NHL Video: Top 11 Saves of the Season

This NHL season has seen some great saves as well as some goalies that have performed great.

It seems the standard in net has been raised, and the play in net across the NHL has been unbelievable.

As players continue to get better, goaltenders are forced to be amazing, and the fans benefit from the improved play.

The following slideshow is of the top 11 saves of this season for me.

Enjoy!

Jonas Hiller

Jonas Hiller is a solid goaltender, but this save speaks volumes about the talent the kid has.

Hiller sees the breakaway and comes out of the net to cut off the angles.

He forces the Montreal player to pick his spot and then Hiller takes it away with a fast glove save.

Tim Thomas

Tim Thomas is having a lights-out-year for the Bruins, and this save on a stud goal scorer sums the year up best.

Thomas is leading the league in almost every statistical category, and his play has been amazing in net.

He could have his own slideshow of great saves, but this was my favorite from him.

Brian Elliot

Brian Elliot has not been great this season, but this save was.

Elliot waits out the shot and goes post-to-post with his glove in the right position.  He then robs Fernando Pisani of an easy, open-net goal.

Now, if Elliot could just play more consistent for the Senators.

Miikka Kiprusoff

Miikka Kiprusoff hasn’t had the same skill level he has displayed in the past.

What he has displayed are glimpses of the player of the past.

He shows again here why he is still one of the best in the league.  Plus, a little help from your friends never hurts.

Sergei Bobrovsky

The Flyers have made a real diamond in the rough discovery with Sergei Bobrovsky this season.

This save early in the season shows how good this kid really is.

Bobrovsky had only been in America for less than a month and was still getting acclimated to the NHL when he showed how much potential he truly has.

Michal Neuvirth

Michal Neuvirth should be arrested for robbery.

The look on poor Eric Staal’s face explains how unbelievable this save truly was.

Niklas Backstrom

When you think goaltending, you don’t think swinging your stick like a baseball player.

Don’t tell that to the Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom.

Backstrom takes a big swing at the puck going into the open net and reverses its trajectory.

Tuukka Rask

Tuukka Rask has played second fiddle to Tim Thomas all season, but when he has played, he’s been excellent.

This save shows his relentlessness in net and his willingness and ability to get in front of any shot.

Rask makes a few great saves on this video.

Jimmy Howard

Jimmy Howard has been hurt for a while, but in his time playing this season, he made some excellent saves.

This save in particular against the ever-potent Vancouver Canucks impressed me.

Howard gets all the way across the crease and gets his glove on the puck.  It’s just amazing.

Carey Price

Carey Price makes one of the best glove saves of the year on this play.

Carolina slides a pass through three Montreal Canadiens to a teammate and goes to bury it on an open net.

Price slides across and throws his glove up just in time to make the stop. 

Great save!

Nikolai Khabibulin

Nikolai Khabibulin has no business making saves like this but still does it at least a few times a year.

Khabibulin will let up some easy goals, and then, he will fall down and smack a puck with his glove on other days.

The save speaks for itself.