Braden Holtby grabs all the headlines because he's won 34 games, has lost just five games in regulation and he can realistically catch Martin Brodeur's single-season record of 48 wins as he leads the Washington Capitals to an absurd record. Corey Crawford is having a career-year as he powers his Chicago Blackhawks to the NHL's second-best record. Roberto Luongo is teaming up with Al Montoya to form the NHL's best goaltending duo as they lead the Florida Panthers to a surprisingly successful season.
Those guys seem to be the ones that are hoarding all the attention as far as who will find their names on the end of season ballots for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender. But one guy that should begin to stir the pot a bit and insert his name into the conversation is Petr Mrazek, the goaltender who will turn 24 on Valentine's Day for the Detroit Red Wings.
How great has Mrazek been? Just take a look at his last 13 starts. He's recorded a 10-2-1 record, with a .952 save percentage and a 1.31 goals against average. Those numbers have catapulted Mrazek to the very top of the NHL, where he now leads the NHL in goals against average and save percentage, with .934 and 1.94, respectively. Those totals make Mrazek, well, the best goaltender in the NHL.
"It's so hard to beat him," Red Wings forward Andreas Athanasiou said following Detroit's win over the Ottawa Senators. "He's a wall back there. It's an unbelievable thing to have. It's like having a third defenseman back there as well with his ability to play the puck. He's an elite goalie."
And if we look at Mrazek's numbers in comparison to Holtby, Crawford and Luongo, who are rightfully considered elite goaltenders this season, Mrazek's numbers stack right up against theirs in all aspects of the game.
At even-strength 5-v-5, Mrazek is well ahead of the three goaltenders in major goaltender statistical categories. If we look at save percentage, adjusted save percentage (adjusted for the volume of shots goaltenders face from different level of danger areas) and save percentage from shots taken in high-danger areas (click that previous link to see where "high-danger" areas are on the ice), there's a clear-cut winner in the categories.
Goaltending Statistics At Even-Strength, 5-v-5
| Player | Save Percentage | Adjusted Save Percentage | High-Danger Save Percentage |
| Braden Holtby | .936 | .935 | .863 |
| Corey Crawford | .937 | .935 | .883 |
| Roberto Luongo | .940 | .936 | .875 |
| Petr Mrazek | .951 | .950 | .886 |
And if we look at the exact same data for all game situations, we can still see that Mrazek is clearly having the better season of the group.
Goaltending Statistics in All-Game Situations
| Player | Save Percentage | Adjusted Save Percentage | High-Danger Save Percentage |
| Braden Holtby | .928 | .926 | .848 |
| Corey Crawford | .932 | .930 | .873 |
| Roberto Luongo | .928 | .924 | .867 |
| Petr Mrazek | .934 | .932 | .864 |
In virtually every statistical category (except for high-danger save percentage in all-game situations), Mrazek is statistically superior. And one reason why those numbers may stay so high is because of Mrazek's defense, which has excelled in front of Mrazek for virtually the entire season. Per 60 minutes of even-strength 5-v-5 play, Mrazek's 28.55 shots faced is the second-lowest of the group. And Mrazek's defensemen unit especially helps him out on the penalty kill. Per 60 minutes of penalty killing time, Mrazek sees only 49.63 total shots. That's just over five less shots than Holtby, just under nine less than Luongo and just under 11 less than Crawford. The less shots that get to Mrazek, the less amount of goals he'll allow.
"I think (Mrazek)'s continued to play real good," head coach Jeff Blashill said following the Ottawa win. "I think he's played real good for a while now. I'd also say that our team defense has something to do with that. Our guys have really, really played good defensively. We haven't given up lots of back doors, we haven't given up a lot of odd-man rushes. We haven't given up lots of seconds. I think that helps your save percentage, it helps your goaltender. I think they go hand in hand with success but certainly Petr has played at a real good level. But he's played at a real good level for a long time."
A strong goaltender leads to strong overall team play. Mrazek's stability fuels the Red Wings, and despite the overall greatness of Pavel Datsyuk, the unbelievable debut of rookie Dylan Larkin and the leadership of Henrik Zetterberg, Mrazek may ultimately be the most valuable player on the team.
"He's definitely brought us confidence," forward Darren Helm said. "He's done an outstanding job this year. He's won a couple of games for us for sure and been keeping us in a lot of others. That only helps teams. We definitely feel confident when we get a one or two-goal lead with him in the net."
Based on his importance of his role on his team and his statistical output this season, Mrazek deserves to be at the very top in Vezina conversations.
Tommy Chalk writes about the NHL for FOX Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @Tommy_Chalk
Statistics and graphs provided by War on Ice.
