NHL playoff history is full of great goaltending runs. Avalanche reporter Adrian Dater ranks some of the best:
1. Patrick Roy, 1993, Canadiens
The Habs finished third in the Adams Division, but Roy willed Montreal to the Stanley Cup when he won the Conn Smythe Trophy in his rookie season. Roy had 10 consecutive overtime wins — still an NHL record. The Canadiens lost their first two games of the playoffs to rival Quebec but came back to beat the Nordiques, Sabres, Islanders and Kings on the way to the Cup.
2. Bill Ranford, 1990, Oilers
The Oilers were expected to be also-rans in 1989-90, but Edmonton lifted the Cup for the fifth time in seven years, thanks to the brilliance of Ranford. Included in his Conn Smythe performance was a 3-2 victory in Game 1, which ended at 15:13 of the third overtime — the longest in Finals history.
3. Bernie Parent, 1974, Flyers
Parent had an incredible .933 save percentage and led the Flyers to an upset of the big, bad Boston Bruins in the Finals, including a 1-0 victory in the Game 6 clincher.
4. Jean-Sebastien Giguere, 2003, Ducks
One of five players to win the Conn Smythe for a team that didn’t win the Cup, Giguere was unbelievable. He was 7-0 in overtime and allowed only one goal in a four-game sweep of Minnesota in the Western Conference finals, with a shutout streak of 2:17.54. He posted a .945 save percentage overall.
5. Billy Smith, 1983, Islanders
Smith led the Isles to a sweep of the Oilers in the Finals, allowing only six goals in the four games.
