2011 NHL Playoffs: Comparing Goalies in Each Conference Finals Series

And then there were four—goalies that is.

Dwayne Roloson, Tim Thomas, Antti Niemi and Roberto Luongo are the only four goalies still playing in this season's NHL Playoffs.

Roloson and Thomas will face off for the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Meanwhile, Niemi and Luongo will duel in the Western Conference Finals for the San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks.

2011 Playoff Record

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PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 02: Goalie Tim Thomas #30 of the Boston Bruins makes a save against the Philadelphia Flyers during the overtime period of Game Two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center

You have to be good to make it to the Conference Finals as a starting goalie. Here are the playoff records to date for the final four goalies:

Roloson: 8-3

Thomas: 8-3

Niemi: 7-5

Luongo: 8-5

Advantage: Tie (Roloson & Thomas) Roloson and Thomas have identical records. Both went the distance and won a seven-game series in the first round before sweeping their second-round opponents.

Niemi is the only goalie who didn't get the prerequisite eight wins because his backup got the win in the Sharks' epic come-from-behind victory in Game 3 of the first round against the Los Angeles Kings.

Career Playoffs Experience

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SAN JOSE, CA - MAY 12: Antti Niemi #31 of the San Jose Sharks skates off the ice after they beat the Detroit Red Wings in Game Seven of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at HP Pavilion on May 12, 2011 in San Jose,

None of these goalies are playoff rookies, although some do have more experience than others.

Roloson: 44 playoff games, 26-15

Thomas: 29 playoff games, 18-11

Niemi: 35 playoff games, 23-11

Luongo: 47 playoff games, 25-22

Advantage: Niemi He has the better winning record, and while Luongo and Roloson have more playoff experience, Niemi is the only one of the four goalies who can claim a Stanley Cup on his résumé.

Save Percentage

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TAMPA, FL - MAY 04: Marco Sturm #18 of the Washington Capitals takes a goaltender interference penalty against Dwayne Roloson #35 of the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the

Fittingly enough, the NHL's top goalies—in terms of save percentage—are still playing.

Roloson: 0.941 (first in the NHL) on 366 shots

Thomas: 0.937 (second in the NHL) on 354 shots

Niemi: 0.906 (12th in the NHL) on 349 shots

Luongo: 0.917 (sixth in the NHL) on 311 shots

Advantage: Roloson He edged out Thomas by a hair for first overall in save percentage in the NHL. He arguably had to face the more dangerous team in the second round, going up against Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals, while Thomas "only" had to deal with a Pronger-less Flyers team.

Goals Against Average and Shutouts

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TAMPA, FL - MAY 03: Fans show their apprecaition to goaltender Dwayne Roloson #35 of the Tampa Bay Lightning in his game against the Washington Capitals in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at St Pet

Perhaps more important than save percentage is goals against average, which shows what ultimately matters—how many goals did you let in?

Fans don't tend to care if your stats were sublime or subpar. They only care if you let in less goals than the other goalie.

Roloson: 2.01 GAA (first in NHL) one shutout.

Thomas: 2.03 GAA (second in NHL) zero shutouts

Niemi: 3.01 GAA (12th in NHL) zero shutouts

Luongo: 2.25 GAA (fifth in NHL) two shutouts

Advantage: Roloson Roloson again just barely edged Thomas out of the top spot. Again, Niemi is by far the worst of the four goalies statistically.

Conclusion

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RALEIGH, NC - JUNE 5: Chris Pronger #44 of the Edmonton Oilers vies for slot position with Justin Williams #11 of the Carolina Hurricanes as goaltender Dwayne Roloson #35 of the Edmonton Oilers tries to get a look at the play during game one of the 2006

As a Canucks' fan, I wish I could state without bias that Luongo is the best goalie in the playoffs right now.

But I can't.

The 41-year-old Roloson is hands down the best goalie in the 2011 NHL Playoffs.

This might be the year he gets a Stanley Cup ring after he was denied by Carolina in 2006. (If he weren't injured in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals that year, Edmonton would've won the Cup, Pronger would've been happy and wouldn't have demanded a trade from the Oiler, and a whole lot of things would have played out differently in the "city of champions," but that is an article for another time).

Thomas came in a close second, so the two best goalies are duking it out in the Eastern Conference Finals.

As a Canucks' fan, I can at least console myself that Luongo is significantly better than Niemi, at least statistically, heading into the Western Conference Finals.