What is a Good Save Percentage in Hockey? A Complete Guide
Among the most challenging positions in hockey is playing as a goalkeeper. You must have enough expertise in your skills because a goalkeeper is the squad’s last line of protection. Players have scores, assists, shots, and other numbers that are used to assess their performance. How is a goalkeeper’s efficiency assessed?
A goalie’s efficiency is assessed by the good save percentage on ice. What is a good save percentage in hockey? A goalkeeper’s good save percentage must be 0.915% and more. In the NHL, the average save percentage in hockey is 0.910.
This is not enough as you must be aware of some other points of good save percentage. If you want to know what is the highest save percentage and stats, don’t stop here and go ahead!
What is the Save Percentage and How is Calculated?
The total percentage of the saves that are made by a goalkeeper among all goals is called the save percentage in hockey. It is the overall statistics out of all the goals that a goalkeeper faces.
If the goalkeeper faces 40 shots on target and only allows 4 goals, the goalkeeper’s save percentage will be 36. The goalkeeper will have a save ratio of .9 or 90% if the 36 saves are divided by the 40 shots.
In this way, a goalkeeper’s performance will be based on the save percentage. If the save percentage is higher, they will consider it well-played during the game. Save percentages can not only be calculated on the base of per-game but also calculated across a year. Sometimes, it is based on a player’s whole career record.
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What is a Good Save Percentage?
The percentage of shots that an NHL goal saves is known as the save percentage. It is obtained by dividing the total number of rounds by the number of saves completed.
A goalkeeper always tries to reach the percentage level of .915% or more throughout the season. As a general rule, a goalie must have a save percentage that is greater than normal. When you ask about the average save percentage of a goalie, it will be 0.910%.
To have a clearer view of the save percentage, let’s take a deeper look at some of the statistics.
| Player | Saves | Shots Against | Save Percentage |
| Carey Price | 30 | 30 | 1.000 |
| Hendrik Lundqvist | 23 | 25 | 0.920 |
| Marc-Andre Fleury | 21 | 27 | 0.778 |
- After getting a shoutout, Carey Price stopped all of his shots.
- Hendrik Lundqvist played well but lost two goals and earned a.920% save percentage.
- Fleury performed surprisingly, allowed 6 goals, and has a.778% save percentage.
Best Save Percentage of NHL 2021-2022
| Rank | Player | Team | Save Percentage | Goal Against Average |
| 1 | Charlie Lindgren | STL | 0.958 | 1.22 |
| 2 | Louis Domingue | PIT | 0.952 | 2.02 |
| 3 | Spencer Martin | VAN | 0.950 | 1.74 |
| 4 | Michael Houser | BUF | 0.948 | 2.00 |
| 5 | Daniil Tarasov | CBJ | 0.937 | 2.40 |
| 6 | Garret Sparks | LAK | 0.936 | 1.85 |
| 7 | Keith Kinkaid | NYR | 0.935 | 2.00 |
| 8 | Igor Shesterkin | NYR | 0.935 | 2.07 |
| 9 | Ilya Sorokin | NYI | 0.925 | 2.40 |
| 10 | Zachary Fucale | WSH | 0.924 | 1.75 |
After knowing about the same percentage of a goalie, the next question is what is the best save percentage? As the average save % varies from game to game, the best save percentage can also fluctuate according to the game.
You must know that the average save percentage fluctuates around .91 or 91%. So, the percentage that will be above or around .915 will be regarded well. Anything above .92 is amazing, and anything below .90 is usually very low.
Save percentages are commonly determined by the performance of the goalies, but clubs can also have an impact on the overall performance. Save percentages will increase when groups or leaguers become stronger at protecting.
You read also this article: What Is FOW In Hockey Stats?
Save Percentage vs Goals Against Average
Goals Against Average (GAA) is the average number of goals that are allowed in each game. It used to be the most essential statistic for an NHL goaltender. The Williams Jennings Trophy is given to the game’s leading goalkeeper team with the least GAA.
In this way, GAA began to be regarded as a predictor of team success rather than individual skill. Two goaltenders can have a 3.00 GAA, but one will prevent 40 shots on average per night while the other will only defend 25. In this case, who is superior?
Most people would agree that the player who takes more shots each night will give more success to his club. Thus, these metrics are linked, and a goalkeeper with a low GAA and a good save percentage is what you will have to consider. In short, GAA relates more to the club’s overall performance.
High Danger Shots and High Danger Save Percentage
The basic statistics organizations have divided the save percentage goals. The organization has divided them by examining high-risk shots and high-risk shoots percentage.
You must be aware that no approach is similar to each other. According to the simple and challenging shots that a goalkeeper will find difficult to stop, the shots will vary.
Let’s examine each goalkeeper’s performance in preventing the higher-danger shots. Here the high-danger shots are those which are the harder to prevent. Moves from the slots to a higher slot region are considered to be shots of the highest danger.
Ben Bishop ended with a .878 greater risk save percentage, which was third after Jaroslav Halak’s .889. On the other hand, Roberto Luongo ended with a .787 HD save%.
Best Save Percentage For Career
Below is the list of the Best Save Percentage for a Career:
| Rank | Player Name | Years | Save Percentage |
| 1 | Dominik Hasek | 1990-08 | 0.9223% |
| 2 | Johnny Bower | 1953-70 | 0.9219% |
| 3 | Ken Dryden | 1970-79 | 0.9215% |
| 4 | Tuukka Rask | 2007-22 | 0.9210% |
| 5 | Ben Bishop | 2008-20 | 0.9205% |
| 6 | Tim Thomas | 2002-14 | 0.9199% |
| 7 | Jacques Plante | 1952-73 | 0.9197% |
| 8 | Juuse Saros | 2015-23 | 0.9197% |
| 9 | Andrei Vasilevskiy | 2014-23 | 0.9191% |
| 10 | Roberto Luongo | 1999-19 | 0.9187% |
Conclusion: What is a Good Save Percentage in Hockey?
What a good save percentage in hockey is the main concern of this article. As a general guideline, a goalkeeper’s save percentage must be 0.915% or greater and the average save percentage must be 0.910%.
Many players and teams in hockey always try to get more save percentage than this to make their team stronger. What are your reviews of this article?
