Stanley Cup 2012: Kings and Devils Series Will Be Decided by Goaltending

The 2012 Stanley Cup Final between the New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings will be decided by the performances of two goaltenders, one who is playing for his first championship, while the other is playing for his fourth.

Jonathan Quick and Martin Brodeur are at different stages of their careers, but their roles in this final are equally important.

Quick has led the Kings to within four wins of the cup as just the second eighth seed in playoff history to reach the final.

He ranks in the top five of nearly every goaltending category in the postseason, and shows the composure and poise between the pipes of a veteran.

Speaking of veterans, Brodeur at age 40 is looking to add yet another Stanley Cup triumph to his legendary career which will one day be immortalized at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

Since he has struggled during many playoff series since the Devils' last title in 2003, many people didn't think Brodeur had another run in him at this point of his career.

With this season possibly being his last as an NHL player, you can clearly see by his play thus far in the playoffs that Brodeur is determined to leave the sport as a champion.

Take a look at a statistical comparison between Brodeur and Quick before Game 1 of the final.

Player	Record	Save %	GAA	SO
Quick	12-2	.946	1.54	2
Brodeur	12-5-1	.923	2.04	1

Brodeur's experience in these types of high-pressure series will certainly give a Devils squad with a lot of inexperienced players the confidence they need to win four games and hoist the cup.

Many of the Devils' top players, such as Adam Henrique, Ilya Kovalchuk and captain Zach Parise, have never played in a cup final and will be under a lot of pressure to perform against a goalie that has been almost unbeatable thus far in the playoffs.

It's vital that the Devils take care of business at home in Games 1 and 2 of the series because the Kings are 8-0 on the road in the playoffs, and are fully confident that they can come into the Prudential Center and dominate.

It will be up to Brodeur to give his team a chance to win the opening two games because the Kings will win this series if they steal Game 1 or 2 in New Jersey.

If Quick can prove on the game's biggest stage that he's capable of continuing his fine playoff form, then the Kings players will believe they can win the Cup. If that happens, the series will be a very challenging one for the Devils to win.

The battle between Quick and Brodeur is the most important matchup of this Stanley Cup Final and it will decide which team's players will have their names engraved on the greatest trophy in sports.

Not only will the better goaltender win his team the series, he will almost certainly win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP too.

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Nicholas Goss is an NHL Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and was also the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Final in Boston. He has also covered the Boston Bruins firsthand since the 2010-11 season.