標籤: goaltending

The Carolina Hurricanes are in the playoffs after having one of their best seasons on record, scoring 113 points this season, finishing atop the Eastern Conference for the first time in franchise history, and scoring their most goals in team history. But at the same time, one biggest question remains every year…

Is goal setting good enough?

Hurricanes goaltending follows a different formula

The Hurricanes’ overall goals-save percentage is .880, slightly lower than the league average of .889, and well below the typical standard of .900. Currently, they are the league’s seventh-worst in this metric throughout the regular season.

Normally, those numbers would seem bad. However, that statistic works very differently in Carolina’s case.

Throughout the entire regular season, the Hurricanes took the fewest shots against leaguewide. When fewer shots are faced, a goal taken takes a larger share of the percentage, resulting in a lower number.

Notably, the Hurricanes had the sixth-best goals against average in the regular season.

Ultimately, at the end of the day, statistics are just numbers, and not performance history. Always write the Future. The playoffs are a completely different beast from the regular season.

For example, in the 2005–06 season, Cam Ward posted the sixth-worst save percentage and third-worst goals-against average in the entire league. However, by the end of the playoffs, the rookie netminder not only had the fourth-best save percentage of the postseason and the second-best goals-against average, but he also won the Conn Smythe Trophy, cementing him as MVP of the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Versatility is an asset

An often overlooked aspect about the Hurricanes’ tandem is the difference in playing styles between Frederik Andersen and Brandon Bussy.

Anderson’s style is situational, he uses his size to create space for oncoming shooters. He is accurate with the glove and remains composed and composed throughout the game.

Meanwhile, Bussi is adept at the standard butterfly style with a hint of athletic style. Although he is roughly the same size as Anderson, he focuses on speed and instincts rather than technique.

Having a pair of similar goaltenders with disparate styles gives the Hurricanes an advantage when facing teams. If one style does not work against an opponent, there is another style to use.

Carolina has a potential ace in the hole

The Hurricanes may have another option in net — one that uses both comfort and excitement as a weapon.

Carolina’s most dynamic and unpredictable goalkeeper, Pyotr Kochetkov, missed almost the entire season due to injury and subsequent surgery to repair it. However, after a brief conditioning stint with the Chicago Wolves, he was recalled and initially elected to concentrate on the crease in the final game of the season, before a roster issue made it impossible.

Kochetkov also has a distinct style that sets him apart from others – ranging from calm and steady to frantic, acrobatic and even physically being able to flip a switch to stop however possible. He brings an element of controlled (well, mostly controlled) chaos that often catches shooters off guard.

At this time, it is still uncertain whether he will join the postseason, but if he does, the Hurricanes will have three NHL-level goaltenders ready – a rarity on any team, and especially in the playoffs.

While the Hurricanes have often been cited in the past for not having what it takes in net for playoff hockey, their current, unusual setup could challenge that narrative in the upcoming postseason.

Rachel Barkley is a beat writer covering the Carolina Hurricanes for Carolina Hockey Now on SportsNote. Painting Stories…More About Rachel Barclay

The Montreal Canadiens are heading into the playoffs with two rookie netminders, a rare occurrence in the NHL.

And although Jacob Dobbs and Jacob Fowler both lack NHL experience compared to most goaltending combinations, they have shown very encouraging potential throughout the season, and even more so since the Canadiens hired Marco Marciano as their goaltending coach on January 28.

Since then, both players have improved their 5v5 save percentages, and by quite a large margin too.

Jacob Dobbs goaltending statistics

As you can see in the table below, Dobbs’ save percentage has increased significantly, but it is not due to any major defensive changes by the Habs. The Canadiens are forcing Dobbs to make more saves than ever before in both regular (SV/60) and high-quality saves (HD SV/60).

And yet, Dobbs has also significantly improved his high-danger saves (HDSV%) percentage, which is enough evidence to suggest that he is providing the Canadiens with better results than before while dealing with more shots on a nightly basis.

We have to take into account the sample size, as Dobbs appeared in 24 games before Marciano’s arrival, and only 13 games since, but I’d argue that’s more than enough to present that there’s a strong correlation between Marciano’s appointment and Dobbs’ uptick in results.

Jacob Fowler Goaltending Statistics

As for the other first-year goaltender, he has significantly improved his save percentage while facing slightly more shots per game.

Fowler’s high-danger save percentage has dropped slightly, although it should be noted that he is facing a 33% increase in high-quality scoring opportunities.

Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks

It’s very difficult to discern which improvements are simply due to the general ups and downs of a hockey season, and which are directly related to Marciano’s work, but the numbers suggest that both of Montreal’s first-year goaltenders have benefited from his presence, at least in the short term.

For example, Dobbs has also improved his save percentage on the penalty kill, which started at .812 before Marciano’s arrival, and has since increased to .868.

The real test will be when the Canadiens start making a push in the playoffs, but as things stand, the team can be confident they made the right decision based on all the available data.

All Montreal Canadiens goaltender stats are 5v5, via Natural Stat Trick, unless otherwise noted.

Mark has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for the Journal Metro, The Athletic, The… More about Mark Dumont

The Montreal Canadiens are a little ahead of schedule when it comes to long-term rebuilding plans. All things considered, the mere fact that they are in the playoff race, just a few years removed from wholesale changes, is rather impressive.

Some teams take a decade or more to right the ship, while the Canadiens actually managed to reach the playoffs last season.

And while this was an encouraging development, it also raised the bar considerably. Canadian fans are not only hopeful that the team will qualify for the playoffs this year, but they are also hungry for post-season success.

But that’s putting the cart before the horse.

As it stands, the Habs will have to make sure they get the first invitation to the springtime dance, and to do that, they’ll have to focus on their biggest area of ​​weakness.

Quality Scoring Possibilities

The biggest problem the Canadiens have faced since the hiring of head coach Martin Saint-Louis has been their poor share of high-danger scoring opportunities.

The team ranks 16th in 5v5 shots at 57.6 per 60 minutes of ice time. It’s far from ideal, but at least, they’re no longer in the basement of the NHL, as they were last season.

However, when it comes to allowing high-danger chances, they are 24th in the league with 12.3 per 60. Not every team below them is in danger of missing the playoffs, but most of them would be described as organizations that are headed toward, or engaged in, a rebuild.

The issue is further complicated by Montreal’s inability to generate a series of high-danger chances to balance out its defensive problems. The Habs rank 29th in the league when it comes to creating quality scoring chances, with just 10.5 per 60.

This means the Canadiens have the fifth-worst share of high-end scoring opportunities in the league, with only 46.13%. The only teams with worse results are the Vancouver Canucks (46.12%), New York Islanders (44.6%), Seattle Kraken (42.36%), and Chicago Blackhawks (41.97%).

For the record, the top three clubs with high threat probability are the Carolina Hurricanes (55.43%), the Vegas Golden Knights (55.02%), and the Colorado Avalanche (54.96%), all teams considered threats to capture the Stanley Cup this season.

Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks

Sure, better goaltending can mask some of these issues, but in the long run, if the Canadiens hope to one day become legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, they will need to do a much better job of controlling the best scoring opportunities.

To put a fine point on the importance of this particular issue, the Golden Knights have had worse goals against than Montreal this year, and when it comes to team-wide save percentage, the Hurricanes are essentially tied with the Habs, closer to the 89.9% range.

It’s very easy to blame the netminders, but the truth is that the Habs make life very difficult for their goaltenders due to their poor share of high-danger scoring opportunities.

All Montreal Canadiens stats are 5v5, via Natural Stat Trick, unless otherwise noted.

Mark has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for the Journal Metro, The Athletic, The… More about Mark Dumont