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Monday, June 10
Updated: June 10, 10:51 PM ET
 
Pressure on Hasek in Game 5

By Darren Pang
Special to ESPN.com

ESPN's Darren Pang breaks down the goaltending in Detroit's 3-0 over Carolina in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals:

Let's start with Arturs Irbe. He got no help whatsoever. The goalie faces the guy with the puck and he has to challenge and take the shooter. The defenseman has to take the pass because otherwise the goalie is in no man's land. Every single goal tonight was that same situation. Two times it was Sean Hill. I can't remember the third. And those are against finishers. And that's the difference in the series.

Archie stopped everything that he faced. And the ones he hasn't gotten much help on, there's no miracle that can stop those. That's the biggest difference. Dominik Hasek is not facing finishers. He's facing guys trying to become 20-goal scorers in this league, besides Jeff O'Neill. Rod Brind'Amour is not a natural sniper. Ron Francis is a play-maker, not a sniper.

A turning point in this game was when Francis hit the post. Dominik got help from his friend. Other than that, he didn't face too much. But he's making decisions without hesitation. I thought he played a more intelligent road game. He made things simple for his defensemen.

Dominik is a more patient goaltender on the road, so now the pressure's on Dom in Game 5. He's at home. Everyone's expecting a win. The parade's planned, I'm sure. The first 10 minutes will be very important. Archie will just be Archie. He's been a rock. Technically, he's been so solid. There's no pressure on Archie. Except you don't want to take the team's will away by giving up a goal early.

Darren Pang, a former goaltender with the Chicago Blackhawks, is a hockey analyst for ESPN.



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