Pekka Rinne joined Andrei Vasilevskiy on Monday night as the only goaltenders to reach 40 wins this season.

Rinne posted a 35-save shutout in a 4-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres and after the win, teammate P.K. Subban threw his support behind the 35-year-old Finn to win the Vezina Trophy.

"You want great? He's been great," Subban told NHL.com. "In my mind, he's been great all year. There is no question he should win it.

"That's not to take anything away from the other goaltenders around the league who have been great all year. But in this instance, there is no question."

Subban was with the Montreal Canadiens in 2015 when Carey Price won the award and drew comparisons between the two on Monday.

"There are a ton of similarities between [Rinne] and [Price]," Subban said. "I think they're both big guys. They're both really good at handling the puck.

"I do remember a few years back when [Price] won the Vezina, [Rinne] had an amazing start to the season. He had a bunch of shutouts early on and then injured his knee. [Price] is a great goaltender and deserved to win it, but [Rinne] was in that conversation until the injury.

"As for this year, I'm not surprised by it. I've been fortunate enough to play with two elite ones in [Price] and [Rinne]."

Now tied with Vasilevskiy in wins, Rinne has the stastical edge in the Vezina Trophy race. Rinne's .931 save percentage his the highest among any goaltender with at least 20 wins this season and he leads the league with eight shutouts. 
 

Top Five Goaltenders by Wins

 
Goaltender Team W L OTL SV% GAA SO
Pekka Rinne NSH 40 9 4 .931 2.21 8
Andrei Vasilevskiy TBL 40 14 3 .922 2.53 7
Connor Hellebuyck WPG 37 11 9 .925 2.34 6
Frederik Andersen TOR 33 18 5 .919 2.79 5
Sergei Bobrovsky CBJ 32 21 5 .921 2.41 4
 

"He's unbelievable," forward Ryan Johansen said of Rinne. "In our opinion, he's been the most valuable player for us and definitely will be recognized, I'm sure, come the award time in Vegas this year for more than one.

"It's been a lot of fun playing in front of him and watching him and the way he competes every night."

Rinne has finished second in Vezina voting twice in his career but has never won the award. On Monday, he became just the seventh goaltender in NHL history to record 40 wins three times in his career.