Bright: Thomas Proves That Goaltending Still Matters
The Conn Smythe winner, who almost single-handedly toppled the President’s Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks in seven games, sent a message that rang throughout the NHL.
That message was, “Yeah, you do need goaltending to win a Stanley Cup.”
Last season, Chicago Blackhawks goalie Antti Niemi and Flyers netminder Michael Leighton battled in what was deemed the worst goalie matchup in championship history. It opened a theory that with solid defense and good depth scoring, any team can win without having more than average play between their pipes. That the days of winning with elite goaltender were coming to a close.
Canucks fans want to let you know how wrong that theory was.
While the Canucks were the better team and heavy favorites entering the series, the Bruins evened the playing field with the superb goaltending of 37-year-old Thomas. He was simply better than Roberto Luongo, giving up just eight goals in seven games and grabbed two shutouts en route to the organization’s first Stanley Cup since 1972. In the playoffs as a whole, Thomas pulled down a 1.98 GAA and .940 save percentage in 25 games.
The Flyers met with goalie Ilya Bryzgalov and his agent Ritch Winter for the first time on Thursday and began negotiations to lock the 30-year-old into what could be a massive deal. The pros and cons of the money, the years and the commitment, have been debated. But Flyers’ need for a quality backstop shouldn’t be.
While it may not have been the primary cause of the Flyers’ demise to Thomas and the Bruins in the second round of the playoffs, goaltending was undoubtedly an issue for the team through the first two rounds, as coach Peter Laviolette swapped backstops an NHL record number of times.
Defense is the main ingredient of Stanley Cup wins, something to consider when staring blankly at Bryzgalov’s average playoff record. But to be victorious over a long stretch, it’s up to the goaltender to stay consistent, yet occasionally pick up the slack and provide the safety net to catch a team during times of need. In the postseason, when games are decided by minute mistakes and swings of momentum, having a goalie like Thomas outplay the opposition can win you games and can steal a Game 7 on the road, which is what he did with a 4-0 shutout win.
The Flyers did not possess a game-changing goaltender, and while it may not have cost them directly this past playoff year, it certainly would have contributed to a better effort against the Blackhawks in the 2010 Stanley Cup Final, in which the Flyers dropped out as a result of a soft goal in overtime of Game 6.
So when questioning the dollar amount for stability in the Flyers’ net, consider that fact that goaltending can be the great equalizer in any playoff series, and that Bryzgalov gives the Flyers the best chance is having that edge.
The high cost acquiring Bryzgalov might just be the price of success.
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