Craig Anderson ahead in Vezina Race

Some of this season’s best goaltenders find themselves in an even time share. Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks has started 14 games and is second in the National Hockey League with a 1.41 goals-against average and .940 save percentage. Viktor Fasth of the Anaheim Ducks has come on strong in place of Jonas Hiller, posting a 9-1-1 record and 2.08 GAA with 11 starts.

Other goaltending leaders have dealt with injuries and haven’t played as many games as the season reaches the halfway point. Craig Anderson of the Ottawa Senators leads the League with a 1.49 GAA and .952 save percentage, but an ankle injury has limited him to 15 games. Kari Lehtonen has carried theDallas Stars this season with a 2.26 GAA and .930 save percentage, but has started 13 games because of a groin injury.

How will general managers decide on this year’s Vezina winner if the trend continues? As of now, Crawford, Fasth, Anderson and Lehtonen have played less than 65 percent of their teams’ games. Will GMs reward the flashy numbers, or the goaltenders who carry a far heavier load in this shortened season and have less-impressive numbers?

At this point, NHL.com is awarding the Vezina to Anderson, who has been the best goaltender during the first half of the season. Anderson banked a lot of his numbers before getting hurt -- he's been out since Feb. 21 -- but he’s still been the most impressive to this point.

Brian Elliott Post's 2 Consecutive Shutouts

Brian Elliott has earned his second shutout in two days with Chris Kelly and Daniel Alfredsson scoring to give the Ottawa Senators a 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Elliot turned aside 26 shots with an amazing glove save on James van Riemsdyk with only 3:55 remaining in the third to keep the shutout alive. Elliot was named first star of the game.
Only the night before Elliot faced the Montreal Canadians where he was faced with 29 shots and made all 29 saves and was named the first star of the game.
"He's played unbelievable the last two games and we've been able to score the first goals, too, in the last two games, which definitely helps. The way Elliott played was huge for us. I mean that gave us a lot of confidence" said team captain Daniel Alfredsson.