The Man Behind the Mask: Pelle Lindbergh
The NHLHS Man Behind The Mask series is a profile on some of the best goalies in the league to ever wear the “mask”. We hope you enjoy the latest installment of the NHLHS MBTM series.
On the eve of the birthday of a late, great Flyers legend, the Philadelphia Flyers continued their history making run by advancing to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
For years, there has been talk about “ghosts” in Philadelphia. The ghost of one man has yet to be set free. Today he would of continued the celebration with his peers from a glorious event which took place just twelve hours ago. Oh yea, and his own birthday celebration.
This is the story of Pelle Lindbergh.
Categories: 30 Team Series, NHLHS Features, Philadelphia Flyers, The Man Behind the Mask Tags: Allan Bester, bernie parent, Felix Potvin, ghost, Goalie, Goaltender, history, Martin Biron, Mask, Michael Leighton, Mike Palmateer, netminder, Patrick Roy, Pelle Lindbergh, Per-Eric Göran Lindbergh, Philadelphia Flyers, Robert Esche, Ron Hextall, Toronto Maple Leafs, Wendel Clark
The Man Behind the Mask: Michael Leighton
The NHLHS Man Behind The Mask series is a profile on some of the best goalies in the league to ever wear the “mask”. We hope you enjoy the latest installment of the NHLHS MBTM series.
The Philadelphia Flyers are your Eastern Conference Champions for the 2009-10 NHL season. That is correct. A team that once held the 14th seed in the Conference on lock, have defied the odds, skated through adversity and are on their way to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Thank you Ray Emery? No. Thank you Brian Boucher? Somewhat. Thank you waiver wire? YES!
Wait, waiver wire?
On December 15th, 2009, the Philadelphia Flyers were in a bad place. They had lost starting goaltender Ray Emery and backup netminder Brian Boucher to injuries and neither the team nor youngster Johan Backlund were confident enough to move forward together.
They sat in fourteenth place in the Eastern Conference and for a team that was predicted to appear in the Stanley Cup Finals by many, if not most, of the experts, things were looking bleak.
Enter a claim from the waiver wire. That claim was for a journeyman netminder who now has his name as a part of history and has gained an opportunity to play for the greatest prize in all of sports, the Stanley Cup.
Categories: 30 Team Series, Around the League, Atlantic, By Teams, Eastern Conference, NHLHS Features, Philadelphia Flyers, Playoff Coverage, The Man Behind the Mask Tags: bernie parent, Brian Boucher, Ed Snider, Jaroslav Halak, Johan Backlund, Michael Leighton, NHL, Philadelphia Flyers, Ray Emery, stanley cup, Stanley Cup Finals
The Man Behind the Mask: Jaroslav Halak
The NHLHS Man Behind The Mask series is a profile on some of the best goalies in the league to ever wear the “mask”. We hope you enjoy the latest installment of the NHLHS MBTM series.
If the regular season or the 2010 Winter Olympic games were not enough proof for you, then I truly hope you have been tuning in to these 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
You are witnessing the evolution of a prime time netminder.
After a rough opening to each series heading into these Eastern Conference Finals for the Montreal Canadiens, one man has been there to bail his club out on a constant basis.
Jaroslav Halak was born on May 13, 1985 in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Categories: 30 Team Series, Around the League, By Teams, Eastern Conference, Montreal Canadiens, NHLHS Features, Northeast, Playoff Coverage, The Man Behind the Mask Tags: 2010 Winter Olympic Games, AHL, Carey Price, Cristobal Huet, Eastern Conference Finals, ECHL, Evgeni Nabokov, Hamilton Bullogs, Jaroslav Halak, Molson Cup, Montreal Canadiens, NHL, Philadelphia Flyers, QMJHL, San Jose Sharks, Slovakia, Team Slovakia
The Man Behind the Mask: Antti Niemi
The NHLHS Man Behind The Mask series is a profile on some of the best goalies in the league to ever wear the “mask”. We hope you enjoy the latest installment of the NHLHS MBTM series.
The position of goaltending is a funny one, especially in the sport of hockey.
If you notice, the term “head case” is used quite frequently when discussing goaltenders. Martin Brodeur, Ron Hextall, Billy Smith, Sean Burke, Dan Cloutier, and others have all had their share of “problems” both on and off the ice.
It seems to play from the maturity level of a goaltender.
For the Chicago Blackhawks, maturity was developed quickly.
Antti Niemi was born on August 29, 1983 in Vantaa, Finland.
Read more…
Categories: 30 Team Series, Around the League, By Teams, Central, Chicago Blackhawks, NHLHS Features, Playoff Coverage, The Man Behind the Mask, Western Conference Tags: AHL, Antti Niemi, Billy Smith, Chicago Blackhawks, Cristobal Huet, Dan Cloutier, Finland, Finnish, Martin Brodeur, NHL, Rockford IceHogs, Ron Hextall, Sean Burke, SM-liiga
The Man Behind the Mask: Brian Boucher
The NHLHS Man Behind The Mask series is a profile on some of the best goalies in the league to ever wear the “mask”. We hope you enjoy the latest installment of the NHLHS MBTM series.
Rookie stand-out, turned journeyman, turned AHLer, back to the spotlight known as the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. That is the story summarized for Philadelphia Flyers starting goaltender, at least in these playoffs, Brian Boucher.
Where to begin?
Categories: 30 Team Series, Around the League, Atlantic, By Teams, Eastern Conference, NHLHS Features, Philadelphia Flyers, The Man Behind the Mask Tags: Brian Boucher, Martin Brodeur, Michael Leighton, Michal Handzus, Mike Leclerc, Philippe Sauve, Ray Emery, Robert Esche, Roman Checkmanek, Steven Reinprecht
The Man Behind the Mask: Ilya Bryzgalov
The NHLHS Man Behind The Mask series is a profile on some of the best goalies in the league to ever wear the “mask”. We hope you enjoy the latest installment of the NHLHS MBTM series.
Mature for this league, although some may differ when it comes to age. Either way, neither have prevented Coyotes number one goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov from performing as nothing short of outstanding.
His performance during last year’s IIHF World Championship tournament opened some eyes to the fans who are not as open to the small market teams and their players.
Bryzgalov helped Russia capture gold with a stellar performance during the tournament. Carrying that momentum into this season has provided the Coyotes with a man who can now place his name among the tops in the league within the position.
This year, Ilya Bryzgalov has helped his Phoenix Coyotes into their first playoff birth in many years. He has been rewarded from his outstanding play as being one of the three finalist for the Vezina trophy. The other two: New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Broduer and Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller. Not to shabby to be part of that group of goalies.
Categories: 30 Team Series, Around the League, Buffalo Sabres, By Teams, Eastern Conference, NHLHS Features, Northeast, The Man Behind the Mask Tags: AHL, Anaheim Ducks, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, Ilya Bryzgalov, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Martin Broduer, Martin Gerber, NHL Entry Draft, Phoenix Coyotes, Ryan Miller
The Man Behind the Mask: John Vanbiesbrouck
The NHLHS Man Behind The Mask series is a profile on some of the best goalies in the league to ever wear the “mask”. We hope you enjoy the latest installment of the NHLHS MBTM series.
NHL history is filled with player who were great but never got the recognition they truly deserved. These are the players who make teams what they are. The ones who come to the rink every day and do their jobs and take a team on their backs, but rarely if ever get the due they are afforded. Too often, it is the opposite, they are the ones that are jumped on the quickest at the first sign of distress.
May I introduce you to John Vanbiesbrouck, the master at being an under-appreciated overachiever.
Categories: 30 Team Series, Around the League, NHLHS Features, The Man Behind the Mask Tags: beezer, Brian Boucher, Chris Terrari, Chris Terreri, Doug Lidster, Florida Panthers, Goalie, John Vanbiesbrouck, Kay Whitmore, Kirk Mclean, legend, Mark Fitzpatrick, Mask, Mike Richter, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Pat Quinn, Philadelphia Flyers, Rick DiPietro, Ron Hextall, Scott Mellanby
The Man Behind the Mask: Ryan Miller
The NHLHS Man Behind The Mask series is a profile on some of the best goalies in the league to ever wear the “mask”. We hope you enjoy the latest installment of the NHLHS MBTM series.
For the Buffalo Sabres and Ryan Miller, things are constantly looking up.
If last season was any indication as to how vital Miller is to the line up and on-ice performance of the Buffalo Sabres, just look at this season and where the Sabres currently are.
As the number three seed heading into the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, there truly isn’t anyone else on this Sabres roster to thank, outside of rookie standout Tyler Myers, other than Miller.
Categories: 30 Team Series, Around the League, Buffalo Sabres, By Teams, Eastern Conference, NHLHS Features, Northeast, The Man Behind the Mask Tags: AHL, Buffalo Sabres, Dominik Hasek, Grant Fuhr, Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Biron, Olympics, Rochester Americans, Ryan Miller, Silver Medal, Team USA, Tyler Myers, Vezina
Behind the Mask: Chris Mason
NHLHS writer Laura Astorian takes a look at current St. Louis Blues netminder Chris Mason in our latest edition of The Man Behind the Mask.
Nashville has a certain reputation with starting goaltenders. Solid and impressive first year followed by a middling second with the team, which is promptly followed by the starter becoming the back-up, and the back-up becoming the starter. Dan Ellis and Pekka Rinne come to mind usually the most quickly, because both goalies are still with the Predators (albeit in a 1A/1B tandem). But what of the goaltender that Ellis dethroned?
Chris Mason learned that turnabout is sometimes fair play.
The back-up to Tomas Vokoun starting during the 2003-2004 season, the 122nd overall pick of the 1995 entry draft caught eyes with his .926 SV% and 2.18 GAA in the seventeen games that he played in. After the lock-out, he took over the full position of back-up, with a .913 SV% and 2.54 GAA.
Upon Vokoun’s leaving for the Sunshine State after the 2006-2007 season, Mason stepped up and assumed the role of full time starter. This wasn’t quite a big of jump as one might expect; Mason had played 40 games the prior season, with a .925 SV% and a 2.38 GAA. 2007-2008, though, was not to be as stellar, and left a chance for Ellis to creep up. Mason finished that season with a lackluster .898 SV% and a 2.90 GAA. He was a UFA at the end of the season, and with Dan Ellis and rookie Pekka Rinne coming up through the system, the Predators let him walk.
The St. Louis Blues needed a veteran goaltender to stand behind the injury prone Manny Legace. The previous season’s backup, Hannu Toivonen, had just come off a terrible season and returned to Finland, so there was a perfect spot for Mason. Legace, however, was struggling under the weight of Mason’s similiar-sized contract, and despite it being a UFA season for him, his numbers dropped off terribly and by February he had found himself waived to Peoria.
Mason had overtaken the role of starter once again. He led the Blues down an astounding 25-9-7 path at the end of the 2008-2009 season, ensuring the team had the league’s best post-All Star Game record, and also ensuring that the Blues returned to the playoffs for the first time since before the lockout.
Despite being swept in the first round by the Vancouver Canucks, the Blues felt sold on their goaltending situation, adding back-up Ty Conklin to the team for this season, but still communicating to Mason and the fans that he was the number one.
Despite the Blues missing the playoffs for yet another season after a second half that was solid, Mason still has put up solid numbers for the season. The end of the season marks contract renewal time, as on July 1st he is a free agent, but don’t ask him what his plans are for the future. For right now, Mason just wants the Blues’ opponents to keep on fearing the beard.
Laura Astorian
NHLHS St. Louis Blues Correspondant
lastorian@nhlhotstove.com
@hildymac
Categories: 30 Team Series, Around the League, By Teams, Central, NHLHS Features, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, The Man Behind the Mask, Western Conference Tags: Chris Mason, Hannu Toivonen, Manny Legace, Nashville Predators, Pekka Rinne, St. Louis Blues, Ty Conklin
The Man Behind the Mask: Johan Hedberg
The NHLHS Man Behind The Mask series is a profile on some of the best goalies in the league to ever wear the “mask”. We hope you enjoy the latest installment of the NHLHS MBTM series.
The 1994 entry draft was a solid one for goaltenders. Jose Theodore was chosen in the 2nd round by Montreal. In the 5th round, the Dallas Stars chose Marty Turco, and four goaltenders were chosen in the 9th round, three of those eventual starters: Tim Thomas by the Nordiques, Evgeny Nabokov by the Sharks, and Tomas Vokoun by the Habs.
None of them are having a season like Johan Hedberg.
Categories: Atlanta Thrashers, Eastern Conference, NHLHS Features, Southeast, The Man Behind the Mask Tags: Atlanta Thrashers, Dallas Stars, Evgeny Nabokov, Goaltender, Ilya Kovalchuk, Johan Hedberg, Jose Theodore, Kari Lehtonen, Marty Turco, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tim Thomas, Tomas Vokoun, Vancouver Canucks
The Man Behind the Mask: Tuukka Rask
The NHLHS Man Behind The Mask series is a profile on some of the best goalies in the league to ever wear the “mask”. We hope you enjoy the latest installment of the NHLHS MBTM series.
As an NHL goaltender, the road to becoming a starter is never easy. Just ask Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins.
Drafted 21st overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Rask never obtained the opportunity to play at any North American level of professional hockey by the Leafs and on June 24th, 2006 he was traded to the Boston Bruins for former Cader Trophy winner Andrew Raycroft. The Leafs felt they had their future secured with Justin Pogge in their pipeline. Pogge has since been traded and is now a member of the Carolina Hurricanes.
For Tuukka Rask, this was a blessing in disguise.
Categories: Boston Bruins, NHLHS Features, The Man Behind the Mask Tags: Andrew Raycroft, Boston Bruins, Goalie, Goaltender, hockey, Justin Pogge, Mask, Rask, Starting Goalie, Tuukka Rask
The Man Behind the Mask: Ken Dryden
The NHLHS Man Behind The Mask series is a bi-weekly profile on some of the best goalies in the league to ever wear the “mask”. We hope you enjoy the latest installment of the NHLHS MBTM series.
Categories: NHLHS Features, The Man Behind the Mask Tags: Al MacNeil, Guy Allen, Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens, Paul Reid, Rogie Vachon, Sam Pollock
The Man Behind the Mask: Evgeni Nabokov
The NHLHS Man Behind The Mask series is a bi-weekly profile on some of the best goalies in the league to ever wear the “mask”. We hope you enjoy the latest installment of the NHLHS MBTM series.
As a boy growing up I always used my father as a mentor and a figure of how I would expect to excel throughout my life. For the San Jose Sharks number one goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, the story is exactly the same.
Categories: NHLHS Features, The Man Behind the Mask Tags: Calgary Flames, Evgeni Nabokov, Miikka Kiprusoff, San Jose Sharks
The Man Behind the Mask: Martin Brodeur
The fourth installment of “The Man Behind The Mask” takes a look at the glorious career-to-date of New Jersey Devils long time goalie Martin Brodeur. We hope you enjoy this weekly installment only on NHL Hot Stove.
Categories: 30 Team Series, NHLHS Features, The Man Behind the Mask Tags: Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils, Patrick Roy
The Man Behind the Mask: Curtis Joseph
Where to start? As a hockey loving, goalie playing Torontonian, Maple Leaf Goalies have been a love/hate relationship with me.
Categories: 30 Team Series, NHLHS Features, The Man Behind the Mask Tags: Allan Bester, Curtis Joseph, Felix Potvin, J.S. Aubin, Jonas Gustavsson, Ken Wregget, Manny Legace, Mark LaForest
