About the Author
Emilia Flores (middle) is a Visual Communication Design student and hockey lover who is currently in her senior year at the University of Washington. She is super passionate about sports design and the way it fosters community and comradery for fans—but more importantly—her favorite goaltender is Kevin Lankinen of the Vancouver Canucks.
All statistics shown in this article are current to the 30th of October 2025. All statistics were pulled from NHL.com, EvolvingHockey.com, and MoneyPuck.com. All images attributed to ESPN, the NHL, Mark Blinch, Mike Stobe, Andrew Maclean, Jeff Vinnick, and Getty Images. Any opinions and designs expressed and shown in this article are my own as a student, and do not reflect the NHL.
Check out our other articles on hockey positions!
LEFT DEFENSE
RIGHT DEFENSE
GOALTENDER
While the forwards and defensemen work to score on the goal, the goaltender’s job is to prevent the puck from entering the net.
CREASE
Save percentage
Times a goaltender stopped the puck from entering the net
Shots taken on goal
In recent years in the NHL, shots on goal have gone down because teams are prioritizing quality over quantity in their shots. On average in a game, there are around
This means that if a goaltender has a save percentage of 90%, which is the league average, they’re letting in about 1 goal out of 10 shots.
Save percentage
Saves
Shots taken on goal
The amount of shots on goal has a significant impact on a save percentage—if a goaltender has a bad night where he lets in 5 goals out of 20 total shots, his save percentage is now factoring in a 75% statistic. Save percentages are compounded over 1-82 games, depending on how frequently a goaltender plays.
5 goals allowed
5 goals allowed
35 saves made
15 saves made
TOTAL SHOTS ON GOAL
85.7% SAVE PERCENTAGE
75% SAVE PERCENTAGE
But who's playing the most frequently?
NHL teams have two goalies on their roster, but prioritize playing goaltenders who have a save percentage above 90%. These goalies are called starting goaltenders.
A great example of this workload split is the Minnesota Wild's goaltenders for the 2024-25 season. Though both goaltenders are accomplished and capable, their starter Filip Gustavsson was able to take on a higher load. Take a look at these statistics from the 2024-25 season.
STARTING GOALTENDER
BACKUP GOALTENDER
As we can see with Gustavsson's statistics, starting goaltenders play around 50 or more games out of the NHL’s 82-game season. This means their save percentages tend to be minimally effected by a chance “bad” game.
Let's take a look at how all 32 starting goaltenders in the NHL stack up against each other.
First, it is important to know that goaltenders are evaluated by something called a save percentage.
And, regardless of a team’s or goalie’s performance in a game, or his league ranking, it is always customary to appreciate your goalie for the work he put in.
So, now that you know everything about goalies... next time you turn on your TV to watch hockey, or come to a game in person, keep an extra eye on (and a lot of appreciation for) the guy in the net!
Now, click on any goaltender to discover more about their performance throughout their career!