This article is part of our Crashing the Crease series.
It's not surprising to see some of the season's top performers in net fading a bit down the stretch. The wear and tear of an 82-game campaign coupled with the inability to stay focused on the present with the playoffs looming causes even the best goalies to let a few extra pucks by them. While Devan Dubnyk made the "falling" section last week and Braden Holtby lands there this week, the two of them still remain the premier options in net along with Sergei Bobrovsky. All three have won north of 35 games while sporting a sub-2.20 GAA and a save percentage over .925. So just how elite is their company from the past five seasons?
Only five other goalies have reached even 30 wins. Of those five, just Tuukka Rask (2.24), Martin Jones (2.25) and Carey Price (2.27) are even close to sniffing the GAA requirement, but only Price's .922 is even remotely close to the save percentage mark. Scott Darling would qualify in terms of both GAA and save percentage but has just 16 wins, and Craig Anderson sits 14 wins and a .03 GAA short of qualifying.
Last season's only qualified option was Ben Bishop, who had 35 wins with a 2.06 GAA and .926 save percentage. Holtby was the only other player remotely close, but he finished with a .920 save percentage. Price and Dubnyk both met all three thresholds in the previous campaign, with Pekka Rinne falling just .02 shy in save percentage.
It's not surprising to see some of the season's top performers in net fading a bit down the stretch. The wear and tear of an 82-game campaign coupled with the inability to stay focused on the present with the playoffs looming causes even the best goalies to let a few extra pucks by them. While Devan Dubnyk made the "falling" section last week and Braden Holtby lands there this week, the two of them still remain the premier options in net along with Sergei Bobrovsky. All three have won north of 35 games while sporting a sub-2.20 GAA and a save percentage over .925. So just how elite is their company from the past five seasons?
Only five other goalies have reached even 30 wins. Of those five, just Tuukka Rask (2.24), Martin Jones (2.25) and Carey Price (2.27) are even close to sniffing the GAA requirement, but only Price's .922 is even remotely close to the save percentage mark. Scott Darling would qualify in terms of both GAA and save percentage but has just 16 wins, and Craig Anderson sits 14 wins and a .03 GAA short of qualifying.
Last season's only qualified option was Ben Bishop, who had 35 wins with a 2.06 GAA and .926 save percentage. Holtby was the only other player remotely close, but he finished with a .920 save percentage. Price and Dubnyk both met all three thresholds in the previous campaign, with Pekka Rinne falling just .02 shy in save percentage. Rask was the only 2013-14 qualifier, with Bishop missing by under .03 in two different categories. The lockout denied all candidates in 2012-13, while Henrik Lundqvist and Jonathan Quick were the only 2011-12 qualifiers with Mike Smith missing by just .01 in GAA and Jimmy Howard coming up .05 short in save percentage.
Considering the past four full seasons combined have produced a mere six players with such lofty achievements across the board, it's amazing that three players are currently in position to do it. Some late-season regression is natural, but all three of the top Vezina candidates this season would be very deserving picks. As for the top performers, three rising and three falling this week, you can find those below...
TOP PERFORMERS
Brian Elliott, CGY - An illness will keep Elliott out of Wednesday's matchup with the Bruins, but that does nothing to diminish the impressiveness of the veteran's .943 save percentage during a personal nine-game winning streak over the past month. While his heroics have elevated the Flames to second in the Pacific Division, Elliott will continue to see a heavy workload with the Ducks and Oilers both sitting less than one game back in the standings.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TAM - Vasilevskiy's struggles during Ben Bishop's injury-related absence earlier this season surely had Lightning management uneasy about the team's goaltending situation for next season, but their faith in the young Russian has been handsomely rewarded since the team parted with Bishop at the trade deadline. In seven subsequent starts, Vasilevskiy is 6-0-1 with 10 goals allowed and a .958 save percentage. He's clearly the superior option in net compared to Peter Budaj, so expect the surging Lightning to ride Vasilevskiy down the stretch as they battle for a playoff spot.
Tuukka Rask, BOS - Rask's three-game winning streak over the past week saw him make 26 saves apiece against the Red Wings, Flyers and Canucks. While that's not exactly top-notch competition, the Finnish veteran still did well to limit those three opponents to a total of five goals for a .940 save percentage over that span. Despite Boston's middling position in the standings, Rask ranks fifth in the league with 33 wins.
THREE RISING
Jonathan Bernier, ANA - Bernier's run as a fill-in starter seemed to be coming to a close, but John Gibson's latest lower-body injury has given the former Toronto and Los Angeles netminder another opportunity. He has taken advantage with a 3-0-0 record, 1.62 GAA and .948 save percentage over his past three starts en route to being named the NHL's second star of the week. While Bernier's career 2.68 GAA and .914 save percentage suggest he's unlikely to maintain this stellar form, it's safe to be cautiously optimistic given the defensive proficiency of the Ducks team in front of him.
Jonathan Quick, LOS - Monday's loss to the Blues snapped a three-game winning streak for Quick, but still marked the fourth consecutive contest in which he surrendered exactly two goals. The stifling defense in front of him has a lot to do with Quick's recent success, as he has faced a mere 98 shots over that span. If Los Angeles wants to make a late playoff push, expect the five-time 35-game winner to be the driving force behind any improvement in the team's performance.
Mike Smith, ARI - Smith has rebounded from a five-game losing streak with consecutive wins over the Devils and Avalanche. While allowing a combined four goals to the league's two worst offenses isn't exactly impressive, it's good to know that the veteran is still capable of carrying a subpar Coyotes teams to wins every now and then. He's just six victories shy of 200, so Smith will be motivated to reach that milestone over the final 13 games on the schedule despite Arizona's underdog status.
THREE FALLING
Braden Holtby, WAS - Even with Tuesday's win over the Wild, Holtby is still 1-3-0 with 14 goals allowed and an .859 save percentage over his past four starts. That stretch represents a massive dropoff in form for a netminder who had posted a 19-0-1 record over his previous 20 decisions. Even so, there's little need to worry considering Holtby sits just five wins shy of a third consecutive 40-win season while leading the league in GAA (2.03) and ranking fifth save percentage (.926).
Cory Schneider, NJD - Schneider has gone eight starts without a win while surrendering at least three goals in six of those outings. The Devils have been horrible in front of him, but the 30-year-old has shown a considerable decline in form himself this season. Schneider sports a 2.72 GAA and .911 save percentage after posting marks no worse than 2.26 and .921, respectively, over the past six seasons.
Kari Lehtonen, DAL - Lehtonen's past three appearances have seen him allow eight goals on 35 shots for a 6.40 GAA and and .771 save percentage. The only other netminder remotely close to that level of terrible in the same span is teammate Antti Niemi, who also appeared in all of those games. Niemi allowed nine goals on 40 shots for a .775 save percentage, but his advantage in playing time allowed the former Sharks and Blackhawks netminder to escape with a slightly less embarrassing 5.22 GAA. Regardless of who mans the Dallas crease next, it's best to stay away regardless of matchup.
