Goalies' aptitude for reading comprehension vital

VANCOUVER -- When it comes to reading a play, NHL goalies are a lot like NFL quarterbacks in the way they quickly scan the playing area and sort through a litany of fast-moving factors and options before making each decision.

The amount of information goalies process in the face of an opposing rush, or when they look off the puck carrier to quickly scan the zone, might surprise some people.
"Where guys are at, where they are going, who it is, whether they are a left- or right-handed shot, where the most dangerous scoring threats are, what all the options are for the guy who has the puck," Washington Capitals backup Pheonix Copley said. "It is happening pretty quick out there and you have to process a lot of information."
Locating right-handed and left-handed shots is especially important because it plays a role in how a goalie pushes across the ice when a pass is on its way to those players.
"Handedness is a big thing, in terms of whether you can skate across or you are going to have to slide," Capitals starter Braden Holtby said. "On a lot of one-timer options you have no choice; even if you do T-push you are probably going to have to go down as you move. Whereas if a guy is on his off hand, you usually can skate and get there, so before that pass you already need to know if it's a one-timer."

It also doesn't hurt to know which player is where and what their personal preferences are from that spot. Some tendencies are general, like a player coming off the boards on his forehand being more likely to take a wrist shot on the short side because it's natural to pull that shot in before releasing it. Others are more specific and come from building a book on shooters over time by learning who prefers to pass and who is more likely to shoot, and where, because a goalie has seen it so often.
Knowing how well each player shoots can factor into how aggressive a goalie is with positioning, Holtby said.
"There are a lot of young players in the League, so it's tough to have a book on everyone," said Florida Panthers starter Roberto Luongo, who at age 39 has faced 29,891 regular-season shots during 19 NHL seasons. "I do have it on some guys I have been playing for a while, but reading plays is just about being around the League, seeing what teams like to do, and I go over that with [goaltending coach Rob Tallas] before every game, tendencies and things like that. The fact I watch a lot of hockey during the season helps me too, just to see the goals scored, what teams like to do, whether it's power play or odd-man rushes."
Such preparation varies from goalie to goalie.
Each opponent is scouted to some degree by goalies, whether it's taking part in penalty-kill meetings to identify unique or specific power-play threats or doing extra video work with the goaltending coach.
Dallas Stars starter Ben Bishop takes home specially prepared video clips the night before a game to study opponents, according to The Athletic. Cam Ward has leaned on Corey Crawford while adjusting to Western Conference shooters with the Chicago Blackhawks after playing the previous 13 with the Carolina Hurricanes.
"Reads are experience, but after being in the other conference so long there are a lot of new players here I don't normally see on a regular basis," Ward said. "You lean on teammates and your goalie partner to tell you some tendencies, and we do shootouts and see tendencies on video, but at the same time you want to have a clear mind and not overthink things and trust your instincts and trust your reads."

That can be especially true of reading a shot release.
"You watch tape, you watch shootouts, but when a guy comes down in a game and he's loaded with the puck, I have seen I don't know how many shots in my entire life, maybe a million pucks, and you learn how to watch their hands, watch their eyes, watch their head, or habits where certain guys tend to shoot, and a lot of times it's the reaction," Minnesota Wild backup Alex Stalock said. "I've had to read shots my whole life and make the save versus just getting in front of it. You watch guys that are shot readers, reactors, and they get beat more often on fanned or missed shots. A lot of times the guy tries to shoot high glove and it goes five-hole and you already have the one-knee up and it looks bad, but you know he missed his shot."
That can be the potential downside of too much studying and video work, especially for a shootout.
Sometimes goalies would prefer to trust the reads they have developed on their own, that ability to know where a shot is headed or whether a player is about to deke based on all those visual cues they've spent years learning. It's a fine line between anticipating and cheating.
"I don't want to assume guys are going to do one thing because that's when they don't do it," Holtby said. "And thinking one thing usually hinders you from processing others."
Especially with more and more young shooters being trained to show one thing and deliver another.
"It's all about deception now and forwards have gotten good at it," Luongo said. "If you anticipate too much, you might start cheating and that's not going to work. As a goalie, you have to trust your reads."