A look at the starting goaltenders for Monday's playoff games

Goaltending is always important in the NHL, but the need for solid, and sometimes phenomenal, goaltending becomes front and center once the playoffs begin. With that in mind, here's a look at the starting netminders for the first four games of the 2021-22 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which get underway Monday night. Some of these are obvious, but other teams have had to make a tough decision.

Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes.

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy certainly had a tougher decision to make than most coaches going into the playoffs. Neither of his starting goaltenders have any playoff experience whatsoever at the NHL level. In this case, Cassidy appears to have went with overall experience in naming Linus Ullmark as the starter for game one against the Hurricanes. Jeremy Swayman, who has just 51 games in total in the NHL under his belt, will serve as backup. Ullmark is coming off of his first shutout in a Bruins sweater, which he accomplished just four days ago against his former team, the Buffalo Sabres.

At the other end, coach Rod Brind'Amour's choice was a little easier to make. With Freddie Andersen injured, Antti Raanta will get the start Monday night. Despite being 32 years old, Raanta has played in just five playoffs games in his career, with his last post season games coming in 2019-20 with the Arizona Coyotes. Pyotr Kochetkov will serve as backup.

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

While there been no official announcement of starting goaltenders from either team, it's pretty much a no-brainer for both of them. Tampa Bay will be starting last year's Conn Smythe winner for most valuable player in the playoffs, Andrei Vasilevskiy. The only way Vasilevskiy is taken out of the net for the Bolts is if he's injured. At the other end, Jack Campbell will get the start. His performance will be crucial in determining whether the Leafs finally get into the second round of the playoffs. The Bolts are all but assured a top-notch performance from their goaltender. Campbell will need to keep up for Toronto to have a chance. Brian Elliott will serve as backup for the Bolts, while Erik Källgren is expected for the Leafs.

St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild

This is one where both teams had some options. For the Blues, the choices are Jordan Binnington and Ville Husso. Despite have no playoff experience, it's Husso who'll be getting the nod Monday night. Husso had a breakout year in the NHL, playing in 38 games and going 25-7-0. Binnington finished the season on a stronger note after a rocky start, but has lost all nine of his last postseason games. That may have made the decision easier to make.

Like the Blues, the Wild have two good options in Marc-Andre Fleury and Cam Talbot. It is Fleury that will get the start Monday night. His 162 playoff games in the NHL makes him a great choice. It'll be interesting to see if Talbot gets a shot at some point.

LA Kings vs. Edmonton Oilers

Another two teams where the starter at this point was an easy decision to make. Jonathan Quick will, of course, get the start for the Kings. The two-time Stanley Cup champ and Conn Smythe winner in 2012 knows what it takes to go deep in the playoffs. Cal Peterson will serve as Quick's backup.

A month or two ago, the decision may have been a trickier one for Edmonton. However, Mike Smith was on fire in April and the team is hoping his play can carry over into the post season. Smith and Quick battled it out in the 2012 Western Conference Final when Smith was playing with the then Phoenix Coyotes. Smith will be looking to get some revenge for that loss. Mikko Koskinen will serve as the backup for the Oilers.

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