The Stanley Cup playoffs are upon us and excitement is definitely in the air.
Some teams battled until the last day of the NHL season to make the playoffs, while players like Alex Ovechin, Sidney Crosby, and Henrik Sedin scraped to win individual award such as the Art Ross (top overall scoring leader) and the Rocket Richard (top goal scorer) trophies.
The NHL brain trust did an excellent job this year keeping the fans interested.
As the 16 teams head into the playoff rounds, the success of the NHL to create parity around the league is evident. There is no surety that any one team will emerge victorious in this year's playoffs.
One of the key factors in determining which team will hoist the Stanley Cup is goaltending.
In previous cup playoffs a goaltender that somehow comes up flat can cost their team the Stanley Cup. It doesn't matter how potent the team is in every other category.
In the 1970s, the Boston Bruins, featuring a star studded lineup including Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge, Wayne Cashman, Johhny Bucyk, and others, were upset by the superb goaltending of Montreal Canadiens rookie Ken Dryden.
A few seasons later, the Philadelphia Flyers' Bernie Parent d ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Warren Shaw
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