The 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs are underway, and the goaltending has been the story since the puck dropped on Saturday, April 20th, in Game 1 of Round 1.
It is not just about the goaltenders making highlight-reel saves but the debate surrounding what the Boston Bruins will do with their goaltenders as their rotation continues into the playoffs. Not to mention what is going on out West with a potential Vezina Trophy winner, a significant injury to a star goalie, and so on.
There is always a lot of drama in the playoffs regarding goaltending. Goalies in the NHL are like quarterbacks in the NFL. For the most part, goalies are the reason a team wins or loses. They get a lot of credit when the team wins or criticism when it fails.
Through the first week of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, goaltenders have changed the series’ outcome with just one save. Look for that trend to continue.
It’s time to dive into the Stanley Cup Playoffs notebook.
Stanley Cup Playoffs Notebook
It’s All About Goaltending
Through the first week of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, we have seen highlight reel saves from Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen.
Throw in the performances of Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers, Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins, and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Boy, these goaltenders are showing you what they are made of.
However, Bobrovsky and Andersen have stolen the show. Both goalies have made series-changing saves to help their clubs build 3-0 series leads.
Unbelievable save by Bobrovsky #timetohunt @FullPressNHL @CatsNBoltsPod @RodPedersenShow pic.twitter.com/VNy7Rm5fxJ
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) April 24, 2024
This save by Sergei Bobrovsky on Matt Dumba not only flipped Game 2 but also the series in favour of the Panthers. The Panthers went on to win Game 2 in overtime and then took Game 3 on Thursday night. All the momentum is with Florida.
It should have been 3-2 Lightning, but it remained tied at 2-2, and the Panthers took it to the Lightning. Vasilevskiy matched Bobrovsky, but the man they call ‘Bob’ is back in the zone, and he once again played well in Game 3. The Panthers are a game away from sweeping the Lightning out of the playoffs
While Bobrovsky made the save of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Freddie Andersen says I can match you.
Here is the save by Andersen on Dobson #causechaos #isles @FullPressNHL https://t.co/XeDcnm3OmE
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) April 26, 2024
In Game 3, Andersen made not one but two highlight reel saves. First, with the Islanders pressing and looking to tie the game at 1-1, Andersen robbed Noah Dobson. That save kept it 1-0 Carolina, leading to the 2-0 goal by Dmitry Orlov. Like always, a save on one end leads to a goal on the other end.
But Andersen was not done there.
Andersen again Flashes the leather. #causechaos #isles @FullPressNHL pic.twitter.com/WZlvJ5vykG
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) April 26, 2024
With the Islanders pressing again and trailing 3-2, Andersen makes another series-changing save, this time on his back. He flashes the leather with a two-pad stack, stopping the Alexander Romanov shot. If you thought the series was over after the Islanders blew a 3-0 lead in Game 2, these two saves by Andersen confirmed it.
“Obviously, Freddie came up with a couple of huge saves. And that’s the difference in the game,” Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour said after the game.
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Dilemma in Boston
The Boston Bruins have a goalie dilemma. What Boston should be doing is starting Jeremy Swayman for the rest of the series. However, head coach Jim Montgomery likes his goalie rotation of Swayman and Linus Ullmark.
It is not the norm for the goalie to rotate games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But the Bruins are doing it. It took them to a Stanley Cup in 1972; however, given Swayman’s numbers against the Maple Leafs, it’s time for the Bruins to make him the permanent starter.
Said it before the series and said it after Game 1 it is time for the Bruins to pick a goalie and it has to be Swayman. Boston has been overly cautious IMO & doing the opposite of what happened last year. It works but it is clear Swayman is the No. 1 in Boston #nhlbruins
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) April 25, 2024
Over the past two seasons, Swayman is 6-0 against the Maple Leafs, with a 1.31 goals-against average and a .959 save percentage. He is 2-0 in the first round against the Maple Leafs and made big saves in Games 1 and 3. With two days off between Games 3 and 4, the decision to start Swayman over Ullmark seems easy, but the Bruins have a plan and will probably stick to it.
Out West
Everyone agrees that Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is the clear-cut Vezina Trophy winner this year, but he has not been sharp in the playoffs over the last two seasons. He has a record of 1-5 in his previous six playoff games with a 4.37 GAA and .876 save percentage. He has given up ten goals in the first two games in the series against Colorado.
While everyone is talking about Alexandar Georgiev and his play, more attention should be paid to the play of Hellebuyck. Georgiev gave up seven goals in Game 1, but Hellebuyck gave up six. He needs to play better so the Jets can beat the Avalanche in Colorado. Let’s see if he can have a bounce-back performance as Georgiev did in Game 2.
The Nashville Predators are usually the team dealing with a starting going down to an injury. However, Juuse Saros is healthy as the series shifts back to Nashville. And while Thatcher Demko travelled with the Vancouver Canucks to Nashville, it is Casey DeSmith‘s net for the foreseeable future. Demko is out for the rest of the series and maybe the playoffs with a lower-body injury.
That is a massive blow to the Canucks chances to win a Stanley Cup. Nashville should be up 2-0, but the series is tied at 1-1. The Predators are going to try to take advantage of DeSmith. Though there was a possibility of an upset in this series, the likelihood is higher with Demko out for the remainder.
That does it for this edition of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs notebook.