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The early-season NHL goaltender awards: Carey Price and everyone else
To no one's surprise, a healthy Carey Price has been dominant between the pipes for the Montreal Canadiens. Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

The early-season NHL goaltender awards: Carey Price and everyone else

Scoring goals is all well and good, but a hockey team can’t survive a season without the guy between the pipes firing on all cylinders.

Some of the NHL’s last lines of defense have been out to awesome starts this campaign, whether it has been with multiple shutouts, a highlight-reel worthy save or simply the ability to step up when the team needs it the most. Here is a look at the goaltenders who are putting on the best show so far this season.

Best All-Around Start: Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens

It’s hard to write something new about Price’s return and performance because he is one of the most written-about players in the NHL, and for good reason. Price has been playing out of his mind so far in his comeback season as he steers the ship of the league-leading Habs, so naturally he is one of the biggest headline-stealers. It’s no wonder that the team in front of him — which has been damn good, take away one hideous effort against Columbus — continues to lean so heavily on him and his 1.40 goals-against average.

Best “Surprise” Great Start: Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota Wild

Three consecutive shutouts seems like reason enough to dub the Minnesota Wild starter a star in the early season’s goalie class. It’s a pleasant sight following a 2015-16 season in which he had a heavier workload and his numbers weren’t as good. So far he is registering a solid 1.65 goals-against average and .947 save percentage, which is even more impressive considering the number of injuries that the Wild has endured in just the first month of the season.

Best Youngster: Matt Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins

I actually debated listing the Pittsburgh Penguins’ netminder as my top pick so far this season, then hesitated because he has a smaller sample size of games under his belt than Price. In his first couple of starts sine returning from injury, however, his numbers are incredible (1.25 goals-against average and .961 save percentage, along with one shutout.) Off paper, Murray is even more impressive, maintaining the calm and collected demeanor of a seasoned veteran in just his second season.

Best Step-Up Guy: Peter Budaj, Los Angeles Kings

When Kings starting goalie Jonathan Quick went down in the first game of the season, the overwhelming assumption was that L.A.’s season was over before it started. But Budaj, who started the season in the AHL, has risen to the occasion and given the Southern California club a chance in the Pacific. (Granted, the Kings weren’t giving him much help when they got shut out three straight games, but that’s a whole other argument.) The 34-year-old Slovakian is doing a sizable job keeping up with the elite netminders in the league, logging seven wins and two shutouts.

Most Improved Starts from Last Season: Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings

Bobrovsky leads a Columbus Blue Jackets team that as a whole is off to a much better start than last season. He has, to date, tallied three shutouts on the season, tying him for first in the league with Dubnyk.

Howard is quite the story, coming off a disappointing 2015-16 season that saw him lose the starting job for the Detroit Red Wings and share responsibilities with young buck Petr Mrazek. In the current campaign, however, Howard has found a dominant groove, even being considered the savior for the Red Wings in a couple wins this season.

Best Turnaround: Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators

In the month of October, the Predators’ starter had a 1-4-1 record, and keeping the puck out of the back of the net wasn't exactly his strong suit. So far in November, however, he is 4-0-2 with a 1.17 goals-against average and .958 save percentage, additionally pitching a shutout against the Anaheim Ducks over the weekend. Of course, the question now is whether or not he can continue that upward trend or at the very least keep fewer pucks from finding the back of the net. Rinne told Adam Vingan of the Tennessean that his “main goal is just to be consistent and be able to maintain a level where I feel like I'm playing my best game every single night.” Another month of hockey will show how that consistency holds up.

Best of the Rest

There are a couple of goaltenders who have been clawing their way into the conversation recently and should be recognized. Corey Crawford is a pivotal piece in the Chicago Blackhawks going 8-0-2 in their last 10 games. In fact, during the Chicago seven-game win streak, Crawford surrendered two or fewer goals in every game but one, which was an overtime loss at that. Tuukka Rask has been brilliant for the Bruins, particularly on the road, where he now holds a 7-0-0 record with a 1.27 GAA and .956 save percentage. And Rangers starter Henrik Lundqvist, who wasn’t looking very sharp a couple weeks ago, is now playing at the stellar level the team in front of him has come to expect. As a result, New York has won four of his last five starts.

Can you name every NHL player to win the Vezina Trophy?

The Vezina Trophy honors the top goaltender in the NHL. From 1965-1981, awards were often given to multiple goaltenders of one team. The award was not given in 2005 due to a strike. 

SCORE:
0/106
TIME:
15:00
1927-MTL
George Hainsworth
1928-MTL
George Hainsworth
1929-MTL
George Hainsworth
1930-BOS
Tiny Thompson
1931-NYA
Roy Worters
1932-CHI
Charlie Gardiner
1933-BOS
Tiny Thompson
1934-CHI
Charlie Gardiner
1935-CHI
Lorne Chabot
1936-BOS
Tiny Thompson
1937-DET
Normie Smith
1938-BOS
Tiny Thompson
1939-BOS
Frank Brimsek
1940-NYR
Dave Kerr
1941-TOR
Turk Broda
1942-BOS
Frank Brimsek
1943-DET
Johnny Mowers
1944-MTL
Bill Durnan
1945-MTL
Bill Durnan
1946-MTL
Bill Durnan
1947-MTL
Bill Durnan
1948-TOR
Turk Broda
1949-MTL
Bill Durnan
1950-MTL
Bill Durnan
1951-TOR
Al Rollins
1952-DET
Terry Sawchuk
1953-DET
Terry Sawchuk
1954-TOR
Harry Lumley
1955-DET
Terry Sawchuk
1956-MTL
Jacques Plante
1957-MTL
Jacques Plante
1958-MTL
Jacques Plante
1959-MTL
Jacques Plante
1960-MTL
Jacques Plante
1961-TOR
Johnny Bower
1962-MTL
Jacques Plante
1963-CHI
Glenn Hall
1964-MTL
Charlie Hodge
1965-TOR
Terry Sawchuk
1965-TOR
Johnny Bower
1966-MTL
Gump Worsley
1966-MTL
Charlie Hodge
1967-CHI
Glenn Hall
1967-CHI
Denis DeJordy
1968-MTL
Rogie Vachon
1968-MTL
Gump Worsley
1969-STL
Jacques Plante
1969-STL
Glenn Hall
1970-CHI
Tony Esposito
1971-NYR
Gilles Villemure
1971-NYR
Ed Giacomin
1972-CHI
Gary Smith
1972-CHI
Tony Esposito
1973-MTL
Ken Dryden
1974-CHI
Tony Esposito
1974-PHI
Bernie Parent
1975-PHI
Bernie Parent
1976-MTL
Ken Dryden
1977-MTL
Michel Larocque
1977-MTL
Ken Dryden
1978-MTL
Michel Larocque
1978-MTL
Ken Dryden
1979-MTL
Michel Larocque
1979-MTL
Ken Dryden
1980-BUF
Bob Sauve
1980-BUF
Don Edwards
1981-MTL
Richard Sevigny
1981-MTL
Michel Larocque
1981-MTL
Denis Herron
1982-NYI
Billy Smith
1983-BOS
Pete Peeters
1984-BUF
Tom Barrasso
1985-PHI
Pelle Lindbergh
1986-NYR
John Vanbiesbrouck
1987-PHI
Ron Hextall
1988-EDM
Grant Fuhr
1989-MTL
Patrick Roy
1990-MTL
Patrick Roy
1991-CHI
Ed Belfour
1992-MTL
Patrick Roy
1993-CHI
Ed Belfour
1994-BUF
Dominik Hasek
1995-BUF
Dominik Hasek
1996-WAS
Jim Carey
1997-BUF
Dominik Hasek
1998-BUF
Dominik Hasek
1999-BUF
Dominik Hasek
2000-WAS
Olaf Kolzig
2001-BUF
Dominik Hasek
2002-MTL
Jose Theodore
2003-NJD
Martin Brodeur
2004-NJD
Martin Brodeur
2006-CAL
Miikka Kiprusoff
2007-NJD
Martin Brodeur
2008-NJD
Martin Brodeur
2009-BOS
Tim Thomas
2010-BUF
Ryan Miller
2011-BOS
Tim Thomas
2012-NYR
Henrik Lundqvist
2013-CBJ
Sergei Bobrovsky
2014-BOS
Tuukka Rask
2015-MTL
Carey Price
2016-WAS
Braden Holtby
2017-CBJ
Sergei Bobrovsky
2018-NSH
Pekka Rinne
2019-TBL
Andrei Vasilevskiy

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