Do the Maple Leafs Have the Worst Goaltending in the Playoffs? Henrik Lundqvist Seems to Think So

When it comes to competing for the Stanley Cup, Hall of Fame goalie Henrik Lundqvist believes Canadian teams have the edge in net. That is, as long as your team is not the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In his playoff goalie rankings — or "The Hankings", as the NHL on TNT panel called them — Lundqvist put Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck, Vancouver's Thatcher Demko and Edmonton's Stuart Skinner as the top-3 goalies in the Western Conference.

But in the East, Toronto's Ilya Samsonov ranked dead last.

Surprised? You shouldn't be.

The Lightning are the only playoff team with a worst goals-against average than the Leafs this season. Tampa Bay, of course, has Vezina Trophy winner and two-time Stanley Cup champion Andrei Vasilevskiy in net, so we'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Samsonov, who went 40-23-7 this season, ranks 40th overall with a 3.13 goals-against average and is 52nd overall with a .890 save percentage.

Those are not the kind of stats that typically get you a Stanley Cup — much less out of the first round, particularly when you are facing a Boston Bruins team where the tandem of Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark combined for a .915 save percentage that ranked in the top-3.

Things are a lot better over in the West.

Hellebuyck, who has a 2.39 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage, is the odds-on favorite to win the Vezina Trophy this season. Demko, meanwhile, should also be a finalist after posting a 2.44 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. 

If there is a surprise, it is that Lundqvist placed Skinner (2.57 goals-against average and .907 save percentage) ahead of Dallas' Jake Oettinger, Nashville's Juuse Saros and Vegas' Adin Hill, who is the defending Stanley Cup champion.

"You may have a restaurant in Edmonton, they may start one for you. You've got Stuart Skinner third," said NHL on TNT host Liam McHugh. "How do you have Skinner up that high?"

"Well, I look at a couple of things," said Lundqvist. "Obviously, save percentage, the goals against. But I also look at — and we talked about it last week — save percentage on high-danger chances. To me, that's critical. 

"A lot of goalies can have good numbers because of good defense, but what do they really do when they face high-scoring chances? To me, that tells me a big story of how they're playing. Stuart Skinner is up there. He's not top-5, but he's I think top-7. Thompson is I think 20th. Hill is not on the list. To me, when you go to that list, there's definitely a couple of sleepers on it. Oettinger is playing really hot right now. He could definitely be No. 1 on the list."

Here is Lundqvist's full lists:

1. Igor Shesterskin, NY Rangers

2. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay

3. Frederik Andersen, Carolina

4. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida

5. Ilya Sorokin/Semyon Varlamov, NY Islanders

6. Jeremy Swayman/Linus Ullmark, Boston

7. Charlie Lindgren, Washington

8. Ilya Samsonov, Toronto

1. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg

2. Thatcher Demko, Vancouver

3. Stuart Skinner, Edmonton

4. Jake Oettinger, Dallas

5. Juuse Saros, Nashville

6. Adin Hill/Logan Thompson, Vegas

7. Alexandar Georgiev, Colorado

8. Cam Talbot, Los Angeles