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It hasn't been a banner year for many Devils players, but Cory Schneider has certainly been an exception.
The 28-year-old goaltender has had a ridiculously heavy workload dumped on him in his first season as an undisputed starter, and he's handled it as well or better than anyone could have hoped.
Having started 43 games, which leads the league, Schneider owns a .922SV% and a 2.36GAA. Despite his excellent numbers New Jersey sits 13 points out of a playoff spot, and currently sit closer to a top-3 pick than they do a playoff position.
While Schneider should have plenty of good years ahead of him, the Devils are wasting an elite season from their star goaltender.
Of 20 goaltenders who have played more than 1,500 minutes at 5 vs 5 this season, Schneider is 3rd with a .933SV%. That's only behind Pekka Rinne and Carey Price, and ranks ahead of Henrik Lundqvist, Tuukka Rask, Jonathan Quick, and Braden Holtby, among others.
Hockey-Reference has a new Goals Saved Above Average stat, which shows how many more (or less) goals Goaltender X has stopped as opposed to a goalie with a league average save percentage would.
Schneider ranks 4th in the NHL in Goals Saved Above Average at 11.57, which is only behind Rinne, Price and Craig Anderson.
Schneider sits in the top tier in pretty much any metric you could possibly look at and he leads the league in games played. It's pretty remarkable the Devils sit so far out given how well he's played.
Of all the disappointment New Jersey is facing with this dreadful season, perhaps the worst part is wasting an elite season from their goaltender.
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