Top 5 Eastern Conference Goaltenders

This idea just sort of hit me while I was ranting on my Penguins blog about their loss to the Islanders last night. Mainly I'm upset with how Ty Conklin has been playing as of late and wonder why we keep putting him in the net when Dany Sabourin hasn't seen action since mid February. Check it out if you have a couple minutes, but it got me thinking about about the playoffs and who some of the best goalies in the league are.

Before we get into the top 5, I want to direct your attention to a new link in my frequently visited sites. Gopher introduced me to a free sports betting site. Seriously, it's free and you can win real money. Here's how it works. The site gives you a dime in ad money that they receive for you to place bets on real games with. Once you reach 10 dollars, you can cash out. If you lose the 10 cents, just reload and try again. I'm dead serious. It's free to sign up, so if you want to check it out here's the link to CentSports.com

Rather than pick the obvious best five from the entire league, I'm going to do this by conference and include highlight videos of each guy for your own enjoyment. So here we go.

#5 Cristobal Huet - Washington Capitals

I still can't get over how the Caps plucked Huet away for next to nothing. On the year he's 24-16-6 with a 2.46 GAA and a very impressive .917 save percentage.

He's been absolutely fantastic for the Capitals as well. He's splitting time with Olaf Kolzig, but has been a big reason the Caps may make the playoffs. As of this moment, the Capitals trail the Bruins by two points for the final playoff spot in the East.

Huet has started seven games for the Caps, going 5-2 with a 1.93 GAA and an amazing .927 save percentage.

I'd be willing to bet that Huet fantasy owners were none to impressed at the deadline with seeing their number one goalie traded to a non-playoff team. I'd also bet if you talked to them now they would be happy with his performance so far and only slightly annoyed that he splits time.

If you are in a keeper league, you have to love the prospect of having this guy around for a couple years at least.



Couldn't find much of his highlights as a Capital, but I'm sure this video explains the point a little better.

#4 Marc-Andre Fleury - Pittsburgh Penguins

Is this kind of a homer pick? Slightly. I'd rank him higher on this list, but I'm sure you would all jump down my throat on it so I think this is a fair placement given the rest of the Eastern Conference goalies.

What you don't get a full appreciation of while watching Fleury on television, is just how quick he is. I remember the first time I watched him play on tv and I was blown away by how quick his legs are. I honestly don't think there is a guy with quicker legs in the league right now.

The kicker is that he looks even quicker in person and it's not just his legs. Let's flashback to NHL re-launch night. The Penguins were in town to play the Devils and it was Sidney Crosby's NHL debut. Three of us got tickets the day of the game. Shocking right? Not for Devils games it isn't.

Anyway, at one point there was a 2-on-1 for NJ. I don't remember the players specifically, but a pass was made over the sprawling defenseman to Fleury's left. In one motion Fleury moved over and plucked the rocket of a one-timer out of the air. Upon further review he actually caught the puck behind him and held on for the whistle.

Had it not been for the high-ankle sprain he suffered this season, he would be up among the league leaders in wins. Currently he is 15-9-1 with a 2.61 GAA and a .913 save percentage. Since returning from the injury he is 6-1.



I chose that video for two reasons. First, I love Godsmack who performs the song heard there. Secondly I was in Boston for the save you see and I about dumped my drink on the person sitting in front of me when he made that save.

#3 Ryan Miller - Buffalo Sabres

Here's a kid I feel bad for right about now. He's seen almost his entire defense corps go down to injury and yet he's still going out every night and battling the best he can.

I don't care who you are, without a team playing defense in front of you and clearing away rebound chances and such, you won't be putting up good numbers. Even Patrick Roy was getting shelled in Montreal before he demanded a trade.

I am happy that come 2010 when the NHL pauses mid-season to send guys to the Olympics that Miller should be on the roster, if not the starter for Team USA. He really should have gone to the 2006 games as well, but I digress.

On the year Miller is 33-25-9 with a 2.60 GAA and a .909 save percentage. I'm still shocked he's putting up those kind of numbers with half the team they had from last year. The Sabres are only three points out of the playoffs right now. Now, I don't exactly see them getting in and even if they do it would be a quick trip due to lack of depth, but it would only be because of Miller that they even make it.



Though I question the musical choice for that video, Miller is another young guy who will be in the league for many years to come. I'm sure he'll get his name on the Stanley Cup at least once before he hangs the skates up. He's already shown that he's got the goods to be one of the best for many years. He just needs some bodies in front of him to help him out a little.

#2 Martin Brodeur - New Jersey Devils

I know what you're saying. "Oh please, you just hate the Devils and hate Brodeur so of course you can't admit he's the best goalie in the league and probably the best goalie of all-time."

While you're right about my dislike of the Devils, you cannot convince me that he is the best goalie of all-time. Will he have most of the records by the time he retires? Probably, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the Devils play a system in which an average goalie could be a star and a stud like Brodeur rises to levels unseen before.

Never once have I said that I don't think he is a great goalie. He is. However, I question how he would have been on a team such as the Penguins when they were one of the worst teams in the league and acquiring the guys you now see playing for them in the draft.

I credit most of Brodeurs wins to the system and the Devils management who has been able to find guys to play into the defense first system year after year. As frustrating as it is for me to see them be successful every year, they have some brilliant minds running the organization.

Now back to the greatest goalie of all-time point. I would rank guys like Roy, Jacques Plante and Bernie Parent over Brodeur. Yeah, going old school on this. If you haven't seen or heard of these guys, Wikipedia is a wonderful way to get caught up.



Had to take that video due to Metallica being the musical choice. Again, Brodeur is a great goalie and is one of the best of all-time, but to me he's not the best regardless of what the stats show. Numbers don't always show the full picture.

Which brings me to my number one goalie in the Eastern Conference.

#1 Henrik Lundqvist - New York Rangers

This should make Gopher proud. For as much as I rip on him during the season, I really respect King Henrik. If I wasn't such a die-hard Penguins fan, I'd probably end up rooting for either the Leafs or the Rangers just because half the Rangers team are former Penguins anyway.

The day the Rangers let Henrik go, is the day they drop to the bottom of the standings. He's that good. Again, he's a young guy with quick pads like Fleury but I think what distinguishes him is his ability to read plays.

Fleury has gotten a lot better at reading plays and controlling his rebounds, but I think I've only seen Lundqvist leave a few bad rebounds in his career. It's uncanny how well he sees and eats the puck.

He's also proven that he can put a team on his back and carry them deep in the playoffs. Look at last season, the Rangers struggled mightily to score in the playoffs, but Henrik kept the puck out of his own net and gave the Rangers a chance to win every night.



That's just a sample of what this kid is capable of and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he starts putting up Brodeur-like numbers in the near future. The only difference there is that Lundqvist will face more than 20-25 shots a game due to a weak defensive unit in front of him. If it weren't for their forwards backchecking and having the sense to get back all the time, this season could have gotten ugly for New York.

Well there you have it, the top five goalies in the Eastern Conference. Check back tomorrow as I look at the Western Conference.

Headlines For 3/11/08

I think I'm going to start doing more of these. Here's how this is going to work. I'll pick a few headlines every day and write a quick little reaction to them. These will not be the only posts I ever make. On the days that have a normal full length blog, I'll push these headlines to the bottom of the post. If any of you have suggestions on what you'd like to see me comment on feel free to leave your ideas in the comments section.

Jarome Iginla Sets Flames Scoring Record

This is wonderful news. Iginla is one of the best players in the league and doesn't get enough recognition for it. He's a natural leader that can put the puck in the net, but that's not all. How many other guys have a skill set like him and still throw down to defend his teammates?

His 365th career goal passes Theo Fleury (legendary pest) and secures his name among the all-time greats that have suited up in Calgary.

Congrats Jarome I know you've made Gopher proud.

(Side note: This week marks the first week of the playoffs in our league. Gopher has the 1-seed. I finished as the 3-seed and missed a first round bye by 10 points in the standings. There will be a post coming soon about how the week is going for me soon.)


Rangers Win Again, 8-0-2 In Last 10

As stated in a recent post, will the Rangers continue to play at this level or is this just another big streak before the inevitable downfall?

Henrik Lundqvist has been playing out of his mind recently. Did anyone see the game against the Bruins on Sunday? He was saving goals that even a blind kid with one leg and one good arm should have been able to hammer home. There was one sequence where he dove across the crease with the glove and makes the save on Glen Metropolit only to see the rebound bounce out into the slot where he made another save ON HIS BACK! I don't care who you are, you have to be impressed with that.



Upon further review, that also gets my nomination for "Save of the Year" to go along with Cristobal Huet's save on Jordan Staal from the same day.

Hossa Hopes To Return To Penguins This Week

All I can say about this is "YAY!" Yes I'm a Pens fan and not even Gopher can roll his eyes about this one since he has him on his fantasy team.

The Pens only have 2 games this week, Wednesday against Buffalo and Sunday against Philadelphia. Both games are at home and as expected he will be on a line with Sidney Crosby. Stay tuned for more updates on this as they come in, but getting him back in the line-up could help the rest of the team in the shots on goal department.

And lastly for today we turn to baseball...sort of.


NHL Considers Yankee Stadium For Next Outdoor Game

Let's get this out in the open now before baseball season gets into full swing. I am a Red Sox fan so naturally I loathe the very existence of the New York Yankees and everything that goes with them.

Except this.

How cool would it be to send Yankee Stadium out with a real bang and not the implosion scheduled after the season? Just to keep the theme going with the Boston/New York rivalry, the Bruins and Rangers should face-off in the next installment of NHL Outdoors. It doesn't get much better than two Original 6 teams from two cities that hate each other in an iconic stadium where a standing room only crowd will witness an instant classic.

To Gary Bettman I say this: Please for the love of hockey get this done. The Winter Classic this year was amazing and couldn't have been scripted better than the game turned out. It's a brilliant marketing tool and can only grow the game even more.

Also, SIGN A DEAL WITH ESPN ALREADY.

Thank you.

Well that's it for now, but check back tomorrow for the latest headlines!