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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. Throughout the season, the rankings were dominated by Buffalo Sabres netminder Ryan Miller, but now a new name has taken over the top spot.
Evgeni Nabokov has done what seemed impossible a month ago: broken Miller's stranglehold on the No. 1 spot. And he took it from him in person.
Puck Prospectus: Player Power Rankings
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. Evgeni Nabokov, G, SJ 2 24.4 -0.4 1.9 25.9
Comment: Nabokov takes over the top spot this week, and fittingly does so by beating Miller's Sabres 5-2 despite the Sharks being outshot 40-23.
2. Ryan Miller, G, BUF 1 26.7 -0.4 -1.2 25.1
Comment: By Miller's standards a terrible week, as he went 1-2-1, 2.57 GAA, 0.896 save percentage, but the Sabres' lead atop the Northeast seems unassailable.
3. Tomas Vokoun, G, FLA 15 26.5 -1.7 -2.4 22.4
Comment: Player of the week? Vokoun managed to salvage two wins and a shootout loss in four games for his teammates, despite the Panthers scoring all of four goals. His numbers for the week were superhuman: 0.49 GAA, 0.984 save percentage.
4. Alex Ovechkin, F, WAS 4 17.6 2.7 -0.5 19.9
Comment: The NHL's most talented scorer did not disappoint this week, with four goals and four assists in four games, all wins, including two impressive wins over last year's finalists, the Red Wings and Penguins.
5. Henrik Sedin, F, VAN 5 15.4 3.1 0.0 18.5
Comment: Sedin scored an impressive 82 points last season, yet he could top that total before the Olympic break and is currently on pace for 119 points.
6. Sidney Crosby, F, PIT 9 13.0 2.3 2.4 17.7
Comment: Crosby put on a spectacular show against the Islanders with a six-point night, but was outmaneuvered by Ovechkin two days later in a 6-3 loss. Crosby is doing the little things right: he has cut down on his penalties, and is one of the top five faceoff men in the league.
7. Henrik Lundqvist, G, NYR 3 17.6 -0.1 0.1 17.7
Comment: Lundqvist would like to forget Saturday's plastering against the Canadiens, but it was the first time in 11 games that he allowed more than two goals. Meanwhile, the schizophrenic team in front of him has been shut out four times in its last six games, and scored 14 goals in the other two.
8. Martin Brodeur, G, NJ 6 14.3 1.1 1.8 17.2
Comment: Brodeur has achieved a shutout in each of the last five weeks, and is on track to lead the league in wins for the ninth time in the last 12 seasons.
9. Duncan Keith, D, CHI 10 9.8 6.2 0.0 16.0
Comment: Despite being the NHL's second-higest scoring defenseman, Keith also leads his team in short-handed ice time, and the Blackhawks have a success rate of over 86 percent when he is on the ice.
10. Patrick Marleau, F, SJ 11 12.5 3.8 -0.7 15.6
Comment: With the kind of season he's having, Marleau seems to be a prime candidate for a long-term, front-loaded contract, whose value will go up further if the Sharks put together a playoff run.
A version of this story originally appeared on ESPN Insider  .
Tom Awad is an author of Puck Prospectus.
You can contact Tom by clicking here or click here to see Tom's other articles.
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