Braden Holtby Again Named Finalist for Vezina Trophy
Holtby earlier this season. (Caps Outsider)
Congratulations to Caps goaltender Braden Holtby for once again being named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, which he won last year. This time he’s up against Columbus’s Sergei Bobrovsky and Montreal’s Carey Price.
Though Holtby had another stellar season, he’s not a lock for it like he was last year. He and Bobrovsky were virtually tied in GAA (2.06 vs. 2.07 for Holtby). Bobrovsky’s save percentage was slightly better – .931 to Holtby’s .925. Holtby had one more win than Bobrovsky (42 to 41), and Holtby had 9 shutouts to Bobrovsky’s 7.
This is virtually a toss-up, but when you go deeper into the numbers, Bobrovsky has a better case. Each goalie played 63 games and each gave up 127 goals. Bobrovsky made 1727 saves to Holtby’s 1563, meaning Bobrovsky had more work to do to retain that pace. Holtby and the Caps already have the William M. Jennings Trophy for fewest goals against by a team, but that was with the help of backup Philipp Grubauer.
As for Price, I have no idea why he was nominated.
The NHL Awards will be held on June 21 in Las Vegas.
Anyway, we’ll root for Holtby but let’s not flip out if he doesn’t get it this season. He’ll be too busy drinking out of the Stanley Cup.