[Cali Panthers Fan]

What everyone is saying about goaltending numbers is very true: Context is important.

Look at a style of play and that will tell you whether the goaltending numbers are good or bad. For example, watch Talbot's Save Percentage plummet this year when he goes from the top defense in the league in NY to the worst defense in the league in Edmonton. Will he have changed anything drastically in his game? Probably not. Will his level of play decline as the season goes on? History tells us yes as we look at what happened to Scrivens. He was lights out making 40 high quality saves a night when he first arrived. A year later, he looks mediocre at best because his confidence is shot. He can no longer put together those 40 save highlight reel nights because he's worn out, both physically and mentally. Then all you have to do is look at Devan Dubnyk's career to know what having a poor defense will do to a goaltender. I don't need to bother illustrating the details at this point, but a good defense, or defensive system, will bolster a goaltender long enough for him to gain confidence and figure out how to be a winner. It can also prop up mediocre goaltenders as it has in L.A. and Boston in terms of a backups numbers. I mean, Chad Johnson had a season of .925 Sv % in 27 games. He's nowhere near that good.

There's a significant mental portion to goaltending that is hard to teach. Confidence is a major factor above and beyond a skill set. How do you evaluate that? It's difficult, but posture, frantic movement in the crease, visible reactions to goals all can help paint a picture of what a goalie is thinking. The more calm and cool a goaltender is under pressure, the more reliable they tend to be. The ability to raise your game in pressure packed situations, rather than crumbling under the pressure, is why some goalies have infinitely higher value than others. For example: Reto Berra was awful in 3rd periods, letting in weak goals when the other teams were pushing for a tying or leading goal. Hiller might let in a weak 1st period goal, but often gets stronger as the game goes on. The timing of letting in a weak goal matters a lot to a team's psyche, as well as the goaltenders. I would argue that since the Flames let in lots of shots from the outside, but few high quality chances, that a .915 Sv % is not very good. A .920 or higher percentage is probably what you should expect from the Flames' system of defense. However, if you're on a team that doesn't give up anywhere near 30 shots per game, but when they do allow shots they are in the slot for a high percentage scoring chance, then on that team having a .905 Sv % is probably pretty good.

Then there are goaltenders who rarely let in a weak goal. They are far and few between, but those would be the elites of the league like Price, Rinne, Lundqvist etc.

tl/dr: Context is important in goaltending.