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“Every shot is an adventure” for Tomas Vokoun

Washington Capitals v Philadelphia Flyers

at the Wells Fargo Center on October 20, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Bruce Bennett

It’s excessive to say that Tomas Vokoun has been a bad goalie in Washington, but he hasn’t been the difference-maker the Capitals expected. That’s something that Vokoun admitted to CSNWashington.com’s Chuck Gormley as he spoke about a tough month.

“I guess I’m in one of those funks,” Vokoun said. “I just don’t feel comfortable out there. Some games we win the game but it’s still a battle. For whatever reason I don’t have the comfort level I’ve had in past years and it shows.

I don’t think I’ve given up as many soft goals in the last month here as I gave up in three years (in Florida). Now, every shot is an adventure. Even if I do stop it I don’t control it well.”

Those aren’t the words of a very confident goalie, which is something that has to be a serious concern for Dale Hunter and George McPhee. It’s nice that he’s owning up to his struggles, but goalies are fragile creatures. The hope is that he isn’t beating himself up too much.

For years, Vokoun was a goalie who put up great individual numbers on bad Florida Panthers teams. His save percentage hovered around 92 percent for the previous six seasons, so seeing it dip to 90.6 is worrisome.

It’s not a Roloson-level catastrophe either, though, which shows that his play is matching the Capitals’ collective situation. As bad as things seem, there’s still the belief that Vokoun and the Caps can break out of this “funk.”