B/R NHL Goalie Rankings: November 2022

When last we left you in the preseason, we ranked each team’s goaltending situation heading into the season. What we learned was…you all have many opinions and were kind enough to tell me that I was wrong a whole bunch.

We have a month of games under our collective belts, and some of the spots in the preseason rankings were justified while others were overestimated or underrated. But now we have hard evidence and hot and cold starts to dance through.

It would be easy enough for me to rank them based on vibes, cool helmets or pads, or whether I think they would make for a great '80s teen movie villain, but I guess using statistics and results is a bit more accurate.

Remember, team results don’t always have to correlate with how a goalie is performing. So if you have a favorite team that wins despite its goalie, don’t send the hate mail because he has a pile of wins. That’s not the point!

We’ll list them off by starter provided they’ve had the majority of starts. Split tandems get judged on the whole of their work. Two against one doesn’t always create an advantage, though. Onto the rankings!

32. Elvis Merzlikins - Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus’ No. 1 goalie has taken his team’s rough start to the season right on the chin, and he hasn’t helped them out a lot, either. Sure, the Blue Jackets have a horrendous power play (1-of-32) and one of the worst offenses in the NHL, but they have played one game this season in which they allowed fewer than three goals. Merzlikins has the worst save percentage at five-on-five and the worst goals saved above expected in all situations with minus-11.7. Columbus needs a ton of help, and if Elvis could come back to the building…er, net, that’d be great.

31. John Gibson - Anaheim Ducks

We’ve been waiting for the old John Gibson to come back to us for a few seasons now, and the start of this season is a bit deceiving. His .883 overall save percentage is not good, but at five-on-five he’s saving shots at a .910 clip. You know what that means…the Ducks are bad at killing penalties. Their PK is second-worst in the NHL, and opponents scored on 38.5 percent of the power plays against them. Friends, that’s not very good. But Gibson isn’t quite being punished for the sins of his teammates, as he has the sixth-worst goals saved above expected at five-on-five among goalies with three or more games played.

30. Marc-Andre Fleury - Minnesota Wild

It really stinks to point out how hard of a time Fleury has had so far this season in Minnesota. We’re aware he got the NHL’s Third Star of the Week recognition because he had three starts that reminded us of what he can or used to do, but compared to the rest of his body of work, they look more like outliers. He has a .888 save percentage through nine games, which is the same as he has at five-on-five. He has a minus-5.4 goals saved above expected at five-on-five and minus-4.5 in all situations. Perhaps worse yet for the Wild, rookie backup Filip Gustavsson hasn’t been able to improve the situation. Maybe it was just a really ugly start that’s weighing him down, but his advanced numbers weren’t great last season either, which hinted that trouble could be on the way.

29. Jack Campbell - Edmonton Oilers

We told you a little while ago about how disappointing Campbell’s start with the Oilers was, but when compared to the rest of the goalies in the NHL, it looks a little worse. His .881 save percentage is 48th out of 63 goalies with three or more games played, and it’s .903 at five-on-five, which is still below average. It’s not what the Oilers want from the goalie they signed for five years, $25 million in July. Fortunately for them, rookie Stuart Skinner has played very well in a handful of starts, which may only exacerbate the issue at hand with Campbell. He’ll turn things around, but right now it’s a battle.

28. Thatcher Demko - Vancouver Canucks

Speaking of goalies on teams with a terrible PK unit. Vancouver has had oodles of problems this season, and its penalty-kill unit is the worst in the NHL at 57.6 percent. Almost half the power plays against them turn into goals. Yikes. At five-on-five, Demko has been solid with a .914 save percentage, but his high-danger goals saved above average at five-on-five is minus-1.91. It’s damning of the Canucks defense, rest assured, but my goodness, the penalty kill. I know the cliché about how the goalie is your best penalty-killer, but let’s not put all the heat on Demko for that. Some, just not all. Harsh ranking? Perhaps, but the results are hard to ignore.

27. Jonathan Quick and Cal Petersen - Los Angeles Kings

The Kings have the players to be a difficult team all season and into the playoffs just so long as the goaltending doesn’t betray them. About that…Quick and Petersen have been less than stellar so far. Like last season, Quick is outplaying Petersen, but now both goalies have stats lower than they put up last season. With an .889 save percentage, Quick is leading the way while Petersen sits at .868. Petersen has minus-5.4 goals saved above expected in all situations, and it’s minus-2.7 at five-on-five. Quick’s numbers are only marginally better (minus-3.4, minus-1.3), meaning they’re getting only less questionable goaltending out of their two-time Stanley Cup-winning goalie. The starting job was meant to be Petersen’s eventually, but he’s yet to grab the reins. L.A. won’t be going too far if it stays stagnant.

26. Jordan Binnington - St. Louis Blues

The Blues' No. 1 goalie picked up where he left off last season, and that’s bad news for Blues fans. Binnington more or less ceded the starting job to Ville Husso last season, but with Husso now in Detroit, the hope was he’d be able to relax and take control of the net. He has not done that and is instead being outplayed by veteran backup Thomas Greiss. Binnington’s below-average .901 save percentage last season is so far downgraded to .879 this season, and he’s bottom five in goals saved above expectations in all situations and five-on-five. This is not what the Blues imagined would happen when they signed him to a six-year, $36 million extension in March 2021. St. Louis is in a brutal funk right now, and Binnington returning to his Stanley Cup season form would go a long way to helping out.

25. Karel Vejmelka - Arizona Coyotes

It feels wrong to be mean to Karel Vejmelka and the Coyotes, so I’m not about to do that. Yes, Vejmelka’s raw numbers aren’t great (.895 save percentage), but he has 3.4 goals saved above expected, which puts him in the top 20 among goalies with at least three games played. He sees a lot of rubber in close to the net (he’s second in high-danger shots against in all situations), which gives opponents the advantage. But Vejmelka doesn’t exactly have a loaded roster in front of him, and the team’s best defenseman, Jakob Chychrun, has been out injured all season and might not be a Coyote for long anyway.

24. Frederik Andersen - Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes have been outstanding right out of the gate this season, but Andersen has been…meh? I know that’s not a real word, but that’s the sensation. He has an .891 save percentage (league average is .905), and he has a minus-2.3 goals saved above expected in all situations. But at five-on-five he’s completely different. He has a .916 save percentage and 1.1 goals allowed above expected. Carolina’s penalty killing is middle of the pack, but he’s allowed seven power-play goals on 21 shots. That’ll sink a save percentage. Freddie is usually steady and allowing power-play goals will happen, but for now Carolina is winning games 4-3 more often than not.

23. Vitek Vanecek and Mackenzie Blackwood - New Jersey Devils

The Devils are having a fantastic start to the season, and it’s their attack that’s led the way. But they have a classic phrase popping up when it comes to their success that starts with: “If their goaltending holds up…” Between Vanecek and Blackwood, it’s been interesting, and no team wants their goaltending referred to as that. In the Devils' three losses they allowed 16 goals, but they also won a 1-0 shutout against the Avalanche with Vanecek throwing up the zero. Vanecek has the better raw numbers (.911 save percentage to Blackwood’s .880), but both have negative goals saved above expected at five-on-five. It’s not necessarily a harbinger of doom, but it indicates things could be much better.

22. Anton Forsberg - Ottawa Senators

The Senators have disappointed a bit to start the season, and it’s been up to Forsberg to shoulder the load in goal after Cam Talbot started the season on the injured list. Forsberg did well last season but, like most of the team, he got off to a slow start. He has an .898 save percentage, which has been stung by power-play goals against (he’s .911 at five-on-five). His goals saved above expected are essentially break-even (minus-0.3 at five-on-five), so this is pretty much who he is. The problem is when goals happen against Ottawa, they pile up. The Senators are 1-5-0 in games in which they allowed four or more goals. With Talbot back from injury, the chances we’re sizing him up next month are high.

21. Tristan Jarry - Pittsburgh Penguins

Jarry got off to a hot start, going 4-0-0 in his first four starts with a .941 save percentage. Since then, he’s fallen on hard times just like the rest of the team has. In his next three starts, he went 0-2-1 with a .861 save percentage and allowed 16 goals. A truly Dickens-esque start with a tale of two seasons like that, but it’s always a “what have you done for me lately?” thing with goalies, and lately it’s been rough. The truth is Jarry fits somewhere in between the two extremes, and we saw how well he played last season to know he has a lot more hockey closer to how he played at the start than he has lately.

20. James Reimer - San Jose Sharks

The Sharks are having a rough start to the season, but there have been a couple of bright spots. One is Erik Karlsson turning back into the Erik Karlsson of old, and the other is James Reimer holding it down in net. Although his record is 2-5-2, his save percentage is .910. Why? Because he’s been lights-out protecting the Sharks on the PK. He’s allowed one goal in 35 shots against with the Sharks down a man or two (.971). Sustainable? Probably not, but despite having more losses than wins, Reimer has prevented the Sharks from being a full-on laughingstock. If his five-on-five numbers improve (.901), then we have a real heartwarming story happening.

19. Chicago Blackhawks' Goalie Committee

The trouble with ranking out goalies sometimes is that the players most deserving of honors sometimes wind up out of action. Such is the case with Alex Stalock, who has helped the Blackhawks get off to a better start than anyone else thought they’d have. Stalock took over for Petr Mrázek, who went out with a groin injury. In his stead, Stalock has gone 3-2-1 with a .914 save percentage. What’s odd is his overall save percentage is better than his five-on-five number (.904). Those numbers are usually reversed because of power plays, but Stalock has made a difference there. Unfortunately for Chicago, Stalock is out of action with a concussion after Islanders forward Casey Cizikas crashed into him last week. Arvid Söderblom took over for Stalock, but now he’s hurt. Jaxson Stauber would’ve been the next man up, but he was injured in AHL Rockford. Maybe next month it’ll be Dylan Wells we’re talking about. Or maybe it’ll be you, the reader, playing goalie for the Blackhawks at this rate.

18. Eric Comrie and Craig Anderson - Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo’s goaltending was a huge question mark heading into the season, and Comrie has settled in and started two out of every three games and held his own. Remember, Comrie came into the season with 28 NHL games played in six seasons and has yet to be a starter. He’s 4-4-0 to open the season, but starting off with a .894 save percentage isn’t too hot. Anderson has been rock-solid when he’s gotten the call, going 3-1-0 with a .927 save percentage. Starter controversy? Not really. Comrie has had some hard luck and helped prevent a few of his starts from getting out of hand by coming up with big saves in key moments. Buffalo would probably like Comrie to be a little better, but with an injured defense in front of him, it’s understandable how things have gone.

17. Martin Jones - Seattle Kraken

When the season began, there’s little chance anyone thought Jones would be on a list like this—never mind in the middle of the pack—but let’s give credit where it’s due. He opened the season as Philipp Grubauer’s backup, but a lower-body injury to Grubauer forced Jones into action. He’s gone 6-3-1 in 10 games (nine starts) with a .901 save percentage. He’s been strong during five-on-five play, and that’s all you can ask for out of a guy who was forgotten about. But with Seattle looking at this solid start to the season and maybe getting mixed up in a playoff push, Jones has done his part to hold down the fort.

16. Sergei Bobrovsky - Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers keeper has been just kind of OK. Nothing great, nothing super, but he’s certainly not off the case. Spencer Knight has been able to start a good number of games, but Bobrovsky is still the clear No. 1. The Panthers haven’t been world-beaters to start the season, which for the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners is a mild surprise, but with a new coach and new players, not everything is going to be perfect immediately. Vibes in Florida are just a little bit off, and maybe that’s because Aaron Ekblad has been injured, but he’s getting healthy. Florida’s offense is picking up the goaltending for now, but if Bobrovsky gets back into the flow like last season, the Panthers will start to really roar.

15. Juuse Saros - Nashville Predators

It’s been a sleepy start to the season for Nashville. Starting abroad for the first two games of the season probably didn’t help that too much. Like a bunch of the goalies in the middle of the rankings, Juuse Saros' save percentage isn’t much to brag about at .904. His advanced numbers are mostly average in all situations, and he’s positive when it comes to goals saved above expected at five-on-five. The Preds have struggled on offense, which doesn’t help goaltending anyway, but Saros has allowed three or more goals in five of his eight starts. That’s definitely not helping get Nashville out of an early-season funk.

14. Jake Allen and Sam Montembeault - Montréal Canadiens

Getting solid performances when the expectations are rock-bottom is a good way to climb up the rankings, and the Canadiens are getting just that from Allen and Montembeault. At five-on-five, Allen (1.3) and Montembeault (2.6) have positive goals saved above-expected numbers. Allen is rolling with a .900 save percentage, while Montembeault is at .928. Allen has had twice as many starts, however, but both have kept Montréal in a few games the club shouldn’t have been close in to begin with. It would seem anecdotal to say that, except Allen faces an average of just over 32 shots per game, and Montembeault’s average is 34.5. If they keep this up, the Habs will start being known as “pesky” and teams will be annoyed to deal with them.

13. Jacob Markström - Calgary Flames

Markström was dynamite last season in Calgary, but so far this season he’s been just OK, going 4-2-1 with a .900 save percentage in his starts. He’s been at par when it comes to expected goals saved at five-on-five (0.7), so he’s not hurting the team or going beast mode, either. He’s allowed five of eight power-play goals, but that’s when goalies are their most vulnerable to getting beat, and Calgary’s PK is 11th in the NHL. Fittingly, Calgary is smack in the middle of the Pacific Division. A lot of times teams are what their goalie provides, and so far Calgary is proof positive of that.

12. Darcy Kuemper - Washington Capitals

Not much of a Stanley Cup hangover for Kuemper in his first month with the Capitals. Although he’s gone 4-5-1, he’s rolled in with a .919 save percentage and been victim to a few hard-luck losses while the Caps start the season missing a few key players. He has 3.3 goals saved above expected at five-on-five and has been hurt by allowing six power-play goals from opponents. Not every goalie is going to run into a new situation and go wild, but Kuemper has been steady and strong to this point, which makes sense because that’s just the kind of goalie he’s been through most of his career: quietly very good and sneaking under most radars with his play. The Capitals might want a little more from him now, but steady play will turn into more success for them.

11. Ville Husso and Alex Nedeljkovic - Detroit Red Wings

Husso has been dynamite so far for Detroit, going 5-1-1 with a .941 save percentage after he signed in the offseason from St. Louis. He’s come in as advertised after he broke out last season and has played fantastically. But like Isaac Newton’s third law of motion stated, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, and I’m applying that to this goalie tandem. Nedeljkovic has had a rough start, going 2-2-1 with an .880 save percentage, including consecutive starts against New Jersey and Buffalo where he allowed six and eight goals, respectively. It’s tough to earn more starts when games like that happen, whether it’s his fault or not, but Husso was brought in to be the guy, and you’d have to expect he’ll see the majority of starts playing the way he has.

10. Ilya Samsonov - Toronto Maple Leafs

Right when the Maple Leafs appeared to have their goaltending situation figured out, something slips up to cause problems. Samsonov has been superb so far for Toronto, going 6-2-0 with a .921 save percentage, and he has 4.4 goals saved above expected at five-on-five (ninth-best in the NHL). After Matt Murray was injured after playing one game, it was all on Samsonov to carry the load for a team that’s had nothing but drama throughout the lineup, bench and front office. He’s handled himself very well and is poised to maybe at last settle one issue in The Six. Alas, he was injured after Brad Marchand beat him with a penalty shot on Saturday and left the game, forcing the Leafs to sign Keith Petruzzelli out of the AHL to back up Erik Källgren in the meantime. Murray should be back soon, but if Samsonov misses a lot of time, it’ll be a tough pill to swallow given how well he’s played.

9. Andrei Vasilevskiy - Tampa Bay Lightning

The early part of the season is where the Tampa Bay Lightning haven’t yet established how good they can be, but we all know, don’t we? And Vasilevskiy has gotten off to a quiet start by his standards. He’s gone 4-3-1 with a .911 save percentage, and he has 1.6 goals saved above expected at five-on-five. They’re strong numbers, but for a former Vezina winner and two-time Stanley Cup champion, they feel kind of blah. If that’s blah, though, sign me up. The Lightning will ramp things up as they get more into form on the ice, and Vasilevskiy will be right there to make sure he takes care of things on his end. He’s great, and there’s not much reason to send him down the rankings too far.

8. Igor Shesterkin - New York Rangers

Dropping from No. 1 to the eighth spot in our rankings would seem like a notable fall, but it’s just the first month of the season, so everyone just relax for a moment. The Rangers are off to a decent start this season, and so is Shesterkin, going 6-1-2 with a .916 save percentage. Almost every team in the NHL has juiced-up scoring numbers while they all get their systems down to a science, and Shesterkin hasn’t been absolved of that, giving up 22 goals in nine starts. Shesterkin has saved the Rangers quite a bit when it comes to the power play. He has 0.8 goals saved above expected at five-on-five, but 4.3 in all situations. Mind you, he’s still allowed five power-play goals on 41 shots, but he’s stopped a few more from happening. He wasn’t an MVP finalist last season for no reason.

7. Alexandar Georgiev - Colorado Avalanche

Assuming the role as the starting goalie on a new team is hard enough, never mind with the defending Stanley Cup champions, but Georgiev has been excellent so far. He’s gone 6-1-1 with a .925 save percentage, he’s third in the NHL in goals saved above expected at five-on-five with 7.7, and he’s fifth in all situations with 5.5. After backing up Henrik Lundqvist and Igor Shesterkin in his first five seasons with the Rangers, he’s shown he’s spent the time wisely. One area that needs work is on the penalty kill, where he’s tied for fifth in the NHL for most power-play goals allowed with eight. It’s a nitpick for now, and the Avalanche couldn’t be happier with Georgiev in charge.

6. Linus Ullmark - Boston Bruins

It was supposed to be another season with a split net in Boston between Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, but Ullmark’s performance so far (and Swayman’s for that matter) has made it his goal to own. He’s 8-1-0 with a .929 save percentage in getting the Bruins out to the hottest start in the NHL. Like Shesterkin, Ullmark is taking care of the Bruins’ backsides when they’re on the kill and the power play. He has 4.0 goals saved above expected in all situations but 0.7 at five-on-five. He’s allowed two goals on 42 shots on the kill and has faced 13 shorthanded shots against with one goal allowed. Ullmark’s emergence as the No. 1 so far this season has been a bonus for the Bruins, particularly since Swayman has struggled in the action he’s seen.

There was no goalie job in the league with more focus on it. When Robin Lehner was ruled out for the season because of hip surgery, the starting job was wide-open. Logan Thompson got an accidental test run last season, and he’s done nothing but show that he’s not only ready to be the No. 1 but also be one of the best goalies in the NHL.

Apart from the Boston Bruins, the Vegas Golden Knights are the hottest team in the NHL, and Thompson’s play has been a catalyst for that. In eight starts, he is 6-2-0 with a .934 save percentage and is tied with two other goalies for the league lead in shutouts with two. Thompson earned the job in part because Lehner’s backup last season, Laurent Brossoit, started the season on the injured list. Vegas acquired Adin Hill from San Jose to help steady things out in case Thompson, a rookie, ran into trouble. That seems like overkill now with how well Thompson has stepped up in the first part of the season.

That’s not to say it’s been bad for Hill—he’s been superb as the backup—but Thompson has shined brightly with his two losses coming against Calgary and Colorado. If you’re going to lose, it may as well be to very good teams.

Although Ilya Sorokin may have been outshined by his Russian rival in Manhattan, Igor Shesterkin, last season, he’s picked up right where he left off and is providing the Islanders with every opportunity possible to win games.

In nine games, eight of them starts, Sorokin is 5-3-0 with a .933 save percentage, including a 41-save shutout against Shesterkin’s Rangers. He’s fourth in goals saved above expectations in all situations with 7.2, and he’s fifth at five-on-five with 5.0. The Isles are off to a much better start this season than last season at 7-5-0, and Sorokin is the catalyst for that. They’re scoring goals as well on Long Island, but if the Islanders are going to make a return to the postseason, it’ll be because of Sorokin.

With how good he was last season and how he looks now, the chances of seeing the Islanders faithful back in the playoffs are strong, and perhaps the Vezina might head to the Hamptons for the summer.

What Jake Oettinger has done so far this season in Dallas was teased last season in the playoffs.

After he nearly stole the Stars' first-round series against Calgary, he kept his stymieing brand of play going into this season. He’s 5-1-0 with an astounding .952 save percentage, and he only has one shutout. He’s third in goals saved above expected in all situations with 10.1.

Where he differs from Carter Hart and Connor Hellebuyck is that his defense plays much stouter than what his rivals have enjoyed. Oettinger has faced 186 shots this season with 140 at five-on-five. For comparison, Hellebuyck has faced the most with 252 at just five-on-five. Fewer shots, particularly in high-danger areas, means better numbers. The biggest one for Oettinger, though, is he’s allowed nine goals against in seven games. No wonder the Stars lead the Central Division.

Fortunately for Oettinger, unlike what happened in the playoffs, the Stars are scoring goals this season, fifth most in the NHL. It doesn’t take a scientist to know that lots of goals and giving up very few means plenty of wins.

The expectations for the Flyers this season are low, but with John Tortorella in charge they’re playing hard, but they're also giving up a lot of quality opportunities every game. That’s a recipe to have a bad season, but Carter Hart has been out of his mind.

Hart is second in the NHL with a .946 save percentage. He’s second in save percentage at five-on-five at .958. He has the league’s best save percentage against high-danger chances at five-on-five at .967, and he’s best in the league at goals saved above expected in all situations (15.9) and at five-on-five (13.2). He’s doing all of that while facing the third-most shots in the league as well (296).

It’s nothing short of miraculous how he’s played, and it’s criminal how few goals the Flyers score to support him. Philly has scored 28 goals all season, the second-fewest in the NHL. Even with all that, the Flyers' 6-3-2 start is one of the biggest surprises of the first month of the season, and it’s all because of Hart.

For a few seasons now, Connor Hellebuyck has been one of the best goalies in the NHL and one of the busiest, and he’s back in form to be the best in the league once again.

Hellebuyck is 6-2-1 for the Jets with a .936 save percentage, fifth-best in the league. He’s faced the second-most shots in the NHL with 299, and he’s second in goals saved above expected in all situations with 10.5 and five-on-five with 10.3. He’s also faced the second-most high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five with 68. The most impressive number, however, is that he’s allowed just 19 goals despite all the action going on in front of him. More like Connor Hercules, right?

Unsurprisingly, the Jets are off to a good start, trailing only Dallas in the Central Division, but much like the issue with Carter Hart, Hellebuyck’s team doesn’t pack a punch on offense, having scored 33 goals this season (26th in the NHL). Imagine where the Jets could go if they can punch up a few more goals with Hellebuyck playing like this.

Statistics via: Moneypuck, NHL.com, Natural Stat Trick, Hockey Reference