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Goalies are weird.

If, at the start of the season, you had to pick which net minder would post a save percentage over 0.930 through their first 20 games played, you probably would have said two or three names, at most. Carey Price would be a given, considering his dominant campaign in 2014-15, while maybe Henrik Lundqvist, Braden Holtby, or Cory Schneider would receive consideration.

After all, Carey Price was the only net minder to play more than half of the 2014-2015 season and post a save percentage over 0.930 (though Andrew Hammond did rock an insane 0.941 in 24 games last season, the chances of that happening again were small).

This year, however, six goaltenders have played in 20 games or more and posted an all situation save percentage over 0.930.

Some of the names are surprising; Michael Neuvirth leads the league with a 0.934 save percentage, while James Reimer and Petr Mrazek are tied for second with a 0.932. Others are more familiar, though may not be the ones we would expect; Roberto Luongo, Braden Holtby, and Corey Crawford round out the net minders who have posted save percentages over 0.930 this season.

The Vezina race is much more competitive than it was last season, where Price was such an obvious favorite that it was shocking any other goalie received first place votes. This year, the Canadiens net minder is all but out of the running, having missed considerable time due to injury.

The rest of the field is separated by such a razor thin margin – there’s not much difference in a 0.932 save percentage and a 0.930 save percentage – that it’s anyone’s guess who takes home the trophy this year.

Seeing as Neuvirth is a backup, and Reimer has been injured, and both play on bad teams, it’s unlikely that either one of them takes home the trophy. That narrows our field down to five real candidates (Cory Schneider has a 0.929 save percentage in 42 games, and deserves consideration), though obviously this may change as the end of the season draws closer.

So who should be in the lead for the Vezina up to this point in the season? Let’s take a look at where each goaltender stacks up in terms of modern hockey statistics.

(Statistics taken from war-on-ice.com. Information on 5v5 adjusted goals saved above average per 60 (which accounts for shot location and other team-related factors) can be found here, and the statistic itself can be found here. Parentheses denote the rank of the goaltender among net minders who have played at least 30 games.)

Corey Crawford

Corey Crawford is putting together an excellent season, but hasn’t been the best goaltender in the league up to this point. His 5-on-5 numbers are lacking, and though he’s performed well on special teams, it just isn’t quite enough to make up for it. Team factors play too much of a role in goaltender performance on the power play and penalty kill, and giving Crawford credit for the roster in front of him isn’t fair to the competition.

Crawford’s been great; other guys have just been better.

Roberto Luongo



The veteran is still putting up incredible numbers, but those numbers just haven’t been worthy of a Vezina trophy.

Roberto Luongo is putting together the best season he’s had since the 2003-2004 campaign, and is a huge reason that the Panthers are first in the Atlantic Division. The 36-year-old has been elite, and though fans in Sunrise have to be pleased with the veteran’s ability to sustain a high level of play, the drop from his raw numbers to the adjusted numbers suggest that a strong defense is helping Luongo on most nights.

Braden Holtby



He’s been among the league’s best in every key statistic this season, but hasn’t quite been the best. Though the strong performance of the Capitals may sway some voters at the end of the season, Holtby probably hasn’t quite been the best net minder in the NHL.

Braden Holtby’s strong play in goal has taken the Capitals from “good” to “great”, as the stacked roster in front of him dominates the opposition night in and night out, while Holtby steals the occasional game and to shoot the team up the standings.

Cory Schneider



Schneider certainly has been instrumental to the Devils success this season, and they wouldn’t be where they are in the standings without him. The 29-year-old comes in second in many of the percentage categories, but his 5v5 adjGSAA/60 is lower than one would guess, indicating that New Jersey’s stout defense has boosted their net minder’s save percentage slightly this season.

His stellar play doesn’t make the leading Vezina candidate, however; there’s still one more goalie who has posted better numbers.

Petr Mrazek



Though his accomplishments may not be getting recognition around the league, there’s no denying that Mrazek’s been key to the Red Wings’ success this season.

Even when you separate team effects from his play, he still stands out as the best. He is not known as an elite NHL goaltender, mainly because he is only 23-years-old, and playing in just his second full NHL season (first as a starter). Just because he’s unknown doesn’t mean he’s not good, however, and the Red Wings appear to have a future star on their hands. Mrazek leads the NHL in most statistical categories, and has led the team to a second place position in the Atlantic Division.

The young goalie hasn’t just been good; he’s been the best in the league.

There’s no guarantee that these results will hold, and if goaltenders such as James Reimer and Connor Hellebuyck stay healthy and continue to pick up starts, we could be seeing new names and faces at the top of the Vezina leaderboards at the end of the season. We could even see the emergence of a veteran such as Henrik Lundqvist, or an even more dramatic improvement in play from Holtby.

At this point in the season, however, no other goaltender has been better at keeping pucks out of the net than Petr Mrazek. If the Vezina was to be handed out tomorrow, he should be the one taking home some hardware.