No. 4: Goaltending
Toronto Maple Leafs:
- Ilya Samsonov, Joseph Woll
Tampa Bay Lightning:
- Andrei Vasilevskiy
Vasilevskiy is a former Conn Smythe Trophy and Vezina Trophy winner and has two Stanley Cup ring’s. Not only that, but he’s played in over 100 playoff games.
It’s crazy, but Vasilevskiy almost has as many playoff starts as Samsonov and Woll have combined regular season experience, so with that being said, there shouldn’t be much of a debate as to who has the advantage, right?
However, let’s do it anyways.
Samsonov finished the season with better stats (2.33 GAA, 0.919 SV%) than Vasilevskiy (.915 SV%, 2.65 GAA) this season. Not only was Samsonov better statistically, but we can’t forget about Woll, who was also better (2.16 GAA and .932 SV%).
Woll only appeared in seven games, so his sample-size is much smaller but is it possible that Toronto actually has the advantage in net? I mean, if Vasilevskiy gets injured, the Lightning have to turn to Brian Elliot, so they’re screwed. However, if Samsonov gets hurt, I feel way more confident in Woll getting the job done, then someone like Elliot.
As much as the Leafs fan in me would love to give Toronto the advantage here, I can’t. Vasilevskiy is arguably the best goaltender on the planet still, so if he plays to his highest capabilities, the Leafs will have a hard time beating the Lightning this year.
Advantage: Tampa Bay Lightning