Ice hockey goaltenders are the last line of defense and can often be the difference between winning and losing. There are few if any other positions in sports more critical to the overall success of the team. Below we will review five of the best netminders in the business and why they can be money in the bank when the going gets tough at NHL betting sites.
1. Connor Hellebuyck – Winnipeg Jets
- 35-19-4
- 2.42 GAA
- .920 Save Percentage
Connor Hellebuyck is another in the latest line of tall, rangy goaltenders. Standing 6’4” and weighing about 200 pounds, the 30-year-old was one of the best college hockey goaltenders during his two short years before going pro after getting selected in the fifth round by the Jets in the 2012 Draft.
Hellebuyck has been a stalwart in the Jets’ net throughout his tenure with the team, starting in the 2015 season. He is a four-time All-Star and won the Vezina Trophy in 2020. If you are looking to bet under in a total and Hellebuyck is tending the twine at one end of the ice then you could do a lot worse. This year he has the lowest save percentage in the league despite seeing far more shots than any other goalie.
One thing to note as the Jets enter the postseason. Hellebuyck has been worked like a rented mule this season, playing in 58 of the team’s 79 games at the time of this writing. That is a heavier workload than every goalie in the league except for Nashville’s Juuse Saros and Colorado’s Alexandar Georgiev, who have logged 62 and 61 games, respectively.
2. Stuart Skinner – Edmonton Oilers
- 35-14-5
- 2.59
- .907 Save Percentage
Jack Campbell was supposed to be the Oilers’ goalie of the future after signing a big free-agent contract before last season. Stuart Skinner ultimately supplanted him but this season they stayed with Campbell to begin and the results were disastrous.
Campbell is now gone and Stuart Skinner has entrenched himself as Edmonton’s goalie this year and for the foreseeable future. Another 6’4” new breed of netminder with a bit more heft to him than most, Skinner has been nothing short of sensational since being named the starter.
The Oilers have completely turned their season around since Skinner began patrolling the case, morphing from a 2-9-1 cellar dweller to a Stanley Cup favorite entering the postseason. Although the Oilers’ defense leaves something to be desired, their offense is explosive and with Skinner as the team’s last line of defense, he will bring home the money more times than not.
3. Thatcher Demko – Vancouver Canucks
- 34-13-2
- 2.47 GAA
- 9.17 Save Percentage
Have I mentioned 6’4” goalies before? Well, Thatcher Demko, another college hockey superstar who played for Boston College and a savvy second-round pick of the Canucks in the 2016 NHL Draft, is yet another goliath in the cage.
Demko is a 2x All-Star and is a major reason why the Canucks have gone from the outhouse to the penthouse over the last two seasons. Vancouver is undeniably the biggest Cinderella story this season and all you need to do is look at Demko’s 34 victories and .917 save percentage to understand why the team has made such a dramatic leap.
4. Igor Shesterkin – New York Rangers
- 34-17-2
- 2.65 GAA
- .911 Save Percentage
Russian-born Igor Shesterkin is a stone-cold stud between the pipes and although at 6’1” he’s shorter than the others on this list, he is undoubtedly as good as any of them. It wasn’t until the 2021-2022 season when Shesterkin became ensconced as the team’s No. 1 goalie and was nothing short of spectacular that year, boasting a 36-13-4 record with a 2.07 goals against average and a sublime .935 save percentage.
It would be virtually impossible to duplicate those numbers but Shesterkin has been a big reason why the Rangers boast the highest point total in the league as the season draws to a close. The biggest issue concerning putting your money on Shesterkin is that the Rangers are almost automatic favorites against whomever the opponent is regardless of the venue.
5. Sergei Bobrovsky – Florida Panthers
- 35-17-4
- 2.38 GAA
- .914 Save Percentage
Those pesky Florida Panthers who dared to rally from a 3-1 first-round series deficit and oust the history-making Boston Bruins from the playoffs last year are back at it again this season. Only this time around they skate with more confidence and have proven they belong with the best in the league.
Some of that swagger comes from the battle-tested Russian veteran, Sergei Bobrovsky, who has fashioned yet another of several sterling seasons throughout his illustrious career. This year marked the third in which he was named to the All-Star team and his stats are simply more evidence that the Panthers are a legitimate threat to win it all this season with Bob back-boning the defense.
