The Toronto Maple Leafs were feeling good about a season-best six-game winning streak, but that ended with back-to-back losses against Carolina and Philadelphia this week. The task doesnt get any easier with a visit to Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks tonight. What we need to realize in that streak where we were winning, we were working for the full 60 minutes, said center Peter Holland, who scored after having an assist in each of his previous two games. It wasnt just happening by fluke. The Leafs now prepare to hit the road, where theyve lost three of four. Were not far removed from playing some really good hockey, Holland said. We dropped two games in a row, thats going to happen over the course of a season. We just need to make sure that were ready to respond and play solid road games. Holland scored the winner 2:21 into the third period of a 3-2 home victory over Chicago on Nov. 1. Toronto has won the last two meetings after dropping eight in a row. James Reimer made 45 saves against the Blackhawks last month, and he could be in net again after coming on Saturday for 10-plus minutes in relief of Jonathan Bernier, who has started the last three games. Corey Crawford returned Saturday with 17 saves after missing Chicagos previous eight with an ankle injury suffered when he fell at a concert. Crawford stopped 24 shots in the first meeting with Toronto, and Quenneville could elect to start his No. 1 goaltender on back-to-back nights due to the amount of time hes had off. Antti Raanta has won his last four starts with a 2.00 goals-against average and would get the nod if Crawford doesnt start. Jonathan Toews and the Blackhawks have come a long way since their early struggles, putting together a hot stretch that has lasted over a month. Chicago seeks its eighth consecutive home victory Sunday night against a Toronto club that has lost two straight heading into a seven-game trip. The Blackhawks (22-9-2) werent pleased with their 6-5-1 start as they struggled to find their scoring touch with each defeat coming by a single goal. Theyve bounced back nicely and ran off a season-best eight straight victories while winning 10 of 11 before falling 3-2 in a shootout at Columbus on Saturday. Chicago dominated a good portion of that contest, though, and outshot the Blue Jackets 41-19. I thought we did everything but win that game, coach Joel Quenneville said. We played well in all areas of the game and did a lot of good things. Toews called the loss unfortunate, but wasnt upset with the effort - something he couldnt always say early on. Only two of their defeats have come by more than one goal. We believe were a good team (and) we should be in every game, Toews said. Its the sign of a mature team, something we didnt do enough of early in the year. We know we have some firepower and when its a close game, more often than not we can find a way to win. 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Every goalie has a specific skill set - I call this the toolbox - and youre trying things and adding them if they work for you along the way. Certain plays, saves, reads and how you consistently play them help define you as a goaltender. With the evolution of goaltending at an all-time high over the last 20 years, most goaltenders play relatively the same way - especially in their save selection in certain areas of the crease. Where it differs is how you arrive to make the save. Some goalies play deeper in their net, while others play more aggressive. Some netminders have better lateral movement and flexibility and some play a more upright style, while others play with more patience. The bottom line is that everyone plays a little bit different from one other. When I started to look at how guys play in the league today, there wasnt much difference in what I would term the middle group. Its their modified styles that are the most noticeable difference. Lets start with the majority group - the hybrid goaltender. These are the goaltenders that have a lot of different skills in their tool box, play with structure, a near-predictability in their save selection and are basically a cross between a standup goalie and a butterfly goalie. Aggressive, But With Structure These goaltenders play the top of their crease and will try and take as much ice as they can. They use athleticism, try not to open a lot of holes and work within the confines of good crease management. When theyre on their game, they make it look easy because the puck hits them and dies. Modifications of it are also noticeable if the goaltender plays more upright or in a deeper crouch. Goaltenders in this category include Floridas Roberto Luongo, Bostons Tuukka Rask, Ryan Miller of the Vancouver Canucks, Detroit netminder Jimmy Howard, Washingtons Braden Holtby, Antti Niemi of the San Jose Sharks, Brian Elliott of the St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, Chicagos Corey Crawford, Kari Lehtonen of the Dallas Stars, Ottawas Craig Anderson, Colorados Semyon Varlamov and Ben Scrivens of the Edmonton Oilers. Most goalies go down on almost every play to take away the lower part of the net because shots are rarely clean nowadays. With net-front traffic, screens and tips, the puck changes directions constantly. With the middle group comes the aggressive hybrid style - and you can lump most of todays goaltenders into that category. And theres different groups within this category based on how they react to shots. Patient With Structure These are goaltenders wwho dont go chasing the puck - they allow the puck to come to them.dddddddddddd. They still incorporate all the features of a good hybrid style, but look a lot more relaxed doing it. Theyre very efficient with their use of energy, almost to the point that they could be accused sometimes of not trying on certain shots. Goaltenders in this category include Montreals Carey Price, Phillys Steve Mason, Darcy Kuemper of the Minnesota Wild, New Jerseys Cory Schneider, Torontos Jonathan Bernier, Cam Ward of the Carolina Hurricanes, Jaroslav Halak of the New York Islanders and Buffalos Jhonas Enroth. Aggressive And Athletic/Garage Sale These guys have all the skills and have the athleticism to get away from structure, but will stop the puck by any means necessary. Theyll use flexibility, quickness and willpower to keep the puck out of the net and throw everything they have at the puck to make the save. Were talking about Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings, Nashvilles Pekka Rinne, Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Winnipegs Ondrej Pavelec. Deep And Athletic Netminders that use their size and athleticism to their advantage. But theres also no margin for error, as they play a foot-and-a-half deeper within the blue paint. It helps to conserve energy, be more efficient on side to side plays and theres not a lot of scramble mode. This includes Tampa Bays Ben Bishop, Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes and New Yorks Henrik Lundqvist. Pure Butterfly I term butterfly as more the style of a save. Calgarys Jonas Hiller makes no apologies for playing from his knees, uses the 6-foot-2 frame to be as big as he can and tries to force shooters to go high. Standup Style This has gone the way of the Dodo in todays NHL. It used to be the style for most of the league, but the biggest adaptation in goaltending over the last 20 years has been covering that lower part of the net where 80 per cent of the shots end up going. Now the 30 NHL starters listed above each have unique traits that separate one from another. But it all comes back to structure and base and whats in your toolbox. At least 13 of 30 starters play an aggressive game with structure. Maybe thats why when it comes to goaltending chats, people always say theyre interchangeable. Its how they use and incorporate the skills that separates the good ones from the elite ones. It also includes the extras or intangibles. I know my analytics friends hate those words, but when it comes to goalies, thats just a fact. Durability and mental capacity, along with the skills Ive talked about above, are what really separate the good from the great. And that will be for another chat to come. 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