Ilya Bryzgalov

He tied Frank McCool's 1945 playoff record for most consecutive shutouts by a rookie and passed Giguère, who had recorded consecutive shutouts in 2003 for the third-longest playoff shutout streak of all time.

Despite his success in the first two rounds, Bryzgalov struggled in the semifinals against the Edmonton Oilers and was eventually replaced by Giguère for the rest of the series as the Ducks were eliminated in five games.

Ilya Nikolayevich Bryzgalov (Илья Николаевич Брызгалов; born 22 June 1980) is a Russian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Anaheim Ducks, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers and Minnesota Wild.

Bryzgalov started his professional career in his native Russia, splitting the 1999–2000 season between Spartak Moscow of the Russian Supreme League (RSL-2) and Lada Togliatti of the Russian Superleague (RSL).

He was drafted by Anaheim in the second round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, 44th overall.

Bryzgalov played two seasons with Lada Togliatti before joining the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, who had drafted him in the second round, 44th overall, in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.

However, with Jean-Sébastien Giguère and Martin Gerber ahead of him in the club's depth chart, Bryzgalov spent the better part of his first four seasons in North America with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the American Hockey League (AHL).

He made his Mighty Ducks debut in 2001–02, playing in his first of two games during that four-season stretch.

Internationally, he has earned a bronze medal with Russia at the 2002 Winter Olympics, and a silver medal at the 2000 World Junior Championships.

Bryzgalov also competed in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and is a three-time Olympian.

With the departure of backup Gerber, Bryzgalov took over behind Giguère in 2005–06 season.

However, injuries to the Ducks starter allowed Bryzgalov to play more games than he otherwise would have and he responded to the challenge with a 13–12–1 record with a 2.51 goals against average (GAA) and .910 save percentage.

In the subsequent playoffs, Bryzgalov made three starts and one relief appearance for the Ducks in their first-round series against the Calgary Flames.

In Game 1, he filled-in for an injured Giguère, taking a 2–1 overtime loss.

He relieved Giguère once more in Game 5 and stopped all 19 shots he faced in a 3–2 loss.

He then took over the starting job for Games 6 and 7 of the series, winning 2–1 in Game 6 and recording a shutout in the decisive Game 7.

Moving past the Flames, Bryzgalov then recorded 5–0 and 3–0 shutouts in the first two games of the second series against the Colorado Avalanche for three consecutive shutouts.

In 2006–07, Bryzgalov won the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks.

Bryzgalov continued to play backup to Giguère the following season and into the 2007 playoffs.

Bryzgalov made comments regarding Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle, saying he believed Carlyle had no confidence in him.

However, he briefly took over as the starter for the first four games of the Western Conference Quarterfinals, winning three games as Giguère took a leave of absence with personal issues.

Bryzgalov came in for relief in the Western Conference finals against the Detroit Red Wings, but remained on the bench as the Ducks went on to defeat the Ottawa Senators in the Finals in five games to win the franchise's, and Bryzgalov's, first Stanley Cup.

With the re-signing of Giguère to a four-year contract in the off-season and the acquisition of Jonas Hiller from Switzerland, the Ducks attempted to trade Bryzgalov, but were unable to do so.

Anaheim general manager Brian Burke claimed he had a deal worked out at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, but could not finish it.

As a result, on 16 November 2007, Bryzgalov was placed on waivers and claimed by the Phoenix Coyotes the following day, on 17 November.

In his first game with the team that same day, Bryzgalov made 27 saves for his third career shutout in a 1–0 win over the Los Angeles Kings.

Phoenix promptly signed him to a three-year contract extension and he went on to record 26 wins in 55 games for the Coyotes as they battled for a playoff spot, establishing himself as the club's starting goaltender.

Bryzgalov again recorded 26 wins for the Coyotes during the 2008–09 season, though the Coyotes did not qualify for the playoffs.

As the starting goaltender, he helped Russia win back-to-back gold medals at the 2009 World Ice Hockey Championships, making them ranked number one in the world.

He was also runner-up for the Vezina Trophy and a top-five finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy in the 2009–10 season.

But the 2009–10 season would be a different story for Bryzgalov and the Coyotes, who would qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2002 on the back of Bryzgalov's 42 victories.

The fourth-seeded Coyotes would face-off against the veteran Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

The series proved to be a see-saw battle that eventually saw Detroit prevail in seven games.

Bryzgalov averaged 3.43 goals against per game during the series.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the Coyotes during the 2010–11 season, Bryzgalov's 36 wins helped them to the sixth seed in the Western Conference and a return trip to the playoffs.

Once again, the Coyotes faced the Red Wings.

Despite Bryzgalov's strong play throughout the regular season, he struggled in the playoff rematch with Detroit, averaging 4.36 goals against per game as the Red Wings swept the Coyotes in four straight games.

Set to become an unrestricted free agent in the off-season, the Coyotes did not meet Bryzgalov's asking price for a contract extension.

On 6 June 2011, Bryzgalov's negotiation rights were traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for a third-round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, forward Matt Clackson and future considerations.

Bryzgalov averaged 33 victories a season the past four seasons with the Coyotes.