Peter Budaj is the Montreal Canadiens back-up goalie. Budaj started 17 games for the Habs in 2011-12. Posting a 5-7 record, a 2.55 goals against average, and a solid .913 save percentage. Both his save percentage and goals against average this season were substantially higher than his career average.
The 6'1", 200 lbs. Cam Ward finished the regular season with a 30-23-3 record, a 2.74 goals against average, and a .917 save percentage. He has a career save percentage of .910 during the regular season, and .917 during the playoffs. He won the Conn Smythe trophy as the playoff MVP during the Carolina's Stanley Cup win in 2006.
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
Cam Ward had a better short-handed rating than Budaj. Ward did a much better job controlling the existence of rebounds, and keeping those rebounds he did produce out of the slot.
Ward stopped 6 of 6 short-handed shots. Only 2 of those saves produced rebounds, and 1 of those 2 rebounds landed in the slot.
Budaj stopped 6 of 7 short-handed shots. He allowed rebounds from 5 of those 6 saves, and 3 of those rebounds landed in the slot. One of Budaj's SH saves occurred on a Carolina scoring chance.
OVERALL GOALTENDING RATING
Both goalies' even-strength rating were enough to push their overall ratings above 2.00.
Budaj produced an overall goaltending rating of 2.04. He did a better job controlling rebounds at even-strength, and had a better ES save-percentage. Overall, he stopped 28 of 29 shots. He produced 14 rebounds from those 28 saves, and 10 of those rebounds landed in the slot. Budaj also made an impressive 8 saves on Carolina scoring chances to boost his rating even higher.
Budaj was successful with 8 of 10 pass-attempts; giving him a puck-handling ratio of 4 successful plays for every 1 unsuccessful play.
Ward had an impressive overall goaltending rating of 2.11. He produced more overall rebounds than Budaj, but did a better job controlling the placement of those rebounds. Overall, Ward stopped 30 of 31 shots. He produced 17 rebounds from those 30 saves, and 10 of those rebounds landed in the slot. Ward also made an incredible 9 saves on Montreal scoring chances.
Ward was successful with 10 of 11 pass-attempts. The one failed pass-attempts actually resulted in a Montreal scoring chance. Ward's work outside of his crease produced a puck-handling ratio of 10 successful plays for every 1 unsuccessful play.
Keep in mind, this is only a one-game scouting report. As such, it is only meant to reflect these goalies performance during this one game.
