This article is part of our Crashing the Crease series.
The NHL's All-Star rosters were revealed last week, with the new format ensuring that exactly two goaltenders from each division made the cut. While the added requirement of representing each team certainly made it more difficult to select the true eleven best players from each division, there are still plenty of snubs whose fans believe they should've been in. This is true even when looking just at the goalie position, as can be seen below.
Atlantic: It's hard to argue with the selections of Carey Price and Tuukka Rask. Their respective teams rank first and second in the Atlantic, and stellar play in net is the biggest reason why. Detroit's Jimmy Howard has outplayed both of them with a 1.96 GAA and .934 save percentage, but he also has just five wins due to a combination of missing time due to injury and poor play by the team in front of him. Nobody else has a much of a case given the combination of heavy playing time, personal statistics and team success displayed by Price and Rask.
Metropolitan:Sergei Bobrovsky and Braden Holtby are both serious Vezina Trophy contenders, with each posting top-4 numbers in both GAA and save percentage, Bobrovsky leading the league in wins and Holtby in shutouts. Cam Ward's reliability and workload in Carolina have been impressive, but not nearly enough to justify bumping one of those two. Henrik Lundqvist's departure from his usual stellar form and Matt Murray's recent scuffles only made
The NHL's All-Star rosters were revealed last week, with the new format ensuring that exactly two goaltenders from each division made the cut. While the added requirement of representing each team certainly made it more difficult to select the true eleven best players from each division, there are still plenty of snubs whose fans believe they should've been in. This is true even when looking just at the goalie position, as can be seen below.
Atlantic: It's hard to argue with the selections of Carey Price and Tuukka Rask. Their respective teams rank first and second in the Atlantic, and stellar play in net is the biggest reason why. Detroit's Jimmy Howard has outplayed both of them with a 1.96 GAA and .934 save percentage, but he also has just five wins due to a combination of missing time due to injury and poor play by the team in front of him. Nobody else has a much of a case given the combination of heavy playing time, personal statistics and team success displayed by Price and Rask.
Metropolitan:Sergei Bobrovsky and Braden Holtby are both serious Vezina Trophy contenders, with each posting top-4 numbers in both GAA and save percentage, Bobrovsky leading the league in wins and Holtby in shutouts. Cam Ward's reliability and workload in Carolina have been impressive, but not nearly enough to justify bumping one of those two. Henrik Lundqvist's departure from his usual stellar form and Matt Murray's recent scuffles only made this choice that much easier.
Central:Devan Dubnyk is probably the Vezina Trophy favorite, making him an obvious choice. Corey Crawford is a lot more debatable. With every team in the division already represented by a skater, Crawford was selected purely on merit over teammate Scott Darling and Nashville's Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros. Saros' 1.25 GAA and .957 save percentage blow the other three out of the water, but he simply didn't compile enough volume for serious consideration with just eight appearances thus far. Darling has made just nine fewer appearances than his fellow Blackhawk and sports a superior GAA and save percentage, but his role as the clear-cut No. 2 outside of the few weeks Crawford missed with an appendectomy is likely what kept Darling out. While picking Crawford over the other two was understandable, it's hard to see why he got the nod over Rinne. Both have the same number of wins, as Rinne has helped make up for playing behind a worse team by taking part in four more games. The Finnish veteran also has a superior GAA, and his save percentage is worse by only .001. Crawford getting the nod next to Dubnyk wasn't a travesty, but Rinne would've made a bit more sense.
Pacific: While Martin Jones deserves to be in, it's pretty obvious Mike Smith's All-Star berth stems primarily from the need to represent Arizona in some capacity. Smith's appearance comes at the expense of Peter Budaj, whose 20 wins, 2.09 GAA and .917 save percentage are significantly more deserving than Smith's eight victories, 2.84 GAA and .918 save percentage. Cam Talbot has also been much more successful with the Oilers while matching Smith's robust save percentage, while both Chad Johnson and John Gibson have outpaced Smith across the board. In a division featuring five goaltenders with a legitimate claim to an All-Star berth, it's unacceptable to select one of the two who that has no business being there.
While none of the guys below are All-Stars, they sure performed like it over the past week…
Top Performers
Cam Ward, CAR - Despite a poor performance Tuesday in Columbus, it's still clear Ward's heavy workload isn't fazing him one bit. He has now made 20 consecutive starts for the Hurricanes, winning 11 thanks to a four-game winning streak spanning all of last week. Overall, Ward's 18 victories, 2.42 GAA and .912 save percentage have pleasantly surprised even the most optimistic of owners.
Cam Talbot, EDM - Talbot has won five of his past six appearances while holding opponents to one or fewer goals in half of those games. He has already established a new career high with 23 wins, and has a legitimate chance at eclipsing 40 as the workhorse in net for an Oilers team that rarely has trouble scoring in front of him.
Ben Bishop, TAM - Bishop has given the Lightning a major lift since returning from a lower-body injury, winning two of three appearances while allowing just five goals on 73 shots for a .932 save percentage. Tampa Bay has gone right back to employing the hulking veteran as the starter in light of Andrei Vasilevskiy's struggles in his absence, giving Bishop the nod in three of four games since his return. He wasn't lighting things up before going down, but Bishop's 2.06 GAA and .926 save percentage last season show that he's more than capable of turning things around in the second half.
Three Rising
Carter Hutton, STL - Hutton was given an increased opportunity with Jake Allen struggling, and had been taking full advantage with a pair of wins and just one goal allowed on 46 shots in two starts prior to Tuesday's loss in Ottawa. Allen was pulled in each of his last two appearances before Hutton's three-game streak as the starter, so he'll need to string together multiple strong outings before being entrusted with the No. 1 job again.
Pekka Rinne, NAS - Rinne has been fantastic of late, holding opponents to just 10 goals while posting a .946 save percentage over his past six appearances. Saros' continued excellence in his limited opportunities means the veteran needs to maintain a high level to keep earning a starter's workload, but Rinne has been up to the task thus far. Both Nashville goaltenders' stocks would be soaring much higher if the limited offensive contributions in front of them weren't keeping their win total in check.
Peter Budaj, LOS - Even with Monday's tough-luck loss to Bishop's Lightning, Budaj has won five of his past seven appearances. The victories should continue to pile up as long as Jonathan Quick (groin) remains out considering Budaj has now held opponents to two or fewer goals in 11 of his past 13 appearances. Those with the wherewithal to pick up the Slovakian veteran over Jeff Zatkoff when Quick initially went down have been rewarded handsomely.
Three Falling
Jake Allen, STL - Allen was pulled in consecutive games last Tuesday and Thursday, and hasn't gotten a chance to man the St. Louis crease since with backup Carter Hutton excelling in his stead. With at least three goals allowed in five of his last six appearances before the demotion, Allen will have to play well for a substantial stretch once given another opportunity or risks becoming Hutton's backup permanently.
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG - Just as Hellebuyck was getting owners excited with another hot stretch, he threw that goodwill away with consecutive disastrous performances last Wednesday and Friday. In those two outings against the Canadiens and Coyotes combined, he made just seven saves while allowing six goals. Michael Hutchinson's continued lackluster play suggests Hellebuyck will get another opportunity before long, but it's tough to trust the youngster given his inconsistencies.
Henrik Lundqvist, NYR - Lundqvist is going through one of the worst stretches of his career, having allowed four or more goals in five of his past six appearances for a total of 26 over that span. His workload will continue to stay high with backup Antti Raanta (lower body) likely out through the All-Star Break, but those who spent an early selection on Lundqvist have to be sorely disappointed by his 2.89 GAA and .902 save percentage after seven consecutive seasons with both a sub-2.50 GAA and a .920 or better save percentage.
