What are each team’s strengths and weaknesses in the crease? Who’s hot and who’s not?
After an 82-game grind, we’ve got the class that’ll go at it in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, set to kick off April 20. It’s the best round of the postseason, with the biggest field and, often, the most drama.
Toronto is one of the few teams that have effectively deployed a three-goalie lineup for most of the season. When Samsonov struggled, Woll picked up the slack. When Woll got hurt, Jones took over and played some great hockey to keep the Leafs in a playoff position when everything could have easily gone off the rails.
Bobrovsky is one of the most experienced goaltenders in the playoffs, with his incredible run last year being a career highlight. He’s been fantastic again this year, breaking the 30-win mark for the seventh time in his career. He had six shutouts during the regular season, one more than his past four seasons combined. Given the Panthers were missing key pieces of their blueline for most of the season, Bobrovsky proved last year’s playoff revival was no fluke.
For Florida, it’s all about sticking to the status quo. Bobrovsky has been excellent, and you shouldn’t expect anything different in the first round. For Vasilevskiy, it’s all about resetting and channeling the energy that saw him win the Conn Smythe in 2021. Florida has the edge right now, though.2023-24 regular season: 18-6-2, 2.62 GAA, .911 SV%, 2 shutouts2023-24 regular season: 13-14-3, 3.31 GAA, .
Will the Caps have enough in the tank after playing must-win hockey over the past month? Who knows, but they’ve got a red-hot crease king with a lot to prove. Unfortunately, he’s going to have to outduel Shesterkin, something very few goalies have done over the past few months. Good luck.2023-24 regular season: 23-13-4, 2.33 GAA, .911 SV%, 4 shutouts2023-24 regular season: 14-8-4, 2.60, .918 SV%, 3 shutoutsCareer playoffs: 6-5, 2.70 GAA, .
Sorokin, meanwhile, found himself in a six-game losing streak in March, which led to him sitting on the sidelines during the stretch run. Some of that was due to some rough defending in front of him, so it’s not all his fault. And, in reality, having a Vezina Trophy finalist as a backup is an incredible situation to be in. But for Game 1, it has to be Varly, no question about it.
Straight up, Georgiev needs to be so much better for the Avalanche than he has been recently. He has allowed four or more goals in six of his past 10 games, with his season-long analytics not being that pretty. No goalie has won more games than Georgiev over the past two years, but with a .908 save percentage over his past 125 games, it hasn’t come easy. What’s worse? Georgiev had a .
For Vegas, it’s been another year of goaltending by committee. Hill was among the NHL’s best goalies in the first half of the season, but with 19 games missed due to injuries this year, it’s been hard for him to stay consistent. He’s healthy now, and the Golden Knights will hope he can repeat the play that made him a serious Conn Smythe Trophy candidate last year en route to the Cup.
If there’s one thing the Predators have, it’s goaltending depth. Lankinen has played some hockey for the team this year, and Askarov is the best goalie prospect in the league. But if comes down to needing to use either of them, they’re in trouble, especially against a Canucks team with decent depth of their own.
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