Rookie Watch: Merzlikins among shutout leaders since 2000-01

The play of several high-profile rookies, including forwards Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils and Kaapo Kakko of the New York Rangers, the No. 1 and No. 2 picks of the 2019 NHL Draft, respectively, is one of the major storylines of the 2019-20 season. Each Monday, NHL.com will examine topics related to this season's class in the Rookie Watch.

Elvis Merzlikins of the Columbus Blue Jackets was having one of the most productive seasons by a rookie goalie in recent history before the NHL season was paused on March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

This week, a look at the top first-year goalies with the most shutouts in a season since 2000-01:

1. Steve Mason, Columbus Blue Jackets (10 shutouts, 2008-09): Selected in the third round (No. 69) of the 2006 NHL Draft, Mason had a league-leading 10 shutouts as a rookie and helped the Blue Jackets to their first Stanley Cup Playoff berth in team history. The 21-year-old made the most of his opportunity after Pascal Leclaire was injured early in the season. He finished third in the NHL with a 2.29 goals-against average (minimum 20 starts), had a .916 save percentage in 61 games (33-20-7) and won the Calder Trophy in 2008-09.

2. Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators (seven shutouts, 2008-09): Selected in the eighth round (No. 258) of the 2004 NHL Draft, Rinne ranks first among all goalie in shutouts since 2008-09 with 58. He's a four-time Vezina Trophy finalist as the NHL's best goalie, winning the award in 2017-18 when he was third in the NHL with 42 wins and helped the Predators win the Presidents' Trophy as the team with the best regular-season record. His eight shutouts in 2017-18 were a Predators record and tied for the NHL lead with Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Rinne finished second in the Vezina Trophy voting in 2010-11 and 2014-15 and was third in 2011-12.

3. Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose Sharks (six shutouts, 2000-01):A ninth-round selection (No. 219) of the 1994 NHL Draft, Nabokov won the Calder Trophy as a 25-year-old in his first full NHL season after finishing 32-21-7 with a 2.19 GAA and .915 save percentage in 66 games (65 starts) in 2000-01. He finished fourth in Vezina Trophy voting that season and helped the Sharks to 95 points (an eight-point improvement from the previous season) and a second-place finish in the Pacific Division. Nabokov spent 10 seasons with the Sharks and set San Jose records in games played (563), starts (553), wins (293), saves (13,463) and shutouts (50).

4. Elvis Merzlikins, Columbus Blue Jackets (five shutouts, 2019-20):A third round-selection (No. 76) of the 2014 NHL Draft, Merzlikins leads rookies and is tied for second among all goalies in shutouts. He's a big reason the Blue Jackets were tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from Eastern Conference when the season was paused. Merzlikins is 13-9-8 with a 2.35 GAA and .923 save percentage in 33 games (31 starts). After starting in place of Joonas Korpisalo, who injured his knee Dec. 29, Merzlikins had three shutouts in four games including two against first-place teams. He helped the Blue Jackets sweep their three-game California trip when he made 27 saves in a 3-0 victory against the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 11. Three nights later he made 34 saves in a 3-0 victory against the Boston Bruins. He made 21 saves in the first period and finished with 41 in a 5-0 victory against the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 18.

Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins (five shutouts, 2009-10):He finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting and seventh in Vezina Trophy voting after leading the League with a 1.97 GAA and .931 save percentage in 45 games (39 starts) in 2009-10. Selected in the first round (No. 21) of the 2005 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Rask was traded to the Bruins on June 24, 2006 for goalie Andrew Raycroft. Rask helped the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 2011 and won the Vezina in 2013-14. Since 2009-10, he ranks second in the NHL with 49 shutouts behind Rinne (51).

Video: NJD@CBJ: Merzlikins fuels Blue Jackets' shutout win, Florida Panthers (five shutouts, 2000-01): He had 12 wins in his rookie season, with almost half of them being shutouts, and had a 2.44 GAA and .920 save percentage in 41 games. The No. 4 selection in the 1997 NHL Draft by the New York Islanders, Luongo was 489-392-91 with 33 ties, a 2.52 GAA, .919 save percentage and 77 shutouts in 1,044 NHL games in 19 seasons with the Islanders, Panthers and Vancouver Canucks. His 489 wins are third behind Patrick Roy (551) and Martin Brodeur (691), his 1,044 games played are second to Brodeur (1,266), and he is ninth in shutouts. The Panthers, who retired his No. 1 in March, originally acquired Luongo from the Islanders on June 24, 2000. He was traded to the Canucks on June 23, 2006 and traded back to the Panthers on March 4, 2014.

Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues (five shutouts, 2018-19):The Blues' rise to Stanley Cup Playoff contention aligned with the first NHL start for Binnington, which came Jan. 7, 2019, with St. Louis sitting last in the Western Conference, nine points out of a wild-card spot. He had a shutout in his first start and went on to set a team record for shutouts by a rookie. Binnington went 24-5-1, led the NHL in GAA (1.89) and ranked fourth in save percentage (.927) in 2018-19. He finished second Calder Trophy voting and became the first rookie goalie to win 16 games in a single postseason to help the Blues win their first Stanley Cup championship.

Head to Head comparison

Merzlikins, Rask, Luongo and Binnington each tied for fourth with five shutouts in a season among first-year goalies since 2000-01. Binnington played 32 games and Merzlikins has played 33 games this season. Let's compare the rookie totals of those goalies this week.

Elvis Merzlikins, G, Columbus Blue Jackets (2019-20)

Games (started):33 (31)

Record:13-9-8

GAA:2.35

Save percentage: .923

Shots against:919

Total saves: 848

Telling stat: Has a .926 save percentage at even strength (759 saves on 820 shots)

Jordan Binnington, G, St. Louis Blues (2018-19)

Games (started):32 (30)

Record:24-5-1

GAA:1.89

Save percentage: .927

Shots against: 807

Total saves: 748

Telling stat:Had a .936 save percentage at even strength (644 saves on 688 shots)