Devan Dubnyk
StaTuesday: Wild's Devan Dubnyk playing like Vezina contender
Devan Dubnyk

StaTuesday: Wild's Devan Dubnyk playing like Vezina contender

Published Dec. 9, 2016 12:37 p.m. ET

For whatever it's worth in early December, Devan Dubnyk is playing his way into Vezina Trophy consideration.

The Minnesota's No. 16-ranked power play and No. 13-ranked penalty kill have been middling so far. The Wild are also one of 11 teams without a double-digit goal-scorer.

The Wild's offense ranks 10th at 2.75 goals per game, while they've allowed just 49 goals on the season, a league low.

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They have Dubnyk to thank for that.

Dubnyk is among the league's top goaltenders heading into the third month of the season, and ranked third in a recent Vezina Trophy poll of NHL.com writers, behind Montreal Canadiens star Carey Price, who won the award in 2015, and Boston Bruins starter and 2014 Vezina winner Tuukka Rask.

Player Team GP W L Save % EV Save % Shutouts
Devan Dubnyk Wild 19 10 10 0.946 0.956 4
Carey Price Canadiens 18 14 3 0.942 0.956 2
Anders Nilsson Sabres 8 7 4 0.934 0.954 1
Corey Crawford Blackhawks 20 12 6 0.927 0.954 2
Jimmy Howard Red Wings 12 5 5 0.94 0.946 1

Dubnyk leads the league with a .946 save percentage, a figure that jumps to a whopping .956 when Minnesota is at even strength, tied with Price for the league lead, while his four shutouts are also tops in the NHL.

The Wild are doing enough in the offensive zone to back Dubnyk's hot start, and now lead the Western Conference with a plus-17 goal differential despite their middle-of-the-road scoring totals.

Team GP G A Pts G/Dif
New York Rangers 26 95 155 250 31
Columbus Blue Jackets 24 76 127 203 24
Montreal Canadiens 25 73 131 204 18
Minnesota Wild 24 66 114 180 17
Edmonton Oilers 27 79 125 204 10
San Jose Sharks 25 60 102 162 9
Washington Capitals 24 61 98 159 8
Nashville Predators 24 71 120 191 7
Pittsburgh Penguins 26 86 152 238 7
Chicago Blackhawks 27 72 122 194 5

Dubnyk's numbers are bound to dip as the season rolls along, but his hot start could mean big things later on.

Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby won the Vezina last year with a .922 save percentage and a league-leading 48 wins, while Tampa Bay's Ben Bishop finished second with a .926 save percentage and 35 wins.

Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles), Roberto Luongo (Florida), Corey Crawford (Chicago), Corey Schneider (New Jersey), John Gibson (Anaheim), Martin Jones (San Jose) and Brian Elliot (St. Louis) rounded out the voting.

Dubynk finished third in the Vezina voting in 2015 after posting a .929 save percentage in 58 games, which he split between the Arizona Coyotes and the Wild.

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