[Cage Match Tournament] #1 Miller vs. #5 Anderson
 

This is the second batch of our Round Two matchups in the Cage Match Tournament. Last week featured our second upset of the tournament so don't be shy in picking an underdog. Just remember that you are voting based on a one-year league with scoring categories being: Wins, GAA, Save% and Shutouts.

May the best goalie win.

#2 Jaroslav Halak vs. #3 Jimmy Howard
#1 Mike Smith vs. #4 Niklas Backstrom
#2 Cam Ward vs. #3 Roberto Luongo

easy one imo.

Ryan Miller for me boss.

Whoever voted for Anderson is nuts/

It's Miller time beeitch.

I'd take Miller, but the numbers will be closer than people think. Miller just has name value, and has had only one great year. Anderson will have more wins than Miller, at least.

Even if you remove his best statistical season, he's averaged a .917 SV%, 2.56 GAA, 33 wins, 5 shutouts, and around 1800 saves per season since 08-09.

Meanwhile over the past 2 seasons (ie: since his best statistical year), Anderson has averaged .913 SV%, 2.5 shutouts, 28.5 wins, around 1500 saves, and a GAA north of 2.70.

Long story short... last season was Anderson's second best season to date and Miller's 3 year average WITH his best season removed still beats Anderson in every category but saves...

The first stat isn't correct because Miller's career save percentage is .915, so if you remove his best season, it would drop, not improve to .917. Same goes for GAA.

All I am predicting is that over the next couple of seasons, if both remain starters, their numbers will be closer than people think (just like they were the last two seasons). I didn't say Anderson would be better than him in any of the categories except wins. Anderson could realistically take him in both wins and save percentage. I expect Miller to better him in GAA and shutouts.

I don't really take past stats into consideration too much when it comes to goalies, but take a look:

Career stats:

Anderson - 294 GP, 268 starts, 131 wins, 0.49 wins per start, 2.79 GAA, .913 SV%, 19 shutouts, 0.071 shutouts per start

Miller - 460 GP, 453 starts, 252 wins, 0.56 wins start, 2.57 GAA, .915 SV%, 28 shutouts, 0.062 shutouts per start

So, wins, save percentage, and shutouts are pretty similar.

Anderson hasn't been a starter as long, keep in mind, and has played on Florida, Chicago, and Colorado in some bad years for those teams.

All I am saying is, Miller will most likely take 3 out of 4 categories, maybe even 4. But you shouldn't be shocked if Anderson wins more games than him and puts up a similar SV%. Hell, the shutouts will probably be similar as well.

I said since 08-09 (ie: the past 3 seasons other than his best statistical season - during which his average is .917). I tend not to dig back any further than a few years as that often doesn't reflect current performance, and likewise, I didn't dig into any of the years where Anderson wasn't a starter because it's different circumstances.

I'd have to say that Dyz's selected timelines for each players' stats seem a bit too selective. Miller gets three years worth but Anderson only gets two? But I think the general point is that Miller has produced a stronger baseline of production for a longer period than Anderson. Basically, the worst case scenario for Miller is a much better scenario than the worst case scenario for Anderson, which is just an elaborate way of saying Miller carries less risk.