Goaltending is a crucial part of playoff success. While a team is capable of carrying a goaltender, more often than not Stanley Cup success is determined by the play of the man behind the mask.
There are four goaltenders remaining in these playoffs and all of them are outstanding. Let’s see where they rank.
4. Dustin Tokarski- I can’t put Carey Price in here since he’s hurt, but boy his backup’s backup has been pretty good. Tokarski was given the nod over career bench warmer Peter Budaj after Michel Therrien felt the youngster gave Montreal the best chance to win. He’s done exactly that in Game 2 and Game 3 but the rest of the Canadiens just don’t seem to be helping him out at all. If they are to come back, they’re going to have to start scoring. Tokarski is going to be a UFA next year and in my mind, he has earned a spot (directly)behind Carey Price.
3. Corey Crawford- Crawford has shown flashes of greatness so far in the playoffs, though he was not as sharp in the Game 2 loss. He’ll have to play like he did against the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild if Chicago has any chance of going back to the Stanley Cup Final and repeat as champions. I have a feeling he’s going to come out strong in game three against LA in the Staples Center.
2. Jonathan Quick- Quick is one of the best goaltenders in the world and it has shown during these playoffs. Even though he started out a little shaky against San Jose, he’s really come back to form when the Kings won the cup in 2012. If Los Angeles advances to its second Stanley Cup Final in three years, it will be because of their goaltender. So far, he’s giving them a real good chance of going back.
`1. Henrik Lundqvist- You aren’t surprised that King Henrik is number one, right? He’s the best goaltender in the world by a large margin. He’s carried this Rangers team back to the Eastern Conference Finals and is playing out of his mind right now. He’s the reason why New York is where they are and why they came back against Pittsburgh. We’ll see if he can lead New York to the Stanley Cup this season, which would be his first trip to the NHL’s biggest stage.