Hey I wondered what you guys think about the Vezina trophy this year. I know Henrik Lundqvist and Jonathan Quick both have earned considerations but how about Mike Smith of the Coyotes as the 3rd candidate?

He has a very respectable .929 sv%, a very good 2.25 GAA and the Yotes are 36-18-10 with him in net which is quite a good record. Plus he's the 2nd star of the season on NHL.com after Stamkos, and just ahead of Quick.

I really just think Smith deserves consideration. Especially since he just had a 54 save shutout last night! That's just one of his eight shutouts on the year.

If I were the yotes I'd rather face Vancouver than St. Louis. The blues have dominating goalies with Elliot having the lowest GAA in the league and a .943% save percentage (highest in the league) and Halak being 5th in the league for GAA and 15 shutouts between the two of them. Pretty important stats for playoffs, plus Halak has proven himself before in play offs. Mean while Luongo has been known to have some VERY off games in playoffs. If the Coyotes can win their division that'd be really sweet too. Better hope my Wild don't beat them again Saturday.

Have you been watching the Wings recently?  The Hawks or the Preds will knock them off.

Well they had been missing their Hall of Fame defenseman recently, but he's back. And they just came back from 2-0 against the mighty Blues to win 3-2 in a shootout! They're gonna be a strong team, don't underestimate them. 

Big day today in the NHL boys. Washington and Buffalo both in must win situations in the East, same for LA and San Jose in the West. If Dallas loses tonight they're out.

My Coyotes get the night off.

My pick would definitely be for Jonathan Quick. Mostly because his team did not manage to score many goals this season, yet the have a very high advantage in goals scored over goals against. So he had to steal a lot of close games to get the Kings wins. I never saw this of course as the AVS beat the Kings four times this season, haha. At the same time, he is also in the leaders for goals against average, save percentage wins and shutouts. When you put it together as a package he seems to have done the best in the most areas.

Smith obviously has carried Phoenix pretty far too, and considering he has hardly any offense to he definitely deserves a lot of credit. I think either one deserves it.

Brian Elliot does not deserve it to me because he played a lot less games than the other two and is backed by a team that has a main focus of defense first hockey. I would say his defense is helping him more with his great stats than the other goaltenders mentioned.

Yeah I definitely agree Quick is as deserving as anyone of the Vezina, especially since as you said, his team managed only manages like 2 goals per game this season. 

It'll probably just be Lundqvist anyways though since his team will likely win the President's trophy and he has had amazing stats this year. I just don't think he's as deserving since he hasn't had to steal games like Quick and Smith. He's had offensive talent with guys like Gaborik, Callahan, Richards, etc. 

Yeah I do actually agree with that. I'd rather face a shaky Luongo than a rock solid Elliot/Halak combo. 

And I especially agree with your last sentence :)

It is hard to say because the Presidents trophy does not always ensure the Vezina trophy. I think it should matter even less this year because the team that wins the President's trophy will barely beat the other teams for points which is different from many other seasons. I actually think Vancouver has a better shot at the Presidents trophy because they only have Edmonton and Calgary yet to face, while the Rangers have the tougher Penguins and the desperately needing points (to make the playoffs) Washington Capitals. I predict Vancouver will come out on top.

You don't think Elliot deserves it? He's had one less shutout than Quick while playing 30 or so less games. I'd say that's pretty impressive.

Regardless, we should be about to get the playoff pool together starting Sunday.