Luongo, Brodeur, Miller, Bryzgalov: What's Going Wrong Early This Season?

Roberto Luongo, Martin Brodeur, Ryan Miller and Ilya Bryzgalov are widely regarded as four of the NHL's best goaltenders, with Brodeur being considered among the greatest netminders to ever play the game. 

While each of these elite goalies have enjoyed their fair share of success over their long careers, they are all struggling to keep the puck out of the net so far this season. Let's break down why this is the case.

Roberto Luongo

Luongo and his Vancouver Canucks currently sit at 11th place in the Western Conference, with a dismal record of 9-8-1 for 19 points. They are well behind inferior teams like the Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes and Minnesota Wild in the league standings.

The Canucks have done very well offensively this season, with the second most goals scored (55) in their conference. They are behind only the Chicago Blackhawks in that area.

The area of concern for Vancouver lies on the defensive side of the rink. They have allowed 51 goals against so far, which is the fourth most in the Western Conference. Roberto Luongo has been in net for 36 of those goals.

What does this mean? Well, considering how effective the Canucks have been in the offensive zone as of late, it means that the reason they're ranked so low in the standings is because Luongo has been playing poor, wildly inconsistent hockey this year. With a .896 save percentage and a 2.97 goals-against average, as well as zero shutouts, Luongo has been his own worst enemy early this season.

Martin Brodeur

Brodeur, the long-time goaltender of the New Jersey Devils, is in a slightly different situation. The Devils, who are 10th in the Eastern Conference at 8-7-1, have scored a mere 40 goals in 17 games played. This is the second lowest total in their conference, behind only the struggling New York Islanders.

As a result of the poor offense in front of him, Brodeur has faced a whopping 149 shots in just six starts this season as opposing teams are able to apply heavy offensive pressure. The 39-year-old netminder is being hung out to dry by his teammates, heavily contributing to his appalling 3.02 goals-against average and .880 save percentage. 

Ryan Miller

Recently sidelined by a concussion thanks to a vicious hit by Boston Bruins winger Milan Lucic, Ryan Miller is also in the midst of a cold streak. His Buffalo Sabres are currently second only to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference standings, with an impressive record of 11-6-0.

Very little of the Sabres' recent success can be attributed to Miller, however. They have benefited from boasting one of the deadliest offenses in the NHL, which has combined for 52 goals in 17 games. Buffalo also has one of the league's best goal differentials at +10. 

Miller has only been in net for five of the Sabres' 11 wins this season, proving that he hasn't been contributing to their strong record to the same extent that he has in recent years. His current goals-against average of 2.86 is the highest it has been since before he was named Buffalo's starter in 2005, and his .909 save percentage is considerably lower than it has been in some time.

He hasn't been terrible and his team is still managing to win hockey games, but Ryan Miller hasn't looked like the elite goalie we've all grown accustomed to watching lately.

Ilya Bryzgalov

Last, but certainly not least, we have Ilya Bryzgalov, who signed a long-term contract with the Philadelphia Flyers this offseason. After four years with the Phoenix Coyotes, where he established himself as a top-tier netminder, Bryzgalov is struggling to adapt to playing in a new system and a new conference. 

In 13 starts, Bryzgalov has seven wins, a .899 save percentage and a 2.78 goals-against average. These numbers aren't awful and will likely improve with time, but they are currently the weakest statistics he has posted in his entire NHL career.

Philadelphia's offense certainly isn't contributing to Bryzgalov's struggles. The Flyers have a league-best 65 goals scored so far this year, as well as a solid +14 goal differential. This indicates that, on the whole, the team is playing exceptionally well.

Bryzgalov only has himself to blame for his mediocre play early this season. He has proven to be a consistently strong performer throughout his career, so there remains a strong chance he can turn things around. For now, though, he isn't meeting expectations and will need to quickly become more comfortable with his new club.