Tracking rebounds, defending in close. "Seeing the puck well," as Dave Hakstol said. Grubauer was dialed in. All in all, he turned away 3.88 goals that should have been scored against him, according to Evolving-Hockey.com.
Of course, there is still work to do. As with any position played in hockey, it takes more than 120 minutes to define a player's true performance. And when asked about what, if anything was changing in his play, Grubauer was first to credit the improved synergy with the defense in front of him, particularly when it came to blocking shots and closing off opponents' shooting lanes.
But it's worth noting that if we look at this season along with all of Grubauer's games last year, the last two Kraken games would rank second and sixth overall for the netminder in terms of saving goals above expectations. As numerous players, Grubauer included, said after Wednesday's win, "things are starting to come together" and look more as they were envisioned to be. Now, the challenge is there to keep this kind of play going.
"I think everybody is accepting their role," Grubauer said. "It takes everybody, every night, every shift, every situation, and if we do the right things, good things will happen."