Carter Hutton gave the NHL a new contender for Save of the Year.
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The Nashville Predators goalie made a heroic save on a short-handed chance late in the team's 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday at the Bridgestone Arena in Tennessee.
With the Predators on the power play, Tyler Bozak and Daniel Winnik created a short-handed scoring chance that was denied in a last-ditch sprawling effort by Hutton.
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After Bozak delivered crossed the blue line into the Predators zone and delivered a pass to Winnik and he hit the post, another golden opportunity was created for the Maple Leafs.
Bozak corralled the puck at the boards and fired it on net, but not before Winnik tipped in in front.
The puck bounced passed Hutton, but the netminder showed lightning-quick reflexes and spun around, swiping it out of the crease with his stick before it was able to cross the red line for a Toronto goal.
What made the save even more dramatic was that the Predators were clinging to a 4-3 lead with just 3:05 remaining in the third period.
The crippling defeat was the 10th straight loss for Toronto, which has fallen to 22-26-4 (48 points) and sits at 13th in the Eastern Conference.
The Predators, meanwhile, continue to trend upward as they sit atop the Central Division with a 33-11-6 mark and are tied for the NHL lead with 72 points on the back of two consecutive wins.
Hutton has been filling in for Pekka Rinne in between the pipes as the usual No. 1 netminder works his way back from a knee injury.
Rinne participated in the morning skate Tuesday and could be back for Thursday's game against fellow Western Conference powerhouse the Anaheim Ducks, who also have 72 points.
Hutton may soon be displaced as the No. 1 netminder for Nashville, but not after making his mark with what could be the best save of the 2014-15 campaign.
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