If you're a fan of Cinderella stories, then this year's NHL playoffs likely has you beside yourself with glee.
From Phoenix's unlikely trip to the post-season to Montreal's superb portrayal as "David" opposite "Goliath", played unconvincingly by both Washington and Pittsburgh; the 2010 NHL playoffs has all the earmarks of a sappy Hollywood feel-good picture.
As we're now down to the final four teams, one the biggest stories has been the unlikely names seen between the pipes in the Eastern and Western Conference Finals.
If someone told you in September that either Antti Niemi, Michael Leighton, or Jaroslav Halak was guaranteed to take their team to the Stanley Cup Finals, you would have laughed in their face.
With the exception of Evegeni Nabokov in San Jose (who has yet to win a game in the Conference Finals), every goalie currently left standing in the playoffs is a surprise, for various reasons.
Now, much has been written on each man's unlikely ascension in these playoffs, so I'm not going to rehash any of that here.
However, looking not just at this playoff year, but every year since the lockout, it seems t ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Matt Hutter
2010 NHL Playoffs: Are the Days of the ‘Big Money Goalie’ Over?
May 21st, 2010 by Matt Hutter Leave a reply »
Advertisement