i don't remember ranford's '92 run that was mentioned above. but i do remember him being good in '91, the year they were upset in the conference finals by the north stars. i was relatively young, so maybe some of my observations were coloured by his reputation as a big game goaltender, which peaked that summer at the canada cup. (from '90 to '92, it was ranford, not roy, who was considered the most "money" goalie in the world.)
but still, i remember ranford and tikkanen carrying the oilers in '91. can anyone corroborate or contradict?
from my point of view, vernon had more good runs, but they were pretty evenly spaced through a long career where he was always at least an average to above-average NHL starting goalie. ranford had a really good, and at times great, two or three year peak and wasn't very good for the rest of his shorter-- but surprisingly, not that much shorter-- career.