The best part of the NHL's opening round is that there isn't a single series that appears to be a walk in the park. Whether you are using the eye test or digging deep into the numbers, you can make a case for nearly every club to advance. One way to figure out which team might have a deep postseason run in them is by looking at that team's strengths and weaknesses by position.
After ranking every team's forwards and defensemen groups, it's time for the men wearing the cool masks. Which goaltender is entering the playoffs on a hot streak? Which ones have a strong or weak playoff history? Who could surprise us? We rank them 1-16 here.
1. Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators
2017-18 stat line: 42-13-4, .927 save percentage
Since March 1: 9-4-1, .928 save percentage
It has been an incredible 12 months for Nashville's longtime goaltender. Rinne was magnificent during the Predators' run to the Stanley Cup Final, posting a .930 save percentage and allowing under two goals per game. His follow-up act has included a Vezina Trophy-worthy campaign and the second-best season of his career in save percentage and goals saved above average. Rinne might be in his mid-30s, but he's playing as well as ever. The support from the league's best defense gives him a good shot to represent the West again in the Cup Final.
2. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings
2017-18 stat line: 33-28-3, .921 save percentage
Since March 1: 9-5-1, .919 save percentage
After missing the majority of 2016-17, Quick bounced back with his best season since 2011-12. Coincidentally, that was the same year that he put up an outrageous .946 save percentage en route to his first Stanley Cup. While his numbers haven't always been elite since then, Quick has the capability of raising his game to a level that few netminders can achieve over a stretch of four series. He's led all goalies in playoff shutouts during three postseason runs. The Kings have some shortcomings, but Quick's play this season should give them some confidence in pulling off a first-round upset.
3. Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets
2017-18 stat line: 37-22-6, .921 save percentage
Since March 1: 10-2-1, .923 save percentage
The two-time Vezina Trophy winner continued to establish himself as an elite goalie in 2017-18 with his fourth season in six with a GSAA mark higher than 15 goals. As the Blue Jackets pushed for a playoff spot, Bobrovsky stepped up his game and led them back to the postseason. The only thing missing on Bob's résumé is a playoff run. He's won just three of 13 playoff decisions and has a career .887 playoff save percentage. That needs to improve greatly this year for Columbus to have a chance.
4. John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks
2017-18 stat line: 31-18-7, .926 save percentage
Since March 1: 9-3-1, .930 save percentage
It feels as if Gibson has been around for a very long time, but (at 24) he's still not old enough to rent a car in some places. His playoff career started at age 20 when Bruce Boudreau gave him the call despite his playing only three regular-season games. Since then, injuries have held Gibson back at times, but when healthy his play has been outstanding. In 147 starts during the past three seasons, he has a .924 save percentage. Gibson has also been strong in his 22 career postseason appearances, with a .917 save percentage. The Ducks should feel very good about their young goalie heading into their matchup with the Sharks, though a late-season injury is of some concern. If Gibson can't go, it's Ryan Miller Time for Anaheim.
5. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights
2017-18 stat line: 29-13-4, .927 save percentage
Since March 1: 8-6-1, .922 save percentage
Fleury is one of the hardest goalies to place on this list. If he hadn't suffered injuries this season, the former Penguin would have had a darn good Vezina Trophy argument, but he also has a playoff past with a number of disappointing performances. Fleury was the starter on two Stanley Cup teams at age 23 and 24 and then had four straight playoffs with sub-.900 save percentages. During the past two years, he has lost the job in the postseason to Matt Murray, though he was solid in 15 games in the 2017 playoffs. If the volatile Vegas goalie has shaken off some of his past demons, the Golden Knights can continue to shock the NHL with their success.
6. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
2017-18 stat line: 44-11-9, .924 save percentage
Since March 1: 12-1-1, .931 save percentage
It's hard to know whether the Jets can truly trust Hellebuyck yet. He was underwhelming in 2016-17 with a .907 save percentage and has zero playoff experience. However, Winnipeg couldn't have dreamed up a better performance this season, as their 24-year-old goalie led the NHL in minutes between the pipes (3,965:54), and provided them with the third-best save percentage of any goalie with more than 50 starts.
7. Matt Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins
2017-18 stat line: 27-16-3, .906 save percentage
Since March 1: 4-3-1, .898 save percentage
If we were going only by recent performance, Murray would be dead last on the list, but it's impossible to ignore that he won the past two Stanley Cups by going 22-9 with a .928 save percentage in the past two postseasons. This season has been a complete disaster for the 6-foot-4 goalie, whose first 60 NHL starts in the regular season resulted in a .925 save percentage. He got off to a bad start, missed some time and sputtered to the end of the season, making it tougher to see a bounce-back. Still, Murray's playoff past makes it tough to bet against him.
8. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
2017-18 stat line: 44-17-3, .920 save percentage
Since March 1: 7-5-0, .887 save percentage
At the All-Star break, Tampa Bay's Russian goaltender had a good case for the Vezina Trophy, with a .931 save percentage in his first 44 starts. His second half has been far less impressive. In 24 post-All-Star-break games, he's allowed more than three goals per game and managed just a .902 save percentage. There is good news: In seven playoff starts, Vasilevskiy has five quality starts and a .920 save percentage. The 23-year-old will need to return to form quick if the Lightning are going to fulfill their potential and reach the Cup Final.
9. Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins
2017-18 stat line: 34-14-5, .917 save percentage
Since March 1: 9-3-1, .908 save percentage
Rask has the reputation as an elite goaltender, but that hasn't been true for some time. In the past three seasons, he has a so-so .916 save percentage. The Finnish veteran also gave the B's just three quality starts in six playoff games the last time they were in the playoffs. That's quite the drop from 24 quality starts in his first 34 postseason starts. The Bruins might have to do something out of character this year and rely heavily on their offense to win in the playoffs.
10. Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
2017-18 stat line: 31-21-5, .918 save percentage
Since March 1: 6-5-0, .896 save percentage
To Andersen's credit, he's been consistent since coming to Toronto. In each of his two seasons, the former Duck has played in 66 games and posted a .918 save percentage. This season, the Leafs' defense has been far from impressive. No goalie stopped more shots in 2017-18 than Andersen (2,029). Andersen's recent play is somewhat concerning, but overall he's been solid in 34 playoff starts, posting quality starts in 23 of them. With Toronto's style of play, Andersen will be tested often against the Bruins.
11. Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota Wild
2017-18 stat line: 35-16-7, .918 save percentage
Since March 1: 8-5-2, .916 save percentage
Since arriving in Minnesota, Dubnyk has been one of the best regular-season goalies in the NHL. Even with a 2017-18 that was slightly below his usual standard, he has a .923 save percentage in 227 starts with the Wild. So why is he in the middle of the list rather than at the top? In 21 playoff games, Dubnyk has won seven and has an ugly .903 save percentage with only eight quality starts. Playoff small samples can be hard to judge -- and he did perform better last year in a first-round out against St. Louis -- but until Dubnyk puts together a run of strong playoff performances, it will be hard to buy him as a reliable postseason goalie.
12. Philipp Grubauer, Washington Capitals
2017-18 stat line: 15-10-3, .923 save percentage
Since March 1: 7-3-0, .927 save percentage
Washington coach Barry Trotz is facing a tough situation with veteran starter Braden Holtby struggling. In 59 playoff games, Holtby has an outstanding .932 save percentage, but this season he hasn't been as good as the 26-year-old backup. Grubauer isn't exactly a newbie. He has 79 NHL starts, 49 of which were quality starts. He has not, however, seen much playoff action, with just one start to his name. Trotz is putting a lot on the line with a win-now team by trusting his No. 2.
13. Martin Jones, San Jose Sharks
2017-18 stat line: 30-22-6, .915 save percentage
Since March 1: 10-6-0, .908 save percentage
Since arriving in San Jose, Jones has been a dead-on average goalie during the regular season. When the Sharks have reached the postseason, he's been much more than that. In the 2016 playoffs, Jones managed a .923 save percentage and had three shutouts en route to the Cup Final; last season, he was fantastic in a first-round defeat. A recent run of mediocre play makes it difficult to put Jones among the best, but he's proved to have the capability of riding a hot streak deep into the playoffs.
14. Brian Elliott, Philadelphia Flyers
2017-18 stat line: 23-11-7, .909 save percentage
Since March 1: 2-0-0, .923 save percentage
The goaltending situation in Philadelphia has gone through plenty of rough patches this season, from Elliott's slow start to Michal Neuvirth's injury to a trade for struggling Petr Mrazek. The 33-year-old netminder had a disastrous postseason in net for the Calgary Flames last spring, allowing 12 goals on 100 shots. Asking Elliott to shut down the Penguins might be too much at this point in his career, though he did have his moments in prior playoff runs for the Blues.
15. Jonathan Bernier, Colorado Avalanche
2017-18 stat line: 19-13-3, .913 save percentage
Since March 1: 5-2-2, .910 save percentage
The former King and Leaf carved out a nice role for himself as the backup to Semyon Varlamov. Now he will be asked to face the league's strongest team with Varlamov out for at least Round 1 with a lower-body injury. Bernier has had ups and downs, but in the bigger sample appears to be an average goaltender. Without great defensive support, he might be in over his head against the Predators.
16. Keith Kinkaid, New Jersey Devils
2017-18 stat line: 26-10-3, .913 save percentage
Since March 1: 11-2-1, .928 save percentage
The Devils certainly owe Kinkaid for their first playoff berth since 2011-12. He carried them down the stretch after taking over the starting job from veteran Cory Schneider. While Kinkaid's story is a good one, he's been a backup for the first four seasons of his career and has just 49 quality starts in 94 games. It would be a Hollywood-worthy story if he leads this team to the Cup Final.