Will Carey Price Edge Tim Thomas for Vezina Trophy This Season?

by abournenesn

Mar 8, 2011

Will Carey Price Edge Tim Thomas for Vezina Trophy This Season? When the Bruins and Canadiens meet up on Tuesday night in Montreal, there will be more on the line than just a couple of points in the standings and some bragging rights.

Tim Thomas and Carey Price are considered two of the front-runners for this season's Vezina Trophy, making the two remaining B's-Habs rivalry tilts that much more interesting. As if that's not enough to tune in on Tuesday night, the last time these two keepers squared off, they literally squared off and dropped the gloves for a quick bout. In doing so, both the 36-year-old Thomas and the 23-year-old Price proved they never watched Ron Hextall's rock 'em sock 'em highlights.

Thomas leads the league in GAA (1.97), save percentage (.939) and has the fewest losses (eight) among goalies with at least 40 starts. Price, meanwhile, is tied for the league lead in wins (31) and is second in games played (58), shots against (1,739) and saves (1,605). He falls in the top 10 in GAA (2.34) and save percentage (.923).

While Price has 21 losses to Thomas' eight, the pair are tied for second with seven shutouts apiece, despite Thomas starting 12 fewer games.

While it's obvious Thomas has the early edge, voters may toss Price a few pity votes, as he's kept the sixth-place Habs in the hunt with a mediocre defensive unit. Not that it should work against him, but Thomas and the second-place B's defense is a fortress with Zdeno Chara and a team defense-oriented blueprint.

If Thomas can get at least 12 more starts and stay consistent down the stretch, he should be able to wrap up his second Vezina in three years. Price is hot on his heels, and should he reach the 40-win plateau, it may be tough for voters to ignore such a feat.

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