Did goaltending make all the difference in the Stanley Cup Finals?

No it didn't...Chris Osgood was arguably the best goaltender in the playoffs. He kept the Wings in a lot of games, and if we wouldve won, he would have deserved the Conn Smythe, without a doubt.

EDIT- you're overlooking the intangibles. Not only do the numbers support Osgood, but the number of simply miraculous saves he made dwarfed that of Fleury's performance. When a Red Wing puts the puck directly into Fleury's glove and then he waves his glove in the air like a wand, as if he used any sort of coordination or intuitive reaction with his glove hand to keep the puck out, it's not a miraculous save. Fleury got hit with the puck. The Red Wings did a very poor job of finishing opportunities and placing shots. Chris Osgood has to work for his saves.

Chris Osgood outplayed Fleury every game.

EVERY game.

yes, as it always does. both goalies surprised me with how good they really were. Did the goaltending decide the series? You might as well ask if the defensemen decided the series, or the forwards. You need a team to win. That's why the Caps didn't make it. But the last save Fleury made at the end of Game 7 was spectacular. That save stopped overtime.

but oh oh oh JONAS HILLER IS MY MAN

Best goalie in the league!

All the difference?

Most likely not.

Game 1: Wings win 3-1 = not a good performance by fleury

Game 2: Wings win 3-1 = again not too solid for fleury

Game 3: Pens win 4-2 = Weak game for osgood

Game 4: Pens win 4-2 = Weak game for osgood

Game 5: Wings win 5-0 = Abysmal game for fleury

Game 6: Pens win 2-1 = This is where goaltending mattered. clearly a battle between Fluery and Osgood.

Game 7: Pens win 2-1 = Same. the battle of the goaltenders.

so i would say it mattered a lot in the end, but it clearly didnt make ALL the difference.

Sometimes, rarely but sometimes, the numbers tell a fib.....often times as you know, it is not how many you let in but WHEN...Game 6 and 7 were clear evidence of this...he let in a softie in Game 7 BUT when he was most needed he stood on his head.

Philly, Washington and Detroit are all high scoring teams too...not everybody has the same opponents.

Fleury had a VERY good playoffs! To spite what the numbers say.

In game 7 it very much was. The rest of the series, it was the Penguins resiliency that made the difference. Fleury did save their asses in Game 7 at the end, though

True, but he was #1 in games 6 and 7. When he had to be at his best, he was. Fleury outplayed Ozzie in games 6 and 7. And Ozzie played very well.

No both goalies were great the goalies didn't win it (but in the last seconds of game 7 Fleury made them win)

In a sense yes. In the last 2 games that his team needed to win, he was the better goaltender.

I know this is usually the case, but this finals I believe was determined by turnovers in the defensive zone. I still maintain that Detroit made too many. Instead of playing the puck up the boards to get it out of the zone. Too many times they tried to pass across the center of their zone. This is not fundamentally sound hockey.

No. It was a great well-fought series. The goalies didn't win it, and the goalies didn't lose it. It was a great match which could have gone either way.