The sports betting world understands the importance of a goaltender to a winning hockey team. It is extremely rare that a team wins the Stanley Cup without a memorable playoff run from its goaltender. When the league drops the puck on the 2012-2013 season, there will be a lot of teams that will need their goaltenders to step up and play big. If you are betting on I’ll Have Another to win the Belmont Stakes, then you should also take the time to check out these teams that will follow their goalies to success in the coming NHL season.
Ryan Miller – Buffalo Sabres
If Ryan Miller is going to start to stake his claim to the elite goaltender status that he has been flirting with for years now, then he will need to step up and make his team a contender this season. Miller is 31 years old and is running out of time to win the Stanley Cup in a Buffalo uniform. Miller has the ability. He just needs to learn to focus on the details of his game to become the goaltender the Sabres need him to be.
Tim Thomas – Boston Bruins
The price per head sports experts noted that Tim Thomas and the Boston Bruins were the best defensive unit in the NHL for a large part of the first half of the season. Then something went wrong and the Bruins lost its defensive edge. The last time this happened, it was revealed that Thomas needed off-season surgery to repair damage that had prevented him from living up to expectations in the 2010-2011 season. Thomas will figure out what went wrong this season and he will be able to bring his game back in 2012-2013.
Braden Holtby – Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals have become famous among the betonline experts for ruining promising rookie goaltenders. But it looks like the Caps have found magic in Braden Holtby and the rookie will be ready to deliver next season. Predicting the fate of second-year goalies can be tricky. Sergei Bobrovsky was supposed to be the answer in Philadelphia, but he has yet to pan out. But with Holtby, the Capitals have a goalie to build around and a way to get confidence back into the Washington lineup.
Jaroslav Halak – St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues had one of the best goaltending tandems in the league during the regular season with Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak. But Halak had his run with the Canadiens where he was a playoff hero and that experience was critical to the Blues’ success. Once Halak was out of the playoffs with an injury, the Blues were out as well. NHL fans in St. Louis now see clearly who the number one goalie is and the sustained health of Jaroslav Halak will be critical to the success of the Blues in 2012-2013.