Mike Legg isn't exactly a household name. He played for the University of Michigan from 1993-1997, but never found success at the next level. But, one thing that he did do was score one of the most impressive goals that the hockey world has seen. In a game against the University of Minnesota, Legg picked the puck up on his stick behind the net, skated out front, and shovelled the puck top corner over the goalie's shoulder. The goal was eventually named the "Michigan".
Since then, the move has risen in popularity. It has been successful on multiple occasions by players in lower tiered leagues, but we had yet to see it done in the NHL. That is until Carolina Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov pulled it off. Twice. Just weeks apart.
The move was becoming more popular in the NHL, and we were seeing players becoming more comfortable and attempting it during games. Players like Filip Forsberg, and Auston Matthews have tried the move and failed, but with attempts becoming more frequent, we had to see it happen eventually. Enter the 19-year-old Carolina sniper.
Oct.29, 2019, in a game against the Calgary Flames, we saw Andrei Svechnikov fake a wrap around before stopping and picking the puck up on his stick, and hooking it around the post and just over David Rittich's shoulder, in what was the first successful attempt at the move in NHL history.
So, now that we have seen it used successfully twice, we know that the "Michigan" isn't going away anytime soon. So are goalies going to adapt their playing style in order to better defend against the move?
In years past, when a player would carry the puck behind the net, they knew that they would have to brace themselves for a wraparound, while also being aware of possible pass into the slot, but now they will need to adjust their position to be ready for a possible "Michigan" or "Svech" or whatever you want to call it.
Calgary Flames backup, Cam Talbot, who had a good view of Svechnikov's first goal had the following comments:
"If you notice [Svechnikov] out there and he's going behind the net, it's probably going to cross your mind from now on. Maybe you can stick your head against the post or something, but I'm not going to change the way I play just because he is on the ice."
"But if he's going behind the and you realize it's him, you're going to think about it. Luckily, we've already played them twice this year, so we don't have to deal with it. The goalies in the [Eastern Conference] can worry about it."
Washington Capitals goalie coach, Scott Murray weighed in on the situation:
"I think tracking is the most important habit that allows a goalie to adjust. It is more about having good habits that will allow you to defend multiple attacks versus defending a play that happens very little."
Some have suggested that abandoning reverse VH would be a good adjustment to better defend against the move, but Vancouver Canucks goaltending coach, Ian Clark disagrees. Reverse VH is commonly used for sharp-angle attacks and plays behind the net, has the goalie go to one knee with the short-side pad up against the post and the inside pad slightly off the ice so the back-side skate can help drive the goalie into the post while acting as a rudder to steer around it, as well as move efficiently off the post.
"You would be abandoning the one position that has revolutionized goaltending as much, if not more , than the butterfly. The reality is there is no other body position in the history of the game that allows us to dynamically connect everything we do on our post."
"To me, that's too risky because then a smart player like him or anyone else, they're just not going to pick it up on their stick and they're going to jam it between your legs," Cam Talbot referring to abandoning the reverse VH.
Calgary Flames goaltending coach, Jordan Sigalet has cautioned his goalies against trying to stand up when discussing strategy after Svechnikov's first goal.
"We talked about it a lot after. We haven't spent time practicing against it, just talked about what he could do better in that situation. To me, it's just lift up and get your head there, but you have to be quick. Meet it at the same time, and [the puck] goes in off your head."
NHL goalies are going to do everything they can to avoid falling victim to the "Svech", but don't expect them to abandon their traditional save collection in order to stop it.
Source: NHL
