Devils Tendy Trends
Trigger Warning: We will be discussing last years Goaltending
With nearly a quarter of the season gone after tonight’s
game vs Florida, I wanted to do a deep dive into the improvements of our
goaltending situation compared to last year. After last season I think our
fanbase suffers from some serious PTSD when it comes to our goaltending
(rightfully so, last year was a tough pill to swallow). Below I will be
comparing the overall stats through the first nineteen games, looking into the
underlying advanced stats thanks to the NHL EDGE analytics and give my thoughts
on improvements Markstrom & Allen could make.
Team Goaltending Stats Through 19
games
2023
2024
Goals Against
69
50
GAA
3.63
2.63
Save %
.887%
.910%
Shots Against
548
523
Saves
486
476
Shutouts
0
3
Record
9-9-1
11-6-1
We all know it is obvious that we have had a massive upgrade
in goal but one of the questions I have seen thrown around is if the upgrade in
goal or on defense playing a significant role in this improvement. I do believe
the upgrades we have made on the back end are a major improvement and that is
seen with our drop in shots against per game from 29.2(9th in the league) to
27.7(8th in the league). The addition of Markstrom & Allen has been the
major key to our success at this point last year we ranked 28th in the league
in GAA compared to our GAA sitting at the 6th best in the league this
year.
AP Goalie Analytics
Save %
Vitek
Akira
Marky
Allen
High Danger Shots .743
.798
.807
.857
Mid-Range Shots .903
.882
.860
.920
Long Range Shots
.978
.970 .981
.952
All Locations
.890
.895
.908
.914
As we look at these numbers it confirms the observations
that our goaltending has improved but consistency is our issue to start the
year. The most glaring observation is the fact that Markstrom & Allen both
had worse save percentages than Vitek & Akira in the Mid-Range & Long
Range shot categories. Allens numbers took huge hit in his game vs Tampa where
he was both unlucky and played poorly. He is posting his best numbers in the
High Danger, Mid-Range, and All Locations since the NHL started tracking these
stats back in 2022. So, it will be curious to see in the next 6-10 starts if he
can continue to keep the numbers at this level or if he will drop towards his
mean save percentage over the last three seasons.
In Markstroms situation he is hitting his best number for
Low Range shots but has been struggling with the High Danger and Mid-Range
shots this season. One thing I have noticed with is game is that he is playing
slightly deeper than usual which can be something our goalie coach has been
mentioning or a switch being made if he believes his lateral movement has
slowed down at this point in his career. This lack of depth has allowed him to
boost his save percentage on long distance shots to the highest in the past
four seasons. The downside with this shift in his game is when a play breaks
down and leads to a quick opportunity in the high danger/mid-range area or
second chance shots in tight off rebounds. As he continues to get settled in
with the team, I would like to see him gain more depth in the crease when there
is a mid/high danger opportunity which will lead to less room for the shooter
to pick. I would also like to see him start to catch pucks to the glove side
more cleanly. He lost his shutout vs Buffalo after missing an easy glove save
and had several shots to the glove side vs Florida that hit the inside his
glove and popped out.
The improvements we have seen in goal are obvious to see and
have led to us having a much better start to the season overall. There is room
for improvement and growth especially in Markstroms game. As the workload
continues to grow and he starts to see more rubber, I expect this numbers to
continue to improve. I wanted to give huge props to Fitzy for addressing this situation
last years and providing us with one of the better goalie tandems this
year.
Here's to Allen closing the door vs Florida tonight!
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