One of the ways EA Sports like to tease upcoming video games is by releasing some of the player ratings for the upcoming release. Ahead of the release of Madden 18, EA Sports unveiled the top five ranked players from each position and they’re doing something similar for NHL 18.
After releasing some of the player ratings earlier this week, EA Sports was at it again on Friday as they got the day started by sharing Marc-Andre Fleury’s overall rating on Twitter and let fans know the rest of them would be out later that day.
They stayed true to their word and unveiled the top 10 goalies on Friday night. Here’s the final list.
Cam Talbot – Edmonton Oilers
Cam Talbot is coming off a career-year with the Edmonton Oilers and EA Sports is rewarded him for his standout season. Coming in at No. 10 on the list is Talbot with an overall rating of 87, two points higher than what he started out with in NHL 17 (85).
Corey Crawford – Chicago Blackhawks
Corey Crawford finds himself on the top 10 list once again, but he dropped two spots on the list as he comes in at No. 9 with an overall rating of 87. Last season, Crawford started the season as the No. 7 ranked goalie in NHL 17 with an overall rating of 90.
Tuukka Rask – Boston Bruins
For what was expected to be a down season for the Boston Bruins, goalie Tuukka Rask put forth a pretty solid performance all season long and won a career-high 37 games. As a result, Rask finds himself higher up on the top 10 list this season as he moves from the ninth spot to the eighth spot with an overall rating of 88.
Devan Dubnyk – Minnesota Wild
Devan Dubnyk is another newcomer on the top 10 list this for this year’s game and is spot is well-deserved. Dubnyk has played 65 or more games in each of his two seasons with the Minnesota Wild and won a career-high 40 games last season. He’s one of four goalies starting the game with an overall rating of 88.
Henrik Lundqvist – New York Rangers
Henrik Lundqvist will most likely be on this list until he decides to call it quits. Although he moved down two spots on the overall rankings list this season, the New York Rangers goalie still enters the game as one of the four goalies with an overall rating of 88.
Matt Murray – Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins have a goalie in the top 10 yet again, only this year it’s not Marc-Andre Fleury. With Matt Murray set to take over the starting role in Pittsburgh next year, EA Sports rewarded the two-time Stanley Cup champion with a spot in the top 10 with an overall rating of 88. He also sees a two point bump in his overall rating as he was rated 86 in last year’s game.
Cory Schneider – New Jersey Devils
Cory Schneider’s overall rating might have decreased by one point in this year’s game, but his position in the top 10 got better. Last season Schneider was ranked 91 overall and was ranked the fifth-best goalie. This year, the New Jersey Devils goalie enters the game as the fourth ranked goalie with an 89 overall rating.
Sergei Bobrovsky – Columbus Blue Jackets
Officer Bobrovsky is easily one of the best goalies in the entire league and he proved that last year by going 41-17-5 in 63 starts to capture his second Vezina Trophy. This year, Sergei Bobrovsky finds himself back inside the top 10 goalies list and comes in at No. 3 overall with a rating of 89.
Braden Holtby – Washington Capitals
Braden Holtby moves up one spot on this year’s list as the Washington Capitals netminder starts off as the No. 2 ranked goalie in the game with an overall rating of 90. Holtby has won 40 or more games the past three seasons and is just one of two goalies to be ranked 90 or higher.
Carey Price – Montreal Canadiens
No surprise here as Carey Price takes the top spot once again on this year’s top goalies list. Last year the Montreal Canadiens goalie was the top-ranked goalie in the game with a 93 overall rating and he’s the top goalie one again this year with an overall rating of 92.
It’s pretty hard to rank every single player in the league, but EA Sports did a pretty good job with this list. However, one goalie that should probably be ranked in the top 10 is Los Angeles Kings netminder Jonathan Quick, but we understand why he didn’t make the list considering he only played 17 games last year due to an injury.
