The top contenders are pulling away for Team Canada.
Carey Price and Roberto Luongo have been in peak form and have all but secured two of three available goaltending spots for the Olympic roster.
So who will nab the third?
Mike Smith, Corey Crawford, Josh Harding, Marc-Andre Fleury have all made fair cases for the job and it will be intriguing to see which netminder separates himself over the next month.
Every Monday we’re ranking Canada’s Sochi goaltending options based on how they’ve played recently. Will Steve Yzerman go with the stalwarts—or will someone ride a hot glove hand all the way to Russia?
1) Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens: Barring injury, Price is an absolute lock for the Canadian roster. Outside of a rare clunker against Los Angeles, Price has remained in elite form. He has allowed just two goals with a save percentage of .963 in his past two starts.
2) Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks: The gold medallist from 2010 is gaining steam heading into Sochi. Luongo has wins in his each of his last five games and has only allowed six goals over that entire stretch.
3) Mike Smith, Phoenix Coyotes: Despite some inconsistent play, Smith remains the odds-on favourite for the No. 3 job for Canada. In his last four starts, he has amassed two wins with a .914 save percentage for the Coyotes.
4) Josh Harding, Minnesota Wild: Harding is well deserving of one of the top three spots but he remains on the outside looking in. The Wild netminder returned to his impressive form with victories in four of his last five starts and ranks in the top two in goals-against-average and save percentage.
5) Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks: Crawford’s early season play deserved consideration for an Olympic job. But his latest lower-body injury all but takes him out of the running. It’s an unfortunate break for the Stanley Cup winner.
6) Marc-André Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins: Fleury has caught fire over the past week. The league leader in wins has allowed just nine goals in his past five appearances while picking up four victories for the Penguins.
7) Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes: Don’t think Yzerman and the Canada brass will agree with Brian Burke. Ward’s play has been far from impressive with 11 goals allowed in his last three starts and a save percentage of just. 869.
8) Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals: The 24-year-old may have caught the eye of the Canada management team last season but his play has been too erratic in 2013–14. He was pulled after allowing three goals in just 11 minutes in his last start.
9) Steve Mason, Philadelphia Flyers: Mason won’t likely receive any consideration for a spot in Sochi but the Oakville, Ont., native has exceeded all expectations so far this season and deserves recognition on our list. Mason has an 11-9-4 record with a 2.35 goals-against-average and .924 save percentage. Pretty impressive for any Flyers goalie.
10) Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils: Brodeur’s experience and knowledge would make him an ideal No. 3 netminder for Canada but his age and declining play make it an extremely unlikely scenario.
Just missed: Martin Jones, Los Angeles Kings