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The Puck Prospectus metric GVT (goals versus threshold) allows us to compare players at every position to determine who the true leaders are. Ryan Miller continues to top our rankings, but Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard is climbing, looking like the best choice for this year's Calder Trophy.
Puck Prospectus: Player Power Rankings
Miller is still on top with two weeks left, and Alex Ovechkin presents his main competition for the Hart Trophy per our ratings.
Legend:
OGVT: Offensive GVT
GGVT: Goaltending GVT
DGVT: Defensive GVT
SGVT: Shootout GVT
GVT: Total GVT
Rank Player Last Week OGVT/GGVT DGVT SGVT GVT
1. Ryan Miller, G, BUF 1 30.8 -0.5 -0.9 29.5
Comment: It is rare that casual fans, hockey insiders and number-crunchers are in agreement as to the best goaltender in the NHL, but this season Miller is a consensus choice. Thanks to him, the Sabres -- otherwise a bubble playoff team -- are division champs.
2. Alex Ovechkin, F, WAS 2 24.5 3.8 -0.7 27.5
Comment: Since March 14, between his ejection, suspension and slow return, Ovechkin has only two points and has lost the NHL scoring lead to Henrik Sedin. But his Capitals keep rolling; since the Olympic break, they've lost only one game out of 12 in regulation.
3. Evgeni Nabokov, G, SJ 4 24.9 -0.7 2.9 27.1
Comment: After hitting rock bottom against Edmonton on Sunday, Nabokov has fired out three superb games, allowing only three goals on 83 shots in wins against Minnesota, Dallas and Vancouver. He has now tied Martin Brodeur's NHL record with three consecutive 40-win seasons.
4. Tomas Vokoun, G, FLA 3 31.2 -1.8 -2.7 26.7
Comment: Several teams' playoff postmortems will question whether they did the right thing in not trading for Vokoun. He will be, by far, the most valuable commodity on the sidelines in April.
5. Sidney Crosby, F, PIT 5 18.0 3.0 3.4 24.3
Comment: How multi-talented is Crosby? He has won 192 more faceoffs than he has lost this season, tops in the NHL, and his 896 faceoff wins are 100 more than No. 2 Paul Stastny. He also leads the NHL in shootout goals with seven on only nine shots, and anyone who saw Canada-Switzerland in the Olympics understands why.
6. Henrik Sedin, F, VAN 8 19.6 4.6 0.0 24.2
Comment: Not only does Sedin lead the NHL in points, but he has done it in less ice time than his peers. The next five scorers in the NHL average 4:36 of power-play ice time a game, while Sedin only plays 3:23.
7. Jimmy Howard, G, DET 18 23.8 -0.1 0.1 23.8
Comment: Howard stopped 33 of Nashville's shots during the game and 10 of 11 in the shootout in an impressive 1-0 victory Saturday. He is fourth in the NHL in save percentage and fourth in GAA.
8. Ilya Bryzgalov, G, PHO 7 21.7 0.3 1.4 23.4
Comment: Bryzgalov's version of "coming back to earth" is posting a 0.923 save percentage in three games against Chicago, Nashville and Colorado, all potential playoff opponents for the Coyotes. Few picked him as a 40-game winner at the beginning of the season.
9. Nicklas Backstrom, F, WAS 9 17.6 2.9 0.9 21.4
Comment: The Capitals' power play with Backstrom on the ice: 11.2 goals per 60 minutes. The Capitals' power play with Backstrom on the bench: 5.5 goals per 60 minutes. Amazingly, these numbers are better for Backstrom than for Ovechkin, Alexander Semin or Mike Green.
10. Duncan Keith, D, CHI 10 13.2 7.8 0.0 21.0
Comment: While it is still heresy to compare the two, Keith's 65 points are the most by a quality defensive defenseman since Nicklas Lidstrom's 70 in 2008. His average ice time of 26:43 is second in the NHL and first among playoff players.
A version of this story originally appeared on ESPN Insider  .
Tom Awad is an author of Hockey Prospectus.
You can contact Tom by clicking here or click here to see Tom's other articles.
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