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Poll: Who are the leading Vezina candidates?

Ben Bishop

Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop (30) during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins Thursday, April 11, 2013, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

AP

The NHL announced its three star selections on Monday and, curiously, it was just the third time this season no goaltender was honored.

Why curious? Because the lack of goalies highlights one of the season’s biggest narratives -- masked men are stealing the show.

Marc-Andre Fleury, Semyon Varlamov, Jean-Sebastian Giguere, Jonas Gustavsson, Robin Lehner, Frederik Andersen, Ben Scrivens, Josh Harding, Devan Dubnyk, Roberto Luongo, Martin Jones and Carter Hutton have all captured star of the week honors already, which means now seems like a good time to discuss the Vezina, the grandest goalie award of ‘em all.

Who are the leading candidates? A few for your perusal...

Ben Bishop

Amazingly, Tampa’s No. 1 netminder hasn’t won any weekly/monthly star awards this season, despite being one of the league’s top netminders. Bishop currently ranks second in wins (19), fifth in save percentage (.934) and sixth in GAA (1.96). He’s also tied for the league lead with three shutouts and ranks top-10 in “workhorse” categories like games played and time on ice.

Josh Harding

The Minnesota netminder, third star for the month of November, leads the NHL in GAA (1.51) and sits second in save percentage (.939). The fact he’s done this while dealing with MS is incredible, but he’s currently on IR while making adjustments to his treatment protocol and won’t be eligible to return until Dec. 27. If Harding can maintain his early form and play enough games, he’ll be the in the Vezina conversation throughout the year.

Tuukka Rask

Rask’s body of work this season has been overlooked given all the other compelling storylines, but it shouldn’t be. His 1.87 GAA and .936 save percentage are very impressive given his workload -- Boston has only used backup Chad Johnson nine times this season, and Rask has the seventh-most starts (28) in the league.

Carey Price

Only three goalies have faced more than 900 shots heading into tonight’s action -- Price, Mike Smith and Ondrej Pavelec. Pavelec’s save percentage is .908, Smith’s is .913 and Price’s is.932...the sixth best mark in the league. He’s also started 30 games already, two back of NHL leader Luongo.

Others...

Semyon Varlamov has cooled after his red-hot start, but still boasts good overall numbers... Marc-Andre Fleury gets a lot of heat for his inconsistent play, but he’s been rock-solid (21-8-1, 2.04 GAA, .923 save percentage), especially after Tomas Vokoun was sidelined by blood clot issues...Luongo has been a workhorse and is tied for the shutout lead, with three...Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer have both been excellent, but that works against their individual Vezina chances...Antti Niemi was the league’s third star for October and second in games played, third in wins.

Vote away (just like awards season, you get to nominate your three finalists)...

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