After facing just three shots in the first period, Curtis McElhinney made 12 solid saves in the second and 10 more stops in the third period to shut out the Colorado Avalanche, 3-0, on a snowy Saturday afternoon in Denver. The whitewashing was McElhinney’s second of the season (and his NHL career) and he is now 4-5-1 with a .916 save percentage and 2.76 goals-against average for the Ducks. Click below for our audio report and performance chart from yesterday’s game.

+ McElhinney really struggled handling and moving the puck in the first period. He was hesitant and did not make good decisions when it came to his placement and direction. This could be mainly attributed to his lack of rhythm, as he is usually a fairly decent puck-moving goalie. It could also be attributed to his average skating skills, but I place most of the issues on his lack of action since he only faced three shots in the first period.

+ Because Curtis rarely plays, the fact he was able to play with such composure after only facing three shots in the first period was a great sign of his mental toughness. This asset will allow him to continue carrying a quality reputation around the league as a capable backup. He does have limited upside due to his average technical skills, but as I always say, mental toughness trumps any technical aspect of the position and therefore he continues to retain value as a goalie in the NHL.

+ On that note, McElhinney’s timeliness in the second and third period was terrific. He made key saves on Matt Duchene’s doorstep stuff attempt and Brandon Yip’s breakaway late in the second period, then a reflex glove save on Ryan O’Byrne in the first. Considering that 9:20 of his 60 minutes played were standing around while the Ducks were on the power play, he was really alert throughout the entire game.

+ All of those timely saves were overshadowed by his most “clutch” save of the game in the third period. It came on a wide open chance by Adam Foote, who was pinching in from the point. McElhinney was forced to dive to his right and was able to get his right leg out as Foote’s shot went off the tip of Curtis’ right skate blade and went just wide of the net. As the puck hit off the kickplate and back into the crease, McElhinney fell back on his side and covered the loose puck before anyone could get a stick on it.

+ The main area of improvement for McElhinney will continue to be improving his skating skills and foot speed. Both of those areas I would consider “slightly below average” for an NHL goaltender. It is good that he relies on solid positioning to absorb a lot of shots, but he struggles to stay square when he is forced to move or shuffle laterally. Even in today’s game, he had to dive in a desperate manner on a couple of chances due to a lack of balance and footwork after making the original save.