Goaltending has played a major role in the 2023-24 NHL season. That can be said most years, but it feels like this year, goaltending has been particularly front-and-center.
Connor Hellebuyck is putting together the best season of his impressive career, and has the Winnipeg Jets atop the Central Division standings. The only team ahead of them in the Western Conference is Vancouver, which has also been fueled by a sensational year from Thatcher Demko. In the East, Sergei Bobrovsky and Igor Shesterkin have been great in giving the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers the two best records in the conference.
What do all of these great goalies have in common? Their backup is playing lights-out.
Laurent Brossoit is having a career year in Winnipeg. Casey DeSmith has given the Canucks much-needed balance in the crease. Anthony Stolarz is quietly having a great year in Florida, and Jonathan Quick’s revitalization in New York has been incredible.
Tandems have become increasingly popular over the last several years, and that trend has continued this season. There are already 59 different goalies with at least 20 games played. A good second goalie relieves pressure and workload from the starter, and pushes them to play well to maintain their grip on the bulk of the starts.
With that, for the second time this season, we’ll be ranking every tandem in the league from 1 to 32. The rankings are generated using stats from this season — with goals saved above expected (GSAx) weighted most heavily — but aren’t purely statistic-driven.
If you want a list of teams by save percentage, it’s easy enough to find. This ranking will certainly lean on stats, but also will take into account outside factors such as how strong the team has played in front of the goalies, and each goalie’s career history.
Things change quickly in hockey, and even quicker in net. To completely dismiss a goalie who’s been elite for years because he’s having a bad month or two would be foolish. Just look at the last time we did these rankings for an example. Hellebuyck and the Jets ranked 26th in save percentage and 24th in GSAx, but everyone knew they were far better than those numbers indicated. In the months since, they’ve proven it.
With a much larger sample size now, the statistics become more important but not the be-all and end-all. Let’s get to the rankings (all statistics entering Monday):
1. Winnipeg Jets
50.72 GSAx (1st) | .920 save percentage (1st)
The Jets have had the best goaltending in the league statistically this season, and there isn’t a close second. Their team total of 50.72 GSAx is nearly 40 percent more than second place St. Louis (36.49). Their .920 save percentage is well clear of the second-place Bruins (.913). The gap is massive.
Perhaps more importantly, with only 49 starts, Hellebuyck is on pace to play a career-low. Brossoit has been excellent in relief, allowing the league’s top netminder to enter the postseason as fresh as he ever has.
Connor Hellebuyck workload by season
Season | Starts | % of games played |
---|---|---|
2017-18 | 67 | 81.7% |
2018-19 | 63 | 76.8% |
2019-20 | 58 | 81.7% |
2020-21 | 45 | 80.4% |
2021-22 | 66 | 80.5% |
2022-23 | 64 | 78.0% |
2023-24 | 49 | 73.1% |
2. Boston Bruins
34.84 GSAx (4th) | .913 save percentage (2nd)
Linus Ullmark has followed up his breakout Vezina Trophy-winning season with yet another impressive campaign, and he hasn’t even been the best goalie on his team. Jeremy Swayman has developed into one of the best in the NHL and has established himself as the 1A in the most evenly balanced tandem in the league.
Unlike last season, the Bruins haven’t been great defensively. Boston ranks 15th in expected goals allowed and 19th in high-danger chances given up. Ullmark and Swayman have shouldered a much tougher workload, and are thriving in it.
3. Florida Panthers
35.02 GSAx (3rd) | .913 save percentage (3rd)
Bobrovsky is having his best season since he won the Vezina in 2016-17 with the Blue Jackets. He has maintained the momentum of last…
This article was originally published by a theathletic.com . Read the Original article here. .