10. Tomas Vokoun & Ondrej Pavelec ? Czech Republic Based on experience more than superior play, Vokoun (33) is likely to get the initial starting nod over the young Pavelec (22). In the three NHL seasons between 2003-2007, his final three with the Predators, Vokoun was 97-59-10-7 with a .916 save percentage and 2.53 goals against. But since joining the Panthers before the 2007-08 season, his numbers have fallen (66-63-21-13), though his save percentage and GAA are relatively the same. He was once thought of as one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, but now he doesn?t crack the top-10 in most conversations. Pavelec should get some opportunities to play in the round robin, as it would help him prepare for the 2014 Olympics (if NHL players are permitted to participate). With those opportunities, he has the skill that may enable him to take Vokoun?s job. After seeing a small amount of NHL game-time in the previous two years (19 games total), the young Thrasher has thrived in the wake of another Kari Lehtonen injury. Pavelec has played in 21 of the team?s 33 games, and sports a 9-8-3 record with 2 shutouts, a .912 save percentage and 3.18 GAA. Not spectacular by any means, but it is more likely for a young goaltender to catch lightning in a bottle during the tournament than one on the wrong side of his prime. 9. Tim Thomas ? USA After the 2008-09 season, everyone thought that Thomas was a lock to have the starting job for Team USA in the Olympics in 2010. The reigning Vezina winner was 36-11-7 with a 2.10 GAA and league-leading .933 save percentage last year. And after 2 rounds in the playoffs he had a sparkling 1.85 GAA and stopped 93.5% of the shots he faced. This year, not only has he probably lost the Team USA starting job, but is on the verge of losing his own Bruins starting job ? splitting time with young Tuukka Rask. Thomas is 7-8-5 while being ranked 17th in both save percentage and goals against. 8. Niklas Backstrom ? Finland Up until a couple of weeks ago, I had Backstrom in a tight race with young upstarts Rask and Pekka Rinne to earn time as Finland?s number two. But with 7 wins in his last 9 games, Backstrom?s game has returned to the stellar norm that NHL and Wild fans are accustomed to seeing. Though his goals against and save percentages are a bit below what they were his last few seasons, 2.45 and .912 are still more than respectable. He was on the 2006 Olympic team, though he didn?t play a game, so at least he has some experience with the Games as a whole. He was also a Vezina runner-up last year. 7. Roberto Luongo ? Canada There are bound to be a lot of readers taken aback by Luongo being 7th. First, this is an Olympic ranking, not a league-wide top-10. Almost everyone ahead of him in this list is a sure bet to start for his country, whereas Luongo has an uphill battle in that regard against the best in the game?s history. Secondly, he has not proven himself to be a clutch performer in the playoffs. In the second round against the Hawks last season he simply seemed overmatched, being eliminated in game 6 after giving up seven goals. He has a career 11-11 playoff record ? simply too subpar to overlook despite his regular-season success. This isn?t all bad news though. Bobby Lu has had a fantastic career despite playing for some basement dwelling teams on Long Island and in Florida. With Vancouver he has a 131-75-22 record with 22 of his 49 career shutouts. It doesn?t hurt his case, either, that the Olympics will be played in his home rink. 6. Miikka Kiprusoff ? Finland Here we have another incredible regular season goaltender with a spotty post-season resume. After making the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals, the Flames have been eliminated in the first round the last four seasons in a row, the past two of which he gave up over 3 goals per game. Despite these struggles, Kiprusoff has to be the front-runner to man the pipes for Finland (and don?t forget, he publicly stated he would rather stay home and take a vacation during those two weeks if the team did not plan on starting him). He deserves a mid-season vacation, too. Kipper is a workhorse and incredibly durable, playing in 74 games or more four seasons in a row (possibly a reason for the playoff flameouts?). For his career, he is 222-134-46 with a 2.44 GAA and .914 save percentage, and owner of the 2005-06 Vezina trophy. 5. Henrik Lundqvist ? Sweden ?King Henry? is one of, if not the, best young goaltender in the NHL. He is the only goaltender to ever start his career with four straight 30-win seasons, and finished 3rd place in voting for the Vezina in each of his first three seasons. The 27 year old is an outstanding 157-96-37 in his career with 21 shutouts, a 2.33 GAA and .917 save percentage. That said, he is merely 15-13-3 with only 1 shutout so far this season as the Rangers are floundering after a hot start. He has been in the playoffs each of the last four seasons, but has failed to escape the second round, amassing a 14-16 record with a 2.66 GAA and .907 save percentage. 3. & 4. ? Ilya Bryzgalov & Evgeni Nabokov ? Russia To me, this is the only goaltender battle that is not clear-cut. Both have histories of being very good goaltenders; both have been excellent this season; both have their teams near the top of the Western Conference standings. Nabokov was Russia?s starting goalie for the 2006 Olympics, going 5-2 with a 1.34 GAA; Bryzgalov backed him. Bryzgalov was on the bronze-medal team in 2002, and dominated the World Championships in 2009, going 7-0 with a 2.04 GAA. Nabokov has consistently been on one of the best teams in the league, and consistently been favoured to make it to, or win, the Stanley Cup. But he, and the Sharks, continually collapse come spring. But as his 2008 Vezina nomination shows, ?Nabby? is always electric in the regular season, winning over 40 games the last two years. This year he is 18-5-7 with a 2.34 GAA and a .923 save percentage. For his career he is 267-167-63 with 49 shutouts. Bryzgalov spent years as a backup before Phoenix gladly picked him up off of waivers to give him his first chance at a permanent starting gig. Now in his third season, he is simply dominating. He is 20-10-2 and leads the league with 4 shutouts, is fourth with a 2.08 GAA and fifth with a .924 save mark. At 29, he is 5 years younger than Nabby and may be able to lock down the starting spot this time around. 2. Ryan Miller ? USA At the end of last season, Miller was thought of as a lock for the backup goaltender?s spot on Team USA. Now, there is no question he is The Man in net for the red, white, and blue. He has set the hockey world on fire this year, and is showing no signs of slowing down. He is a ridiculous 21-7-2. He is second in wins, and leads the league in save percentage (.938), GAA (1.89), and shutouts (4). Prior to this year he had four straight 30 win seasons and a respectable career GAA of 2.58. Most importantly, his Sabres lead their division, six points ahead of Boston (and his USA counterpart Thomas). Early favourite for the Vezina. 1. Martin Brodeur ? Canada How could anyone else be #1? The most accomplished, and my vote for best, goaltender in the history of the NHL. He has three Cups in his fifteen seasons (all with the Devils), and is the all-time leader in wins, shutouts, games and minutes played by a goalie, most overtime wins, most consecutive 30-win seasons (12), most consecutive 35-win seasons (11), most 40-win seasons (7), most wins in a season (48), most minutes played by a goalie in a season, most shutouts in a single playoff (7), and is tied for most playoff shutouts in a career (23). He also has 4 Vezina trophies and 4 Jennings trophies (goalie on the team with the fewest goals against). At age 37, he isn?t slowing down. He is 23-8-1 this year with a 2.10 GAA, 3 shutouts and a .921 save percentage. Don?t forget him stealing away Curtis Joseph?s job as starting goalie for the 2002 Olympic team, winning a gold medal in the process. He backstopped the 2006 team as well, but despite a very good 2.01 GAA, the team faltered. But as you can see by all of his accolades, that wasn?t his fault. He is simply the best goalie to ever play. Nick can be reached at [email protected]