<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="450" height="443" alt="" src="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/Image/609px-Solar_eclipse_1999_4_NR.jpg" />
Nikolai Khabibulin started the year on fire. He went 7-0-2, posting a 0.964 SV% and two shutouts over his first nine games.
Over the same span, Devan Dubnyk played in six games, winning two and losing four to go along with his 0.909 SV%.
With those sort of starts, Khabibulin should have had an insurmountable lead on Dubnyk. Last night, however, Dubnyk&rsquo;s save percentage on the season eclipsed Khabibulin&rsquo;s, 0.912 to 0.911.

<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="450" height="324" src="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/Image/Healthywealthy.jpg" alt="" />
How could this have happened? It&rsquo;s simple, really: Dubnyk continued to play like an NHL goaltender, while Khabibulin started playing like a minor-leaguer.
Since his miraculous start, Khabibulin has posted a 0.896 SV%. The Oilers have been terrible with him in net since that time &#8211; winning just five games, losing 19 in regulation and four more in overtime. Needless to say, a 5-19-4 record torpedoes any team&rsquo;s hope of climbing out of the basement with lethal effectiveness.
With Dubnyk in net, however, the Oilers have been a near-0.500 team since his start. They&rsquo;ve gone 14-13-2. Dubnyk&rsquo;s posted a 0.912 SV%, which while not Earth-shattering is a very respectable number for a guy in a 1A or 1B role on a tandem.
Still, there&rsquo;s a small segment of people who feel the Oilers are better off with Khabibulin. Fortunately, it&rsquo;s getting smaller by the day as the evidence obliterates any rationale for supporting his continued presence between the Oilers&rsquo; pipes. They typically say things like &ldquo;the team feels more confident with Khabibulin in net&rdquo; or &ldquo;Khabibulin&rsquo;s a proven winner.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s total garbage. Aside from the occasional puck-handling gaffe, Dubnyk is Khabibulin&rsquo;s superior in virtually every way on the ice, and the team&rsquo;s record the last few years reflects that. Even with Khabibulin&rsquo;s miracle run, the Oilers are 22-51-10 the last two seasons with him in net. They&rsquo;re 28-30-10 with Dubnyk over that same span.
I used to think the coaching staff should give Dubnyk two-thirds of the starts, just to find out what they really have there. I no longer believe that. Dubnyk should be starting four out of every five games at least as long as the other option is Nikolai Khabibulin.
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<img width="450" height="443" alt="" src="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/Image/609px-Solar_eclipse_1999_4_NR.jpg" />
Nikolai Khabibulin started the year on fire. He went 7-0-2, posting a 0.964 SV% and two shutouts over his first nine games.
Over the same span, Devan Dubnyk played in six games, winning two and losing four to go along with his 0.909 SV%.
With those sort of starts, Khabibulin should have had an insurmountable lead on Dubnyk. Last night, however, Dubnyk&rsquo;s save percentage on the season eclipsed Khabibulin&rsquo;s, 0.912 to 0.911.

<img width="450" height="324" src="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/Image/Healthywealthy.jpg" alt="" />
How could this have happened? It&rsquo;s simple, really: Dubnyk continued to play like an NHL goaltender, while Khabibulin started playing like a minor-leaguer.
Since his miraculous start, Khabibulin has posted a 0.896 SV%. The Oilers have been terrible with him in net since that time - winning just five games, losing 19 in regulation and four more in overtime. Needless to say, a 5-19-4 record torpedoes any team&rsquo;s hope of climbing out of the basement with lethal effectiveness.
With Dubnyk in net, however, the Oilers have been a near-0.500 team since his start. They&rsquo;ve gone 14-13-2. Dubnyk&rsquo;s posted a 0.912 SV%, which while not Earth-shattering is a very respectable number for a guy in a 1A or 1B role on a tandem.
Still, there&rsquo;s a small segment of people who feel the Oilers are better off with Khabibulin. Fortunately, it&rsquo;s getting smaller by the day as the evidence obliterates any rationale for supporting his continued presence between the Oilers&rsquo; pipes. They typically say things like &ldquo;the team feels more confident with Khabibulin in net&rdquo; or &ldquo;Khabibulin&rsquo;s a proven winner.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s total garbage. Aside from the occasional puck-handling gaffe, Dubnyk is Khabibulin&rsquo;s superior in virtually every way on the ice, and the team&rsquo;s record the last few years reflects that. Even with Khabibulin&rsquo;s miracle run, the Oilers are 22-51-10 the last two seasons with him in net. They&rsquo;re 28-30-10 with Dubnyk over that same span.
I used to think the coaching staff should give Dubnyk two-thirds of the starts, just to find out what they really have there. I no longer believe that. Dubnyk should be starting four out of every five games at least as long as the other option is Nikolai Khabibulin.
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 <li><a href="http://publish.oilersnation.com/2012/3/15/the-edmonton-oilers-with-an-empty-net">The Kids Have A Way Better Plus/Minus When We Take Into Account Empty-Net Goals</a></li>
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