Sergei Bobrovsky: There Are a Ton of Vezina Trophy Candidates for this Season, But Who Will Win it is Anyone’s Guess. But as of Now, Bobrovsky Is a Leading Candidate.
Devan Dubnyk. Braden Holtby. Sergei Bobrovsky. With the season winding down, these are the three names you’re going to hear most when it comes to the debate over the NHL’s award for goaltending, the Vezina Trophy.
Holtby has had another stellar season in net for the Washington Capitals and has a good shot at being a repeat Vezina winner. Dubnyk is having his best season between the pipes for the Minnesota Wild and is in the top five in save percentage, goals against average, and shutouts.
However, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Sergei Bobrovsky, I believe, stands above the rest this season.
What a Difference a Year Makes
Playing in the toughest division in the NHL, the Metropolitan, Bobrovsky has helped catapult this Columbus team from last in the division with 76 points a year ago, to tied for 1st in the division with 100 points with 10 games remaining.
A year ago, the Blue Jackets were second worst in the NHL in goals against, giving up 3.07 goals per game. This season, through 72 games, Columbus ranks 2nd in that category, giving up 2.28 per game.
The defense certainly plays a major role in this turnaround, but that can’t take away from the fact that Sergei Bobrovsky has been brilliant in goal.
All-Star Season for Sergei Bobrovsky
In his All-Star season, Bobrovsky has been a proverbial stone wall that opponents have had very little luck penetrating. With a record of 39-13-4, the main man between the pipes is having the best year of his seven-year NHL career.
The Russian netminder currently leads the league in save percentage with a .931. He also leads the league in goals-against average, giving up just 2.04 per game. He has six shutouts this season, including a stretch earlier in the month where he recorded three in a row and has made a total of 1515 saves, putting him 5th in the NHL.
Next: Auston Matthews: Calder Trophy Candidate
Getting slightly more in the weeds with it, Bobrovsky’s RBS (Really Bad Starts, a.k.a starts with SV% below 85) number sits at four, while Devan Dubnyk’s is at five and Braden Holtby’s is at seven. In other words, Bobrovsky has the least amount of starts that would make you cringe when looking at the stat line.
With 10 games to go, the Blue Jackets and Sergei Bobrovsky need to finish strong, especially considering the team sits tied with the Washington Capitals for the top spot in the Metropolitan. If Bobrovsky continues playing like he has for the majority of this season and stays atop the leaderboards in save percentage and GAA, while also helping his team finish 1st in the toughest NHL division, he’ll have certainly made the best possible case for the Vezina.