Goalie Match-ups In The Playoffs
Any hockey analyst will tell you that a hot goalie can single-handedly change the outcome of a series. A few stellar performances mixed with a bit of luck and a few determined forwards can forever change a team's post-season destiny. This year's crop of playoff goalies seem to be hitting the hot streak early. For the week of April 14th, the following goalies received a star of the game:
Ward (3rd star, 2nd star, 3rd star, 1st star)Brodeur (1st star, 1st star, 3rd star)C. Mason (1st star, 3rd star, 3rd star)Thomas (2nd star, 1st star)Luongo (1st star)Hiller (2nd star)S. Mason (2nd star)Fleury (2nd star)Khabibulin (3rd star)
[Note: not every goalie in the playoffs played every game last week, which may account for why they were not a star of the week]
This is why I propose this way of looking at the playoffs -- forget line-ups and hot forwards, it's goalie vs. goalie. Here are the matchups for this year's playoffs:
Lundqvist (NYR) vs. Theodore (WAS)Biron (PHL) vs. Fleury (PIT)Ward (CAR) vs. Brodeur (NJJ)S. Mason (CB) vs. Osgood (DET)C. Mason (STL) vs. Luongo (VAN)Price (MTL) vs. Thomas (BOS)Kiprusoff (CGY) vs. Khabibulin (CHI)Giguere/Hiller (ANA) vs. Nabokov (SJ)