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It really wasn't going to go any other way.
For the third time, Pekka Rinne misses out on the Vezina Trophy after being named a finalist. Rinne racked up a .923 Sv% and a 2.18 GA in 64 appearances this year, and was arguably the Predators MVP throughout the season.
However, his Montreal Canadiens counterpart registered a sterling .933 Sv% and a miniscule 1.96 GAA in 66 appearances. At times, Price was one of the only reasons the Habs were anything more than a bubble team. Rinne certainly had a remarkable season, and Nashville did have to lean on him at times. But not near as much as the Habs did.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">MTL & NSH have same Sh% and very similar Sv% when 5v5. Difference is Habs are 21st in possession. Preds are 7th.</p>— On The Forecheck (@OnTheForecheck) <a href="https://twitter.com/OnTheForecheck/status/557713370271715328">January 21, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Once Price's name got entered in the Hart conversation, Rinne's bid was almost assuredly done. If a goaltender is good enough to be the league's best player, he certainly has the credentials to be the best goaltender. It's a shame it had to happen during Rinne's comeback year, but it is what it is.
Congratulations, Carey.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="pt" dir="ltr">2014-2015 Vezina Trophy Voting. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NHLAwards?src=hash">#NHLAwards</a> <a href="http://t.co/6BFBhsfZQy">pic.twitter.com/6BFBhsfZQy</a></p>— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) <a href="https://twitter.com/PR_NHL/status/613865622947147776">June 25, 2015</a></blockquote>
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