u/Eastern-Low164

Yes, his presence in net at the beginning of the year was almost a guaranteed lost. But as he settled into the backup role, he clearly became a much better netminder. When Vladdy was injured, he had to step up in the team’s worst stretch of the year, and had two standout performances against Vegas and Colorado. After the Olympics, he was playing much better, and helped bring this team to the playoffs when he started in goal.