Ryan Miller: 2009-2010 Report Card
by Rafal Ladysz on May 25, 2010 1:01 PM EDT
Email
PrintIt's time to put the finishing touches on the 2009-2010 season for the Buffalo Sabres. Here is a complete report card of every single player that played any amount of time with the Sabres this season. The journey will begin with Chris Butler and conclude in almost a month with Thomas Vanek. Thanks to Japers Rink and Mile High Hockey for the inspiration.
It's Ryan Miller's turn.
Ryan Miller
#30 / Goalie / Buffalo Sabres
6-2
175
Jul 17, 1980
Contract Situation: Earned $6.25 million this year; under contract until 2014
2009 Grade: B
Introduction: In 2004, Ryan Miller started in three games for the Buffalo Sabres, lost each of them, tolerated 15 goals against and a 7.95 save percentage. How times have changed. If anyone benefited from no hockey in the perverse lock-out, it was Miller who plugged in extra work with the American Hockey League and came adapted for a conclusive crack at the NHL. Supplanting Martin Biron as the starting netminder, he was often incorporated with the group of goaltenders who are just below the elite level. Years onward, his name and the Vezina Trophy are coupled in discussions everywhere.
Key Stat: One of seven goalies to put up with over 2,000 shots in the regular season, Miller was a busy man and the three individuals - Henrik Lundqvist, Evgeni Nabokov and Craig Anderson - who contested with an exceeding total of shots than him, played more games than the American.
Stimulating Stat: Were it not for rookie Tuukka Rask, Miller's .929 save percentage and 2.22 goals against average would be the league's best. But Rask played 24 fewer matches than his counterpart, creating an unfair comparison for the two.
Famous For: Closing up shop on the Washington Capitals in December; the only night the Southeast Division heavyweights were shut out in 2010. With diving saves and sensational patience, Miller blocked Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green and company from any whiff of a goal.
Thumbs Up: Timing is everything for a goaltender and the 29-year-old often stopped the puck at the grandest moments when a goal against could have placed Buffalo in an early deficit or put them out of contention for good. Two years ago, Miller was evidently fatigued from heavy minutes, but even with the Olympic heroics this season, tired was a noun he didn't believe in. Career highs in save percentage and goals against average were accompanied by a personal-best 41 wins and similar to 2009, five shutouts. The Sabres were 4-9-2 with Patrick Lalime and Jhonas Enroth, as Miller didn't receive rest too often, and he was one of a handful of netminders to go two-for-two in penalty shot situations. Typically, the goaltender has to be the best person on the ice shorthanded - and he was with a .919 save percentage that was tops among all goaltenders who saw at least 30 games of opportunity - but Miller was also at times the best while his team was on the powerplay, facing the most shots in 5-on-4 action for the Sabres. If his forwards, defensemen or all of the above aren't sticking to the game plan, Miller will point out errors and insist that they must be better. Colorado and Buffalo were the two clubs with elite records in games they were out-shot in, another testament to Miller's heroics.
Thumbs Down: For a goaltender who handles break-aways and penalty shots with such ease, it's implausible to witness his struggles in the shootout competition. Miller's .645 save percentage was ranked 39th out of 66 people, allowing 11 goals on 31 shots en route to a 4-4 record. On a disappointing note, Buffalo's first-round postseason elimination was the first occasion Miller hadn't reached the Conference Finals and the only year his playoff record was below .500, but that isn't his fault whatsoever. Other than that, I can't find mishaps in his campaign because he will likely be holding a Vezina Trophy come June.
Voting: On a scale of one to ten, one being the lowest and ten being the highest, grade Ryan Miller on his season according to the expectations you had for him. If he met them, give him a five or a six. If he eclipsed them, aim for a seven or beyond. If he failed to meet them, give him a lower number relating to how poorly he missed the target.
Topics Of Discussion: Returning to the Hart Trophy award, was Miller robbed of a nomination because of how much he influenced Buffalo's success? Can he finally be considered the best of the best or does he have to prove himself for another year or two? Should the poll include a ranking option of ten and nothing more?
16 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
8
Only because i already knew he was amazing.
Not even the Toronto Maple Leafs could kill my optimism
Tyler Ennis: Freed from Portland!
Now, if we were voting on “Rate how awesome Ryan Miller is” Then there should only have been two options: “10” and “10”
Not even the Toronto Maple Leafs could kill my optimism
Tyler Ennis: Freed from Portland!
Now, if we were voting on "Rate how awesome Ryan Miller is" Then there should only have been two options: "10" and "10"
:-p Completely agree.
I voted a 9 just because of what you guys said… we knew he was really, really good. But he did kind of go “next level” this year.
"Ok, its Gudda hoe, all about my Bills like Buffalo."
6
B/c I expected him to become a better goaltender. I don’t have high expectations of Miller, he’s given me every reason to believe he can carry this team on his back. e was doing it last year before the Gomez-Slew-Foot.
So, him a Vezina candidate this season is not a surprise to me. I never seriously considered him for the Hart, as the coaching staff and the emergence of Myers helped him to achieve some of his numbers.
He’s a stud goalie with a great disposition and seems to be one of the really good guys in professional sports. But, I’ve come to expect all of that from him, hence a 6.
Ta,
I gave Miller a 10, he exceeded my expections by a large margin. He made the Sabres and Buffalo a household name throughout the World during the Olympics. He made an otherwise mediocere, gutless team look like a contender. I couldn’t ask for more from a goaltender. What the Sabres need now is a Miller-quality player on the ice either as center or power forward and a Miller-quality player on defense. Until they achieve those ends, the only way they will see a Stanley Cup will be to visit the home of an opposing team where it resides.
7
7
I actually think I should change it to 6. He was pretty much on par to what I expected. His first 30-40 games though were amazing plus the olympics, so it took him to slightly above what I expected.
8
For the first time Miller was consistent from start to finish. In previous seasons he had always had one bad stretch that lowered his numbers and kept him from being considered an elite goalie. Still is a bit over aggressive in cutting down angles which leads to some soft back-door goals (like Satan’s in game 6). If he cuts down on that and stays consistent he could win 2 or 3 more Vezinas.
This is a tough vote for me.
I’ve thought him capable of Vezina-level play for the last 3 years. Although he’s been great since the lockout, this year he took his game to that “next level”.
And he was absolutely robbed of a Hart nomination. Whoever voted for it (whether it was the writer, GM’s, or whomever) should be ashamed of themselves. He was the single most valuable player in the league.
Save Jenrry Mejia!
ryan miller
he’s a good goalie!!no doubt the 4th or 5th best the sabres ever suited up!! is he great? hell no!! he is good,his 41 wins says so.the 5th game against boston was(check it out) the first ever big game he won for the sabres.see carolina(2 goal lead,3rd period)canada(olympics)goal by cosby with OPEN line of sight,boston series end game.he will make incredible saves,ny islander series of a few years back,ovechkin,etc. but, i am not convinced he is great seeing the evidence.its there,not making this crap up.until he EVER wins big or wills his team,he will never be great in my eyes.he is GOOD. LEADERSHIP SKILLS also lack.if it was me and i was run so g*d damn blatantly as gomez did,i would have been all over my teammates for not coming to my defense,but,as is the team’s manhood is apparently lacking,he is a team player(sic).would i get rid of him,NO FRIGGING WAY!! he is good. a little tweaking with some man types added to roster,maybe he can take us to the cup. only time will tell.
Ok
As far as big-games go, you could say he hasn’t shown the “ability” yet, but you can’t say he’s wilted under the pressure either.
The Gold medal game? Crosby surprised him with the shot, simple as that. Crosby usually doesn’t just turn and shoot; this time he did. Miller absolutely kept them in the game until that point though. Don’t buy that? How about the first US v. Canada game? Stood on his head. How about the 3-2 game 5, clinching OT victory against Ottawa in ‘06? Or the game 3, OT win by the same score in that same series? How about game 5 or 6 of the ’07 series versus NYR?
Look, considering someone a big-game goalie is subjective – even a Cup isn’t definitive “proof” – but calling Miller not a big-game goalie and therefore "not great’ isn’t justified in my opinion.
Save Jenrry Mejia!
10 all the way. This year Miller finally said ENOUGH !! I WILL be an elite goaltender in this league and I don’t give a damn if you don’t think I can. It wasn’t until the western swing before the Olympics that it became clear just what a season he was putting together … I love hearing Rick do the play by play but sometimes it is very informative to hear what other announcers have to say. The guys doing the game against the Kings talked almost non stop about how he was the best in the world … etc … completely ignoring the fact that the goalie for the Kings that night, Jon Quick, played a hell of a game also. I don’t understand his problems in the shoot out either … he owned the shoot out at first but has slowly dropped to just OK on them … I can’t see a difference in what he’s doing.
The main reason for his rise into the “elite” level was that he became much more aggressive in attacking shooters, coming out of the net to the point where there was nothing to shoot at. However, that “strength” can be turned into a weakness when the d don’t do their part and as “Tsujimoto” says … it led to a number of “back door” goals. The goal that Satan got in over time was a perfect example … Miller went out to cut the angle and forced Satan to alter his shot … that shot went through 3 sets of Sabres legs and into the net.
I don’t think I’ve said it before on this forum but Miller reminds me so much of Grant Fuhr that it’s a little freaky. The ability to make that jaw dropping save that can turn a game around but also the ability to let one in from the blue line that a blind man could have stopped. Fuhr was even more over aggressive than Miller but it seems to work about 95% of the time … that other 5% can be both humorous & sick to see. Before you guys jump me about this comparison I have to add that if Miller wants to be mentioned in the same breath as Fuhr there is still one thing he has to do … win it all. The ironic thing about this is that when he does win it all it will take him quite a few notches above Fuhr in the “elite” of NHL goaltenders.
I have to say that now that some of the “sting” of the way the season ended has worn off I’ve been slowly becoming VERY excited about the future of the Sabres. Training camp is going to be absolutely wild this year and don’t be surprised if we see some veteran Sabres get bounced to the curb as the team goes with “new blood”. Miller will be a HUGE part of this. Just keep believing and maybe this time Larry won’t step in and screw the whole thing up. Damn … that just popped the “excitement bubble” I was in … lol …
Playoffs included
I gave him a 7…I think he needed to stand on his head for a game or 2 agains the Bruns and he didn’t
by South Jersey Bill Fan on May 26, 2010 10:06 AM EDT reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Community Guidelines
Related FanPosts on Die By The Blade
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Latest Puck Daddy - NHL from Yahoo! Sports
- An illustrated guide to the Minnesota Wild’s misery when Marek Zidlicky plays
- Kris Versteeg making good things happen for surprising Florida Panthers
- Puck Daddy’s NHL Valentine’s Day Candy Hearts Gallery; eat it up, hopeless romantics
- Wild prospect Justin Fontaine suspended for using gay slur on Twitter about Foo Fighters
- Monday’s Three Stars: Staal leads Hurricanes; Pavelski’s four-point night
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
