Is Cory Schneider hockey’s equivalent of baseball’s Felix Hernandez? Better yet, can Schneider win the Vezina Trophy with a record right around .500?

The Devils’ superlative netminder will not win this year’s award given to the best player at his position, as Hernandez did in taking the 2010 American League Cy Young Award with a 13-12 record (with a 2.27 ERA and 232 strikeouts) for the awful Mariners.

But Schneider is nonetheless plying his trade in anonymity out in the swamps of Jersey, and he’s doing it about as well as anyone in the league. Following a tough 3-2 overtime loss to the Capitals on Thursday night in Washington, Schneider’s record on the season dropped to 26-27-8. It’s hard to think that’s possible when he’s carrying a 2.19 goals-against average, good for fourth among goalies who have started more than 50 games. His save percentage of .928 is third among that same group.

And if you think this is like the days of Martin Brodeur seeing 20 shots a game, you’re wrong. In his 64 games, Schneider has seen 1,854 shots, most in the league and an average of 28.97 per game.

In Schneider’s first year solely atop the perch vacated by Brodeur, the 29-year-old from Marblehead, Mass., is living in the shadow of monster seasons by Montreal’s Carey Price — a shoo-in for the Vezina and possible Hart Trophy winner as league MVP — along with Nashville’s Pekka Rinne. That leaves Schneider on the next tier, with Washington’s Braden Holtby, and Minnesota’s resurgent Devan Dubnyk, who has singlehandedly brought the Wild back into the playoff picture.

So it’s understandable why the season Schneider is having is being overlooked. He’s not going to win the Vezina, but that doesn’t mean the general managers who vote on it should leave him without some recognition. (And why, exactly, is that trophy the only player-evaluation vote taken out of the hands of the writers?)

Speaking of general managers, Schneider’s play has left the Devils’ Lou Lamoriello in an enviable position. Just as was the case when he built his Stanley Cup-winning teams of 1995, 2000 and 2003, Lamoriello has a foundation in place that starts with the goalie, and then moves out into a young defensive corps that has shown immense potential.

That includes the likes of Adam Larsson, Eric Gelinas, Jon Merrill and Damon Severson, all of whom are 23 or younger and currently on the team. Lamoriello has also spoken highly of Seth Helgeson, 24, who played 21 games with the Devils this season and is now in the AHL.

“I know it is hard to see from the outside, but you have to see the young D back there,” Scott Gomez told the AP recently, having come back this season to the Devils, with whom he won the latter two Cups. “That’s where you win. All those Cups we won, we had some great forwards and centers but it started with [defenseman] Scotty [Stevens]. You know, defense and goaltending win. I’ve never played without a great goaltender, and we have one of the best guys in the world right now. You can build off that.”

There is still a lot of work to be done by Lamoriello, and it starts with naming a coach. Lording over the coaching tandem of Adam Oates and Stevens is not a long-term solution, and that needs to be the first thing solved. From there, he needs to upgrade the talent up front. The Devils are ranked higher than just the sad-sack Coyotes and Sabres in averaging 2.19 goals per game, with only four players in double digits. Mike Camalleri’s 25 goals lead the team, while Adam Henrique has disappointed again with just 16. If Steve Bernier is your third-highest scorer — which he is, with 13 — then there’s a problem.

But with Schneider in net and that corps of growing defensemen, Lamoriello has the foundation upon which he knows how to build. With new owners at the helm, this summer will be a crucial one in the history of the franchise, and yet again it’s on Lamoriello to turn it around.

Let’s hope we don’t have to watch Schneider continue on the same path to irrelevant greatness that Hernandez has proven goes on as long as the team allows.

Jagr at 50?

So 43-year-old Jaromir Jagr said he thinks he has “at least seven years left in his body.” He was kidding — though the Toronto reporters seemed hard-pressed to realize that — but if it were true, wouldn’t that be great?

After getting traded from the Devils to the Panthers at the deadline, Jagr is likely to pass a former teammate from another lifetime, Ron Francis, for fourth on the all-time points list before this season is out. Jagr tallied an assist in the Panthers’ 4-1 road win over the Maple Leafs on Thursday, and now has 1,793 career points to Francis’ 1,798, with eight games remaining. His team is three points out of a playoff spot, and Jagr has stated his goal is getting this young and supremely talented group a taste of the postseason.

Next up after Francis on the all-time points list would be Gordie Howe, the only other player in history who was this good at this age. Howe played professionally until he was 51, leaving the NHL in 1971 at the age of 43 — odd similarity, right? — then returning in 1979-80 after a six-year run in the now-defunct WHA. Howe has 1,850 NHL career points, and Jagr might need another seven years to reach it, if that’s his goal. We’d watch.

This ain’t going away

If the NHL wasn’t concerned before, they should be now.

Some 200 former players filed a class-action lawsuit against the league in October, claiming unspecified damages for concussion-related injuries. The league tried to have it dismissed on two counts — first saying the collective bargaining agreement should bring the dispute to the National Labor Relations Board, while also saying the plaintiffs have surpassed the statute of limitations for such a filing.

Well, on Wednesday, a federal judge threw both of those out and allowed the claims to move forward.

“While we would have hoped for a different result on this motion, we understand that the case is at a relatively early stage, and there will be ample opportunity for us to establish our defenses as the discovery process progresses,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement.

The NFL settled their (much more serious) lawsuit with players for $765 million. Imagine where the NHL would be if they even have to cough up a portion of that? Yikes.

Stay tuned …

… to the Bruins. The drama seems to never subside up in the Hockey Hub, and this season is no exception. With a chance to retake possession of the final wild-card spot on Thursday, the B’s led the mighty Ducks 2-1 with 39 seconds left in regulation. Then Corey Perry scored, forcing overtime. Then Ryan Getzlaf scored, sending the Bruins home to lick their wounds.

They have eight games left, starting Saturday afternoon at home against the red-hot Rangers (and probably Henrik Lundqvist in his return). The schedule includes the Hurricanes and Maple Leafs once each — must-wins — along with two against the Panthers, over whom they hold a three-point edge. It’s there for the taking.

Rapid reaction rankings

1. Rangers: They’re the first in the league to lock up a postseason berth, now it’s all about what kind of form Lundqvist can find in the final nine games.

2. Lightning: They’re pushing the Canadiens atop the Atlantic, having gone 8-2-1 in their past 11. Goalie Ben Bishop (9-1-1 over his past 11 starts) even has gotten some rest of late.

3. Predators: They beat the Lightning on Thursday night, 3-2, and have now won three in a row after a middling start to March.

8-12 range: Islanders: They’re lucky the Penguins have the same 3-5-2 record in the past 10, otherwise they would be looking at losing home-ice advantage after such a terrific start.

15-20 range: Devils: They’re playing better than they did in the first half of the season, but it’s all about Lou making decisions for the future.

Parting shot

What’s better than Boston fans getting trolled? In this McDonald’s ad, the Canadiens’ Max Pacioretty isn’t recognized by Bruins fans as he gives them a burger named “Max 67” (his number). Reactions are pretty priceless.