With this being Jaroslav Halak’s first season as a full-time starter in the NHL, last night’s 4-3 loss to the Avalanche proved to me that he’s currently suffering from energy drain. After he displayed sharp focus and made 15 timely saves in the first period, he was victimized twice by Brandon Yip in the second period and failed to recover. Two goals beat him five-hole along the ice, one beat him short side over the blocker and a fourth one beat him on a wraparound. Halak finished with 28 saves on 32 shots, but has now allowed four goals in each of his last five losses.

Last night’s game was a little piece of goaltending history. It was only the second time ever that two Slovakian goalies played each other in an NHL game. The first one? The same two goalies – Halak and Peter Budaj – in the same building, back in February of 2009. Halak had a coming-out party of sorts and stood on his head in the third period to help the Canadiens defeat the Avalanche. I just so happened to scout that game as well, and you can read about it here.

I also have to note that it was a great experience meeting both Darren Pang and Kirk McLean for the first time last night. They were extremely kind and just treated me like one of the guys. Getting to talk about Avalanche and Blues goalies with both former NHLers was a true tret and one of the highlights of my season so far. Pang had a lot of great insight on Halak and Ben Bishop and overall it was just an awesome experience.

Overall, I thought Halak displayed all of the traits that make him such a successful NHL netminder. But as I discuss in the audio notes below, I really think the workload is taking a toll on Halak’s focus and energy. He was so sharp in the first period, but after Yip scored on that double-clutch shanked wrist shot along the ice, he seemed unable to recover and his timing and rebound control continued to wither away.

+ From the start of the game, Halak’s biggest issue was fully absorbing shots and conserving his valuable energy. Because shots would trickle off his body and drop right in front of him on numerous occasions, he was forced to exert energy in order to cover loose pucks. As a result, his focus waned, and so did his rebound control. The first and the fourth goal he allowed in the game both beat him five-hole along the ice.

+ It’s important to realize that Halak’s score on a more successful game would hover around 90. But because he struggled with rebound control and failed to make timely saves in the third period, his overall rating suffered a little bit. Just about every element of Halak’s game is very close to being considered elite. He’ll only continue to evolve and refine, as he’s still just 25 years old and very early in his NHL career. Remember, this is his first year experiencing a full-time starter workload and he is not yet used to carrying this role in the Western Conference.

+ The most deceptive element of Halak’s game is his ability to always be in position in a calm manner, yet still have the foot and hand speed to make terrific reflex saves. He may appear lethargic or delayed because of the way he moves, but he is by no means slow. He simply plays a very quiet game, with very little extra movements. He’s extremely economical and plays deep in his crease in order to limit his movement in and around the crease. He’s the epitome of a minimalistic butterfly goalie, as he only moves when he has to, and never more than he needs to.

+ Overall, Halak and the Blues are in a tough situation right now. Ty Conklin is a terrific backup goalie, but the team is in a dogfight for points in the Western Conference and every game is a must-win if they expect to finish in the top eight. The Blues need to rely on Halak to play at his best in almost every game and Conklin needs to perform at his best as well. As a result, how Halak is able to conserve and manage his energy down the stretch could be one of the deciding factors in whether or not they make the playoffs.