Below are excerpts from the Hamilton Spectator article by Garry McKay who takes a great look at the steady play of Marc Denis:
Substantial credit for that goes to his nine years of NHL experience and the poise that comes with that. According to Dogs head coach Don Lever, credit must also go to Habs goalie coach Rollie Melanson who’s been working with Denis to tighten up his game. And the confidence of a great start that has him in the top five in save percentage and wins doesn’t hurt.
But it would be a huge mistake to ignore one of the biggest factors. Denis certainly hasn’t.
Two years ago, Price wouldn’t have shone nearly as brightly had he not had a group of defencemen whose style meshed perfectly with his. All of them were gigantic, physical men who could handle the puck and manhandle opposing forwards. As a result, Price was often peppered with shots but most came from the perimeter. His perfect butterfly combined with his massive body made it nearly impossible to score from outside, no matter how much rubber the opponents threw at him.
So check out what’s working for the Dogs when things are working well these days. A strong goalie helped by a humongous group of rearguards giving up a fair number of shots, but most from a good distance.
“A goalie’s stats are only the reflection of how his team plays,” the 31-year-old former first-round pick says.
This is clearly a style of defensive play Lever loves. But it’s all contingent on big bodies. Last year, he had them but they never quite put it together with any consistency. This year’s new crop are quick studies. Newcomers Alex Henry, Dan Jancevski, Chad Anderson, Shawn Belle and now Mathieu Carle are all veterans of the pro game who’ve already proven they can adapt to a system.
