Struggling? Get Back to Basics

Brent Johnson, on Fleury's woes in the play-offs, had the best advice I could ever give to a goalie who is struggling with their performance,

"I think at times a goalie can feel a little bit of weakness, like you're trying to do your best and it's not working," Johnson said. "You're trying to work out the kinks and it still doesn't work. … [So] the best thing to do would be getting back to playing simple. If things aren't working, try blocking the puck instead of trying to make the big save. Just play basic and inside your goal line so you give yourself a chance on everything."

Brent Johnson continues with

"Head games can do so much to your game," Johnson said. "As a goalie, you've come this far, you're in the best league, obviously you're there for a reason. Just get back to the grass roots that got you there, the easy stuff, [don't worry about] trying to do too much out there."

One of the reasons I work hard to give all goalies, especially floppers, a system of play is so that they can get back basics or they can re-set their play by having a foundation to fall back upon.  If you don't have a grounding or systematic way of playing, you will find yourself struggling.  How can a pure flopper recover their game?  Usually by flopping even more and this is probably the source of their original trouble.

Having a basic system of goaltending is like being able to reboot your Windows computer in Safe Mode.  A great start to solving your ongoing problems.

Quote source: 

NHL.com: Penguins won't pin series problems on Fleury