Tim Thomas did a significantly better job controlling his rebounds, but Holtby's save percentage was the difference, as the Washington Capitals eliminated the defending champions in seven games.
The 5'11", 201 lbs Tim Thomas finished the regular season with a 35-19-1 record, a 2.36 goals against average, and a .920 save percentage. He has a career save percentage of .921 during the regular season, and .933 during the playoffs.
Braden Holtby is a 6'2", 203 lbs left-handed shooting goalie. The 22-year-old finished the regular season with a 4-2-1 record, a 2.49 goals against average, and a .922 save percentage. He had not played an NHL playoff game prior to this series.
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
Thomas earned a short-handed goaltending rating of 2.00. He stopped the only shot he faced short-handed. He produced a rebound on that shot, but it did not land in the slot.
Holtby had a short-handed goaltending rating of 2.75. He stopped all 4 shots he faced. He allowed only 1 rebound, and it did not land in the slot.
THOMAS3070HOLTBY
O REBOUND %0.0000.750O REBOUND %
SAFE REBOUND %1.0001.000SAFE REBOUND %
BIG SAVE%0.0000.000BIG SAVE%
SAVE %1.0001.000SAVE %
3070
SUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS00SUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS
UNSUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS00UNSUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS
PUCK PLAYS RATION/AN/APUCK PLAYS RATIO
3070
GOALTENDER RATING2.002.75GOALTENDER RATING
3070
OVERALL GOALTENDING RATING
Thanks to some impressive rebound control, Thomas' overall goaltending rating was actually higher than Holtby's. Thomas stopped 25 of 27 shots, and produced rebounds from 15 of those 25 saves. Only 5 of those rebounds landed in the slot, and he made 2 saves on Washington scoring chances.
Thomas was successful with 6 of his 8 pass-attempts, giving him a puck-handling ratio of 3 successful plays for every 1 unsuccessful play.
Holtby's rebound control lowered his overall rating to 1.87. He stopped an impressive 31 of 32 shots, but allowed rebounds from 22 of those 31 saves. Ten of those rebounds landed in the slot, and he made 2 saves on Boston scoring chances.
He was successful with 2 of his 3 pass-attempts; giving him a puck-handling ratio of 2 successful plays for every 1 unsuccessful play.
THOMAS3070HOLTBY
O REBOUND %0.4000.290O REBOUND %
SAFE REBOUND %0.6670.545SAFE REBOUND %
BIG SAVE%0.0800.065BIG SAVE%
SAVE %0.9260.969SAVE %
3070
SUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS62SUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS
UNSUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS21UNSUCCESSFUL PUCK PLAYS
PUCK PLAYS RATIO3.002.00PUCK PLAYS RATIO
3070
GOALTENDER RATING2.071.87GOALTENDER RATING
3070
