Despite some short-handed goaltending by Jose Theodore; particularly in the opening period, the Florida Panthers were unable to defeat the New Jersey Devils in the opening game of the series. Both goalies' overwhelming tendency to give up rebounds on almost every shot, substantially hurt their overall goaltending rating.
The 6'2", 214 lbs Martin Brodeur finished the regular season with a 31-21-4 record, a 2.41 goals against average, and a .908 save percentage. He has a career save percentage of .913 during the regular season, and .919 during the playoffs.
The 5'11", 175 lbs. Theodore finished the regular season with a 22-16-11 record, a 2.46 goals against average, and a .917 save percentage. He has a career save percentage of .909 during the regular season, and .912 during the playoffs.
My scouting reports for goalies focus on their ability to make saves, make big saves, control rebounds, and maintain good balance. The results of these attributes are added together to produce the goaltender's rating. The highest possible rating is 4.00, while the lowest possible rating is 0.00. The higher the value the better a goalie has played.
The first number involved in the calculation is the percentage of saves a goalie makes without giving up a rebound. For example, if a goalie makes 10 saves and gives up only 1 rebound his "no rebound percentage" is .900. Again, the higher the number, the better a goalie performs.
The next number in the calculation is the percentage of safe rebounds a goalie gives up for each rebound allowed. Rebounds deflected outside of the main slot are considered safe. As such, a safe rebound is defined as a rebound outside of an imaginary line drawn from each goalpost to the corresponding board-side hash mark. As an example of this calculation, if a goalie gives up 10 rebounds and deflects 9 of those pucks outside the slot, his "safe rebound percentage" is .900. Again, the higher the number, the better a goalie performs.
The next number is the percentage of saves that would be considered "big saves". A big save is defined as any save made on a play that would be considered a traditional scoring chance. As an example of this calculation, if a goalie makes 5 big saves on 20 shots his "big save percentage" would be .250. Once again, the higher the number, the better a goalie performs.
I also track how a goalie controls the puck. I do this by tracking his successful or unsuccessful pass-attempts, as well as his successful or unsuccessful attempts to dump the puck out of his zone. The resulting numbers are used to produce a ratio of successful plays for every 1 unsuccessful play.
SHORT-HANDED GOALTENDING RATING
Brodeur produced a below-average short-handed goaltending rating of 1.55. He made some big saves while short-handed, but his low save-percentage and tendency to allow too many rebounds hurt his rating. Brodeur stopped 4 of 5 shots, and allowed rebounds on all 4 of his saves. Three of his 4 rebounds landed in the slot, and 2 of his 4 saves were made on shots that are considered scoring chances.
Brodeur was successful with his only attempt to dump the puck out of the defensive-zone.
Like Brodeur, Theodore's short-handed goaltending rating of 1.75 was lowered by his propensity to allow too many rebounds. His SH save-percentage was absolutely phenomenal, as he stopped 16 of 17 short-handed shots during the game. But, he allowed rebounds on 13 of those 16 saves, while 9 of those 13 rebounds landed in the slot.
Theodore was successful with his only attempted pass while playing short-handed.
BRODEUR3060LUONGO
O REBOUND %0.0000.188O REBOUND %
SAFE REBOUND %0.2500.308SAFE REBOUND %
BIG SAVE%0.5000.313BIG SAVE%
SAVE %0.8000.941SAVE %
3060
SUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS11SUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS
UNSUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS00UNSUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS
PUCK PLAYS RATION/AN/APUCK PLAYS RATIO
3060
GOALTENDER RATING1.551.75GOALTENDER RATING
3060
OVERALL GOALTENDING RATING
Brodeur's play at even-strength helped raise his overall goaltending rating to 1.64. This below-average rating was buoyed by his solid save-percentage, and hurt by his rebound total. Overall, he stopped 24 of 26 shots, and allowed an incredibly high 21 rebounds on those 24 saves. Thirteen of these 21 rebounds landed in the slot, while 5 of his 24 saves were made on shots that are considered scoring chances.
Uncharacteristically, Brodeur struggled with his puck-handling. He was successful with 10 of his 14 pass-attempts, but only 1 of his 3 attempts to dump the puck out of the defensive-zone.
Theodore's play at even-strength actually lowered his overall goaltending rating to a below-average 1.72. Yes, he made some exceptional saves during the game, but he produced rebounds on far too many shots; thereby hurting his rating. Overall, he stopped 35 of 38 shots. He produced rebounds from 29 of those 35 saves, while 20 of those 29 rebounds landed in the slot. An incredible 11 of his 35 saves were produced during New Jersey scoring chances.
Impressively, Theodore's puck-handling rating was substantially higher than Brodeur's. He was successful with 13 of 14 pass-attempts, for a puck-handling ratio of 13 successful plays for every 1 unsuccessful play.
BRODEUR3060LUONGO
O REBOUND %0.1250.171O REBOUND %
0.3810.310SAFE REBOUND %
BIG SAVE%0.2080.314BIG SAVE%
SAVE %0.9230.921SAVE %
3060
SUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS1113SUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS
UNSUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS61UNSUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS
PUCK PLAYS RATIO1.8313.00PUCK PLAYS RATIO
3060
GOALTENDER RATING1.641.72GOALTENDER RATING
3060
Keep in mind, this is only a 1-game scouting report. As such, it is only meant to reflect the goalies' play during this one game.
