On Wyatt Johnston's goal, the RVH, and an introduction to "The Panda"

Let's get nerdy about goaltending.

A lot happened in Game 5 between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche.

The Stars won 6-2, taking a 3-2 series lead, and the series now shifts back to Denver for Game 6 in a series that’s been one of the most entertaining of the playoffs.

But I want to focus on what happened in the first nine seconds of the game, because when I went back to watch the game this morning, I spent close to 15 minutes re-watching the opening goal by Wyatt Johnston.

This is a bad-angle goal that kind of set the tone of the night for Colorado. Dallas fed on it, the Avalanche tumbled and the series potentially swung on this play.

It’s also a play that brings up one of the most popular discussion points about modern goaltending.

The Reverse Vertical Horizontal, better known as the RVH.

I’ve written a lot about the RVH before and how goalies overly use the technique, including this piece from back in December.

On the RVH and how poor save selection is hurting NHL goalies

As a quick refresher, the RVH is a valuable tool, but it’s a tool that’s supposed to be used on transition plays with threat of a pass to the back door and wrap-arounds.

Instead the RVH has become more of a default setting for pucks below the goal line, and there are some smart shooters — like Johnston — that intentionally shoot for the holes in it.

Johnston, for example, spends time picking the brain of both Stars goalies and goalie coach Jeff Reese, trying to find holes that goalies leave exposed, according to Jake Oettinger.

So when Johnston shoots from this space it’s intentional.

It’s not a high-probability shot, but is a dangerous one and with Blackwood having his leg inside the post, it creates the potential backboard for the goal that eventually happens.

Now it’s easy to point at the negatives on a goal against, to yell “you shouldn’t do that,” but we also owe it to readers here to explain what other course of action the goalie should have taken — because it’s not as simple as “just stay on your feet.”

This is where we are going to get nerdy with goalie stuff, buckle up.

OK, first we should talk about Blackwood in general.

One of the strengths of Blackwood's game is how explosive he is going side-to-side and how well he typically uses his posts. Blackwood uses his post like a hinge to move with play and then push across, often staying a bit deeper in the crease and taking advantage of his 6-foot-4 frame.

So for Blackwood if there’s a passing threat, he’s typically well prepped for it from this position, and on this goal by Johnston, Jamie Benn is turning into a passing threat in front of the net.

So while there are sometimes egregious uses of the RVH, this actually isn’t one of the worst examples.

Johnston has multiple options, can approach with speed, and has a developing passing threat coming to the front of the net.

Blackwood has also sealed the post well with his shoulder and upper body, as you can see from the overhead.

On this play, it’s matter of poor execution, not necessarily poor save selection by Blackwood.

But, could there have been a better choice?

It’s something I texted a couple goalie people about within NHL circles, and it led to a conversation about the next big thing in goalie post play, which you may or may not have heard of — the Panda Post Lock.

The Panda Post Lock, which was coined by Calgary Flames director of goaltending Jordan Sigalet, is a modified type play where a goalie combines an overlap — staying on his feet, with his pad overlapping the the post — with an RVH on their post play.

(Sigalet called it the Panda Post Lock because it reminded him of a panda rubbing its back against a tree.)

Here is Blackwood in that position against Dallas.

The biggest difference you’ll notice is it’s an RVH with the skate outside the post. It allows the goalie to stay square longer to the shooters and a bit more depth, while also covering a bit more of space above the shoulder.

“The Panda” as it’s called by some, has been slowly trickling into the NHL in the past two years, with many pro goalies working on it for the first time really in 2023.

For a better video visual, here is goalie coach Brian Daccord teaching the technique. Daccord is also the father of Seattle Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord.

So if the Panda is fixing problems the RVH presented, should the RVH be tossed out completely?

According to one goalie coach, both should be used. The Panda (which is more fun to say), can hurt a goalie’s ability to explode across on wraparounds or plays where the forward completely orbits the net with possession of a quick corner-to-corner pass.

There’s also slightly more room for a goalie to be used as a bank shot from below the goal line on a quick passing play.

So there are times where the RVH works and times for the Panda. There are also times for a goalie to stay on their feet with an overlap approach.

Either way, goaltending needs to be about reading the play and being an athlete, not simply being robotically programmed.