Mike Brophy

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy writes Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday on Sportsnet.ca and appears regularly on Hockeycentral.

If the NHL playoffs were to start today, how many of the 16 qualified teams would be 100 percent happy with goaltending?

There are a precious few teams that will enter the playoffs completely comfortable with the situation. In the Eastern Conference, you could make the case only the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres are completely at ease with the men entrusted to keep the puck out of the net.

Ryan Miller is a legitimate Hart Trophy candidate with the Sabres; a goaltender who allows his low-scoring team a chance to win each night. The Sabres are the third lowest scoring team amongst the eight currently holding down playoff spots in the East, but with Miller in net winning it all is a possibility. You saw what he did at the Olympics, right?

Marc-Andre Fleury has hit a few bumps in the road this season, but after what he did in last year's playoffs you just know the Penguins are at ease.

The other six teams? Well, that's a different story.

The Washington Capitals are the NHL's No. 1 team - a scoring machine that plays wildly entertaining hockey. But when the play moves into its own end, all bets are off. The Caps have no confidence whatsoever in veteran Jose Theodore, whose contract is up after this season. That means they will likely turn the crease over the 21-year-old Semyon Varlamov, a kid with a bright future, but is he ready to carry his team to the Promised Land?

The Capitals are hoping Valamov can duplicate what Cam Ward did in the playoffs for Carolina four years ago, but you can bet they'll have all fingers and toes crossed the entire time.

The Ottawa Senators have been a pleasant surprise this season and Brian Elliott has taken massive strides toward proving he is a legitimate starter in the NHL, but he has never started a game in the playoffs.

Pascal Leclaire is the goalie the Senators were supposed to be riding late in the season, but he has battled injuries and inconsistency this season.

There were high hopes for the Philadelphia Flyers this season, but once again goaltending has been an issue. Old story, huh? To his credit, journeyman Michael Leighton has put up some splendid numbers with the Flyers, but he has never given any indication in his career that he has what it takes to carry a team through four rounds of playoffs.

The Montreal Canadiens' crease is a mess. The Habs want to force Carey Price down everybody's throats, even though he remains horribly inconsistent. Jaroslav Halak has played decent for the most part. These two guys will probably rise from the ashes to become very good NHLers, but not this season.

In Boston, Tim Thomas won the Vezina Trophy last season and was rewarded with the contract of a lifetime. The problem is he hasn't been very good this year and the Bruins scoring woes only serve to highlight its unreliable goaltending.

Even the New Jersey Devils have to be concerned about their goaltending. Say what you want about Martin Brodeur being the best goaltender of all-time or an automatic for the Hockey Hall of Fame, but his play has slipped. The Devils have never bought into the theory that he needs rest during the regular season as he grows older and his play in the playoffs the past few years has suffered.

In the Western Conference, the Phoenix Coyotes, Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche should be comfortable with its stoppers. You could probably lump the Los Angeles Kings in that category thanks to the wonderful year Jonathan Quick is enjoying, even though he has only played in one NHL playoff game.

As for the rest of the Western Conference playoff teams, they are left wondering how their goaltending will hold up at the most critical time of the year.

The San Jose Sharks are once again enjoying a great regular season, but it all goes out the window with another playoff failure. Are they sure Evgeni Nabokov can carry the mail? Of course they aren't. The veteran is still very much in a prove-it mode and until he enjoys a solid playoff, he remains a question mark.

The Chicago Blackhawks may be one of the most exciting young teams in the NHL with a solid defence, but the goaltending will give coach Joel Quenneville nightmares. Both Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi remain unproven.

Roberto Luongo got a huge monkey off his back and proved he can win the big one with the Canadian men's Olympic hockey team, but his 11-11 playoff record in the NHL leaves a lot to be desired. His inability to control rebounds leaves Canucks fans shaking in their boots.

Some think Pekke Rinne and Dan Ellis give the Nashville Predators one of the best goaltending tandems in the NHL, but only Ellis has playoff experience and he lost the only series he played in. The Predators rely heavily on defence, but of the goaltending isn't near perfect, it all goes out the window.