Montreal Canadiens: Goaltending is key for a long playoff run
By Omar L
The Boston Bruins are proving goaltending is critical showing how important Carey Price will be when the Montreal Canadiens get their turn for a run at the Cup.
Karma is a scary and powerful thing. When the playoffs started, and the world new the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs would square off again in the first round, the Montreal Canadiens fan base chose a side. And that was the side of the black and gold. We fast forward the calendar about five weeks, and the Boston Bruins are now going to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2013.
Does it sting? Yeah. The Habs and Bruins have had a more venomous rivalry over the last decade given the number of important games played between the two. But credit is due for what Boston has been able to do. The defence is steady, the offence hasn’t slowed down, and most importantly, Tuukka Rask is standing on his head.
After Thursday night’s sweeping elimination of the Carolina Hurricanes, Rask sits on top of the NHL in playoff save percentage with a .942 including two shutouts. But again the fancy stat of goals saved above average (GSAA) shows how crucial Rask has been to the Bruins’ run which is ironic considering everything that’s gone wrong since their last deep run has appeared to be his fault.
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GSAA provides a physical number of goals stopped by a goaltender by comparing their save percentage to the league average. Rask is the highest in the playoffs at 13.65, meaning he’s physically prevented approximately 14 goals from going in. On the flip side, Petr Mrazek‘s GSAA was -6.55 indicating he’s allowed nearly seven goals that an average goaltender would’ve stopped.
The skaters on any contending team need to buy into the process and be committed to competing every night. However, the Boston Bruins are not where they are without Rask. If the Montreal Canadiens go on a deep run in the upcoming years, we’ll be saying the same thing about Carey Price who has a Rask-like impact on his team every season (save for a few).
Not many goaltenders can carry a team to the playoffs and to a final. Jordan Binnington is doing his best to duplicate that in St. Louis, despite the officiating errors, and if the Montreal Canadiens manage to make it, Price will do it and has done it in the regular season.
Price has had some ridiculous GSAA’s over the years including his 36.70 in the 2014-15 season, 23.51 in the 2013-14 season, and 22.04 in the 2010-11 season. This past year, the 31-year-old’s GSAA was 14.94, which isn’t as high as year’s past but is still high.
His numbers in the playoffs have been more human. Price’s GSAA was 2.24 in their last run back in 2016 while his highest was a 4.44 in 2011.
There’s no doubt the Montreal Canadiens have the goaltending to contend, they just need to get there and have an opportunity for Price to spread his wings.
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As bitter as it will be to watch the Boston Bruins, the Montreal Canadiens need to keep one thing in mind. They aren’t too far away, and as long as they have Price playing at his peak, they’ll have an opportunity.