Game 1 saw Mike Smith earn a higher rating than his counterpart Pekka Rinne, as the Phoenix Coyotes beat the Nashville Predators by a score of 4-3. Smith's higher rating was the product of a solid save percentage combined by good rebound control. Rinne though, actually made a higher percentage of "big saves" than Smith.
The 6'4", 218 lbs Smith finished the regular season with a 38-18-10 record, a 2.21 goals against average, and a .933 save percentage. He has a career save percentage of .914 during the regular season, and .943 during the playoffs.
The 6'5", 209 lbs. Pekka Rinne finished the regular season with a 43-18-8 record, a 2.39 goals against average, and a .923 save percentage. He has a career save percentage of .921 during the regular season, and .914 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
Both goalies had low short-handed goaltending ratings.
Smith earned a short-handed rating of 1.56. He stopped 6 of 7 shots. He allowed rebounds on 5 of those 7 shots, and 4 of those 5 rebounds landed in the slot. Two of his 6 saves came on Nashville scoring chances.
Rinne only faced 1 short-handed shot during the game; which resulted in a goal against.
SMITH4135RINNE
O REBOUND %0.167N/AO REBOUND %
SAFE REBOUND %0.200N/ASAFE REBOUND %
BIG SAVE%0.333N/ABIG SAVE%
SAVE %0.8570.000SAVE %
4135
SUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS00SUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS
UNSUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS10UNSUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS
PUCK PLAYS RATION/AN/APUCK PLAYS RATIO
4135
GOALTENDER RATING1.560.00GOALTENDER RATING
4135
OVERALL GOALTENDING RATING
Both goalies' even-strength ratings boosted their overall ratings.
Smith earned an overall goaltending rating of 2.02. He had an impressive save-percentage, and solid rebound control. He stopped 39 of 42 shots, and produced rebounds from only 19 of those 39 saves. Eleven of those 19 rebounds landed in the slot, and he made 6 saves on Nashville scoring chances.
Rinne's rebound control and high "big save" percentage overcame his low save-percentage. He ended the game with an overall goaltending rating of 1.98. He stopped only 20 of 24 shots, and allowed rebounds from 11 of those 20 saves. Only 6 of those rebounds landed in the slot, and he made 6 saves on Phoenix scoring chances.
SMITH4135RINNE
O REBOUND %0.5130.450O REBOUND %
SAFE REBOUND %0.4210.455SAFE REBOUND %
BIG SAVE%0.1540.250BIG SAVE%
SAVE %0.9290.833SAVE %
4135
SUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS1010SUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS
UNSUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS30UNSUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS
PUCK PLAYS RATIO3.33N/APUCK PLAYS RATIO
4135
GOALTENDER RATING2.021.99GOALTENDER RATING
4135
