3 reasons why Anthony Stolarz could win this year’s Vezina Trophy
The simple math looks promising
Stolarz has played in five games this season, registering a 3-2 mark with a 1.83 GAA and a .938 SV%. The GAA and SV% certainly look promising despite Stolarz’s lackluster record. But when you consider the two losses, they were hardly poor outings.
First, the Leafs lost 1-0 against the Montreal Canadiens in their season opener. Stolarz made 26 saves in the losing effort. The Leafs could have easily won that game had they actually scored.
Then, Stolarz’s second loss came against the New York Rangers. In reality, the Leafs lost 2-1 as the Rangers added two empty-net goals to make the final score 4-1. In that game, Stolarz gave up two goals and made 32 saves. Again, the Leafs could have won that game had they scored.
Beyond that, Stolarz’s three wins have seen him give up exactly two goals in each outing. That’s fantastic when considering the Leafs have not had a stable goalie for quite some. Of course, some would point out the minuscule sample size.
Yes, that’s true, I’m basing my claim on a five-game sample. However, there’s a lot more to consider when considering how Stolarz stacks up against other NHL netminders.
The current GAA leader is the New York Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin. Sorokin has a 1.64 GAA this season. However, Sorokin has only played two games so far. Perhaps other more reasonable comparables would be the Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck with a 1.40 GAA or the Dallas Stars Jake Oettinger with a 1.81 GAA. Given the small sample size, Stolarz isn’t too far off.
As for SV%, the Detroit Red Wings Alex Lyon currently leads the pack with a .955 SV%. Hellebuyck has a .948 with Oettinger at .941. Once again, we see that Stolar isn’t far off the lead. What’s more, it’s reasonable to assume that Lyon won’t be able to keep up his strong start. So, a drop-off should be expected at some point.
Now, let’s continue building Stolarz’s case by looking at the deeper advanced metrics.