Ryan Miller is a Great Goaltender. Let's All Hope He Remembers That.

The US Men's Ice Hockey team came into this Olympics with low expectations on them. They made the Gold Medal game, only to lose in overtime. No one probably feels lower right now than goalie Ryan Miller.

For five games, Miller stood on his head in goal. In those five games, he allowed only five goals for a GAA of 1 and a save percentage of 95.4. He beat Switzerland twice, allowing only 1 total goal. The US may have scored 5 goals against Canada the first time they played, but Miller had to face 45 shots to get the win. Canada could have easily won 8-5 against a lesser goalie.

The Gold Medal rematch was what every North American hockey fan hoped for. Canada pulled out to a 2-0 lead, and the US battled back. With 24 second remaining, Zach Parise, who tied Brian Rafalski for the team lead in goals, assists, and points, scored the tieing goal to send the game to overtime. Seven minutes and 40 second later, the game would be over. Sidney Crosby would take a centering feed and, with Miller out of position, scored the winning goal.

It's hard to place blame in a situation like this, and ultimately it's unnecessary. Was the goal scored because of poor defense? Could the US have been better? Is the fault all on Miller? It really doesn't matter. As the goaltender, and the player who gave up the winning goal, Ryan Miller is probably putting it all on himself.

You could see it in his posture when the goal went in: Miller, slumped to the ice on his hands and knees, staying almost motionless while Canada celebrated. You could see it in his eyes on the team bench. You could read his face like a book when both teams came out to shake hands. You could see the saddness in his face on the podium, like his world was crashing down around him.

There are positions in most team sports where the pressure on you is greater than that of a teammates. A high stress situation, followed by the feeling of letting your team down, can crush the careers of some of these people. Pitchers, quarterbacks, and goalies are the most obvious. We all remember the spectacular crash of Ryan Leaf when faced with the pressure of playing in the NFL. After throwing two scoreless innings in Game 1 of the 2000 NL Divisional Series against the NY Mets, St Louis Cardinal Rick Ankiel melted down, walking 4, throwing 5 wild pitches, and giving up 4 runs on only 2 hits. He never recovered as a pitcher.

What Miller did in these games was spectacular. Overall, he went 5-1, with one shutout, a total GAA of 1.33, and a save percentage of 94.6. No other starter in these games matched those numbers, not even Canada's Roberto Luongo. The only person in the world who might be putting the blame for the loss on Ryan Miller might be Ryan Miller.

Miller has been to the playoffs with the Buffalo Sabres twice, in 2006 and 2007. Both times they were eliminated in the second round. Each year since then, his GAA has improved, and is currently at 2.16. He's been in high pressure situations before, lost, and come through better on the other side, but he's never done it on a global scale like this.

The fact that Miller made the team already showed he was the best in the nation. His being named MVP makes him best in the world. Sidney Crosby scoring a goal can't take that away from him, and he needs to remember that. He needs, now more than ever, to be able to shrug off what I'm sure is a feeling of letting his entire country down. He didn't, and he shouldn't feel that way. He took a team that was expected to perform so poorly that the NHLPA booked their flights home for the morning of the Gold Medal game to near-perfection. Thats what he needs to remember now, the 5-0 start, the 139 saves, the shutout of Switzerland, and the silver medal and MVP status he's bringing home. Not the OT goal to a player considered arguably the best in the world.

He'll need to turn it around quick, too. The Sabres play Crosby and the Penguins tomorrow night.