Most impactful goalie entering Stanley Cup Playoffs debated by NHL.com

Goaltending is vital to success in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It is rare these days when a team wins the ultimate prize in spite of its goalie. In fact, the goalie is the focal point more often than not.

And it's rarely the best goalie who lifts the Stanley Cup. Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins was the most recent winner of the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL to also win a championship in the same season. That was in 2011.

Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets won the Vezina last season, but he and the Jets were eliminated in five games in the first round by the Colorado Avalanche.

Often, it is the goalie who gets hot at the perfect time that ends up being the hero each playoff season.

So which goalie will be most impactful this postseason? That's the question we put before a panel of nine NHL.com writers. Here, in alphabetical order, are their selections.

Mackenzie Blackwood, Colorado Avalanche

When talking about Blackwood during a conference call with reporters Tuesday, ESPN analyst and former NHL defenseman P.K. Subban said of the Avalanche goalie, "That's the best team he's ever had in front of him and it may be the best team he'll ever have in front of him." You know what? Blackwood might be the best goalie the current Avalanche core ever has had playing behind it. Yes, Darcy Kuemper won the Stanley Cup as Colorado's goalie in 2022, so give him full marks. But Blackwood's talent has been unquestioned since he got to the League with the New Jersey Devils in 2018-19. He hasn't been able to make it all click, and he never had the team to help him. He does now. He's clicking and he has the numbers to prove it: in 37 games since being traded to the Avalanche on Dec. 9, he's 22-12-3 with a 2.33 goals-against average, .913 save percentage and three shutouts. He has the goods. This is his chance to prove it. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers

The veteran Florida goalie always seems to get overlooked in these discussions about top goalies in the playoffs, but the 36-year-old has proven the past two seasons that he is a big-game goalie. After helping the Panthers reach the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in 2023, Bobrovsky started all 24 playoff games during their run to winning the Stanley Cup for the first time last season, going 16-8 with a 2.32 goals-against average, .906 save percentage and two shutouts. His calming influence and experience in goal will be one of the keys for Florida in its repeat bid. -- Tom Gulitti, senior writer

Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

The Winnipeg workhorse led NHL goalies in wins (47) and shutouts (eight) this season, while putting up a 2.00 goals-against average and .925 save percentage in 63 games (62 starts). He should win the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL for the second straight season and the third time in his career. You could argue he should win the Hart Trophy as the League's most valuable player. Would it be any surprise if he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs? OK. Maybe it would. In 45 NHL playoff games, he's 18-27 with a 2.85 GAA, .911 save percentage and three shutouts. He won only one playoff game each of the past two seasons. But Winnipeg was the best team in the NHL this season, and my bet is on the best goalie in the League this season. -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

Hellebuyck has played exceptional this season and has something to prove going into the playoffs, looking to put a disappointing postseason a year ago behind him. After an impressive regular season, the Jets were eliminated in the first round by the Colorado Avalanche in five games. Hellebuyck was the Vezina Trophy winner as the best goalie in the League but struggled in that series, finishing with a 5.23 GAA and .870 save percentage in five starts. Hellebuyck has waited all year for a chance at redemption after another Vezina Trophy-worthy season. It would be hard to imagine a goalie of Hellebuyck's ability struggling in two consecutive playoff seasons. -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer

Adin Hill, Vegas Golden Knights

Hill is 22 months removed from helping the Golden Knights hoist the Stanley Cup in 2023, going 11-4 with a 2.17 GAA, .932 save percentage and two shutouts in 16 games during that postseason run. This season he finished fifth in the NHL in wins (32), tied for seventh in shutouts (four) and had a 2.47 GAA in 50 games. Yet he, like the Pacific Division champion Golden Knights, is receiving very little hype this spring. The buzz right now is about Andrei Vasilevskiy, Connor Hellebuyck and Sergei Bobrovsky, and from a team standpoint in the West, the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers. Somehow, Hill and the Golden Knights are flying a bit under the radar, at least for a division winner anyway. That's a mistake. Vegas, led by Hill, is my pick to represent the Western Conference in the Final. Been there, done that. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles Kings

Yeah, I wouldn’t have thought this when the season began but I believe Kuemper will have the biggest impact. The Kings have been great this season and Kuemper deserves a ton of credit for it. He's found new life in his return to Los Angeles (19 games in 2017-18), going 31-11-7 with a 2.02 goals-against average, .922 save percentage and five shutouts in 50 games. Those numbers are better than his 2021-22 stats with Avalanche, whom he led to the Stanley Cup that season. The Kings have a lot of things in their favor heading into the postseason, from their NHL-best home record (31-6-4) to Quinton Byfield hitting his stride to Adrian Kempe leading the way in scoring. Kuemper, however, tops the list for them. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey Devils

The Devils are going to go as far as their goalie can carry them, and truth is, he's been playing much better this month as he gears up for his third appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and first with New Jersey. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and that mentality and brashness has energized his teammates at various times throughout the season. There's no denying the fact he's probably the best goalie in the first-round series against the favored Carolina Hurricanes. The 35-year-old has played better on the road this season (12-9-2, 2.58 goals-against average, .906 save percentage) in 23 games, and in three starts against the Hurricanes this season he was 2-1-0 with a 2.34 GAA and .916 save percentage. -- Mike G. Morreale, senior draft writer

Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars

Hellebuyck and Vasilevskiy arguably are the two best goalies entering the playoffs, but I expect the Stars goalie to be the last one standing when the playoffs are finished. He has been stellar this season, going 36-18-4 with a 2.59 GAA, .909 save percentage and two shutouts in 58 games. He could be the biggest difference-maker when the Stars face the Avalanche in the first round, and I believe he will be the reason the Stars represent the West in the Cup Final. -- Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief

Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning

I've been very impressed with the way that Vasilevskiy has bounced back this season from what clearly was a disappointing 2023-24 season. He was fourth in the NHL with a .921 save percentage (minimum 20 games), and helped the Lightning earn home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Few goalies are as playoff battle tested as Vasilevskiy, who has won the Stanley Cup twice and been to the Final three times as a starter, with few knowing the ins and outs of surviving the ultimate test that is the playoffs. In short, I trust him. I trust him to come up big in the biggest moments. And while he may have more help than other goalies, including an offense that averaged an NHL-best 3.59 goals per game, that doesn’t lessen the impact he's likely to have during these playoffs. -- Amalie Benjamin, senior writer