Monday Ramblings

Good morning readers, it’s coming up on one of my favourite times of the year. That's right, we’ve got play-off hockey in under one week! It feels like this year flew by and I hope that everyone’s leagues ended up with them on top. Now you can spend those fantasy winnings on play off tickets (Or 1/8th of a ticket if you're Canadian). Next week I’ll be locked into the couch with a multitude of screens showing NHL hockey and maybe even a bit of baseball. What we’re talking about this week is going to be guys who are doing the complete opposite, working their butts off and trying to take their teams to 16 wins on their way to lifting the Stanley Cup. I’ve ranked who I think gives their prospective teams the best chance. Happy playoffs!

Top Eight Playoff Goalie Rankings

1. Igor Shesterkin/New York Rangers

This one speaks for itself. Shesterkin has been one of the top goaltenders in the NHL in all categories throughout his career. He usually starts the regular slow but always manages to finish ridiculously strong. Through 28 playoff starts for Igor, he has managed just a 13-14-0 record although, he pairs it with a .927 save percentage. With that I would say he's given the Rangers a chance to win in most of those games. They are looking strong heading into the playoffs this year.

2. Sergei Bobrovsky/Florida Panthers

Coming in at number two is another very solid Russian goaltender. Bobrovsky in the last two playoff runs for the Panthers has clocked in with a 16-12-0 record and a .914 save percentage, highlighted by their run to the finals last year. It was unlucky that they came up against a beaming Vegas team because they had a historically lucky goaltender and goalscoring run.

3. Connor Hellebuyck/Winnipeg Jets

Hellebuyck has so far in his postseason career not had the best track record. It’s tough to say how much of that comes down to team performance or personal failures but I'm willing to say more often than not it's the former with Winnipeg and their star goaltender. He has a 17-23-0 record for his career but I certainly would not bet against him stealing a few games for Winnipeg or at least giving them a few opportunities.

4. Frederik Andersen/Carolina Hurricanes

With Andersen coming back from injury and going supernova for the last month of the season he has solidified himself in my top 5 postseason rankings. Carolina looks like a reinvigorated scoring team with the addition of Jake Guentzel at the deadline and with Andersen’s 5-3-0 record and .927 save percentage from last season's playoffs, he looks poised to repeat the impressive performance.

5. Jake Oettinger/Dallas Stars

Oettinger had a bit of a rocky regular season. He was injured for a number of games and never really got fully settled in it seemed until the last month or so of the season. With all the struggles behind him and the juggernaut four line power house Dallas Stars in front of him the sky seems to be the limit this spring. He had an incredible coming out party in the 21-22 playoffs and in seven games for the Stars had a .957 save percentage while only winning three of those games. Last year he was 9-10-0 with an .895 so I think Stars fans would love to forget that and have a repeat of 21-22.

6. Stuart Skinner/Edmonton Oilers

Skinner has had a phenomenal year for the Oilers. He contributed greatly to their record tying win streak and has routinely posted big outings on their way to landing near the top of the west Conference standings. I would have Skinner higher on this list, but given his only playoff performance was last year and he certainly didn't steal many games for the Oilers finishing with a 5-6-0 record and a paltry .883 save percentage. Here’s to hoping Stu can play the hero.

7. Juuse Saros/Nashville Predators

Nashville has been one of, if not the hottest team in the NHL for the last two months. They continue to get it done up front relying on Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly of all people. Saros has had an amazing career and has routinely carried the Predators on his back. He can win a game on any given night by himself regardless of his small physical stature. His last playoff appearance was in 20-21 where the Preds were lackluster going 2-4-0 while Saros posted a .921 in the series.

8. Linus Ullmark-Jeremy Swayman/Boston Bruins

The Bruins tandem has been super solid for them the last two years in the regular season. They were incredible last year as they set a record for points. The record scratch came in the first series where they were dumped on their behinds by Florida in the first round ending the magical season. The tandem had a combined 3-4-0 and an .889 save percentage with Swayman starting only one of the games. I will be very interested to see who the Bruins decide to run with in Game 1 and going forward after that.

As always, I thank you all for reading and I hope each and every one of you has a great week and are able to get out and enjoy some of the spring weather most of North America is coming up on. On a bit of a personal note, I seem to have locked up first in my main league this year barring something wild happening and I have 6 shutouts in the last month from Bob, Oetter, and Stolarz to thank for the most part. A bit of positive regression is always a great sight after getting skunked in SO all year. Adios friends, you can find me on Twitter/X @LOGoalz for all your questions and criticisms.