The Puck Stops Here

Yesterday, I picked Henrik Lundqvist as the early leader for rookie of the year. That night, he went out and played arguably the worst game of his short NHL career so far losing 5-1 to Carolina. This just tightens the race some more.

One of the reasons I argued Lundqvist should be a Calder Trophy favorite is that one could make a respectable case for his being the best goalie in the league so far this year (although I would disagree with this claim) and one could not make the case nearly as well that either of Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin have been the best player in their respective positions.

This begs the question, who do I think is the best goaltender so far this year?

I pick Dominik Hasek of the Ottawa Senators. He is yet another reason why the Senators have been so dominant this year so far.

Hasek is currently leading the NHL in goals against average with a 1.83 GAA and saves percentage with .937. Although Ottawa has a solid defence, they are allowing him quite a few shots. In fact, Ottawa is currently 16th in shots allowed per game, having allowed 29.6 shots per game. Ottawa's system relies on goaltending to come up big and Hasek has. Thats one reason Ottawa is doing so well. And that is why I consider Hasek the best goalie so far this season.