Breaking down every Round 2 goaltending matchup in 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs

Credit: Akira Schmid (© Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports)

The field of eight is set for the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And what I’m particularly curious about is how many goaltenders see game action. In the first round, the 16 teams utilized a stunning 24 netminders.

Dallas (Jake Oettinger), Seattle (Philipp Grubauer), and Vegas (Laurent Brossoit) all advanced to the second round with one goaltender having played every minute.

Carolina (Antti Raanta and Frederik Andersen), Florida (Alex Lyon and Sergei Bobrovsky), and New Jersey (Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid) went with the tandem approach: each goaltender started at least one game during the best-of-seven first round.

Toronto (Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll) and Edmonton (Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell) each used two goaltenders. Samsonov and Skinner started every game, while Woll and Campbell saw action in relief.

There are plenty of interesting second round matchups in the crease. Here’s what to look for.

DALLAS STARS vs SEATTLE KRAKEN

Dallas Stars

Jake Oettinger

2022-23 regular season: 37-11-11, 2.37 GAA, .919 Sv%, 5 shutouts
2022-23 playoffs: 4-2, 2.01, .929 Sv%, 1 shutout
Career playoffs: 7-6, 1.83 GAA, .945 Sv%, 2 shutouts

Scott Wedgewood

2022-23 regular season: 9-8-3, 2.72 GAA, .915 Sv%, 1 shutout
Career playoffs: none

Seattle Kraken

Philipp Grubauer

2022-23 regular season: 17-14-4, 2.85 GAA, .895 Sv%, 0 shutouts
2022-23 playoffs: 4-3, 2.44 GAA, .926 Sv%, 0 shutouts
Career playoffs: 23-14, 2.49 GAA, .916 Sv%, 2 shutouts, 2018 Stanley Cup Champion

Martin Jones

2022-23 regular season: 27-13-3, 2.99 GAA, .887 Sv%, 3 shutouts
Career playoffs: 32-27, 2.37 GAA, .917 Sv%, 6 shutouts, 2014 Stanley Cup Champion

Joey Daccord

2022-23 regular season: 2-1-1, 3.14 GAA, .900 Sv%, 0 shutouts
Career playoffs: none

Did anyone pick Grubauer to lead the Kraken past the Colorado Avalanche in the first round? If you did, cash in that ticket. Because the odds must have been unbelievable.

Seriously though, Grubauer was excellent against his old Colorado teammates. And the best part for him; Seattle actually played defense. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Kraken allowed fewer than 11 high danger chances against (all strengths) in five of seven games.

The flip side is that Grubauer was busy. Even though most shots came from a distance, it is somewhat concerning that Seattle allowed 34 or more in all but two games against the Avalanche.

I was impressed with Grubauer’s tracking and movements during the first round. He’s always been a great skater, but at times in the past, Grubauer pushed the limit too far. He’s had a tendency to get himself out of position as a member of the Kraken. With Seattle playing tighter in front of him, Grubauer was able to focus on the shooter. He wasn’t second-guessing himself or doubting his Seattle teammates’ ability to seal cross-ice passing lanes.

Against Dallas, Grubauer has a career record of 2-4-3 along with a .919 save percentage. But in his only appearance this year against the Stars, the Kraken netminder allowed four goals on 25 shots and took the loss.

Oettinger was undefeated in regulation against Seattle during the 2022-23 NHL season. But despite a 2-0-1 record, Oettinger had a pedestrian .884 save percentage. His numbers are better over the course of his career: the Dallas netminder is 4-1-1 in two seasons against Seattle with a .901 save percentage.

Here’s what I think makes Oettinger scary: he got better as the first round series against the Minnesota Wild progressed. And he did the same thing against the Calgary Flames during the 2021-22 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

To me, it highlights Oettinger’s intelligence and meticulous nature. Finding little areas to improve upon – within a series – is the hallmark of a great goaltender. Oettinger allowed 10 goals combined in the first three games against the Wild. Then he allowed just three goals total in the final three matchups of the series, including a 27-shot shutout in Game 5.

Dallas has been solid defensively but Oettinger still had to come up big against Minnesota on several occasions. His mechanics are strong. And the spotlight doesn’t seem to faze him.

If there’s any concern with Oettinger against Seattle, it’s how dynamic the Kraken can be offensively. Especially at even strength. When the puck moves laterally, Oettinger can struggle to rotate and get square. But he reads the play well, and his 6-foot-5 frame helps get him out of trouble.

VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS vs EDMONTON OILERS

Vegas Golden Knights

Laurent Brossoit

2022-23 regular season: 7-0-3, 2.17 GAA, .927 Sv%, 0 shutouts
2022-23 playoffs: 4-1, 2.42 GAA, .915 Sv%, 0 shutouts
Career playoffs: 4-1, 2.58 GAA, .907 Sv%, 0 shutouts

Adin Hill

2022-23 regular season: 16-7-1, 2.50 GAA, .915 Sv%, 0 shutouts
Career playoffs: none

Jonathan Quick

2022-23 regular season: (LAK) 11-13-4, 3.50 GAA, .876 Sv%, 1 shutout
2022-23 regular season: (VGK) 5-2-2, 3.13 GAA, .901 Sv%, 1 shutout
Career playoffs: 49-43, 2.31 GAA, .921 Sv%, 10 shutouts, 2012 & 2014 Stanley Cup Champion, 2012 Conn Smythe Trophy

Edmonton Oilers

Stuart Skinner

2022-23 regular season: 29-14-5, 2.75 GAA, .914 Sv%, 1 shutout
2022-23 playoffs: 3-2, 3.43 GAA, .890 Sv%, 0 shutouts
Career playoffs: 3-2, 3.43 GAA, .890 Sv%, 0 shutouts

Jack Campbell

2022-23 regular season: 21-9-4, 3.41 GAA, .888 Sv%, 1 shutout
2022-23 playoffs: 1-0, 1.18 GAA, .964 Sv%, 0 shutouts
Career playoffs: 7-8, 2.38 GAA, .918 Sv%, 2 shutouts

Talk about an intriguing series. Brossoit cut his teeth in the Oilers’ organization. He even shared the crease with Skinner during the Oilers’ 2017-18 training camp. So there’s a history for both. But realistically, Skinner and Brossoit are very different goalies from when they first met.

Brossoit was solid in the first round against Winnipeg, another one of his former teams. And despite chants of ‘You’re a backup’ from the Jets crowd, Brossoit was able to win twice on the road.

Since having offseason hip surgery, Brossoit’s mobility has improved. And I also think he’s made a conscious effort to be more vertically active. He’s cut down on bad goals high under the crossbar. And Brossoit has been much more reactive when using reverse-VH.

Vegas never gave up more than 10 high-danger chances in their five-game series against Winnipeg, but Brossoit did make several critical saves for the Golden Knights. And the eye test was really strong. Brossoit is such a structured goaltender that his game comes across very calm.

But how will Brossoit’s efficiency play against an uber-talented Edmonton squad? Does he have the dexterity to come out on top? Those are the big questions. But Brossoit does have a .922 career save percentage against the Oilers.

If the Golden Knights continue to play the smart, responsible hockey they showed in the first round, Brossoit simply needs to hold serve. But if Edmonton is able to break through offensively, Vegas’ goaltender will have to find another gear.

As for Skinner, I think he still has a lot to prove after it took the Oilers six games to beat the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of Stanley Cup Playoff action. He allowed three or more goals in five of six games against the Kings. And Skinner was pulled from Game 4 after allowing three goals in the first period.

Jack Campbell was outstanding for the Oilers in relief, stopping 27 of 28 shots and earning the win for Edmonton. But Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft went right back to Skinner for Game 5, and the move paid off. Edmonton closed out the series with Skinner in the crease.

Truth be told, I haven’t loved Skinner’s playoff performance. He was good enough to win the first round series against L.A., but he looked sluggish and indecisive at times. Structure is a strong point for Skinner. But he has to stay on top of his angles and get his feet set sooner if he wants to get past the Golden Knights.

I think Skinner’s progression is similar to what New York Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin experienced during the 2021-22 Stanley Cup Playoffs. There’s a heightened level of intensity required to win, and it took Shesterkin a few rounds to find it. Maybe Skinner will be the same for Edmonton.

Against the Golden Knights, Skinner had a record of 2-0-1 during the 2022-23 season. But his .878 save percentage and 3.59 goals against average are concerning. Vegas scored nine of 11 goals on Skinner at even strength. That number has to improve for the Oilers to get past the resurgent – and relatively healthy – Golden Knights.

One thing I love about Skinner is his maturity. After a catastrophic stick failure in Game 6 that resulted in L.A. tying the game 4-4 with 12 minutes left in regulation, Skinner shrugged off any adversity. I think that resiliency is a big reason why the Oilers trust him.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS vs FLORIDA PANTHERS

Toronto Maple Leafs

Ilya Samsonov

2022-23 regular season: 27-10-5, 2.33 GAA, .919 Sv%, 4 shutouts
2022-23 playoffs: 4-2, 3.14 GAA, .900 Sv%, 0 shutouts
Career playoffs: 5-8, 3.05 GAA, .904 Sv%, 0 shutouts

Joseph Woll

2022-23 regular season: 6-1-0, 2.16 GAA, .932 Sv%, 0 shutouts
2022-23 playoffs: 0-0, 3.00 GAA, .800 Sv%, 0 shutouts
Career playoffs: 0-0, 3.00 GAA, .800 Sv%, 0 shutouts

Matt Murray

2022-23 regular season: 14-8-2, 3.01 GAA, .903 Sv%, 1 shutout
Career playoffs: 29-21, 2.18 GAA, .921 Sv%, 6 shutouts, 2016 & 2017 Stanley Cup champion

Florida Panthers

Sergei Bobrovsky

2022-23 regular season: 24-20-3, 3.07 GAA, .901, 1 shutout
2022-23 playoffs: 3-1, 3.94 GAA, .891 Sv%, 0 shutouts
Career playoffs: 20-30, 3.20 GAA, .900 Sv%, 0 shutouts

Alex Lyon

2022-23 regular season: 9-4-2, 2.89 GAA, .914 Sv%, 1 shutout
2022-23 playoffs: 1-2, 3.26 GAA, .902 Sv%, 0 shutouts
Career playoffs: 1-2, 3.26 GAA, .902 Sv%, 0 shutouts

Ah, the blender series. Why do I say that? Because there’s a lot of goalie ingredients available. It’s just a matter of which end up going in the pot.

The first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs saw the Panthers and Maple Leafs each use two goaltenders. And I could easily see that happen again in the second round, albeit to a lesser extent.

Reason being, I think at this point Florida is ride or die with Bobrovsky. While Lyon did a phenomenal job of getting the Panthers into the postseason, his magic proved unsustainable during Florida’s first-round matchup against the Bruins. And despite having lesser numbers than Lyon, Bobrovsky authored three straight wins for the Cats to close out the series against Boston.

Bobrovsky is making $10 million a year. He’s not going to play second fiddle to Lyon unless his game turns into utter garbage. And there’s always that chance. Bobrovsky was really streaky during the 2022-23 season. But I thought he was excellent against Boston in some critical moments. Game 7 in particular.

Playing against Toronto has been a challenge for the Panthers netminder recently. Bobrovsky allowed more goals (10) to Toronto this season than any other team he faced. He went 0-1-1 and allowed five goals in both of the games he played against the Maple Leafs.

Samsonov had an opposite experience during the 2022-23 season series with the Panthers. He stopped 82 of 86 Florida shots faced and earned a 2-0-1 record. Samsonov also finished his regular season with an exclamation point: in his 42nd – and final – start of the 2022-23 campaign, Samsonov stopped 45 of 46 shots on the road against the Panthers.

That all said, Samsonov had some extremely shaky moments against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He allowed six goals in the opening game of the series. And despite allowing only three goals on 37 shots in Game 5, Samsonov was caught reaching for pucks and terribly out of position on multiple occasions.

I tweeted after Game 5 that the Maple Leafs might get past the Lightning with Samsonov in net, but they’d need Joseph Woll to win a Stanley Cup. Bold, I know. But Samsonov has been wildly inconsistent over the entire course of his NHL career.

Take Game 6 for instance. Samsonov played arguably the best game of his career. But it came on the heels of several tough outings. That’s just how it is with Samsonov. His movements aren’t very crisp and he can be impatient on his edges. Samsonov is prone to dropping early and being forced to slide on his knees.

So while I’ve seen Samsonov play incredible hockey before, will he be able to do it night and and night out for the remainder of the Stanley Cup Playoffs? Will he be good enough to get past the Panthers, who are riding a massive wave of adrenaline after knocking off the Bruins?

Those are real questions that only Samsonov has the answers to. If he can harness his own energy and play with the control he showed in Game 6, I like Toronto’s chances. But if he starts reaching for pucks and sliding all over the crease again, the Maple Leafs might need to go to the bullpen.

CAROLINA HURRICANES vs NEW JERSEY DEVILS

Carolina Hurricanes

Frederik Andersen

2022-23 regular season: 21-11-1, 2.48 GAA, .903 Sv%, 1 shutout
2022-23 playoffs: 1-0, 0.91 GAA, .971 Sv%, 0 shutouts
Career playoffs: 28-23, 2.52, .917, 3 shutouts

Antti Raanta

2022-23 regular season: 19-3-3, 2.23 GAA, .910 Sv%, 4 shutouts
2022-23 playoffs: 3-2, 2.59 GAA, .906 Sv%, 0 shutouts
Career playoffs: 9-8, 2.51, .910, 1 shutout

Pyotr Kochetkov

2022-23 regular season: 12-7-5, 2.44 GAA, .909 Sv%, 4 shutouts
Career playoffs: 1-2, 3.89 GAA, .869 Sv%, 0 shutouts

New Jersey Devils

Akira Schmid

2022-23 regular season: 9-5-2, 2.13 GAA, .922 Sv%, 1 shutout
2022-23 playoffs: 4-1, 1.38 GAA, .941 Sv%, 2 shutouts
Career playoffs: 4-1, 1.38 GAA, .941 Sv%, 2 shutouts

Vitek Vanecek

2022-23 regular season: 33-11-4, 2.45 GAA, .911 Sv%, 3 shutouts
2022-23 playoffs: 0-2, 4.45 GAA, .827 Sv%, 0 shutouts
Career playoffs: 1-3, 4.34 GAA, .841 Sv%, 0 shutouts

Mackenzie Blackwood

2022-23 regular season: 10-6-2, 3.20 GAA, .893 Sv%, 0 shutouts
Career playoffs: none

Does it matter who plays in goal for the Hurricanes? I’m not really sure. But I did find it a little surprising that Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour went to Andersen for his team’s series-clinching Game 6 against the Islanders.

Brind’Amour’s confidence in Andersen paid off. Despite missing the first five games of the series with an illness, and having lost eight straight games when attempting to clinch a Stanley Cup Playoffs series, Andersen stopped 33 of 34 Islander shots to help the Hurricanes advance to the second round.

Before Andersen got his chance to play, the first five games of the series against New York were started by Raanta, who performed admirably in the Carolina crease. He went 3-2 with a .906 save percentage.

But Raanta didn’t face a lot of rubber. The Islanders only eclipsed 30 shots once in six games. And while I think he played fine, Raanta did get beat on clean shots often enough for me to be concerned. He’s never had the quickest reflexes. But Raanta’s technical approach has yielded predictably solid goaltending over the course of his 10-year NHL career.

Brind’Amour is on record saying he has no problem rotating goaltenders in the second round. And I don’t doubt him for a second. The reality is that there hasn’t been much of a performance delta between Andersen and Raanta. And they’re similar enough goaltenders that the Hurricanes can use them almost interchangeably.

Andersen has a career record of 7-2-0 against the Devils along with a .934 save percentage. Raanta has an 8-0-1 lifetime mark against New Jersey. History is on their side.

As for the Devils: a changing of the guard may have already taken place. Not just for the 2022-23 postseason. But for the foreseeable future of the New Jersey organization. Because Schmid is here to stay.

The 6-foot-5 Swiss-born goaltender made his first career Stanley Cup Playoffs start in Game 3 against the New York Rangers and has yet to look back. Schmid had two shutouts in the first round and two more games where he allowed just one goal. His only hiccup was Game 6, when he allowed five goals on 29 Rangers shots.

Schmid plays with a high degree of control. He’s rarely out of position, and I think he anticipates the game really well.

Like the Hurricanes netminders, Schmid hasn’t faced a great deal of chances against. And the Rangers struggled to generate shots to the upper half of the net. But the eye test on Shmid is really strong. He’s physically imposing in the net and capable of making athletic saves with his extremities – a rare combo.

Schmid’s success comes at the expense of Vanecek, who was replaced in the Devils crease after playing the first two games of the Devils series against the Rangers. While Vanecek wasn’t the reason why New Jersey lost both of those games, he did allow nine goals on 52 Rangers shots faced. Not good enough by any metric.

Could I see a scenario where Vanecek is called upon to start again for New Jersey in round two? Sure. But at this point, I think it would take several bad outings in a row by Schimd for Vanecek’s door to open again.

The Devils were 2-1-1 against Carolina during the 2022-23 season, with Vanecek claiming both wins.

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