With 49 games in the books, the Capitals are well beyond the half-way point in the season. However, with a pause in the schedule for the All-Star break, this weekend provides a good opportunity to take a look around and see where things stand, including the race for the Vezina Trophy.
WINS
Sergei Bobrovsky and the Columbus Blue Jackets caught fire in November and December, at one point racking up 16 consecutive wins before the Capitals ended their streak. As a result, Bobrovsky has a sizeable lead in wins over Holtby (24 wins), going in to the All-Star break.
Devan Dubnyk (27), Cam Talbot (26) and Martin Jones (25) are also ahead of Holtby. It should be noted that Jones and Talbot have 4 and 7 more starts than Holtby, respectively.
SAVE PERCENTAGE
Holtby is currently second to the Minnesota Wild’s Devan Dubnyk, but by just a few hundredths of a point. This category is basically a draw at this point in the season.
GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE
Once again, Holtby is second to Dubnyk in goals against average (GAA), but once again, by the slimmest of margins. Again, this category is basically a draw at this point.
If Vezina voting was conducted today, it would be hard to argue (statistically) against Deven Dubnyk winning the award, but the Capitals Braden Holtby is in striking range. Of course, Braden and Caps Nation would trade a Vezina for the number one prize.
By Jon Sorensen
Follow @NoVa_Caps
