TORONTO -- All it takes is one. One hot goalie at the exact right time for the exact right team and one of the eight World Cup participants can go on a run to remember. Goaltending is the great equalizer in a tournament in which one stolen victory can shift the fortunes of a group of players trying to win it all.
Goaltending depth is nice, and was factored in when considering these World Cup goalie rankings. But only one guy can play at a time, and it's about finding the one who can be the Ryan Miller or Mike Richter of this international tournament.
Here's a ranking of the teams with the best candidates in goal to do just that:
1. Team Canada
Carey Price, when he's on, is the best goalie in the world. He's the guy other goalies on this list are compared to. When a goalie plays with calm and poise, teammates will say he has a bit of Carey Price in him, like Price is a legend who has been out of the game for years.
He's not. He's hitting his prime and has already proven he can make the saves needed to lead Canada to international success.
The only concern is that Price is coming off the longest layoff of any goalie around, so there's the opportunity for rust as he works his way back into action. In fact, one Eastern Conference goalies coach suggested that the offseason was the great equalizer, in terms of Price's rust.
"If Price hasn't played in seven months, it's no different than not having played in three months," he said. "Months don't matter. Once you get to three months off, it might as well be seven. It doesn't matter."
With Corey Crawford and Braden Holtby waiting to go, Canada coach Mike Babcock has the luxury of moving on if Price looks rusty. But he's also a coach who isn't playing for Games 1 and 2 of this tournament. He'll take the long-range approach, and the smart move is to let Price work his way into form, since his top-end game is better than anybody's.
"He's the whole package," Team Europe goalie Thomas Greiss said of Price. "He has good size, competes hard. Great positioning. It's like [Sidney] Crosby, and what makes him such a good player. He's the whole package. Same with Carey Price."
2. Team USA
Somehow, Jonathan Quick showed up after a long summer in midseason form. With Cory Schneider and Ben Bishop also on the roster, there was the possibility that Quick might have been vulnerable as the Team USA starter had he even shown a small sign of trouble.
He didn't open that door. Quick went 2-0 in the exhibition games, stopping 62 of 65 shots, good for a .954 save percentage.
"I thought Quick looked the most comfortable of any of the goalies in the games I watched," the goalies coach said. "Once we get to Games 4, 5 and 6, will the others catch him? Just because you were ready first doesn't mean you will be the best last."
That might be the case, but Quick is also one of the best big-game goalies in the NHL. So if he was that sharp during exhibition tuneups, he has the possibility of being the 2016 version of Richter in this tournament.
"He's here for a reason," Anze Kopitar said of his Los Angeles Kings teammate. "He's a great player, a great goalie."
3. Team Sweden
Henrik Lundqvist isn't necessarily known for being a fast starter during the regular season, and he wasn't exactly sharp in his two exhibition games for Sweden.
He finished the exhibition games 1-1, with a .778 save percentage.
We're not going to make too big a deal out of a couple World Cup exhibition games, but it also follows a postseason in which Lundqvist wasn't at his best. He finished the 2016 playoffs with a 1-3 record and .867 save percentage.
"Last year, he showed he's a little bit human," one NHL scout said of Lundqvist. "He's not a youngster anymore. I still say Canada and the U.S. have an advantage in net."
Unlike the Americans and Canadians, the drop-off after Lundqvist is fairly severe, with Jhonas Enroth and Jacob Markstrom the other two goalies on the roster.
4. Team Finland
Neither Tuukka Rask nor Pekka Rinne was particularly sharp during the World Cup exhibition games, with both finishing with sub.-900 save percentages. But both have shown they're capable of being a premier No. 1 goalie for Finland.
And if one of them gets going, Finland moves from a dark horse to a potential favorite in this tournament.
"Both guys are really, really streaky," the goalies coach said. "They're both kind of busy goalies if you compare them to [other goalies]. There's way more activity with them. So as a result, when things are on they're really good -- or they go really south. They could be streaky one way or the other."
5. Team Russia
The Russians are similar to Finland in that they have two similar goalies, Semyon Varlamov and Sergei Bobrovsky, who can grab the baton if the other falters at all.
Even the talented Andrei Vasilevskiy is capable of being the guy if necessary.
"When it comes to Bobrovsky and Varlamov, it's got to be one of those two guys because of experience," the goalies coach said. "Those two guys are so interchangeable. If you put a blue jersey on both of them and you didn't know who they were, you wouldn't know which one is which."
Bobrovsky looked strong during the exhibition season, stopping 74 of 80 shots and finishing his two games with a .925 save percentage. Varlamov didn't see as much action, but allowed just one goal on 34 shots.
"All of them can be hotter than firecrackers," an NHL scout said. "So really, if you get one out of the three going, you're in good shape."
6. Team North America
The experience that Matt Murray received in leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup was a game-changer for him, the Penguins and the hopes of Team North America.
It gave this group at least one goalie who has proven he can win games when the stakes are the highest.
"I learned how to handle high pressure situations," Murray said of his postseason experience with the Penguins last spring. "And how not to overthink things and not to overplay things. You realize it's just a game we're playing. Go out and have fun. When you're having fun, you're competing hard and that's when you're at your best. A lot of it is just dealing with the emotions of it."
Todd McLellan left the door open for one of the other goalies -- John Gibson or Connor Hellebuyck -- to stake his claim to the starting job during training camp, but Murray wouldn't let his hold on the No. 1 job slip. He finished the exhibition season with a .975 save percentage, allowing just one goal on 40 shots.
"We have a good group here," Murray said. "I think we're going to be able to play with no reservations."
7. Team Czech Republic
Keep an eye on Michal Neuvirth. He doesn't have the pedigree of the goalies at the top of the list, but he's on the short list of candidates to come out of nowhere and steal games for his team.
You saw it in the spring with his impressive performance with the Flyers where he was 2-1, with a .981 save percentage in the playoffs and at times during the exhibitions, where he finished with a .978 save percentage for the Czech Republic.
Petr Mrazek is also capable of winning games and is a goalie the Red Wings have leaned on in the playoffs the last couple seasons, but Neuvirth is the best candidate to go on a run, mostly because he's healthy.
"Neuvirth is, by far, the better goalie," the goalies coach said. "His biggest problem is the inability to stay injury-free or fight through the little nicks."
8. Team Europe
If you're an Islanders fan, your hope is that Jaroslav Halak and Greiss survive this tournament without any lingering damage that will shake their confidence heading into the regular season.
This team isn't particularly good. Its defense is suspect, at best. It's going to make life difficult for the guy in goal for Team Europe.
Halak will be the likely starter for this group, but it was Greiss who got a taste of how quickly things can go sideways if Team Europe is overwhelmed when he allowed four goals on eight shots in an exhibition game against Team North America.
Team Europe rebounded to win its third exhibition game, so perhaps there's hope, but it doesn't look good for Ralph Krueger's group.
"I don't think it'll matter who is in net for Europe," the goalies coach said.