Year after year we are treated to superb goaltending matchups in the first round of the NHL playoffs. This year, however, during the 2025-26 NHL season, we saw the worst league average goalie save percentage in decades. This year was the first to drop below a .900 since 1996, which, for those not in the know, means that goalies made saves at a rate below an average of 9/10 shots at the net.
With the offensive power of teams like Colorado, Edmonton, Anaheim, Carolina, and Buffalo leading the way into this year’s playoffs, the first round was a shock to many due to the lower scoring affairs and tremendous goaltending we witnessed in the majority of the series’. Choosing just three of these goalies is not fair to the dominance across the board in the first round, but below we try. Note that we have left out Scott Wedgewood and Frederik Andersen due to the low danger chances they faced compared to the goalies below, but it is of course worth noting that their .950’s are not un-noticed.
1. Alex Lyon
As the Buffalo Sabres were one of the only teams to carry 3 goalies for majority of the season, Alex Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen were a solid 1A-1B tandem for the year, and to push Buffalo into the playoffs and being the top of the Atlantic.
As Luukkenon has been the guy they drafted in round 2 of 2017 with high hopes in leading Buffalo to the promised land, the playoffs did not start out terrific for him. With questionable goals in both games 1 and 2, he eventually was pulled for Alex Lyon, who finished out game 2 strong and took the throne, starting game 3 on the road in a now tied series. In regulation in the next 4 games he allowed only 1 goal each, being a goalie that allows for team mistakes and other strong goaltending performances at the other end by Jeremey Swayman. By going 3-1 with a .955% and a 1.14 GAA in his 5 appearances, he is ranked as our #1 pick. His calm play and reads along with his off ice confidence allows for a possible deep run for the Sabres.
2. Arturus Silovs
As the Goalie Guru team in based out of Vancouver, B.C. , we have a soft spot in our hearts for the 24 year old Latvian who has proved he can be an NHL starter, dating back to his solid play in the 2024 Playoffs with the Canucks. After an unfortunate start to the next season, he was sent to Abbotsford to play out the year in the AHL instead, and that may have been the best thing for his career. Getting wins under your belt to prove you are a championship worthy goaltender is important, and Silovs did just that as he lead the team to its first ever Calder Cup and had a .931% in 24 games. To many surprises after this, the Canucks delt Silovs to the Pittsburgh Penguins showing they don’t see him as the organization’s goaltender, which again could be a good thing as the Canucks finished last in the NHL this year.
With both Stuart Skinner and Silovs playing below average stats during the season but a strong team performance getting them into the second spot in the Metro, the Flyers ran Skinner away starting the series off 3-0 in their favor and putting the Penguins on the brink of elimination early.
As the Penguins turned to Silovs in game 4 on the road, they needed momentum and the early stops in the game that make the Flyers offense question their game plan.
Silovs did just that. Calm with his saves, proper positioning and proper rebound control by the Penguins netminder made the young Flyers team think they couldn’t get anything going. When the head coach switches the goaltenders in a series, it typically makes the team try harder for the net netminder, and the defence in front of Silovs made him see the puck and make saves from distance where he could control rebounds. Losing a series ending game 1-0 in overtime is always heartbreaking, but Silovs has this strong play to build on for next season.
3. Dan Vladar
The 6’5 Czech netminder has been an average backup for the past 4 seasons in the NHL after being traded to Calgary from Boston. For a goalie his size, he spent lots of time advancing his skating, and being a goaltender who will still make those desperation saves. Vladar has the body language of a goalie who knows when he lets in a bad goal, and is never ahead of himself when he makes a great save. As this was written after his first two games in the second round, which were still strong performances, Vladar in all 6 games kept his team in each game and deserves to be a top 3 pick for the top first round performances. His strong play in games 1-3 and game 6 showed that he will make those timely saves and important ones when the team in front of him collapses, and we hope to see this strong play continue by taking on a very offensive Hurricanes team.
Honorable Mentions: Linus Ullmark and Anton Forsberg
Both Ullmark and Forsberg played on teams that just squeaked into the playoffs, and were up against the top teams of each conference who had some of the hottest players in the league. Though both goalies had 4 straight losses, they played exceptional for their teams. Forsberg appearing in his first ever playoffs faced an average of about 30 shots a game, which is high for playoff contention. Keeping 3 games in reach of a goal, he made timely saves and was calm doing so, which for a goalie starting game 1 on the road against the Colorado Avalanche is quite hard to do.