NHL Goalies: A Shutout Beginning Online Trivia | Sports

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1. Daren Puppa, although a solid goaltender, will most likely be remembered as the starter for the Tampa Bay Lightning between 1993-2000. One thing that has been overlooked, time and again was his very first shutout in his very first game, back in 1985. What made his shutout so special?

Answer: He defeated the defending Stanley Cup champs

Daren Puppa was drafted 74th overall in the 1983 NHL draft, by the Sabres of Buffalo. In his NHL debut on November 1, 1985, Puppa was placed in net against the two-time defending cup champs, the Edmonton Oilers. He was up to the challenge, however, stopping all 37 shots in an impressive 2-0 victory.

In 429 NHL contests, Puppa recorded 179 victories, 161 losses, 54 ties, 19 shutouts and a 0.897% save average.

2. Mike Fountain was perhaps the most unknown back-up goalie of the mid 1990s. Regardless, he pulled a rabbit out of his hat and won his first NHL start with a shutout. Fountain made 40 saves against the New Jersey Devils in 1996. Who was the goaltender facing Fountain that night?

Answer: Mike Dunham

Mike Fountain was drafted 45th overall by the Vancouver Canucks, back in 1992. He waited a long time to play, but his patience eventually paid off on November 14, 1996. Mike Fountain and the Canucks faced the Devils and defeated them by a score of 3-0. That became the highlight of his short career.

The rest of his Canucks games were disasters. His last five games as a Canuck ended in a 6-1 defeat, a 7-3 defeat, a brutal 7-6 OT win, a 2-1 defeat, and a 7-1 defeat. The Hurricanes took a chance with him the following season, but it also didn't help him.

In a total of 11 games for the Canucks, Hurricanes and Senators, Fountain recorded 2-6-0 record with a 3.49 GAA, a 0.880% save average and one shutout.

3. Kevin Hodson was a goalie with a short NHL career. In his first career start, in 1996, Mr. Hodson recorded a 20 save shutout against Ed Belfour and the Blackhawks. Was this game the first ever NHL appearance by Kevin Hodson?

Answer: No

On January 6, 1996, Hodson and the Red Wings defeated the Blackhawks 3-0. Despite it being Kevin Hodson's first NHL start, it was his second ever appearance in the league. His first appearance was made the night before, playing in relief of Chris Osgood for 28 minutes. Kevin Hodson was never drafted, but was given an opportunity by the Detroit Red Wings.

His first four games were great, then his next season was better. After that, his record faltered heavily when he was traded to the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning.

In his 71 game NHL career, Hodson recorded a 17-18-10 record with a 2.76 GAA, four shutouts and an average 0.893% save percent.

4. San Jose goaltender Evgeni Nabokov played little more than a back-up role in his first year. His first two appearances were in relief of the questionable starter. His first ever start gave him a 0-0 shutout tie with Colorado. Who was the starting goaltender who eventually gave way to Nabokov the following year?

Answer: Steve Shields

Nabokov took over the starting job from Steve Shields after replacing him in net a total of 7 times. Shields was promptly let go in the off-season, and rightfully so. Nabokov never looked back. After his 39 save shutout debut, Nabokov became arguably the greatest starter ever to play for the franchise.

In the 2007-08 season, Nabokov beat former Sharks goalie Arturs Irbe's record for minutes played in a season. Irbe once held the record at 4412 minutes, or the equivelant of about 73.5 uninterrupted starts in net. Nabokov shattered Irbe's time with a total of 4561 minutes played. Nabokov made huge improvements on his game between his draft in 1994 and his current self.

5. Finnish goaltender Jussi Markannen was a touted prospect who got his chance with the big league in 2001. With the Edmonton Oilers, Markannen defeated the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 2-0 in his debut. Which Edmonton Oiler scored the game winner in that game?

Answer: Georges Laraque

Jussi Markannen was drafted 133rd overall in the 2001 draft, by the Edmonton Oilers. Surprisingly, with such a low draft number, Markannen saw NHL action that same season. In his debut he shutout the Mighty Ducks with 27 saves. Laraque scored the game winner and Shawn Horcoff netted another to win the game. Jussi Markannen was an unrestricted free agent in the 2007 off-season and ended up going to Europe to play.

His highest accolade was taking over for injured Dwayne Roloson in the 2006 Stanley Cup Final.

He led the Oilers to a game seven where they were ultimately defeated 3-1. In 128 career games, Markannen recorded a 43-47-8-7 record with seven shutouts, a 2.70 GAA and a 0.901% save percent.

6. On January 8, 2003, a young goaltender named Michael Leighton was given a chance at NHL action. Facing the Phoenix Coyotes, Leighton turned aside all 31 shots put at the net. Did Leighton and the Blackhawks win the game?

Answer: No

Despite the shutout of Leighton, opposing Phoenix goaltender Zac Bierk also recorded his own 40 save shutout, the only one of his career. The game ended in a 0-0 draw. Michael Leighton was drafted in the sixth round, 165th overall in 1999. After his first season, he began his jumping between NHL and AHL teams.

In his first five seasons, Leighton had already been a member of six teams. One noteworthy accolade in his resume came in the 2007-08 Calder Cup playoffs. In game five, the game was led to a fifth overtime. Even though he lost, Leighton set an AHL record for most saves in a game with 98 out of a possible 101 shots.

7. When one uses the name Martin Brodeur in a sentence, all other New Jersey goaltender's names disappear into obscurity. That is particularly true when talking about Brodeur's back-up goalies. Despite that, this back-up goalie recorded his first shutout in his first start, back in 2004. Who was he?

Answer: Scott Clemmensen

Clemmensen's first shutout was not in his first ever game, as he replaced Brodeur in net twice before in 2001-02. He played a total of 20 minutes and made 4 saves before making his first NHL start the following year. That first start ended up in a 3-0 shutout victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Clemmensen made 25 saves in the game. Drafted 215th overall in the 1997 entry draft, few people predicted that he would ever see NHL action.

In his first year as a back-up, Clemmensen played in 4 games and recorded two shutouts, with a very impressive 0.952% save average.

8. In the 2005-06 season, a new NHL was born. Supposedly the new NHL would create high scoring games with very few shutouts. Rookie goaltender Yann Danis disproved the theory, by getting a shutout in his very first game. What team was he a member of?

Answer: Montreal Canadiens

After a relatively strong start to the season, Montreal starter Jose Theodore was placed on the bench on October 12, 2005. There, Yann Danis and the Canadiens defeated Ilya Kovalchuk and the Atlanta Thrashers 2-0. Danis made 32 saves. He became only the third goaltender in Canadiens history to record a shutout in his first game.

The other two were Bob Perreault and Wayne Thomas in 1955-56 and 1972-73 respectively. After his shutout debut, Danis lowered his play drastically, resulting in his return to the AHL.

9. At the beginning of the 2006-07 season, rookie goalies were given a second look. That was especially true after Carolina's Cam Ward shocked the hockey world by winning the Stanley Cup in his rookie year. The Dallas Stars, confident in the young goalies gave Mike Smith a shot at NHL action. In his first game, he recorded his first shutout. Which All-Star goalie did Mike Smith out-duel in the game?

Answer: Curtis Joseph

In his first game, Mike Smith was placed in net against the Phoenix Coyotes, with Curtis Joseph. Smith stopped all 22 shots as the Stars defeated the Coyotes 4-0. He finished his rookie year with very solid numbers. Smith recorded a 12-5-2 record with a 2.23 GAA, 3 shutouts and a 0.912% save average.

He became expendable to the Stars organization in 2007-08, resulting in him being traded to Tampa Bay, along with Jeff Halpern and Jussi Jokinen, in exchange for Johan Holmqvist and Brad Richards.

10. Which of the following modern NHL greats recorded a shutout in their first game?

Answer: None listed

Despite the names being synonymous with greatness, none of the goalies attained the debut shutout. Patrick Roy took 23 games to record his first shutout. In fact, his rookie year was uneventful in the regular season. In fact, it wasn't until he won the Stanley Cup, as a rookie, that he became the solid goaltender he is known for being. Martin Brodeur took seven games to record his first shutout.

His first four games in 1991-92 were rough, but he never looked back as he began recording consistently top NHL numbers. Like the other greats, Ed Belfour had struggles his rookie year.

He recorded a lousy 4-12-3 record with a 3.87 GAA and a 0.878% save average. Second year and on, he became one of the league's elite goaltenders. It took Belfour 30 games to record his first shutout.

As you've just seen, it doesn't take a shutout beginning to spell a successful NHL career. Generally, a shutout beginning has resulted in far higher expectations for the goalies, resulting in disappointment most of the time. Consistency is the life blood of a goalie and if they start at the highest level of play, most anything else will pail in comparison.

Source: Author Bruce007

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nightmare before going online.
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NHL Goalies: A Shutout Beginning Quiz

The shutout is the ultimate accolade in a goaltender's resume. Since the recording of game-by-game stats in 1984, these goalies were the only ones to get a shutout in their first starts. Do you know them?

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