Sunday, May 20 Updated: May 26, 11:18 AM ET Brodeur, Roy emerging as Cup, Olympic finalists By George Johnson Special to ESPN.com Call it the game within the games. It seems almost preposterous to consider, given their awards and achievements and championships, but Martin Brodeur, Ed Belfour, Patrick Roy and Curtis Joseph have spent the past month and a half auditioning all the same. New Jersey's Martin Brodeur and Colorado's Patrick Roy are the likely candidates for the goaltending job on Team Canada. The role, savior, is one they're all used to by now, one they know by heart. Imagine having the gall to demand Peter Sellers read a few of Inspector Clouseau's lines before giving him the pencil-thin moustache, trench coat and incurable case of the stupids. But these four men are, by any measuring stick, the only feasible candidates to tend goal for hockey-mad Canada at the Salt Lake Games next February. It's the assignment everyone wants, but most everyone fears. Canadians, after all, are still numb with denial from the shootout loss to the Czechs four years ago at hockey's first Dream Team Olympics and more recently another no-medal disappointment in Germany at the 2001 World Championships. This has been the Ice Age of the Czech Republic, winners of the last three Worlds and the 1998 Winter Games. The expectations of this Canadian team – led this time from the boardroom by none other than Team Canada executive director Wayne Gretzky – will be immense and oppressive. In a competition far too close to call, goaltending doubtlessly will be the deciding factor in determining medal winners. Unlike, say, the Czech Republic, with Dominik Hasek (all due respects to Roman Cechmanek and current Worlds hero Milan Hnilicka), or Sweden, with Tommy Salo, the Canadian braintrust of Gretzky and assistant executive director Kevin Lowe isn't calling a thing. Canada is blessed with an abundance of riches, a variety of choices, in net. Such a blessing, however, can quickly deteriorate into a curse if things happen go to awry and betrayed nationalists begin loudly second-guessing your selection. So it's not at all a stretch to venture that whoever tends goal for Canada will in many ways be assuming the most pressure-packed role the tournament. While it's not as if the strengths and weakness of the four main protagonists in this little drama are deep, dark secrets. Still, these playoffs are the last chance to see them under the most powerful of all microscopes; the closest equivalent to Olympic pressure available in the NHL. "Wayne and I have said all along that the playoffs are an important time in the selection process," maintains Lowe, the Edmonton Oilers' general manager. "We also don't think when you're talking about players the quality we're considering that there can be a poor choice. I mean, it's tough to go wrong. "In making this sort of decision, many factors will be involved. Style of play, for one. You keep hearing 'It's a different game on the big ice surface.' Well, it's true. Wayne and I had that reinforced again over in Germany (at the Worlds). The more traditional, butterfly style goaltender was the most successful over there. Go down, spread out, and let the puck hit you. Hnilicka's a great example. "Another factor will be willingness to submit to the team. Some guys may not want to join us if they aren't guaranteed the No. 1 job, and maybe we're not prepared to make that call right away, so you don't want to go spoiling your team chemistry because one guy isn't a happy camper." When the playoffs opened, Brodeur of the Devils and Joseph of the Leafs had the inside track on the assignment. Brodeur could very well be a back-to-back Stanley Cup winner by the middle of June. He's the youngest candidate of the four, and his Devils look to be a good bet to win for the third time in the last seven seasons. Brodeur has also picked up his game in this Eastern Conference finals against Mario Lemieux and the score-happy Penguins. His save percentage hadn't been up to snuff in the opening two rounds, against Carolina and Toronto. However, the Devils play such a disciplined, stifling style that he isn't put to the test or given as much chance to shine as, say, Joseph. But he now leads the playoffs with four shutouts and the numbers are creeping back up to Brodeur-like status. When it comes down to crunch time, he'll be a difficult man to overlook. Belfour the powder keg and staid, old Salt Lake City don't on the surface seem a fortuitous mix, like dumping Howard Stern in the middle of a Noel Coward stiff-upper-lip, cigars-and-port comedy of manners. His outward combativeness on the ice, too, hardly seems suited to the international game, where a placid demeanor, bottling up one's emotions in testing times, must be the norm, not the exception. Dallas' early postseason exit won't help his cause any, either. Joseph has the advantage of having the city of Toronto, the country's hockey hotbed, and the coach of both the Leafs and Team Canada, Pat Quinn, squarely in his corner. He got the most out of the least, played despite a broken finger, yet wasn't at his best the two decisive games versus Jersey in the East semifinal. His style, too, more of a gambling, cheating style, is also a cause for concern on the bigger ice surface, and against European opposition used to punishing such brazenness. At 35, Roy had to be considered the longshot heading into this playoff year. After a so-so series against the Canucks and Kings, the old fella has thrown his helmet and mask right back into the Olympic ring with this set-to against the Blues. He's been nothing short of fabulous, the main reason Colorado is on the verge of eliminating a well-rested St. Louis club, his .930 save percentage and 1.79 goals-against-average both leading the playoffs. "Patrick," said Colorado coach Bob Hartley, "is the spine of this hockey club." He could also be the spine of Canada, again, having played every game in the disappointment of Nagano. The most pressing question about Roy could be his ego, and Lowe's comment about not being guaranteed the No. 1 job and submitting one's self to the good of group may be a slightly-veiled reference at him. Roy's a proud man, not one at his station or age to be sitting on his keester watching someone else do the playing. But he's certainly made a case for the mantle of top money goaltender in the game. Again. The final decision on Canada's roster for Salt Lake, of course, rests with Gretzky, Lowe and the Canadian braintrust. The goaltending situation, you can bet the farm, will a difficult and much-debated one. It'll also be the most crucial. Right now, the advantage goes to the two men destined to collide in what should be a gem of a Stanley Cup final: Brodeur and Roy. George Johnson of the Calgary Herald is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories