From rules to rinks, the National Hockey League seen many changes over the years, but one aspect of the game has stayed the same: Goaltending wins championships.
With the puck set to drop on the 2011-12 NHL playoffs, here’s a look at the five greatest playoff netminders of all time:
5. Billy Smith (88-36)* — The stick-swinging Smith, who the Islanders claimed from the Los Angeles Kings in the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft, was a core member of the team’s dynasty in the early 1980s. He backstopped the Islanders to four straight Stanley Cup championships from 1980-83. In 1993, the Isles retired Smith’s No. 31 and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
4. Terry Sawchuk (54-48)– Sawchuk, who some consider the greatest goaltender of all time, won three Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings in the 1950s and one with the Toronto Maple Leafs (1967). In the 1952 NHL Playoffs, he posted a record of 8-0 with four shutouts and a nearly-perfect 0.62 GAA. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame since 1971, his No. 1 has been retired by the Red Wings.
3. Martin Brodeur (99-82) — Brodeur is not done building his playoff resume. The Canadian-born keeper, who led the Devils to three Stanley Cup championships between 1995 and 2003, is the active leader in playoff wins and shutouts (23). He pitched a shutout in Game 7 of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. His career goals against average in the playoffs is a sparkling 2.00.
2. Patrick Roy (151-94)– Roy has the most playoff wins in NHL history with 151, plus 23 postseason shutouts, which is tied with Brodeur for the most of all time. He gets the nod over Brodeur for beating him head-to-head in Game 7 of the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals as a member of the Colorado Avalanche. Roy, who won a total of four Stanley Cups, was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006.
1. Ken Dryden (80-32) — Dryden as a rookie led the Habs to a first-round victory over the heavily-favored Boston Bruins in the opening round of the 1971 playoffs. The Canadiens eventually defeated the Chicago Black Hawks in the Stanley Cup Finals. It was the first of five championships for Montreal that decade with Dryden between the pipes. The five-time Vezina Trophy winner was inducted into the HHOF in 1983.
* Denotes career playoff record.
Sources
Hockey-Reference.com.
The Official Site of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
