Hasek Wins on Ice, in Opponents Heads, Psychologists Say

Dominik Hasek is so good that sometimes all he has to do is show up.

The Buffalo Sabres goaltender’s reputation weighs so heavily on his opponents’ minds that his presence alone is enough to make them stop relying on their instincts, players and psychologists said.

Hasek might be the best goalie ever to play in the 81 years of the National Hockey League. He’s won two consecutive Hart Trophies as league most valuable player, which no other goalie has done; took an unheralded Czech team to the Olympic gold medal in February; and leads the NHL in every important goaltending statistic.

“You kind of think that you don’t have a chance against him,” said Petr Nedved, a sharp-shooting center with the New York Rangers, “so you always try to go for the big shot, and maybe that’s not always there.”

Hasek can make even the best scorers stop and think before shooting--and that can doom their chances, said Dr. Cal Botterill, a Canadian sports psychologist who has worked as a consultant for several NHL teams.

“Scoring in hockey is hard to do against a normal human goalie, but when you get a guy that plays out of his mind it clearly does become a psychological issue,” said Botterill, whose son, Jason, plays for the Dallas Stars.

While some players said Hasek’s reputation, which has earned him the nickname “The Dominator,” never enters their mind, Botterill said they’re just lying to themselves.

“Good players try to find ways to minimize it,” he said, “but when he has stoned you as much as he has, you can’t help but have it in the back of your mind.”

Dr. Jack Llewellyn, a sports psychologist who has worked with Major League Baseball players for the past 25 years, compares Hasek’s effect on opponents to Atlanta’s four-time Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Greg Maddux.

“Greg’s been so successful that he has a leg up on teams because they know they can’t hit him, and he knows that, too,” Llewellyn said. “Hasek knows full well the impact mentally that he has on other players. It’s a very real thing.”

No NHL team has experienced Hasek’s dominance in recent years more than the Rangers.

Hasek has allowed only 23 goals in 50 career games against the Rangers, including only two over their past six meetings. His five career shutouts against New York are more than he has against any other team.

After his Dec. 11 shutout against them, Hasek found yet another way to frustrate his favorite opponents: He insulted them.

“The first period I could have had a cigar and a glass of wine,” he said after facing only two first-period shots. “It was maybe the easiest shutout I had.”

Along with Hasek’s unorthodox style, which often leaves him making saves while lying flat on his back without his stick, his quirky nature and off-beat sense of humor is enough to drive opponents over the edge, psychologists said.

“That’s just another way of extolling his mastery over you,” said Botterill, who came to know Hasek when he was an unknown backup for Ed Belfour in Chicago during the early 1990s. “He’s humble and kind of funny about it, but deep down he knows that he’s owning you, and that makes him even more annoying to a lot of players.”

The only Rangers to score against Hasek, who leads the NHL with 15 wins, a 1.68 goals against average and .945 save percentage, in their past five meetings are forwards Adam Graves and Mike Knuble.

“There’s no secret,” Knuble said. “I just spun around and shot it. If the [Sabres weren’t winning] 4-1 at that point, he may have tried a little harder.”

Hasek said he doesn’t do anything purposely try to gain a psychological advantage. His success comes mostly from his skills and hard work, he said.

“I just try to stop the puck,” Hasek said. “I really don’t think about what the other players are thinking.”

He does use his head for one thing though: stopping the puck. Though most goalies get upset when teammates shoot near their heads in practice, Hasek encourages it.

“I am not afraid at all of the puck,” he said. “Once in awhile, I say to my teammates, ‘Shoot me in my head and I’ll try to stop it.’ If the shot comes at my head, it’s an easier save to make.”