Analysis: David Rittich and why five-hole goals happen

Mike McKenna
Mike McKenna(MikeMcKenna56)
Analysis: David Rittich and why five-hole goals happen

A five-hole goal against never looks good. And for goaltenders, nothing feels worse. Seeing the puck go between your legs can be a helpless feeling. Especially on consecutive shots.

For Nashville Predators goaltender David Rittich, that exact scenario played out during Sunday night’s game against the St. Louis Blues. Twice in a row he was beaten between the legs.

It wasn’t an ideal situation for Rittich. He was called into action midway through the second period after Nashville starting goaltender Juuse Saros allowed four goals on 20 shots. 

The score was already 4-1 in favor of St. Louis when Rittich made his first save of the game on Blues center Robert Thomas. But the next three shots eluded the Predators netminder, including Brayden Schenn’s 24th of the season.

Schenn is attacking the net at full speed, having built up copious momentum in the neutral zone. When he receives the pass from Blues linemmate Ivan Barbashev, Schenn’s headed straight to the cage.

While Rittich appears to be ready, I think he’s late in establishing his depth against the rush. The Predators netminder isn’t able to get his feet set until the split-second before Schenn releases the shot.

In my eyes, that puts Rittich slightly behind the play. He’s rushed. And when a goalie gets in a hurry, the first thing to go is puck tracking. Schenn elects to shoot low, beating Rittich through the five-hole and making it a 6-1 game in favor of the Blues.

I can tell by Rittich’s posture – with his left knee elevated above the ice – that he is reading the shot as high glove side. And I can understand why. Reading the play using Schenn’s wrists and body language, I probably would think the same thing as Rittich.

Schenn’s low wrist-shot is a surprise to Rittich. And from that close – the shot is released at the hash marks – there isn’t enough time to adjust downward and seal the five-hole.

But there’s more to it. I think this type of five-hole goal is a byproduct of today’s practice habits. Players consistently shoot high during drills because the butterfly style of goaltending has forced them to find open space in the top half of the net.

Goaltenders are used to it. Especially during flow drills with a single shooter. They may drop to their knees on most shots in practice, but they still try to keep their hands alive. And sometimes that means keeping a knee off the ice in order to fill space vertically.

But some drills are different. Goalies expect the puck to come in low when the shot comes from the wing. Coaches consistently preach shooting the puck off the goaltender’s far pad in order to create a rebound in the slot area. Goaltenders have to seal the ice. So a tight butterfly – with the five-hole sealed – is often the best bet to make the save.

Basically what I’m saying is that players rarely aim for the five-hole when shooting from a distance in practice. Which is exactly how Schenn scores. Rittich doesn’t expect it, and because he is late setting his initial depth, probably doesn’t get the best read on the shot.

The Blues didn’t register another shot for almost three minutes until – once again – Rittich was beaten five-hole. This time by Blues right winger Jordan Kyrou.

The goal looks bad. Rittich effectively has the five-hole sealed. But then his knees spread apart just in time to allow the puck through.

Whatever the optics are, the only thing that I believe Rittich is guilty of in this sequence is dropping early. And even then, he’s still in a good position to make the save. 

Just like the Schenn goal, Rittich is reading high glove as the intended target. And it’s the correct read. Everything about Kyrou says he’s shooting top corner short side. His head. His hands. His stick blade. His follow through. All indicate a high shot.

But then the unexpected happens: a Nashville player’s stick impacts Kyrou’s blade just as he’s releasing the shot. It alters the blade angle of Kyrou’s stick just enough to prevent him from elevating the puck.

It fools Rittich. And it would fool every goaltender. He may have dropped early, but Rittich is actively moving his glove hand towards where he believes the shot is going. His knees spread apart slightly, but that’s a natural occurrence for the type of save Rittich has initiated.

It boils down to this: as soon as the puck’s trajectory changes, Rittich needs it to hit him. It’s nearly impossible to adjust in time and make a reactionary save from less than 10 feet away.

It was Kyrou’s 25th goal of the season, and it gave the Blues a commanding 8-2 lead after two periods.

I can empathize with Rittich. Back in 2006, I made one start for the Predator’s AHL affiliate Milwaukee Admirals. And like Rittich, I made one save on four shots. The difference, however, is I promptly got the hook. My night was done halfway through the first period.

Rittich didn’t have the same luxury: he was likely to finish the game no matter the score. Saros played the previous night against the Chicago Blackhawks, making 31 saves en route to a 4-3 victory.

Sunday was one of those nights where everything went wrong for Nashville. It didn’t matter who was in goal for the Predators. But Rittich really suffered. Four goals against on 13 shots – in a relief effort – isn’t fun. Especially when two in a row go through the wickets.

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