Halak and Elliot, Best Tandem in History?
It goes without saying that the St. Louis Blues have and amazing goaltending duo this season. Brian Elliott is first in the NHL in Goals Against Average at 1.63 and 2nd with a Save Pct. of .937. His partner Jaro Halak sits 3rd in GAA at 1.91 and 9th in Save Pct. at .925. Halak has played 37 games while Elliott has played 31. Statistically, they may very well be one of the best goaltending tandems in NHL history. Let's have a look at some of the others.
2006/07 Minnesota Wild, Niklas Backstrom & Manny Fernandez
Backstrom played 41 games to Fernandez' 44 and led the league in both GAA (1.97) and Save Pct (.929). Fernandez placed 15th in both categories.
1991/92 New York Rangers, John Vanbiesbrouck & Mike Richter
Beezer played 45 games and finished 4th in both GAA and Save Pct (2.85, .910) and his 27 wins placed him 6th. Richter's 3.11 & .901 placed 6th and 9th respectively and his 23 victories put him in 13th spot.
1989/90 Boston Bruins, Andy Moog & Reggie Lemelin
Moog with 46 games placed 4th in GAA (2.89), Lemelin in 43 games was 3rd (2.81). Moog was 8th in Save Pct and Lemelin 9th and Moog 4th in wins, Lemelin 8th.
1983/84 Washington Capitals, Al Jensen & Pat Riggin
Riggin led the NHL with a 2.66 GAA and was 6th in Save Pct and 13th in Wins. Jensen was 3rd with a 2.91 GAA and 8th in Wins. To top it off, they shared the lead with 4 shutouts each and Riggin even managed to be named to the 2nd All-Star squad.
1978/79 New York Islanders, Glenn Resch & Billy Smith
Chico was 2nd with a 2.50 GAA and his 26 wins ranked 3rd. Partner Billy Smith was 5th and 6th with 2.87 GAA and 25 wins. Resch was the Second Team All-Star.
1968/69 St. Louis Blues, Glenn Hall & Jacques Plante
Along with being one of the top duos ever they may be one of the oldest as well, Hall was 37 and Plante was 40. They finished 1 and 2 in GAA, Plante at 1.96, Hall 2.17. Somehow though, Hall ended up First Team All-Star and Plante was shut out.
1950/51 Toronto Maple Leafs, Al Rollins & Turk Broda
Despite playing only 40 of 70 games (Broda played 31), Rollins was 2nd in victories with a 27-5-8 record and 1st with a 1.77 average. Broda's 2.23 was 3rd in the league.
1932/33 Montreal Maroons, Dave Kerr & Flat Walsh
Perhaps the first real shared duty goaltending tandem ever. 35 year-old Walsh was playing in his last season and 23 year-old Kerr was in his second full year. Walsh played 22 games with a 2.58 average and Kerr 22 matches with a 2.29 average. Although the Maroons finished above .500 they were only 8th out of 9 teams in goals against.
2006/07 Minnesota Wild, Niklas Backstrom & Manny Fernandez
Backstrom played 41 games to Fernandez' 44 and led the league in both GAA (1.97) and Save Pct (.929). Fernandez placed 15th in both categories.
1991/92 New York Rangers, John Vanbiesbrouck & Mike Richter
Beezer played 45 games and finished 4th in both GAA and Save Pct (2.85, .910) and his 27 wins placed him 6th. Richter's 3.11 & .901 placed 6th and 9th respectively and his 23 victories put him in 13th spot.
1989/90 Boston Bruins, Andy Moog & Reggie Lemelin
Moog with 46 games placed 4th in GAA (2.89), Lemelin in 43 games was 3rd (2.81). Moog was 8th in Save Pct and Lemelin 9th and Moog 4th in wins, Lemelin 8th.
1983/84 Washington Capitals, Al Jensen & Pat Riggin
Riggin led the NHL with a 2.66 GAA and was 6th in Save Pct and 13th in Wins. Jensen was 3rd with a 2.91 GAA and 8th in Wins. To top it off, they shared the lead with 4 shutouts each and Riggin even managed to be named to the 2nd All-Star squad.
1978/79 New York Islanders, Glenn Resch & Billy Smith
Chico was 2nd with a 2.50 GAA and his 26 wins ranked 3rd. Partner Billy Smith was 5th and 6th with 2.87 GAA and 25 wins. Resch was the Second Team All-Star.
1968/69 St. Louis Blues, Glenn Hall & Jacques Plante
Along with being one of the top duos ever they may be one of the oldest as well, Hall was 37 and Plante was 40. They finished 1 and 2 in GAA, Plante at 1.96, Hall 2.17. Somehow though, Hall ended up First Team All-Star and Plante was shut out.
1950/51 Toronto Maple Leafs, Al Rollins & Turk Broda
Despite playing only 40 of 70 games (Broda played 31), Rollins was 2nd in victories with a 27-5-8 record and 1st with a 1.77 average. Broda's 2.23 was 3rd in the league.
1932/33 Montreal Maroons, Dave Kerr & Flat Walsh
Perhaps the first real shared duty goaltending tandem ever. 35 year-old Walsh was playing in his last season and 23 year-old Kerr was in his second full year. Walsh played 22 games with a 2.58 average and Kerr 22 matches with a 2.29 average. Although the Maroons finished above .500 they were only 8th out of 9 teams in goals against.
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