Goalie Announcements (Apr 11)

We're getting set for night one of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs and it all kicks off with three games tonight, two early and one late game here in the west.  I'll probably use this post, from time to time, to help gauge where the goaltending situation is and whether or not you're going to be finding some of those selection sheet land mines.

I am also still in the process of entering the last of the teams today and tonight, the cutoff is in an hour, so I can still receive sheets until then, it will be a matter of when they are entered tonight, but it should be at some point tonight.

So, I won't be able to post the favourites right away, but that post will be coming sooner, rather than later.

Devan Dubnyk versus Connor Hellebuyck
Should be no surprises tonight in Winnipeg, as the whiteout descends on the MTS Centre, ahead of Game 1.  I do have some early numbers from the pick sheets, taken from Tuesday night's entries and Hellebuyck was the overwhelming favourite, as Dubnyk hadn't received a selection by that time.  There are a lot of people on the Jets' bandwagon and I'm sure that's a very popular sentiment across the country.

Brian Elliott versus Matt Murray
The Battle of Philadelphia begins as well tonight, the only game in the Eastern Conference and Brian Elliott really flew under the radar during his recovery from injury in the last few weeks of the season.  It was truly looking like Petr Mrazek would indeed be the guy taking to the net for the Flyers, as he helped the team stay afloat in a playoff spot, while Elliott and Michal Neuvirth were hurt around the trade deadline.  So, Mrazek is a bit of a land mine, still yet to be selected after Tuesday night.  Matt Murray, his counterpart at the home end of the rink tonight, did have one selection, but the picks in the east have been all over the map early.

Jonathan Quick versus Marc-Andre Fleury
We're not expecting any surprises in Vegas tonight either, as the Kings and the Golden Knights will kick off the first playoff season in the team's inaugural season.  Jonathan Quick has the edge in early selection numbers, as he leads his counterpart, Marc-Andre Fleury, 1-0, after Tuesday night's selections.  There is a real good split in the overall picks in this series, with the Kings holding a slight edge, 14-13 in picks, after Tuesday night's entries.