Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
The Anaheim Ducks have been extremely successful this season, much more so than anyone could have anticipated. Part of what has made them so successful has been their goaltending duo. The tandem of Jonas Hiller and Viktor Fasth has been very good for the Ducks.
The question for this team is going to be which goaltender will start in the playoffs. Neither one has seen significant stretches of time. Bruce Boudreau has been pretty adamant about riding the hot hand. One would have to imagine that whichever goaltender is in the midst of a stronger stretch heading into the postseason will grab the starts early on.
Right now, Hiller is making his case to do just that. Despite the fact that Fasth has the far better numbers on the season, Hiller has been piecing together some very nice starts, which could help his case to start over Fasth. Don’t forget, Fasth is in just his first season as a pro.
On the season, Hiller has a save percentage of just .910 and 2.42 goals-against average. Those numbers aren’t really indicative of how well Hiller has played in the past couple of months, though. He’s made 16 starts since the beginning of March and has allowed more than two goals only twice in that stretch. His only shutout of the season came during that span as well.
Not that Fasth has been bad. He hasn’t seen as much action as Hiller, probably due to the fact that this is his first year, but he’s been dynamite in the time we have seen him. He has two shutouts and another relief appearance in which he didn’t allow a goal in the month of April alone.
But one would have to imagine that as long as Hiller keeps up his strong play, he’ll be the guy to start the postseason. We could very well see these two platoon into the playoffs, but given his status as the veteran and his recent success, Jonas Hiller will get the first crack at things come playoff time.
