It’s certainly too early to start lining up favorites to unseat King Henrik Lundqvist as lord of the Vezina (Trophy), but there are some brilliant backstops that might have their eyes on the prize.

Brian Elliott was the Cinderella story of last year, rising from relative mediocrity to NHL record breaker. Elliott benefitted from playing in a superior defensive system with the St. Louis Blues, but his play was absolutely elite.

There are a number of unheralded net minders who are looking to take the NHL by storm this year too. With fast starts across the league, the men with the masks are certainly a large part of that success.

Here are the top goaltenders in the NHL right now.

5. Jaroslav Halak, St. Louis Blues-Halak has put any goalie controversy to rest with some stellar play to start the season. In four starts he has posted two shutouts. St. Louis looks like a strong contender in the west with Halak in goal.

4. Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins-Rask is making Boston fans forget about self-exiled goalie Tim Thomas more and more each game. Rask is 4-0-1 after five starts with a 1.79 GAA.   

3. Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks-With no regulation losses, Corey Crawford is doing his best to make Chicago fans (and teammates) forget how horribly inconsistent he was last season.

2. Antti Niemi, San Jose Sharks-The San Jose Sharks are the only team left in the NHL without a loss. They have been lighting up the scoreboard with their offense, but Niemi has been lights out in goal for the Sharks.  Niemi is 5-0-0 in five starts with a .933 save percentage and a 1.97 goals against average.

1. Craig Anderson, Ottawa Senators-Anderson’s only defeat came in overtime, but it’s the only blemish on a remarkable start for the Senators’ backstop. A record of 5-0-1 with a microscopic .99 goals against average and a ridiculous .967 save percentage.