It seems in todays world of goaltending, theres still a couple of contrasting styles that help netminders have success. Cheap Yeezy Boost 350 . 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 who dont go chasing the puck - they allow the puck to come to them. 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. Discount Yeezy Boost 350 .C. -- Clemson celebrated a senior class Saturday that brought the program back as a national contender. Discount Yeezy 350 Sale . Raonic, the No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., fired 11 aces and did not have a double-fault as he comfortably advanced to the third round at the Masters Series event. http://www.discountyeezy350.com/ .com) - The Ottawa Senators will try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive when they face the Chicago Blackhawks who are trying to secure their place in the post-season.(SportsNetwork.com) - After a slow start to the season, Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs are starting to look more like the team that began last year with nine straight victories. Hey, just in time for Smiths big homecoming. Smith and the Chiefs try to win a third straight game on Sunday as the former top draft pick makes his return to San Francisco to battle the 49ers at Levis Stadium. Smiths first game against the franchise that drafted him first overall in 2005 has overshadowed a recent hot stretch by the quarterback and the team. Kansas City avoided an 0-3 start by rolling past Miami 34-15 on Sept. 21, then routed the New England Patriots 41-14 this past Monday night. In those two wins, Smith has completed 76.5 percent of his passes and thrown for six touchdowns. He posted a 144.4 passer rating in the victory over the Pats. None of this surprises his former Niners head coach Jim Harbaugh. You know, I have never seen Alex Smith not be good. Right from the time we were with him, how hes playing now. Hes just always been a very good quarterback, noted Harbaugh. Smith was San Franciscos starting quarterback when Harbaugh took over head coaching duties with the franchise in 2011 and the duo made it to the NFC Championship game, where they suffered a loss to the New York Giants. The Smith-led Niners got off to another fast start the following season, with the signal-caller his normally-efficient self over a 6-2 start. However, he suffered a concussion in a tie versus St. Louis in Week 10 and Colin Kaepernick made the start the following week, leading San Francisco to a win over the Chicago Bears. Kaepernick never gave up the job and helped San Francisco reach the Super Bowl, where the club suffered a loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Smith was traded to Kansas City during the offseason for two draft picks. Smith helped the Chiefs return to the postseason last year and signed a four- year extension this past offseason. Obviously his first game back in San Francisco would make headlines, but the 30-year-old is more concerned with getting a win. I could care less about the stats and out-dueling anybody, said Smith. And I guess the thing that Im talking about is I know that this is going to be a story and I have to deal with it. Yeah, and going back there and playing against some of those guys that I played with. But theres a lot of unknowns too -- its a different place, different stadium, a lot of new faces there as well in some respects. Its different. It is tough to pinpoint who will be under more pressure in this game: Smith or Kaepernick, who has been very successful under center for the Niners and helped the club avoid a third straight loss with a 26-21 win over Philadelphia last Sunday. Kaepernick threw a pair of touchdown passes, but was sacked four times, intercepted once and completed only 17 of his 30 pass attempts versus the Eagles. One reason he claimed the starting job over Smith was his ability to make the big plays that the play-it-safe Smith seemed to avoid. The two now go head-to-head this weekend, but as Kaepernick pointed out wont be directly facing each other on the field. I really dont get to face him, our defense does. But, Alex has done a lot of great things in this league. Hes done a lot of great things to help me. Nothing but the utmost respect for him, he said. At 2-2, both the Chiefs and 49ers are third in their respective division. Kansas City is set to play two in a row on the road, visiting San Diego on Oct. 19 following a bye, while San Francisco visits St. Louis and Denver following this game. Kansas City is visiting San Francisco for the first time since 2002 and has lost four in a row as the visiting team in this series. The Chiefs last beat the Niners as the road team in the two clubs first ever meeting in 1971. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Smith will look to be extra precise in this game, a trait that led to him throwing for 14,280 yards and 81 touchdowns in 75 starts with the Niners over eight seasons from 2005-12. In his last three games, Smith has completed 69.9 percent of his passes and has not been intercepted. That gives the signal-caller a 112.7 passer rating over that span, but Harbaughh doesnt expect his former quarterback to just play it safe this weekend. Wholesale Yeezy Boost 350. Not an accurate term. Hes a football player, Harbaugh said when asked if Smith is simply a game manager. Smith was helped on Monday night by the return of running back Jamaal Charles from a sprained right ankle and the play of tight end Travis Kelce. Charles ran the ball 18 times for 92 yards with a score and also caught a pair of touchdown passes, while Kelce set career highs with eight catches for 93 yards. He also caught a TD pass. Kansas Citys offense thrives when Charles touches the football, either on the ground or in the passing game. Hes a unique player and obviously extremely talented and can do so many different things. ... When you have a weapon like that, you can do run and pass and mix it up, its obviously extremely helpful, said Smith. Smith and Charles go up against a Niners defense that ranks second in total (287.3 yards per game) and run defense (69.8 YPG). San Francisco held Philadelphia to only 22 yards rushing last weekend, the ninth fewest allowed in a single game in franchise history. The 49ers have yielded just 152 total rushing yards over the past three games despite missing linebackers Navarro Bowman and Aldon Smith. Linebacker Patrick Willis leads the team with 23 tackles and defensive tackle Justin Smith has three sacks on the year as well as five over his past seven games. Their front seven is a tough unit, noted Chiefs head coach Andy Reid of the Niners. Big physical guys, the linebackers can run. I would say that their defense is one of the top defenses out there right now. So we need to make sure we prepare for a good bunch of players there and thats what well do. Kansas City has had its own success on defense, ranking eighth against the pass (221.5 YPG) and eight in points allowed (19.8 PPG). The Chiefs are one of just two teams to not give up a rushing touchdown this season and had three takeaways versus the Patriots, including a pick-six by safety Husain Abdullah. Linebacker Justin Houston had two sacks versus New England and became the second-fastest player in team history to reach 30 for his career. He did so in 47 games, behind only Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas, who hit the plateau in 31 games. While Kaepernick is engineering just the leagues 22nd-ranked pass attack, the Niners are rushing for 138.5 yards per game and will try to maintain that success this weekend. Running back Frank Gore totaled 119 yards on 24 carries versus the Eagles, but also caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from Kaepernick. Kaepernick himself ran for 58 yards, marking the first time in his career he has run for 50-plus yards in three straight games. That is one thing that perhaps separates him from Smith, but Harbaugh wont rate the two against each other. Never been a big fan of comparisons. Colins play has spoken for itself, he said. San Francisco is hoping to have two key pieces of its offense for this game. Right tackle Anthony Davis made his season debut versus the Eagles, but left late in the first quarter with a left knee injury, while talented tight end Vernon Davis was forced out in the third due to a back injury. Neither practiced on Wednesday and their status is unknown. OVERALL ANALYSIS There is a lot of similarities between these clubs, with the Chiefs perhaps having the slight edge on offense and the Niners possessing the better defense. Does that make the Smith-Kaepernick battle the x-factor? If so, Smith will need to make sure he sticks to what he does well and doesnt try to do too much versus his former team. You focus in on what you do. All the distractions, going home and all that -- it doesnt mean anything, said Reid. Youre there to play the game and once youve said hi to your buddies its over. Youre playing the game, thats what youre doing. San Francisco showed a little Smith influence versus the Eagles by holding the ball for just over 42 minutes in the game, but the Chiefs move at a much slower pace than Philadelphia. That means mistakes must be kept to a minimum and that should give Smith the edge over the flashier Kaepernick. Sports Network predicted outcome: Chiefs 24, 49ers 21 ' ' '