The 10 greatest playoff runs by a goalie in NHL history

“You only go as far as your goaltending” applies in hockey at any time during the season, but it really rings true during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Literally every year, we see a great team fall short because it can’t get a save and a good team become great because its goalie gets hot.

There’s a certain romanticism to the Goalie on a Heater in the postseason. A netminder has only won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s regular-season MVP eight times in 64 seasons including this one, good for 12.5 percent of the time. But 17 goalies have won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 58 seasons of the award, 29.3 percent. Award voters, like fans, have a different reverence for the plight of the puck-stopper in the playoffs, it seems.

Which are the most memorable, invincible runs by a goaltender in NHL playoff history?

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Ken Dryden, 1971: Took the NHL by storm as a rookie, but he was even better during some of his late-1970s runs with the dynastic Habs.

Bernie Parent, 1974: One reason the Broad Street Bullies were able to play the way they did was that they knew Parent, who won back to back Conn Smythes, was the steady presence who bailed them out of trouble.

Billy Smith, 1983: Before the Edmonton Oilers dynasty broke through, the Isles held the door shut one more year, with the fiery Smith neutralizing Edmonton’s devastating attack.

Ron Hextall, 1987: Went toe-to-toe with the legendary Oilers offense, taking them to seven games in the Final on a Flyers team that was riddled with injuries to its top skaters. Hextall was so good that he captured the Conn Smythe in defeat. His 698 saves set a playoff record at the time.

Bill Ranford, 1990: Saved 15 goals above average to help the Oilers win their only sans-Gretzky Stanley Cup.

Mike Richter, 1994: Rocksteady performance included Game 7 wins in the final two rounds, but Brian Leetch and Mark Messier were the primary heroes on this team.

John Vanbiesbrouck, 1996: The face of the underdog Panthers team that took down one juggernaut after another, including loaded Flyers and Penguins squads.

Mike Vernon, 1997: Posted a .927 save percentage and outduelled Patrick Roy in Conference Final, took home Conn Smythe.

Olaf Kolzing, 1998: Godzilla was the star on a Capitals team that made a pretty unlikely run to the Final, posting a .941 SV%, which was mind-boggling even though it was the Dead Puck Era.

Dominik Hasek, 1999: The Sabres’ co-leading scorers in the playoffs that year were Jason Woolley and Alexei Zhitnik. The Dominator carried them.

Patrick Roy, 2001: Roy earned his fourth and final Stanley Cup ring by turning back the clock with four shutouts during Colorado’s title run, which is most famous for finally getting Ray Bourque a ring.

Cam Ward, 2006: Called into action partway through Round 1, the rookie never blinked and captured Conn Smythe for Canes.

THE TOP 10

Charlie Gardiner, 1934 (Chicago Black Hawks)

Gardiner’s circumstances would never be replicated today. In the 1930s, he was dealing with a severe tonsil infection that made him a sickly man pretty much at all times. He was known to almost black out during games. That makes his performance in the 1934 playoffs all the more astounding. He allowed just 12 goals in eight games, posting a 1.32 goals-against average and a pair of shutouts. He collapsed suddenly one day after the summer and passed away at 29.

Terry Sawchuk, 1952 (Detroit Red Wings)

The numbers simply don’t compute. He allowed five goals in eight games? He went 8-0 over that span and got a shutout in half the games. From a pure statistical perspective, no goalie has come as close to perfection as Sawchuk did during the 1951-52 playoffs. He helped Detroit become the first team ever to run the table in a postseason.

Patrick Roy, 1986 (Montreal Canadiens)

There’s a rich tradition of rookie netminders stealing the show in the postseason, most recently Jordan Binnington in 2019. But Roy’s 1986 is probably the ultimate ‘Who Is This Guy?’ playoff moment. A .923 SV% in any era would stand out as excellent, but to stop pucks at that rate in 1986, when the NHL was in its peak offensive heyday? Just absurd. Roy earned the Saint Patrick moniker as a result.

Patrick Roy, 1993 (Montreal Canadiens)

If we judge playoff performance on goals saved above average, Roy’s 1993 run was even better than his 1986 one. On top of a .929 SV% that spring, he went 10-1 in overtime en route to his second of an NHL-record three Conn Smythes. Roy has a strong claim to the unofficial title of most clutch player ever. He even showcased his icy poise under pressure when, after denying the L.A. Kings Tomas Sandstrom with a big save in Game 4 of the Final, Roy delivered his trademark wink.

Kirk McLean, 1994 (Vancouver Canucks)

The sliding kick save in overtime Game 7 against the Flames was legendary, but it was just one of many amazing moments for him that season. McLean was never better than in the spring of 1994 and I’d argue his playoff performance ranks among the most overlooked because his team didn’t win it all, falling a game short of the Cup, and because McLean didn’t win the Conn Smythe in defeat. He ranks near the top of my pal Paul Pidutti’s all-time leaderboard of goals saved above average in a postseason, and only one goaltender has faced more shots in a single playoff year than McLean in 1994.

Jean-Sebastian Giguere, 2003 (Anaheim Ducks)

Arguably the granddaddy of all playoff performances. Has any goalie ever seemed as invincible as Giguere was during his magical 2003 spring? He delivered a comical .945 SV% and saved more era-adjusted goals than any other goalie in any playoffs, ever. He was so good that he won the Conn Smythe over a counterpart who had seven shutouts that postseason.

Martin Brodeur, 2003 (New Jersey Devils)

So, yes, Brodeur played for the lockdown operation that was the New Jersey Devils, featuring Hall of Fame blueline talents to protect him in Scott Niedermayer and Scott Stevens, and thus was not asked to carry his team. But when a man delivers shutouts in seven of 16 victories during a single postseason, he deserves some respect. And on the flip side of the Giguere narrative: Brodeur was so good that the Devils were able to overcome Giguere and still win the Cup.

Tim Thomas, 2011 (Boston Bruins)

Thomas quipped during the 2011 Stanley Cup Final that it wasn’t his job to pump Roberto Luongo’s tires. But we can certainly pump Thomas’ tires for his incredible 2011 run, which included a .940 SV%. No goaltender has ever faced as many shots or made as many saves as Thomas did during the 2011 playoffs. He captured the Vezina, Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup in what has a strong case as the best wire-to-wire performance by a goalie in a single season.

Jonathan Quick, 2012 (Los Angeles Kings)

Speak Quick’s name and the first thing that comes to mind is his playoff brilliance. His .946 SV% in the Kings’ 2012 run tops even Giguere’s mark from 2003. Quick never allowed more than three goals in a single game that postseason, and he only allowed three on two occasions. He was as consistent as he was dominant on Darryl Sutter’s big, stingy squad.

Andrei Vasilevskiy, 2021 (Tampa Bay Lightning)

What makes Vasilevskiy’s playoff legacy particularly special is what he’s done when the stakes are highest. That included a Game 7 shutout over the Islanders in the 2021 semifinal and a .943 SV% in the Cup Final vs. Montreal, punctuated by a shutout in the series-deciding game, one of five donuts from Vasy that postseason.

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