Analysis: Tyler Bertuzzi’s ‘goaltending’ vs. Leafs was outstanding

I wasn’t watching the game live, but when the Twitterverse fired up the GIF machine and I saw Bertuzzi tossing two pad stacks, I nearly jumped through the roof.

Here’s a forward on the ice with fewer than 30 seconds left in the game, his team is already down two goals and he’s out there kicking like Darcy Wakaluk circa 1991.

That’s not normal.

To me, it’s an amazing example of the inner competitiveness of Bertuzzi. And he’s not alone. Every NHL team has players who are driven enough to step in front of pucks without proper goaltending equipment.

But it’s rare you see a combination of saves such as the ones Bertuzzi made against the Maple Leafs.

Granted, his first save on Maple Leafs forward David Kampf happened mostly because Bertuzzi was positioned in front of the open Red Wings net. He didn’t really have much of a choice other than to block the shot.

But the real magic happened on the second save. Bertuzzi goes old school with the two-pad stack, denying Leafs center John Tavares. Except he wasn’t wearing pads.

The save didn’t happen by luck. Bertuzzi actually executes the save selection with shocking precision. Clearly he’s done this before in the streets or after practice. 

His puck tracking was spot on. He rotated to the middle of the crease and used his back leg to explode into the save. And he managed to boot the rebound out of harm’s way.

It was great theater. Until the Maple Leafs scored just seconds later. I felt bad for Bertuzzi – he’d just made two sick saves only for the puck to still find a way into the Red Wings net.

But what really stood out to me was how Bertuzzi’s two-pad stack exemplified why goaltenders used to play the way they did.

Goalies used to lead with their legs for a reason: the equipment wasn’t good enough to protect their face and upper body. So they led with the big pillows strapped to their legs.

Back then, goalie pads may have been heavy, but they protected the body better than anything else. Upper-body padding was made of felt and the occasional piece of plastic. Masks were designed to protect from the puck causing lacerations more so than direct impacts.

But over time, equipment improved. Goaltenders gained newfound confidence putting their upper body in front of the puck.

And with that confidence came the advent of the modern butterfly style.

Yes, Hockey Hall of Famers Glenn Hall and Tony Esposito pioneered the style. And Patrick Roy took it to a new level in the late '80s.

But it wasn’t until the equipment caught up in the 1990s and early 2000s that goaltenders really began to feel comfortable putting their entire body in front of the puck.

Goalies today are constantly fighting to get square to the shot. It’s not good enough to just get legs in front of the puck any longer. The greatest asset a goalie has is blocking surface, and that’s largely the body’s torso.

It’s why skating is so important for modern goaltenders. Arriving early, with maximum blocking surface, is the key to consistently stopping the puck.

When I talk to goalies from past eras, I can’t help but admire the courage necessary to play the position. They all have stories of cuts, bruises and other injuries that, for the most part, don’t happen today.

But back then, those injuries happened regularly. And the goalies played through them. It took tremendous courage to stand in the crease.

Things have changed. Today, it takes a great deal of mental courage to play goaltender. But the physical element just isn’t the same. Goalies are the safest players on the ice from a puck impact standpoint.

Bertuzzi was not safe from the puck when he made those two saves against the Maple Leafs. Skaters are rather exposed – their protective gear is minimal.

But I loved seeing the never-say-die attitude from the Red Wings' second-leading scorer. And when combined with the old-school puck-stopping style, it was poetry in motion.

We don’t see these types of saves often from skaters. But when they do it, it’s special. And right now, they're my saves of the year.