The NHL Hockey playoff just might be the most exciting month of the year in all of sports.
We know that ice hockey isn't for everyone but the intensity that comes with the sport is contagious - once you start watching the NHL, you won't go back.
The scintillating speed, the destructive defence and the fierce fights are just a few highlights on an ice hockey rink.
However, there is something rather special about watching a goalie in tremendous form. Saving everything in his path, a goalie can be the difference between lifting the Stanley Cup and crashing out of the NHL playoffs at the first hurdle.
A goalkeeper in full flow is one of the most beautiful sights in NHL hockey and fans are about to see the best in the business put on a show during the 2019/20 playoffs.
There have been dominant teams over the years, teams that you knew they were going to win the Stanley Cup before it even started - that's just the way it is.
From time to time, there is a wildcard team who, often led by a determined goaltender, somehow scrape through to the latter stages of the playoffs.
If you see a goalie that starts making the news and a team that is getting hot at the end of the season there are always way to play that team as future bets are always there during the playoffs and money can be made.
Like I said, especially when you have that goalie on your side.
Why A Top Goalie Is So Important
There have been so many moments in NHL history that are marked with these types of performances.
A team that is now named the Anaheim Ducks but at one time was called the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim had a goaltender named Jean-Sebastian Giguere that was the perfect example of what we are writing about.
The French-Canadian born goalie is the last goalie to win the Conn Smythe trophy without winning the championship for his performance in 2003.
He would later win in 2007 but he took a team that finished seventh in the conference before Giguere started to become famous.
Against the number 2 seed Detroit Red Wings he set the record for most saves in a game at that time with 63 in Game 1 three overtime win and they beat the Red Wings 4-0 in that opening series.
They then eliminated the Dallas Stars before playing the Western Conference Championship against the Minnesota Wild when he held the Wild to only one goal in the entire series and had 217 minutes and 54 seconds of not allowing Minnesota a single goal.
The Ducks went on to the finals that year to play the New Jersey Devils and lost in the seventh game of the series. He was 7-0 in overtime games during that playoff run where he did not allow a goal in 168 minutes and 27 seconds.
NHL Playoffs 2020: Betting
The NHL is filled with historic goalies that have made names for themselves over their careers but the only real time for you to become that superstar goalie is when you perform at your best in the playoffs.
Names, that if you watch and follow the NHL betting markets, you would definitely know.
One of the most famous was the historic Montreal Canadiens goalie Ken Dryden that would always beat my Boston Bruins, then the Philadelphia Flyers with Bernie Parent, the Buffalo Sabres with Dominik Hasek and Tuukka Rask from my Bruins also.
These are names that are etched into history and memories of NHL fans for their incredible playoff runs.
This year has been a long stretch for the teams and as we approach the best part of the season the favorites to win their conferences are the Bruins, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the East and in the West its the Colorado Rockies, St.Louis Blues and the Dallas Stars.
Those are definitely the favorites that are listed but as this article reads, before you want to spend money on a favorite you might want to look to cash in on the hottest goalie going into the playoffs to really enjoy an emotional ride to the Finals!
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Karl B DeBlaker / AP Photo*
