Fleury_Kane

NHL.com will be running weekly installments of the Trophy Tracker series this season, looking at leaders for the Hart (MVP), Norris (top defenseman), Vezina (top goalie) and Calder (top rookie) trophies. Though there can be one winner for each award at the end of the season, five NHL.com writers per division will be ranking their top three for each award.
This week, the closest vote of the 16 was for the Vezina Trophy in the Honda West Division, where four goalies received first-place votes and seven voting points divided the leader from the goalie who came in third.
The writers who were part of that vote participated in a roundtable listing their reasons for picking the goalie they believe is the leader this week. That is below, but first here are the voting totals for each trophy in each division (points awarded on a 5-3-1 basis):

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MASSMUTUAL EAST DIVISION

Hart Trophy
Leader: Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins, 17 points (three first-place votes)
Runners-up:Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals, 12; Patrice Bergeron, Bruins, 10 points (one first-place vote)
Others receiving points:James van Riemsdyk, Philadelphia Flyers, 5 (one first-place vote); Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers, 1
Leader last week:Marchand, 18 (three first-place votes)
Norris Trophy
Leader:Charlie McAvoy, Bruins, 21 points (three first-place votes)
Runners-up: John Carlson, Capitals, 14 (two first-place votes); Ivan Provorov, Flyers, 6
Others receiving points:Adam Fox, New York Rangers, 3; Damon Severson, New Jersey Devils, 1
Leader last week:McAvoy, 21 (three first-place votes)
Vezina Trophy
Leader: Semyon Varlamov, New York Islanders, 25 (unanimous No. 1)
Runners-up:Tuukka Rask, Bruins, 9; Jaroslav Halak, Bruins, 7
Others receiving points: Carter Hart, Flyers, 2; Mackenzie Blackwood, Devils, 1;
Igor Shesterkin
, Rangers, 1
Leader last week:Varlamov, 19 (three first-place votes)
Calder Trophy
Leader: Ty Smith, Devils, 19 (three first-place votes)
Runners-up:K'Andre Miller, Rangers, 15 (two first-place votes); Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Pittsburgh Penguins, 10
Others receiving points:Shesterkin, Rangers, 1
Leader last week:Smith, 21 (four first-place votes)

HONDA WEST DIVISION

Hart Trophy
Leader: Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights, 23 (four first-place votes)
Runners-up:Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings, 13 (one first-place vote); Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche, 8
Others receiving points:Cale Makar, Avalanche, 1
Leader last week:Stone, 21 (three first-place votes)
Norris Trophy
Leader:Makar, Avalanche, 23 (four first-place votes)
Runners-up:Shea Theodore, Golden Knights, 7; Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues, 6 (one first-place vote)
Others receiving points: Alex Pietrangelo, Golden Knights, 4; Drew Doughty, Kings, 3; Jakob Chychrun, Arizona Coyotes, 1; Torey Krug, Blues, 1
Leader last week:Makar, 21 (three first-place votes)
Vezina Trophy
Leader: Marc-Andre Fleury, Golden Knights, 17 (two first-place votes)
Runners-up:Philipp Grubauer, Avalanche, 13, (one first-place vote); John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks, 10 (one first-place vote)
Others receiving votes: Jordan Binnington, Blues, 5 (one first-place vote)
Leader last week:Grubauer, 21 (three first-place votes)
Calder Trophy
Leader:Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild, 25 points (unanimous No. 1)
Runners-up:Zach Whitecloud, Golden Knights, 9; Gabriel Vilardi, Kings, 5
Others receiving points:Kaapo Kahkonen, Wild, 3; Mikey Anderson, Kings, 2; Barrett Hayton, Coyotes, 1
Leader last week:Kaprizov, 25 points (unanimous No. 1)

COL@VGK: Fleury stands strong to turn away Bellemare

DISCOVER CENTRAL DIVISION

Hart Trophy
Leader:Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks, 25 (unanimous No. 1)
Runners-up:Joe Pavelski, Dallas Stars, 9; Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning, 9
Others receiving points:Brayden Point, Lightning, 1; Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators, 1
Leader last week:Pavelski, 23 points (four five-place votes)
Norris Trophy
Leader:Hedman, Lightning, 25 (unanimous No. 1)
Runners-up: John Klingberg, Stars, 11; Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers, 7
Others receiving points:Miro Heiskanen, Stars, 1; Mikhail Sergachev, Lightning, 1
Leader last week:Hedman, 25 (unanimous)
Vezina Trophy
Leader: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning, 25 (unanimous No. 1)
Runners-up: Kevin Lankinen, Blackhawks, 15; Chris Driedger, Panthers, 4
Others receiving points: Anton Khudobin, Stars, 1
Leader last week:Vasilevskiy, 25 (unanimous No. 1)
Calder Trophy
Leader:Lankinen, Blackhawks, 21 (four first-place votes)
Runners-up:Pius Suter, Blackhawks, 17 (one first-place vote); Philipp Kurashev, Blackhawks, 6
Others receiving points: Jason Robertson, Stars, 1
Leader last week: Lankinen, 21 (four first-place votes)

CBJ@CHI: Kane snipes PPG to double lead

SCOTIA NORTH DIVISION

Hart Trophy
Leader: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, 25 (unanimous No. 1)
Runners-up:Leon Draisaitl, Oilers, 8; Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs, 5
Others receiving points:Mitchell Marner, Maple Leafs, 4; Tyler Toffoli, Montreal Canadiens, 3
Leader last week: McDavid, 21 (four first-place votes)
Norris Trophy
Leader:Jeff Petry, Canadiens, 21 (four first-place votes)
Runners-up:Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks, 9 (one first-place vote); Darnell Nurse, Oilers, 7
Others receiving points:Morgan Rielly, Maple Leafs, 6
Leader last week:Petry, 21 (three first-place votes)
Vezina Trophy
Leader:Jacob Markstrom, Calgary Flames, 17 (one first-place vote)
Runners-up: Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets, 15 (two first-place votes); Frederik Andersen, Maple Leafs, 15 (two first-place votes)
Others receiving points:Jake Allen, Canadiens, 1
Leader last week:Hellebuyck, 21 (three first-place votes)
Calder Trophy
Leader:
Tim Stutzle
, Senators, 16 points (two first-place votes)
Runners-up: Nils Hoglander, Canucks, 15 (one first-place vote); Alexander Romanov, Canadiens, 7 (one first-place vote)
Others receiving points: Juuso Valimaki, Flames, 6 (one first-place vote); Josh Norris, Senators, 1
Leader last week: Stutzle, 19 points (three first-place votes)
Here is why the Vezina Trophy in the West Division was so close, with the writers who participated defending their choice for first place:
Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights
Sometimes we make breaking down goaltending more complicated than it needs to be. In the end, it is about winning, about preventing at least one fewer goal than the other team. In the West, nobody has done that better than Fleury, who has started eight games and won seven. The one he lost? He allowed one goal on 28 shots, losing 1-0 on Feb. 11 to the Ducks and John Gibson, who should also be in the Vezina conversation in the West. If you don't want to put emphasis on winning, let's place it on stopping shots faced, another prerequisite of the position. Fleury has a .944 save percentage, best in the NHL among goalies with at least five starts. Case closed. -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial
The first month of the regular season is often no picnic for goalies as teams get used to their systems and new players. In Fleury's case, no such break-in period has been needed. The 36-year-old has been consistently sharp by going 7-1-0 with a 1.38 goals-against average and his NHL-leading save percentage. Fleury has two shutouts this season, including a 30-save, 1-0 win against the Avalanche on Sunday. -- Tim Campbell, staff writer
John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks are battling for a playoff spot in the West Division and the biggest reason why is Gibson, who is 5-5-3 with a 2.33 GAA, .921 save percentage and three shutouts that are tied with Varlamov for most in the NHL. Anaheim averages an NHL-low 1.94 goals per game, 11 of its first 16 games have been decided by one goal (4-4-3), and forwards Max Comtois, (nine points; seven goals, two assists) and Rickard Rakell (seven points; one goal, six assists) are the only skaters who've scored at least seven points. Despite the woes on offense, the Ducks (6-7-3) are tied with the Avalanche for fourth in the West Division. Time will tell how long they can stay in the race, but Gibson is going to give them a chance. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer
Philipp Grubauer, Colorado Avalanche
After Fleury and the Golden Knights defeated the Avalanche 1-0 on Sunday, I'd switch my vote to Fleury not just for the Vezina Trophy, but for the Hart Trophy. He's been the best goalie and the most valuable player in the Honda West Division so far. But the race for the Vezina in the West is as tight as that 1-0 game, where the only goal Grubauer gave up was on a screen. Grubauer is right there with Fleury (7-3-0 1.61 GAA, .937 save percentage and two shutouts), and his candidacy should be acknowledged. Let's see where things stand after the Avalanche and Golden Knights play each other three more times in the next seven days. -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist
Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
I also could probably switch my vote to Fleury after he shut out the Avalanche, especially when you consider it was his third start in four days. But unlike the situation in Vegas with Fleury and Robin Lehner, there is no dispute about who the No. 1 goalie is in St. Louis. Binnington is 7-3-2 with a 2.37 GAA and .918 save percentage and continues to show his performance in the latter stages of the 2018-19 season was no fluke. He has evolved into a top-five NHL goalie and there's little reason to believe the numbers won't continue to prove that as the season goes along.-- Brian Compton, deputy managing editor