NHL teams
Scott Burnside, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Isles goalie Halak's past heroics not part of his present focus

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- It’s still too early to suggest that Jaroslav Halak is channeling his own otherworldly self, circa 2010.

Yet any discussion of the New York Islanders' goaltender -- the victor in his first playoff game with the Islanders since signing a four-year deal last May -- will always be seen through the prism of his own past, his spectacular successes and his not-so-spectacular efforts to replicate those successes.

It was in the spring of 2010 when Halak became a god-like figure in Montreal and a household name in the hockey world guiding the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens on a magical run to the Eastern Conference finals.

That spring, Alex Ovechkin poked fun at Halak early in the first-round series between Montreal and heavily favored Washington, pointing out that Halak's hand was shaking while taking a drink of water following a Caps’ goal early in the series.

And then Halak quietly, almost without breaking a sweat, single-handedly overthrew the NHL’s best regular-season team and set a club record for stopping 53 shots in a Game 6 victory that helped the Canadiens come back from a 3-1 series deficit.

The Islanders' current foe happens to be those same Capitals, lending a somewhat circular element to the storyline, but it’s a story that is far more textured than simply, "He did it once, maybe he can do it again." Because in many ways, Halak has been chasing that moment, that groove since the second it ended when the Canadiens were defeated in the Eastern Conference finals by the Philadelphia Flyers.

In backstopping the Habs to a seven-game series victory over Washington and following that up with a seven-game series victory over the defending Stanley Cup champions from Pittsburgh, Halak became a folk hero.

T-shirts were sold in Montreal with the red-stop-sign logo with Halak written in place of stop.

At the time, Halak’s play forced the Canadiens into a difficult decision regarding the future of their goaltending. Ultimately they decided Carey Price, who’d been replaced as the starter by Halak during the 2009-10 season, was the better fit long term, and Halak was dealt that June to the St. Louis Blues, with whom he signed a four-year deal.

But things simply didn’t work out in St. Louis. There were issues of durability, and there were issues of a young man needing to grow into his own personality, his own skin.

Corey Hirsch was the goaltending coach for the Blues at the time. He said the team simply couldn’t wait for Halak to become the goaltender they wanted him to be and which he might be on the verge of becoming now.

There were issues with his mental toughness “and just maturing as a person and as a goalie,” Hirsch told ESPN.com Thursday.

Halak made good strides at the end in St. Louis, the current broadcast analyst said, working out more diligently, listening more to his coaches. Then he got hurt and the Blues decided they needed to move on.

“We kind of went through the growing pains with him in St. Louis. Because he had some maturing to do,” Hirsch said. “Unfortunately, at the end of all of it we didn’t feel that Jaro could win us a Stanley Cup.”

There was a trade to Buffalo that brought Ryan Miller to the Blues before the 2014 trade deadline, and he was then dealt to Washington where he played sparingly.

At one point late last season, he declined to play against the Blues, a decision that was made public by coach Adam Oates, which further added to the enigmatic nature of Halak’s career arc as the Capitals ultimately ended up missing the playoffs.

But Islanders general manager Garth Snow had no qualms about Halak, acquiring the netminder after the season ended and signing him to a four-year deal.

While Halak, like many of his teammates, saw a dip in play down the stretch, he was poised in Game 1 against the favored Capitals.

Even after Halak was beaten by Marcus Johansson in the final minute of the first period after the netminder mishandled a puck behind the net, there was no wobble to his game. It was the fourth game in a row in which the Islanders had given up a goal in the final minute of a period, yet Halak moved on quickly from what could have been a negative turning point in the contest.

“You know what? It happened. And that’s what happens. You’ve got to have a short memory this time of year," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said Thursday. "You’re going to win games, you’re going to lose games. You’re going to have bad shifts. It’s how you respond. I thought he was dialed in, he was focused. The rest of the way he played extremely well for us."

Captain John Tavares agreed.

“Jaro played great," Tavares said. "Same old story with him -- just consistent making the saves when we need him, too. When teams are trying to get pucks on net he swallows it up. I just like the way he responded from that goal, the mentality from the locker room and from Jaro was just positive."

The Islanders are a young, highly skilled group, and they need Halak to remain a steadfast presence in goal if they are to move on.

“Goaltender’s got to be your best player in the playoffs, bottom line," Capuano said. "It’s about special teams, it’s about luck, health, but it comes down to goaltending. And if you look at the history of this game, a lot of the guys that are playing at the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs are usually those guys between the pipes that are playing their best hockey. You know what? He’s been there for us. He’s been a leader for us, and I expect him to do the same thing as we move forward."

Halak, as befitting his personality, downplayed the Game 1 win.

“Well, you know I think it was a good Game No. 1," the two-time Olympian for Slovakia said. "I think guys played good for 60 minutes last night. I’ll repeat it again: It doesn’t mean anything. We’ve won one game. [To] win the whole series you need to win four. We just can’t get carried away. Don’t get too high, too low, just stay on the course."

It is early, too early, to begin to wonder about another playoff run and more heroics.

And Halak certainly isn’t interested in living in the past or discussing the glories of 2010.

“Like you said, it’s a long time ago, so I’m not trying to think about what happened in the past," Halak said. "I’m trying to live in the moment. Game 1 is behind us. It’s great we won, but now we’ve got to prepare for game No. 2. It’s going to be even harder and we just need to keep getting better as the series goes on.

"You’ve got to treat every game as the same. You don’t want to put extra pressure on yourself. Playoffs, it’s the fun part and you just want to enjoy it. You never know when you’re going to get the same chance or with the same group of guys. We’ve got a great group of guys. We just need to prove it on the ice.

Hirsch, for one, has been impressed by what he’s seen from Halak this season and believes it’s a nice fit for both the netminder and his team.

“He’s hitting his prime right now,” Hirsch said. “That’s kind of what you wait for as a coach. But sometimes, like in St. Louis, you can’t wait for it.”

And the Islanders know what they’re going to get from Halak.

"They’re very comfortable playing in front of him," Hirsch said. "He plays a very simple game. I think his teammates like that. That’s what the guys in St. Louis liked about him."

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