Bouncing back - developing mental toughness is key

Tuukka Rask, your 2014 Vezina Trophy winner.

Hi gang,

I can't help but think that the timing of this post is somewhat serendipitous. In the spring of 2013, I wrote the following column for the New England Hockey Journal, before the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs. At the risk of bringing up bad memories for Boston Bruins fans, those playoffs ended badly for the Black and Gold, and their star goaltender, Tuukka Rask. The Chicago Blackhawks score two goals in the last two minutes to stun the Bruins in Game 6, and taking home Lord Stanley's Cup in the process.

It was a devastating loss for Rask and the Bruins, but the young Finnish netminder bounced back this past season, recently winning the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender. It was more proof that Rask has got the mental toughness to not only play at the highest levels, but to be a champ. I'm glad he's in Boston. Let me know what you think of the column.

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Bouncing back - developing mental toughness is key

By the time you read this, the 2013 Stanley Cup will have been hoisted, and whether it was Chicago's Corey Crawford or Boston's Tuukka Rask celebrating, both goalies played huge roles in getting their teams to the final. Crawford not only rebounded from a disastrous 2012 playoffs, but also a less-than-stellar second round series against the Detroit Red Wings to backbone the Blackhawks when they knocked off the defending champion L.A. Kings.

Rask, though, was even better through the early rounds. After the Bruins miraculous comeback win over Toronto in Game 7 of the opening round, Rask settled down and was the major reason Boston jumped out to a 3-games-to-none lead over the New York Rangers. Then, in Game 4, with the Bruins holding a 2-0 lead, Tuukka had his fall-down-go-boom moment. Just 54 seconds after the Bruins went up 2-0, Rask appeared to catch an edge when moving right to left, stumbled and fell just as New York's Carl Hagelin threw a soft backhander on net. Rask, sitting on his backside, took a swipe at the puck but missed as it trickled over the line.

It was the kind of goal that gives goalies nightmares. Worse, Rask's gaffe opened the door for the Rangers, and the Blueshirts ultimately tied the game on a strike from Brian Boyle and won it on a deft redirection in overtime from Chris Kreider. And then the Boston media went bonkers (which, I understand, is a bit of a redundancy).

Fans, haunted by playoff disasters of the past, were besides themselves. Doubt crept into the collective mindset of Bruins Nation. After all, it was Rask who was in the Boston nets in 2010, when the Bruins pulled off an epic collapse against Philadelphia, blowing a 3-games-to-none lead (and a 3-0 lead in Game 7 at home) to lose the Eastern Conference finals. The nervous laughter was everywhere – "That couldn't happen again, could it?"

Adding fuel to the fire was that Rask has a history of histrionics. His talent is undeniable (the trade of Andrew Raycroft to Toronto for the young Finnish prospect in 2006 was one of the best by the Boston brass), but he hasn't always exhibited the requisite maturity to deal with bad goals, or losses. Don't believe me? Just Google "Tuukka Rask" and "temper tantrum" for a sampling.

But this is not Tuukka Rask circa 2010. He has grown up considerably in the past three years, harnessing all that fire and talent with a steely resiliency. Rask quieted the naysayers, providing air-tight goaltending in the Bruins series-clinching Game 5 win over New York. He then was absolutely lights out in the Eastern finals against the vaunted Penguins, stifling Pittsburgh's high-powered offense and allowing only two goals in four games. Which leads me to this month's topic; the importance of bouncing back from a bad goal.

Mental toughness has always been a hallmark of great goaltenders. Of course, for many, many years, they had to be tough, period, due to the ridiculously inadequate "protective" equipment goalies once wore. With the recent revolution in gear, goalies today don't face the same prospect of physical harm (though it still takes guts to stand in front of a 90 mile an hour slap shot). Which makes the mental game one of the key factors in determining just how good you're going to be.

Dealing with the pressure – the mental anguish – of goaltending is nothing new. In his 1973 classic, "Goaltending," the late, great Jacques Plante quoted another excellent netminder, Roger Crozier: "There is no way people will understand our particular kind of pressure. Anyone who isn't a goaltender probably won't experience once what we experience hundreds of times; even players don't know what the goalies go through in a game." Hall of Famer Tony Esposito was more succinct, calling it "plain torture."

It's not enough to simply develop a thick skin, and deflect any criticism that comes your way (justified or not). You have to be able to bounce back. "Oh, you'll goof once in a while – who doesn't – but try not to make a habit of it," said Plante in 1973. "You must firmly believe that you can stop every shot, or you'll never be an A-1 goalie."

Joe Bertagna, who is celebrating his 40th year of goalie coaching, wrote in 1976: "Russian Coach Anatoli Tarasov once said: 'The concept of courage must be identical to the word hockey player. There is simply no place in the game for cowards, squeamish or weak-willed people – there is simply no reason for such people to come out on the ice.'"

"If this is true for hockey players in general, it is even more so for goaltenders," wrote Bertagna.

That's because no goalie is perfect. Brian Daccord of Stop It Goaltending says the No. 1 rule of goaltending is that "you're going to give up goals." Of course, you try to make sure that your opponents "earn" their goals. But what about those howlers, the goals you should have had? What what enables a goaltender to bounce back from a bad goal? Start by forgiving yourself. Be secure in the knowledge that it's happened to every goaltender who has ever strapped on the pads.

"The first thing to realize is that simply because you have been scored upon doesn't mean the world has come to an end," wrote Fred Quistgard in 1996, in his book "Controlling the Crease: A Survival Guide for Modern Goaltenders" (you have to love that title). "If you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders each time your opponents score, you are taking the game too seriously. Put a goal in proper perspective. One goal doesn't signify a bad game unless you allow it to."

I really like Quistgard's advice. Hockey is still a game, and sometimes we forget that (OK, it's a job for Rask, but I'm talking about the other 98 percent of us). Lighten up. Coaches and parents should take note of that point as well. Don't forget that your response can either relieve or ratchet up the pressure on a goalie.

Meanwhile, goalies have to remember that what's done is done. Once a puck gets past you, it's in the past, and there's nothing you can do to change that. In game, I try to encourage my goalies not to let one bad goal lead to a second bad goal. Shake it off, and stay positive.

After the game, take stock. Bertagna recommends quiet, unemotional analysis of each goal, so you can evaluate what you might have done differently and make adjustments. Over time, you may begin to see a pattern, and then you can get to work to address those flaws. Work breeds confidence, which is really the key in handling the occasional bad goal. It's similar to a student who goes into finals well-prepared, compared to one who was up late the night before cramming, just "hoping" to do well. Self-assured goalies are less likely to get rattled.

"Confidence, that's the key to goaltending," said Daccord. "You got to feel like you're going to stop the puck. You can't be worried about letting in a goal, you have to be thinking about stopping the puck."

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Finding out if your youngster has what it takes …

The Bruins' Tuukka Rask, doing what he does best.

Hi gang,

Apologies for being out of the loop these past few months, as I've been busy recuperating from getting a brand new titanium right hip (rehab is going well, and I hope to be back on the ice in early 2014!). In the meantime, with high school, college, and professional hockey seasons in full swing, I wanted to chat about a topic that's near and dear to my goaltending heart. Goalies require a certain mindset that, while it can be cultivated, is often innate. You simply have to hate – Hate! – giving up goals. Here's my column on the tenacity that goalies, by the very nature of their position, have to have to be successful. It originally ran in the New England Hockey Journal.

Finding out if your youngster has what it takes …

One of my favorite coaching sessions over the course of the season is Desperation Day. This is the day when we show our goalies how to make those impossible saves, the ones that top pros make with alarming regularity. Yes, there's a method to the apparent madness of a desperation save (more on that later), but in reality what the session ultimately reveals is whether or not the youngster has the heart and courage to be a top-flight netminder.

Just for fun, I typically start the session by asking my pupils if they know who Winston Churchill is. This little Q&A invariably winds up sounding like an installment of "Kids Say the Darnedest Things" ("He's a goalie, right?" is by far the most popular answer). But it was Churchill, the legendary prime minister of Great Britain, who rallied a nation against the threat of Nazi Germany on June 4, 1940, with his famous "We shall fight on the beaches" speech before the House of Commons. The line that has always stayed with me, the one I want my goaltenders to remember, is this: "We shall never surrender."

Now, I don't mean to make light of war, or place too much importance on sports. There are already too many pro athletes and high-profile sportscasters doing that these days. What I'm talking about is character, and the willingness to battle, to dig deep in order to expend every ounce of energy needed to do your job. In this case, that's keeping the puck out of the net, using any means necessary.

Here's the "team" lesson I want my young goaltenders to take home from Desperation Day: There is nothing desperate about effort. If you quit on a play – even an impossible play – that can deflate your teammates. Goalies, by the nature of the position, have to be leaders. If you don't give a full effort, then your teammates suddenly have an excuse to go less than 100 percent as well.

Simultaneously, giving up gives your opponents an extra boost, thinking you've thrown in the towel. Make no mistake about this – Quitting on a play is like tossing fresh chum into a pool of starving sharks. The feeding frenzy can be frightening.

Fortunately, the opposite is true. A lot of coaches and athletes talk about "giving 100 percent" (or more), but in reality that's quite rare. However, those who do have the ability to fire up their team. Imagine two scenarios. In the first, you dive across the crease and deflect a sure-fire goal over the net. You don't think that's going to get your teammates jacked up?

Or maybe the opponent misses the net altogether. Ask players, and those who answer honestly will tell you they'd rather see a nice, wide-open net to bury the shot. The last thing they want to see is a flash of goalie equipment, whether a stick, glove, blocker – anything! – flying into their field of vision. They might rush, or grip their sticks a little too tight, and send their shots wide or over the net. That doesn't even count as a save in the scorebook, although it sure does in my book. And it gets even better.

In a desperation-save situation, the shooter is expected to score. And most of the time, they probably will. But that's when something almost magical can happen. In this second scenario, if a goalie makes every effort to make the save, tossing aside personal pride and safety to fling across the open net, it almost doesn't matter if the opponent pots the puck. The goalie's team will still rally behind that effort. It's almost as if they say, "Heck, if our goalie is going to bring it, we better bring it too."

And, even as the opponents celebrate, the heroic goalie – the one who refuses to quit, ever – has planted a seed of doubt. He (or she) has served notice that nothing will come easy. And, believe me, the other team will see that. I've seen it again and again over the past 35 years. These types of goalies are winners, and they can will their teams to win.

So, is there a method? The short answer is, yes. Visual attachment is critical. If the goalie loses sight of the puck, the task becomes infinitely more difficult. A goalie caught out of position doesn't have the luxury of tracking the puck and "deciding" to make a move. In the time it takes to make that decision, the puck will be in the back of the net. Instead, the goalie must simply react. If he (or she) gets to the rebound, only to find there's no imminent danger, all he's expended is a small slice of energy. It's like the winter hiker's credo regarding gear: "Better to have it and not need it, instead of needing it and not having it." You have to go to the puck, with all the energy you can muster.

The key is getting your body to move with your eyes. Set that back edge by driving your knee to your chest, and push. Hard! When you go, built the wall from the ice up. A ridiculous number of goals are scored along the ice, so that's where you want your stick. Paddle down, creating a wall, not a ramp. Aim your goal stick toward the opposite post, so you have that added support if the puck happens to hit the paddle. Engage your core muscles, and bring your catching glove above the stick, just in case the puck gets lifted.

And, perhaps most importantly, remember that even if you make that highlight-reel save, your job still isn't done. You've got to track the rebound, and be ready for the next shot. That is, after all, our job description.

Last, bring it all the time. Effort comes from habit. If you quit in practice, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to pull off the effort required for a miraculous save in a game. It has to be part of your mindset, and that's honed in practice.

As an added bonus, I'll share this universal truth – Coaches love these kids. Even if they're not the most technically gifted, they'll get their share of playing time, because coaches know that they'll compete from whistle to whistle, and that they'll inspire their teammates. That is a special gift. It's not the sole domain of goaltenders, since every player can help raise the bar. But other players can quit on a play, and they still have the goaltender behind them. Goalies don't have that safety net. That's why, in my mind, the position is imbued with certain leadership qualities. And when you go all out, all the time, refusing to surrender, you've proven yourself to be a worthy team leader.

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