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New Jersey Devils: EA Sports, NHL Network Still Underrate Cory Schneider |
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Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
Over the last couple weeks the NHL Network has been releasing their rankings for the top players at each position.
Up first were the forwards,
where Taylor Hall was somewhat surprisingly not featured. Next were the defensemen and, as expected, no New Jersey Devils' players cracked the list.
Most recently the NHL Network released their goalie rankings and, while featured, it seems Cory Schneider didn't get the credit he deserves.
Here is the NHL Network's top-10:
1. Braden Holtby
2. Carey Price
3. Jonathan Quick
4. Ben Bishop
5. Cory Schneider
6. Henrik Lundqvist
7. Corey Crawford
8. Martin Jones
9. Marc-Andre Fleury
10. Pekka Rinne
Cory Schneider being ranked 5th is very questionable in my opinion. Over the last three seasons 23 goaltenders have appeared in at least 140 games. Schneider leads the pack in that span with a .924 save percentage and is 2nd in quality start percentage (62.7%). He doesn't post sexy win totals because the Devils haven't been able to score but he's at or near the top of the league in pretty much every other major category.
Over the same span Quick, for example, has a .917SV% and has posted a quality start in a little over half of his appearances (53.2%). He shouldn't be rewarded for playing on an elite team.
I also think Henrik Lundqvist is rated too low - he's a model of consistency in goal - and Pekka Rinne should be nowhere near the top-10 after the season he just had, but that's a story for another day.
Sticking with goaltenders,
EA Sports recently released the ratings for the top-10 goaltenders in NHL 17.
Apparently they are on the same page as the NHL Network as Schneider again ranks 5th and Jonathan Quick, despite posting worse numbers on an annual basis, is among those rated higher.
It really is amazing that Schneider has been so good for so long and still doesn't get the recognition he deserves.
At least EA Sports appreciates Taylor Hall.
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