This matchup easily favours the Lightning, as Vasilevskiy\u2019s experience means he needs to prove us he can\u2019t do it, while Montreal\u2019s duo needs to prove they can. Still, Vasilevskiy has proved he can\u2019t for three straight seasons, whose to say it doesn\u2019t happen a fourth time.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Penguins<\/p>\n
Stuart Skinner: 50 GP, 23-17-9, .888 SV%, 17.96 5v5 GSAx
Arturs Silovs: 39 GP, 19-12-8, .887 SV%, -1.86 5v5 GSAx
Sergey Murashov: 5 GP, 1-1-2, .897 SV%, 0.49 5v5 GSAx<\/p>\n
Philadelphia Flyers<\/p>\n
Daniel Vladar: 52 GP, 29-14-7, .906 SV%, 25.24 5v5 GSAx
Samuel Ersson: 29 GP, 14-11-5, .870 SV%, -9.46 5v5 GSAx
Aleksei Kolosov: 4 GP, 0-2-0, .830 SV%, -3.16 5v5 GSAx<\/p>\n
At this point, who starts for the Penguins is up in the air. The two have generally been deployed as a tandem, with Skinner\u2019s 27 starts just edging out Silov\u2019s 25, and even down the stretch, the Penguins split their usage in the final 10 games. If you look at their standard stats, it\u2019s basically been even.<\/p>\n
Both goalies also have playoff experience. Skinner is fresh off back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances, and while he had shaky moments during both runs, he did get them there. But Silovs also knows how to keep the ship steady in the postseason, as evidenced by his time with the 2024 Vancouver Canucks, and he won the Calder Cup with Abbotsford last season. Both goalies actually faced each other in 2024. So if you want to factor in that, advantage Skinner.<\/p>\n
Really, both goalies have one differing factor over the other. For Skinner, it\u2019s that he\u2019s been the better goalie analytically with a much better 5v5 GSAx, and would probably be the better win-now option. For Silovs, it\u2019s that he\u2019s a restricted free agent, unlike Skinner\u2019s unrestricted free-agent status, and may be the \u201clong-term\u201d option for Pittsburgh. Murashov is the future in net, but Silovs may have a bit more staying power beyond this season.<\/p>\n
For the Flyers, it\u2019s hard to see anyone other than Vladar starting in Game 1. While his career has been plagued by inconsistency, he\u2019s been the go-to guy and played well above his expected performances. Ersson and Kolosov haven\u2019t come close to playing at Vladar\u2019s level, so only injury or a series at the caliber of Ilya Bryzgalov against the Pens in 2012 would change that.<\/p>\n
Both sides bring the same level of goaltending to the table: capable of strong performances but could easily lose their game. Whichever team doesn\u2019t get the latter probably wins. Although Pittsburgh has the advantage of a second option (and even a third with Murashov) if one goes wrong. Philadelphia, not so much.<\/p>\n
Colorado Avalanche<\/p>\n
Scott Wedgewood: 45 GP, 31-6-6, .921 SV%, 20.73 5v5 GSAx
Mackenzie Blackwood: 39 GP, 23-10-2, .904 SV%, 13.49 5v5 GSAx
Trent Miner: 4 GP, 1-0-3, .923 SV%, 2.23 5v5 GSAx<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Kings<\/p>\n
Darcy Kuemper: 50 GP, 19-14-15, .891 SV%, 8.74 5v5 GSAx
Anton Forsberg: 36 GP, 16-12-5, .909 SV%, 19.71 5v5 GSAx
Pheonix Copley: 1 GP, 0-1-0, .893 SV%, -0.53 5v5 GSAx<\/p>\n
If you told someone at the start of the season that the Avalanche and Kings would meet in the first round, they\u2019d probably guess that the starting goalies would be Mackenzie Blackwood and Darcy Kuemper after their stellar debut seasons with their respective new teams in 2024-25. But as the playoffs begin this weekend, there\u2019s a good chance the backups, Scott Wedgewood and Anton Forsberg, will be the Game 1 starters.<\/p>\n
For the Avs, it\u2019s been apparent all season that Wedgewood is their guy right now. An offseason surgery kept Blackwood out of the lineup for the first month of the season, giving Wedgewood the reins during the Avalanche\u2019s hottest stretch of play. While the team never gave one goalie more playing time over the other over the course of the season, it was clear that Wedgewood was playing better hockey, as his .921 save percentage and 20.73 5v5 goals saved above expected were much better than Blackwood\u2019s .904 and 13.49. That said, Blackwood should be more than capable of getting the job done in relief if Wedgewood struggles.<\/p>\n
As for the Kings, Forsberg\u2019s rise to the starting gig has been more of a recent development. Fresh off being named a Vezina finalist last season, Kuemper was expected to be L.A.\u2019s number one goalie, while Forsberg would be the backup. Some regression was expected from Kuemper, but he struggled with an .891 SV% and 8.74 5v5 GSAx, while Forsberg thrived with a .910 SV% and 19.71 5v5 GSAx. After the Olympic break, the duo became a tandem, each playing 14 games, and Forsberg significantly outplayed Kuemper down the stretch when locking up their playoff spot. Forsberg should be expected to get the start in Game 1, but don\u2019t be surprised if the Kings return to Kuemper at the first sign of struggles.<\/p>\n
The advantage probably goes to the Avalanche, both in having the hotter goalie right now and in having the strong 1-2 tandem. But between the two teams, they lack a truly established goalie option. Even when Kuemper won his Cup with the Avs in 2022, it was sometimes in spite of him rather than because of him.<\/p>\n
Vegas Golden Knights<\/p>\n
Akira Schmid: 34 GP, 16-10-6, .893 SV%, 11.36 5v5 GSAx
Adin Hill: 27 GP, 10-9-6, .870 SV%, -10.73 5v5 GSAx
Carter Hart: 18 GP, 11-3-3, .891 SV%, -8.12 5v5 GSAx
Carl Lindbom: 8 GP, 2-4-2, .873 SV%, -2.81 5v5 GSAx<\/p>\n
Utah Mammoth<\/p>\n
Karel Vejmelka: 64 GP, 38-20-3, .896 SV%, 12.56 5v5 GSAx
Vitek Vanecek: 22 GP, 5-13-3, .883 SV%, -1.33 5v5 GSAx<\/p>\n
Goaltending has been a kryptonite of the Golden Knights all season, as a big reason why even their playoff chances were in doubt was that they couldn\u2019t keep the puck out of the net, despite only allowing the second-fewest 5v5 expected goals with 2.41. Hill has been inconsistent ever since his Stanley Cup win, but has reached a new low this year. Hart was similarly inconsistent upon signing, and his two-year absence is almost as much a concern about whether he\u2019s up to speed as it is about his character. Schmid put up the best numbers of the bunch and was reliable amidst injuries, but lacks experience.<\/p>\n
However, sometimes you have to go with the hot hand, and right now, that\u2019s Hart. Since John Tortorella took over as head coach, he\u2019s leaned on his connection from the Philadelphia Flyers and relied on Hart in six of the eight games. And Hart has played well with a .928 SV% and 1.47 5v5 GSAx. Considering all that, he probably gets the Game 1 start.<\/p>\n
Beyond all of the elite goaltenders in these playoffs, the most-guaranteed Game 1 starter will be Vejmelka. Not only is it because of how much he outperformed Vanecek this season, but also because he played the most games out of any netminder this season. He\u2019s become a workhorse for this franchise dating back to the Coyotes, but it\u2019s his first 60+ game season, and he\u2019s never thrown the playoffs into that mix before.<\/p>\n
Vejmelka is the best goalie in this series, but with how much he\u2019s played this season, how long until fatigue sets in? It\u2019s still an advantage for Utah in net, but it\u2019s certainly a concern. At the very least, Vanecek\u2019s performance as a backup hasn\u2019t been too far off from what any of Vegas\u2019 goalies have done this season, so Utah isn\u2019t out of it if Vejmelka gets too tired, or hurt.<\/p>\n
Dallas Stars<\/p>\n
Jake Oettinger: 54 GP, 35-12-6, .899 SV%, 16.28 5v5 GSAx
Casey DeSmith: 30 GP, 15-8-6, .907 SV%, 15.18 5v5 GSAx<\/p>\n
Minnesota Wild<\/p>\n
Filip Gustavsson: 50 GP, 28-15-6, .903 SV%, 13.88 5v5 GSAx
Jesper Wallstedt: 35 GP, 18-9-6, .915 SV%, 7.71 5v5 GSAx<\/p>\n
For the Stars, this is an open-and-shut case. While Oettinger has struggled at times this season, and DeSmith has had stretches when he\u2019s played better, the crease is Oettinger\u2019s to lose. If anything, DeSmith had a purpose and he played it, as his 30 games allowed Oettinger to play a bit less and be better rested for the playoffs. Barring injury, Oetter is Dallas\u2019 guy.<\/p>\n
For the Wild, it\u2019s a bit more complicated. They\u2019ve leaned on Gustavsson for a lot more of the season, and he\u2019s had another excellent season and proven to be Minnesota\u2019s goalie of the future, hence why they dangled Wallstedt at the deadline to improve up front. But since both returned from the Olympics, Wallstedt has been the better goalie with a .918 SV% and 2.06 5v5 GSAx compared to Gustavsson\u2019s .895 and -2.89 marks. <\/p>\n
Does Minnesota lean on its usual starter in Gustavsson or roll with the hot hand in Wallstedt?<\/p>\n
This is an interesting matchup because both Gustavsson and Wallstedt can play to Oettinger\u2019s level, but lack the consistency he provides the Stars. But if one falters, the other is more than capable of taking the crease and running with it. If Oettinger struggles, DeSmith isn\u2019t a bad option, but he\u2019s definitely the weakest of the four. Regardless, in a tight series like this one, the goaltending doesn\u2019t favour one or the other.<\/p>\n
Edmonton Oilers<\/p>\n
Connor Ingram: 32 GP, 16-10-3, .899 SV%, 2.03 5v5 GSAx
Tristan Jarry: 33 GP, 18-9-3, .882 SV%, 2.92 5v5 GSAx
Calvin Pickard: 16 GP, 5-6-2, .871 SV%, -8.65 5v5 GSAx<\/p>\n
Anaheim Ducks<\/p>\n
Lukas Dostal: 56 GP, 30-20-4, .888 SV%, 12.82 5v5 GSAx
Ville Husso: 20 GP, 10-8-2, .884 SV%, -0.55 5v5 GSAx
Petr Mrazek: 10 GP, 3-5-0, .858 SV%, -3.81 5v5 GSAx
Vyacheslav Buteyets: 1 GP, 0-0-0, .769 SV%, -0.95 5v5 GSAx<\/p>\n
The Oilers just can\u2019t have a normal goaltending situation. They thought they had finally found a stable solution when they acquired Jarry, dumping Skinner to the Penguins in the process, and yet Jarry has been borderline unplayable in Edmonton with an .858 SV% and -1.04 5v5 GSAx. Meanwhile, Ingram (whom they got for nothing) hasn\u2019t blown the doors off, but he\u2019s been solid enough to give Edmonton a chance every night.<\/p>\n
Kris Knoblauch announced last month that Ingram was the team\u2019s number-one goalie down the stretch, and he held down the fort to get the Oilers back into the playoffs, so it\u2019s hard to see a world where he isn\u2019t the Game 1 starter. That said, they gave up a lot to acquire Jarry, and he has two years left on his contract, while Ingram is a pending UFA. Does Edmonton double down on its investment and go with Jarry instead?<\/p>\n
For the Ducks, it\u2019s a much more obvious answer, as Lukas Dostal has become the team\u2019s de facto starter after usurping John Gibson over the course of the last few years. But in his first season as \u201cthe guy\u201d in Anaheim, he\u2019s struggled a bit more, or at least he wasn\u2019t bordering on elite like he was last season.<\/p>\n
However, Dostal is still far better than what Edmonton can provide in net in this series, and it\u2019s possible that this disparity could tip the scales a bit less in favour of the Oilers, as up front they are a far better and more experienced team. But that also means Ingram or Jarry just need to be good enough to get the job done, while it feels like the Ducks will need a bit more from Dostal to win this series.<\/p>\n
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Off The Roster is Toronto sports. Hosted by Cabbie Richards, Lindsay Dunn, and Dan Riccio, this is the go-to morning conversation for everything happening in the 6ix \u2013 Hockey, Baseball, Basketball and everything in between. From breakout performances and questionable trades to throwback jerseys, viral moments, and the stories fans are actually talking about \u2013 it\u2019s smart, sharp, and never scripted. Live weekday mornings on the\u00a0Nation Network YouTube channel<\/a>\u00a0and available wherever you stream podcasts, the show delivers real opinions, real chemistry, and real Toronto energy. Missed an episode?\u00a0Catch up anytime. Off The Roster\u2014The new sound of the 6ix.<\/a><\/p>\n Recently by Scott Maxwell<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s the most wonderful time of the hockey calendar, as the Stanley Cup Playoffs are back in action.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":612375,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[49,48,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-612374","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=612374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/612375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=612374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=612374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=612374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}