B/R Goalie Rankings: December 2022

It's time once again to deeply upset fans across the NHL by ranking each of the No. 1 goalies across the league. Now that we're two months deep into the season, some situations have been cleared up, while others remain foggy or beset by injury. That leaves it up to me to best discern who is hot and who is not.

Fortunately, the best of the best and the less-than-good have separated themselves decently well, although there is a sizable middle portion in which a goalie might be close to the bottom one week and then pushing some of the best in the league the next. Ebbs and flows and that sort of thing.

In case you missed out on last month's ranking or the preseason rankings, don't worry about those because we're hurtling onward into the future…er, now. To make things a little cleaner for the rankings, whomever has the most starts will be considered the No. 1 guy. Yes, that can change in the future, I know. If there are injuries mucking up the share of playing time, then we'll divvy it up as needed.

How do I rank the goalies? It's a simple formula: Success via stopping more pucks than not (save percentage) and considering how well they're able to stop shots that seemed destined to wind up behind them (expected goals). Oh, there are wins too I suppose. You play to win the game, right? While true, goalies also play to stop as many pucks as they can, and even that isn't good enough to get wins sometimes. Hockey life is cruel.

Let's get to it because there are a lot of goalies to talk about. Disagree with where I ranked 'em? Tell me all about it in the comments.

Statistics and information from: MoneyPuck, Hockey Reference, NHL.com, Natural Stat Trick

32. Elvis Merzlikins, Columbus Blue Jackets

I feel for Elvis. He's had a really tough season, as have most players in Columbus, but he's had to wear most of the hard losses. There have been 78 goalies who have played any minutes this season, and Merzlikins ranks 76th in save percentage. He's also last in the league in goals saved above expected at 5-on-5 with minus-14.5 and that's more than five goals worse than Arizona's Connor Ingram, who is second. You know it's a tough year when during Columbus' 9-4 loss to Buffalo, he gave up six goals despite not starting the game.

31. Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues

Boy oh boy is the 2019 Stanley Cup winner having a rough year. His .889 save percentage is joint-11th-lowest in the league among goalies with 10 or more games played. The Blues have lacked any sort of consistency all around, but it's been especially noticeable in goal. Even worse, Binnington hasn't helped himself with minus-3.2 goals saved above expected at 5-on-5 and minus-8.0 in all situations. Even worse still, he continued to try stirring things up by way of starting shenanigans to the point coach Craig Berube asked him to cut it out and make a save.

30. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings

The Kings have done rather well this season but have done so despite poor goaltending all-around from Quick and the recently demoted Cal Petersen. Quick has been the better of the two while still rocking a .888 save percentage. The fact that he's 8-7-2 tells you everything you need to know about how the team is playing. Heck, there are five goalies with sub-.890 save percentages in the NHL with winning records and over 10 games played, and two of them are Kings.

28. Marc-André Fleury, Minnesota Wild

There's nothing I dislike more than ranking Marc-André Fleury this low and having to say not-so-nice things about his play. Fleury has been able to get wins because the Wild have a good team and a potent offense with Kirill Kaprizov leading the way, but it's been tough for Fleury. His .892 save percentage isn't so hot, and it's his work at even strength that's betraying him with a .890 save percentage and minus-8.1 goals saved above expected at 5-on-5, fourth-worst in the league. For comparison, he has minus-5.6 in all situations. We know Fleury can turn it around at any time, but the Wild would love to see it happen sooner than later.

28. John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks are having a very rough season by anyone's standards, and Gibson is really struggling. He's played in the joint-most games and faced the most shots in the NHL, so his .897 save percentage is rather respectable. But when you look a little deeper, he's getting worked over when his team is trying to kill penalties. He's allowed a league-high 73 goals, and 21 of those have been power-play goals. The Ducks PK is second-worst in the NHL, and Gibson has the worst goals saved above expected at 4-on-5 with minus-7.8. At even strength, he has a .919 save percentage and has 2.5 goals saved above expected. Fix the PK and maybe, just maybe, things will greatly improve.

27. Jacob Markström, Calgary Flames

A lot is expected of the Flames this season, and after what Markström did last season, there was good reason to buy in. But the 2021-22 Vezina finalist has followed up his .926 save percentage from that season with .899 so far. The current league average is .904, but much more is needed out of Markström to get Calgary into a safer place in the playoff race. Markström is aware he hasn't played up to par and backup Dan Vladar has been hot recently, but rather than be mad about it Markström has been Vladar's biggest supporter. Markström is a pro's pro and he'll bounce back; the question is when it will happen.

26. Jake Allen, Montréal Canadiens

The Canadiens have been a pleasant surprise this season, a prime example of how low expectations can lead to happiness, and the duo of Allen and Sam Montembeault have helped each other out. But it's Allen who shoulders most of the load, and he's been passable with a .895 save percentage. He has minus-2.7 goals saved above expected at 5-on-5 but is plus-1.4 while killing penalties. In all situations, he has 3.3 goals saved above expected. If that all seems counterintuitive, welcome to the club. If nothing else, it's a perfect encapsulation of Montréal's season of having very high highs and depressing lows.

25. Martin Jones, Seattle Kraken

The Kraken's success this season is truly mystifying because, as great of a story it is that Jones has seized control of the net, he's not lighting the world on fire either. Seattle has the third-worst PK in the NHL, and that helps skew Jones' numbers for the worse. His overall save percentage of .888 ranks him in the bottom 10 among all goalies with 10 or more games played. He has 2.3 goals saved above expected at 5-on-5 but minus-4.1 at 4-on-5. Thanks for nothing, PK. Nearly a third of the goals he's allowed have been power-play goals. Seattle is doing great, and at 5-on-5 Jones is saving at a .911 clip. Stay out of the box, stay in the playoff race.

24. James Reimer, San Jose Sharks

Although Reimer has missed the past week of action with an injury, he's still the guy in charge of the Sharks cage, and his imminent return to action can't come fast enough. He's rocking a .903 save percentage and is still air-tight helping the Sharks kill penalties. He's allowed two power-play goals on 51 shots for the No. 2 penalty kill in the NHL. The Sharks may not be having too much success this season, but at least they can stop power plays, and Reimer is the best at it. If they could fix up the even-strength play, then maybe they'll have something cooking. (Probably not.)

23. Spencer Martin, Vancouver Canucks

Thatcher Demko has the most starts for Vancouver, but he's out for the next six weeks and Spencer Martin has played well even with Demko leading the way. How Martin handles the workload will be curious to see because everything seems a bit of a hot mess for the Canucks this season (at least off the ice). So far, Martin has a .890 save percentage in 13 games (.007 better than Demko) and minus-3.9 goals saved above expected in all situations. Compared to Demko's minus-11.2, Martin seems like Roberto Luongo. Martin has been a starter in the AHL, but now he'll get a taste of it in the NHL. Good luck.

22. Arvid Söderblom, Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks are down bad, and they've also dealt with injuries to their top two goalies, Alex Stalock and Petr Mrázek. Arvid Söderblom has been thrust into action with a team that's on the fun slide to a rebuild, and he's handled himself pretty well considering. In 12 games (10 starts) he has a .906 save percentage and a minus-1.0 goals saved above expected in all situations with 2.2 goals saved above expected at 5-on-5. His 2-7-2 record is not flattering to him or the rest of the Blackhawks, but Söderblom has more than held his own with the downtrodden squad.

21. Anton Forsberg, Ottawa Senators

Now that Cam Talbot is back and healthy, the Senators net is up for grabs, but Forsberg is playing well enough to hold the veteran off for now. In 15 games, Forsberg has a .910 save percentage, and he's been very good at even strength with a .919 mark and 5.2 goals saved above expected. He's sneakily very good, but Talbot has gotten the bulk of the starts since he returned Nov. 3. Talbot has mostly held up his end of the bargain (4-7-0, .907 save percentage) resulting in what should be a competition for starts, but the Senators are in a rough way, last in the Atlantic Division and with a bottom-10 offense. Forsberg has done his part, but it may not be his net to keep.

20. Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres have a weird mix in goal. Eric Comrie's lower-body injury ushered in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and, like Comrie, he's gotten most of the starts. But also like with Comrie, it's been Craig Anderson playing stronger hockey, but he's playing once or twice a week at most. When he plays, he's been very good, but since he's 41 years old, they don't want to wipe out his energy levels. The Sabres give up the 12th-most dangerous chances in all situations and their penalty kill is sixth-worst in the NHL; Comrie and especially Luukkonen have felt the brunt of that. Fortunately for Buffalo, they can outscore most of the goaltending questions for now.

19. Pyotr Kochetkov, Carolina Hurricanes

Injuries can lead to unexpected heroes stepping up in their stead, and that's what's happening in Carolina with Pyotr Kochetkov. Frederik Andersen's knee injury Nov. 6 opened the door for the 23-year-old Russian to take the net, and he has run with it. He's gone 5-1-4 with a .914 save percentage and has allowed just three power-play goals on 46 shots (.935). He has 6.3 goals saved above expected in all situations and 3.4 at 5-on-5. Andersen and Antti Raanta's numbers have not been overly strong, which makes Kochetkov's play stand out more. With Andersen's return looming, the net will be his again, but Kochetkov has made the conversation much more interesting.

18. Karel Vejmelka, Arizona Coyotes

"Veggie," as he's called in Arizona, has earned a lot of respect for how he's played. He's 6-7-3 and has a .912 save percentage, making him a top-20 goalie on a bottom-five team. Their penalty kill is 13th, and they are bottom of the league in high-danger chance percentage. These things aren't terribly surprising, but Vejmelka helps their numbers look a lot better. He has 6.7 goals saved above expected at 5-on-5 and 13.2 in all situations, fourth-best in the NHL. The Coyotes lack depth and scoring, but Vejmelka has the goal on lockdown.

17. Carter Hart, Philadelphia Flyers

Hart deserves a medal for what he's faced up to this season. The Flyers have allowed the third-most scoring chances and second most high-danger chances in the league in all situations (seventh-most and fifth most at 5-on-5 respectively). That his save percentage is .911 is fitting because there are nights where he should want to call that number to get some help. But with all those chances against him, Hart has been there to stop a lot of them. He's saved 13.4 goals above expected in all situations and 12.3 at 5-on-5. The Flyers may lack talent, but Hart has helped them win more than a few games they perhaps had no business to.

16. Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators

When last we left Juuse Saros, he was going through it to start the season. Coming back from an injury that ended his season and caused him to miss the playoffs took time, but now he's finding his way back to the Saros we're used to seeing. Since our November rankings went up, he's gone 6-1-1 with a .915 save percentage, and his season save percentage went from .904 a month ago to .909 now. He's saved 4.5 goals above expected at 5-on-5, and in all situations he has stopped 4.4. I'd say business is about to pick up, but it appears it already has. That's good news for Nashville.

15. Toronto Maple Leafs

Even though a lot of discussion around the Maple Leafs is dramatic, the frets and worries about their goaltending from the beginning of the year seem pretty silly now. They're an elite team and are getting outstanding goaltending. Ilya Samsonov played well (.924 save percentage) until he got hurt (he returned Nov. 30), and since Matt Murray returned from injury on Nov. 15, he's gone 6-0-2 with a .941 save percentage with one shutout upon coming back. Erik Källgren gets a pat on the back for holding things in place (4.4 goals saved above expected at 5-on-5) while each of the other goalies dealt with injuries. Anyone waiting for the Leafs to blow up in net will have to wait a little longer.

14. Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers

Last season's Vezina winner and Hart Trophy finalist is having a bit of a tough time this year. He's been self-aware and self-critical about his performance, and the Rangers haven't flown out of the gate because of it. What's interesting is he's 12-4-4 with a .913 save percentage, which seems kind of OK, except Shesterkin's career save percentage before this season was .928. He's been fine, but he needs to be other-worldly for the Rangers to be a threat. He's saved 4.1 goals above expected at 5-on-5 and 6.0 in all situations (ninth in the NHL among goalies with 10 or more games played). Shesterkin was best in the NHL at goals saved above expected last season, though, and the Rangers would love to see him return to that level of play ASAP.

13. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning

The two-time Stanley Cup-winning goalie is in a similar situation to Shesterkin. He's off to an average start and hasn't quite gotten into a rhythm of frustrating shooters game in and game out. He's 10-8-1 with a .909 save percentage and the Lightning are in third place in the Atlantic Division. Unfortunately for them, that means having Boston and Toronto ahead of them, and the Detroit Red Wings are right there with them. Tampa Bay has heated up since the beginning of November with an 11-4-1 record, but Vasilevskiy isn't quite there yet. He's saved 6.0 goals above expected at 5-on-5 and 6.3 in all situations. What's stung him? He's allowed five shorthanded goals.

12. Darcy Kuemper, Washington Capitals

Kuemper's first season in Washington had been going reasonably well until he left Saturday's game against Calgary with an upper-body injury. Despite the 8-9-2 record before that, he had a .916 save percentage and his goals saved above expected numbers in all situations (3.9) and 5-on-5 (4.1) are good. Kuemper even has two shutouts this season. The Capitals are interesting because they're missing vital players at the top of their lineup and are joint-21st in scoring. If Kuemper keeps playing like this once he returns to action, all attention will be on the offense to get it together.

11. Stuart Skinner, Edmonton Oilers

Well, well, well. What do we have here? Jack Campbell's first season with the Oilers could not be going any worse, but fortunately rookie Stuart Skinner has stepped up to provide stability as the starter for now. Make sense of this though: Skinner is 8-6-0 with a .915 save percentage compared to Campbell's 7-6-0 record with a .872 save percentage. Campbell is the guy the team wants to get right, but Skinner is making it very difficult to do so because the Oilers are in a doozy of a battle in the early playoff race, and dropping any games could be the difference between making the postseason or preparing for the draft. At 5-on-5, Skinner has saved 5.9 goals above expected, but the Oilers' terrible penalty killing (fifth-worst in the NHL) is taking them down. Skinner starts for now, but it may not matter who starts if that PK doesn't get straightened out.

10. Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars

Oettinger got off to such a strong start that continuing to stay hot into the next month would've turned him into one of the biggest stories in the league. Instead, Jason Robertson is doing that for Dallas while Oettinger is still quietly holding it down. He's 9-3-3 with two shutouts and a .916 save percentage, but he's 4-2-3 with an .895 save percentage since a lower-body injury in early November put him on the shelf for a couple weeks. Is it a post-injury lull or a reason to be concerned? I'm saying it's a lull that coincides with a brutal stretch of the schedule against a lot of the top teams. Fortunately for the Stars, backup Scott Wedgewood has played well in the meantime, but things could get a lot more interesting in Dallas if Oettinger can't recover his play.

9. Spencer Knight, Florida Panthers

There's pressure in Florida to get it right and soon. Sergei Bobrovsky has had an awful start to his season, and 21-year-old Spencer Knight has been waiting to take an opportunity. He may be in the process of doing just that. Knight is 8-4-3 with a .919 save percentage compared to Bobrovsky's 4-6-1 record and .880 save percentage. Yikes. Since the last goalie rankings in early November, Knight has gone 5-3-3 with a .925 save percentage whereas Bobrovsky is 1-3-0 in six games played with a .851 save percentage. Knight has a boatload of talent and potential and has long been seen as the Panthers' future No. 1, and the future is now. After winning the Presidents' Trophy last season and adding Matthew Tkachuk, the pressure is sky-high for the Panthers to get back to the playoffs and go deep. Knight is the guy to do it no matter how big Bobrovsky's cap hit is.

8. Ville Husso, Detroit Red Wings

When Detroit signed Husso in the offseason, it was a little bit of a risk. Husso didn't have a long NHL resume and was coming off a rough time in the playoffs. Turns out GM Steve Yzerman might know a thing or two about hockey. Husso is 11-4-3 with three shutouts and a .916 save percentage and over 5.0 goals saved above expected in all situations and 5-on-5. That Detroit is battling with Tampa Bay to join the top three in the Atlantic shows how much progress it has made, but it also illustrates how good and necessary Husso has been. Goalie was a tumultuous position the past few years in Detroit, but Husso is making those bad memories fade away with each solid game.

7. Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins

Every time we're ready to start heaping dirt on the Penguins for having an older team the moment they drop a couple games in a row, an alarm goes off for Tristan Jarry to make us knock it off. He's 11-3-3 with one shutout and a .919 save percentage. After he had a five-game losing streak at the end of October into November, he's been a monster. He's 7-0-1 since then and has a .943 save percentage in eight starts, and it hasn't been light work. He's faced nearly 33 shots per game during this run of play. He's just doing his job, and the Penguins have climbed back up the Metropolitan Division standings because of it.

6. Alexandar Georgiev, Colorado Avalanche

Sure, everyone else on the Avalanche is dropping like flies with injuries, but even with the ever-changing lineup in front of him, Georgiev is keeping the Avalanche afloat. Since our previous rankings, Georgiev is 6-4-0 with a shutout and a .917 save percentage with a lot of Colorado Eagles to support him. His goals saved above expected numbers are in the top 15, and at even strength he's saving shots at a .933 rate. There's also a little added difficulty with opponents gearing up to beat the defending champs every game. Georgiev has silenced any doubters after his departure from the Rangers.

The Vegas Golden Knights returning to the top of the standings after last season's disappointment wouldn't have happened without Thompson answering the preseason questions over who would replace Robin Lehner with him out for the season.

At 25 years old and with only 39 games of NHL experience, Thompson's work in goal makes for an incredible story. It also makes him the token "old guy" candidate for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. His .918 save percentage ties him with Alexandar Georgiev for eighth in the NHL and he's in the top 15 for goals saved above expected in all situations and at 5-on-5. He's posted two shutouts and he's been outstanding stopping pucks at even strength with a .931 save percentage.

Thompson's continued outstanding play makes it seem silly they had doubts enough to not only acquire Adin Hill but weather Laurent Brossoit's injury absence at the beginning of the season.

Thompson has helped Vegas to run out to an early, big lead in the Pacific Division, and with Los Angeles, Edmonton, and Calgary all having some issues early on, it's got people thinking about how far he can take them in the postseason already. Having all their key players back healthy has made a huge difference for the Golden Knights, but Thompson being a stud in goal makes them much more formidable.

"If the Devils get any goaltending, they could be a really interesting team," is something I said to colleagues before the season, and Vitek Vanecek has more than done that.

Before the season began, it wasn't clear whether Vanecek or Mackenzie Blackwood would wind up getting most of the starts, but with Blackwood dealing with various injuries, it was up to Vanecek to mind the net, and he's seized the day.

Vanecek is 12-2-1 with a .922 save percentage that is fifth-best in the NHL among goalies with 10 or more games. His advanced numbers are solid with positive goals saved above expected. He's been strong at even strength with a .926 save percentage and has the seventh-best mark in that category while shorthanded.

He's 10th in goals allowed among goalies with at least 10 games played with 33 and his teammates provide him with 3.88 goals per start. Shutting other teams down and getting a lot of help from your friends is a winning combination.

Vanecek performing like this is a bit of a surprise if you look at the numbers he posted with the Washington Capitals. He was a steady, middle-of-the-road goalie on a team that needed it given Ilya Samsonov's struggles there. Predicting this kind of breakout would've taken a distinctly good analysis of his deeper numbers or Grays Sports Almanac from Back To The Future Part II. If he can keep this up, the Devils are going to be one hell of a show in the playoffs.

It's worthy of a congressional investigation that Ilya Sorokin's record is 10-8-0.

Sorokin's .927 save percentage is fourth-best in the NHL. He has the second-most goals saved above expected in all situations (14.4) and at 5-on-5 (12.8), and he has a .934 save percentage at even strength. Sorokin has picked up just where he left off last season, when he finished sixth in Vezina voting.

The Islanders appear set to be in a battle royale to make the playoffs with Carolina, Pittsburgh, the Rangers, Washington, Tampa Bay and Detroit. Like the Rangers showed last season, if you have an elite goaltender, you can go very far in the playoffs.

What's gotten Sorokin's record all average-looking is the Islanders offense. They score an average of 2.99 goals per game in Sorokin's starts, which ranks 27th in the NHL among goalies with 10 or more games played. He's allowed 42 goals this season and has had just 54 in support. Here's to hoping his teammates are picking up the dinner check on the road for him wherever they go.

The Jets' No. 1 goalie and 2020 Vezina Trophy winner is having another incredible season, and it's not showing any signs of slowing down.

Hellebuyck's .932 save percentage is second in the NHL to Linus Ullmark (spoiler: he's next in the list), and he leads the NHL in goals saved above expected in all situations with 15.6 and at 5-on-5 with 16.3, which is 3.5 goals better than second place Sorokin. He's also faced the second-most shots in the NHL.

What's made this season stand out is how new Jets coach Rick Bowness' more defensive system allows Hellebuyck better vision of the puck and a bit more controlled chaos in the defensive zone. Previous seasons in Winnipeg saw the action around the net be a bit too hair-on-fire, leading to breakdowns. Even then, high-danger opportunities are being swallowed up by Hellebuyck. It's a bit freakish.

At 13-5-1, Hellebuyck has the Jets sitting high in the standings competing for the top spot with the Dallas Stars. Dueling teams each with American goalies? At least if there's a World Cup of Hockey in 2025, the United States will be sitting pretty in goal.

What a season the big Swede is having in Boston. Not only are the Bruins a juggernaut, but Ullmark has dominated in goal to help secure countless wins.

Ullmark is 15-1-0 with two shutouts. His incredible .939 save percentage is best in the NHL, as is his 1.82 goals-against average. Unsurprisingly, he's allowed the fewest goals in the league as well. He's in the top five in goals saved above expected in all situations and 5-on-5. His standard and fancy stats are dazzling, and his teammates score an average of 3.58 goals per game in his starts, joint-ninth-best in the NHL for goalies with at least 10 games played.

Ullmark has come a long way from his time in the Buffalo Sabres system, but his evolution into the best goalie in the NHL is incredible. After all, there was debate last season whether he or Jeremy Swayman would be the No. 1 guy in Boston, and they both played 41 games and had virtually identical numbers. Swayman struggled out of the gate this year and then was injured for a spell, allowing Ullmark to seize control of the job. It doesn't look like he'll give it away any time soon.

Ullmark plays actively in goal but with a sense of controlled chaos about him, resulting in huge numbers and an entertaining style. It's the best of both worlds, and the Bruins are roaring because of him.