season with the team. That ranked 29th out of 30 NHL teams. The next year they dropped to 30th, allowing 34.7 shots/game. They remained 30th in 2009-10 with 34.1 shots/game. Last year was a dramatic improvement to 31.8 shots/game – and that got them all the way to 22nd overall.
Vokoun, who entered the season with the second highest save-percentage of any goalie since the NHL lockout, was at times about the only thing standing between Florida and full-on chaos. With the Caps it’s a different story. Washington was ninth in the NHL last year at 29.0 shots/game. Since 2007-08 that total has not risen higher than 30.9 shots/game in any one season. Vokoun never had to worry about getting into a game with the Panthers. Chances were the rubber would start flying early and often.
“That’s not the case here. You can go one period with 15 shots and the next one you might get two,” Vokoun said. “As much as it seems it’s easy when you’re not getting shots it’s the toughest time for goalies because you start thinking. Your concentration level – if you want it or not – can start wandering.”
Vokoun knew that when he signed with Washington this summer. He says he made it a goal before the season even started to focus on that task. If he can’t deal with long lapses between shots and figure out a way to make saves when the shots suddenly come in waves then things could get dicey quick. And there’s always Michal Neuvirth – when healthy – waiting behind him for a shot in net.
“[The Caps] can go a period where we’re a puck possession team and we have the puck all the time and even if the other team wanted to shoot they can’t because they don’t have the puck,” Vokoun said. “And sometimes you kind of get a little bit on our heels for whatever reason and then all of the sudden there’s shots from all over the place.”
Not that things are running at an optimal level right now. In Vokoun’s three starts so far Washington has allowed 28, 41 and 34 shots. He stopped just 23 (five goals) in an ugly effort Monday against Tampa Bay. That dropped to two goals on Thursday vs. the Penguins and one Saturday against Ottawa. Vokoun helped steal the Penguins game. His third-period save on a semi-break by Milan Michalek preserved a one-goal lead vs. the Senators. Nice work. But there are other adjustments still to be made.
“Guys are not used to me. I’m a lefty, the other way then [Caps defensemen] are used to, and sometimes I push the puck the other way than they expect it,” Vokoun said. “Nothing comes easy and you’ve got to work at it. We were fortunate enough to get off to a good start. You only have one chance at a good start and we took advantage of that.”
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