Goaltenders are always the focal point of championships in the NHL, and although the goalie mask is little more than just protection, putting a creative design on it emanates creativity and character. Plus it might just influence what team you choose in your sportsbook when it comes to NHL betting.

Here’s a list of the top five goalie masks in the league today:

Curtis Sanford, Vancouver Canucks - Sandman

Enter the sandman as Curtis Sanford is easily among the top five with his cool goalie mask. Sanford has the fictional character, The Sandman, on his mask, which was actually designed by a fan. For all of you who forgot, Sandman is the dude who brings you good dreams by sprinkling sand in your eyes while you are sleeping.

Sanford put his mask up for contest and the Vancouver Canucks helped by posting it on their website. Then fans and artists submitted and one creative person came up with the result. Good work, person. You ought to put that luck to work with your sportsbook.

Hannu Toivonen, St. Louis Blues - Ed Staniowski

Hannu Toivonen decided to go down the throwback road, and while throwback jerseys are definitely chic nowadays, throwback goalie masks are a rarity. Toivonen’s mask copies former Blues goaltender Ed Staniowski mask. If you’re asking who Staniowski was and why you’ve never heard of him, the reason is that he was a mediocre backup goalie, and outside of being the CHL Player of the Year in 1975, he hasn’t done anything worth talking about.

Nonetheless, really cool mask.

Marty Turco, Dallas Stars - Godzilla

Marty Turco might be struggling in net right now, but who cares? He still has a nice-looking mask. Turco’s design has been - like his play between the pipes, which has been making those who bet on NHL very happy - one of the best in the business. He’s got a Godzilla-like reptile on his mask which matches the Dallas Stars dark green uniform colors. The reptile doesn’t look very friendly, but I think that’s the idea.

Karri Ramo, Tampa Bay Lightning - Nightmare Before Christmas

Christmas only comes once a year, and it seems that’s about as often as Karri Ramo makes a start in net for the Tampa Bay Lightning. But when he does get in net - and those who bet on hockey either cringe or rejoice - we get to enjoy one of the best masks in the NHL.

Rammo has Tim Burton’s the Nightmare Before Christmas painted on his face-protector. Pretty cool, but are there any copyright violations here?

Kari Lehtonen, Atlanta Thrashers – Lil’ Jon

Up in Hotlanta, Kari Lehtonen’s days might be numbered as the Atlanta Thrashers get set to rebuild, but in the meantime, his mask is pretty sick. Lehtonen is repping the Atlanta rap community by putting rapper/super producer Lil’ Jon on his helmet. Believe it or not, Lil’ Jon is a big Thrashers (and hockey) fan. But what happens if Lehtonen gets dealt to a community devoid of rap stars?