World Cup betting players know how much a good goalkeeper can affect their team’s chances, and the same happens in the NHL, where a pair of goalies are outplaying their counterparts, and it has resulted in 2-0 series leads.

Michael Leighton is playing out of his mind right now for Philadelphia, stopping all 58 shots, like MMA fighter on the defensive in a UFC 116 betting match up,  as the Flyers outscored Montreal 9-0 in the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals.  Leighton has now on a shutout streak of 165:50, and he was especially big in the first period of Game 2, when he turned back all 16 Montreal shots.  Leighton is only in nets because Brian Boucher got hurt in Game 5 of their series with Boston, but he’s paying huge dividends right now for the Flyers.

Antti Niemi was thought to be the weak link for Chicago heading into the playoffs, but he has allowed just three goals on 72 shots over the first two games as the Blackhawks won both games in San Jose in the Western Conference.  Niemi was on fire in Game 1′s 2-1 win as he made 44 saves, and he’s outplayed San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov by a substantial margin.  Now, he’ll just have to step up his game at home as Niemi is just 3-3 at the United Center so far in the playoffs.  The Blackhawks have a massive opportunity heading home with a 2-0 lead, and Niemi will be the key to their betting odds for the rest of the series