It follows that from now until perhaps the middle of June this continues to be about Michal Neuvirth, how long he can play so brilliantly in front of the net. As much as Ovie and many of his ridiculously talented and young teammates have to continue putting their foot on teams like the Rangers when they’re down in a series, this Stanley Cup playoff run will further be brought to you by Arturs Irbe’s between-the-pipes pupil.
Too poised in double overtime at Madison Square Garden to be frazzled by nerves, too young to grasp the burden of his franchise’s hard-luck playoff history (he turned 23 a month ago) — heck, too locked in to pay mind to the five-star reviews after surrendering to the Rangers a mere eight goals on 148 shots in five games en route to his first NHL playoff series victory — the Czech Republic’s own is in a special place at the moment.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Neuvirth said after Saturday’s pulsating Game 5, close-out win at Verizon Center, moments after he flicked a puck into the crowd, which kept chanting “NEU-VY! NEU-VY!” long after he was in the locker room. “The crowd was unbelievable tonight and I’m never going to forget about this night.”
His excitable words of broken English almost mirrored those of his position coach’s almost 17 years ago. Irbe won his first playoff series amid a madhouse with San Jose, as the Sharks knocked off the top-seeded Detroit Red Wings in 1994 and took an entire region of new and uneducated hockey fans on a memorable ride.
See, before there was Neuvy there was Archie.
And now a 44-year-old who came close to winning the Stanley Cup in Carolina can impart his hope, strength and experience on a kid he has no problem living vicariously through.
“Yes, there are some similarities there, because obviously he’s the newcomer into this,” Irbe said. “It’s not like he’s played for many years and many series.”
Neither had Irbe, who was a late bloomer at 27 years old then. But he was so unflappable and consistent in goal that postseason, stoning the Red Wings, one of the most talented offensive juggernauts in NHL history, and almost shutting down the Maple Leafs in the Western Conference semifinals before the Sharks bowed out in seven games.
Like Neuvirth, Irbe was a clinician in net — less worried about making the spectacular save and more concerned with not putting himself in position to be taken advantage of on power plays and in the crucible of an overtime game. Along with smothering the puck, that kind of responsible goaltending is what Irbe works on with Neuvy today.
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