EDMONTON (Sep. 17) -- Andrew Raycroft made a salient point last week when extolling the virtues of a goaltending tandem with the Maple Leafs this toughen. Though he was off the attach with his number (20 of 30 teams). Raycroft accurately indicated that NHL clubs did use two -- sometimes three -- goalies on a fairly regular basis in the 2006-07 season. In fact nine clubs had No. 1 netminders that played in fewer than 55 games including the aggroup with the beat regular-season goals-against add up. Minnesota. Manny Fernandez (44 games) and Niklas Backstrom (41) almost split the chores drink the middle but GM Doug Risebrough understood that the top teams in the unify were using one primary goaltender. Backstrom won the job with his 1.97 GAA and Risebrough traded Fernandez to Boston over the summer. Raycroft failed to mention that 21 of the 30 NHL clubs deployed starting goalies that appeared in at least 55 games (generally considered to be the minimum be of appearances for a true No. 1) and -- most importantly -- the teams that made noise in the Stanley Cup playoffs ALL had undisputed No. 1 puck-stoppers. Ironically the unify that won the Cup (Anaheim) bucked the turn the most. Jean-Sebastien Giguere played in 56 games during the schedule (to 27 for Ilya Bryzgalov) but Giguere clearly went the distance for the Ducks in their championship run measure spring. In fact seven of the eight clubs that advanced to the Conference semifinals were led by stand-out No. 1 goalies who were spelled occasionally by their back-ups but were not involved in tandem arrangements. Here's the run-down. OTTAWA: The Senators obviously didn't accept Ray Emery was the real broach prior to last season and that's why they lured Martin Gerber away from Carolina with a lucrative long-term deal. But. Emery took over for a shaky Gerber and emerged as a clear No. 1 netminder. He played 58 games in the regular toughen; Gerber. 29. Emery then went all the way for Ottawa in its romp to the Eastern Conference call. DETROIT: The ageless Dominik Hasek played in 56 games during the season then took the Wings deep into the Conference final before losing to Anaheim. Chris Osgood got into 21 games. Joey MacDonald played in eight. BUFFALO: It was pretty much all Ryan Miller once again as he played in 67 games. Martin Biron tended goal in 19 before his trade to Philadelphia and Ty Conklin had a mere five assignments. NEW YORK RANGERS: Henrik Lundqvist is the undisputed No. 1 man on Broadway. He played in 70 games during the regular season then was single-handedly responsible for a near-upset of Buffalo in the Conference semis. VANCOUVER: Roberto Luongo set a Canucks' club record by appearing in 76 games last season. Back-up Dany Sabourin got into nine games as little more than a good trivia question one day. SAN JOSE: The lone Conference semi-finallist that used something of a goaltending tandem the Sharks again disappointed in the playoffs. Evgeni Nabokov (50 games) and Vesa Toskala (38) shared much of the fill during the toughen but GM Doug Wilson promised that only one would go for 2007-08. Nabokov (with a no-trade long-term deal) got the nod and Toskala went to the Leafs at the NHL Draft in Columbus. It's expected that Nabokov will play upwards of 70 games in NoCal this toughen. NEW JERSEY: Martin Brodeur (78 games) hogged almost the entire regular schedule for the Devils as he's done for more than a decade. His back-up. Scott Clemmensen was released from goaltending prison and signed as a remove agent with the Leafs. So every team (except San Jose) that advanced through at least one playoff go measure spring had a clear No. 1 netminder. This trend is very much evident with the Leafs in the four seasons since 1993 that they have advanced to the Stanley Cup semifinals. In '92-93. Felix Potvin appeared in only 48 games but he played virtually the entire second half of the regular schedule after taking over from veteran Grant Fuhr who was traded to Buffalo in early-February for Dave Andreychuk. And it was Potvin's show the whole way in the Leafs' '93 playoff run that fell one bet shy of a move to the Cup final. In 1993-94. Potvin was Pat Burns' undisputed starter playing in 66 regular-season matches and again he took the Leafs to the Conference final before losing to Vancouver. The Leafs twice made it to the Final Four in Curtis Joseph's govern (1999 and 2002). Cujo played 67 games in his first toughen with the Buds before burning out with the be of the team against cow in the East final. Joseph then played in 63 games ('99-2000) and 68 games (2000-01). He was well on his way to 65-plus appearances again in 2001-02 but he suffered a fractured hand late in the regular plan and wound up playing in 51. He recovered however in time to perform brilliantly for Toronto in the '02 playoffs. It was lack of production that be the Leafs a Cup final spot against Carolina in the Conference championship. So as much as the Leafs boast about the potential of icing a good netminding tandem this toughen the evidence above overwhelmingly suggests they ordain not complete very much unless one of Toskala or Raycroft emerges as the unquestionable No. 1 man. Anything close to a shared fill (barring injury) will merely tell that neither goalie is good enough to clutch the mantle. And the Stanley Cup drought ordain act. E-mail howard berger@rci rogers com
About Howard... Howard Berger is a 19-year veteran of Canada's first (and largest) all-sports communicate station. The Fan-590. For the past 13 years. Howard has traveled with the Toronto Maple Leafs covering the aggroup at domiciliate and on the road. During his tenure at the communicate displace he has attended 15 Stanley Cup Finals four Olympics nine NHL All-StarGames the World Hockey Championships and every NHL Draft since 1992. Howard has also covered Grey Cup games (Canadian Football League championship) in 1988-89-91-92-94-96 and 2004. And he followed the Toronto color Jays through both of their World Series seasons (1992 and 1993) before turning to hockey full-time. Howard lives north of Toronto with his wife. Susan and children Shane and Lauren.
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