Comparing the Top 10 Busiest Goalies in the NHL to the AHL. Which League has the Stronger Numbers?

How do the busiest goaltenders in the NHL matchup against their AHL counterparts? 

The Hockey News looked at the top 10 minute-chewing goaltenders at both the NHL and AHL levels, comparing the number of games played, goals-against-average, save percentage, win/loss record, number of shutouts, and minutes banked to answer some questions about the quality of the player, and whether the quantity of ice-time impacts performance. 

Name Team GP GAA SV% W L SO TIME

Alexandar Georgiev - COL - 20 GP, 2.90 GAA, 0.899 SP, 13 W, 6 L, 1 SO, 1180 MIN

Jonas Johansson - TBL - 19 GP, 3.44 GAA, 0.892 SP, 8 W, 5 L, 2 SO, 1099 MIN

Connor Hellebuyck - WPG - 18 GP, 2.49 GAA, 0.913 SP, 11 WIN, 6 L, 1 SO, 1083 MIN

Sergei Bobrovsky - FLA - 18 GP, 2.41 GAA, 0.912 SP, 11 W, 6 L, 2 SO, 1071 MIN

Thatcher Demko - VAN - 18 GP, 2.26 GAA, 0.924 SP, 12 W, 6 L, 2 SO, 1062 MIN

Juuse Saros - NSH - 19 GP, 3.05 GAA, 0.900 SP, 9 W, 10 L, 1 SO, 1044 MIN

Tristan Jarry - PIT - 18 GP, 2.47 GAA, 0.918 SP, 8 W, 9 L, 3 SO, 1020 MIN

Elvis Merzlikins - CBJ - 18 GP, 3.04 GAA, 0.911 SP, 6 W, 8 L, 0 SO, 1006 MIN

Mackenzie Blackwood - SJS - 18 GP, 3.72 GAA,  0.899 SP, 3 W, 11 L, 0 SO, 968 MIN

Jake Oettinger - DAL - 16 GP, 2.44 GAA, 0.920 SP, 10 W, 4 L, 1 SO, 961 MIN

Name Team GP GAA SV% W L SO TIME

Matt Villalta - TUC - 16 GP, 2.34 GAA, 0.926 SP, 10 W, 5 L, 0 SO, 948 MIN

Jiri Patera - HSK - 14 GP, 3.17 GAA, 0.900 SP,  6 W, 6 L, 0  SO, 834 MIN

Jakub Skarek - BRI -  13 GP, 3.27 GAA, 0.884 SP, 3 W, 9 L, 0 SO, 771 MIN

Dustin Wolf -CAL - 13 GP, 2.50 GAA, 0.920 SP, 10 W, 3 L, 2 SO, 744 MIN

David Rittich - ONT - 13 GP, 2.53 GAA, 0.908 SP, 6 W, 5 L, 3 SO, 734 MIN

Chris Driedger - CV - 13 GP, 2.24 GAA, 0.916 SP, 7 W, 5 L, 2 SO, 724 MIN

Justus Annunen - COL - 12 GP, 2.49 GAA, 0.910 SP, 7 W, 2 L, 0  SO, 724 MIN

Joel Blomqvist - WBS - 13 GP, 2.49 GAA, 0.910 SP, 6 W, 3 L, 0 SO, 723 MIN

Brandon Bussi - PRO - 12 GP, 2.58 GAA, 0.917 SP, 6 W, 4 L, 0 SO, 721 MIN

Jesper Wallstedt - IA - 12 GP, 2.03 GAA, 0.937 SP, 8 W, 4 L, 2 SO, 710 MIN

The Takeaways

To start, it's important to note that the top ten featured NHL goalies are seeing significantly more ice-time than their AHL counterparts, with the highest ice-time in the NHL clocking in at an exhaustive 1180 minutes for Colorado's Alexander Georgiev opposite the AHL leader Matt Villalta with 948 minutes. In contrast, the tenth-ranked busiest goalie in the NHL comes in at 961 minutes (Jake Oettinger), so it's natural that numbers could wain due to an increase in puck-on-net-possibilities. 

The AHL prides itself on being able to rotate and develop its tandem goaltenders, with numerous clubs splitting starts down the middle between a combination of rookie and veteran goaltenders. Whereas a hot hand is a hot hand in the NHL, and in a league where winning is the be-all, end-all, he who stops the pucks is entitled to chew the minutes. 

Of the top 10 NHL goaltenders for ice-time, four have goals-against-averages above 3.00, with another three having save percentages below .900. In contrast, only two goaltenders in the AHL top 10 have logged GAA's above 3.00, with only one sitting at a sub .900 save percentage. In fact, six of the ten AHL goalies represented have GAA's at or below 2.50 per game. 

In terms of wins and losses, the workhorses in both leagues tend to be winners. In the AHL only Jakub Skarek of Bridgeport has a sub-500 win percentage with a woeful 3-9 win/loss record. In the NHL four of the top 10 have win/loss records below .500. 

Finally, the NHL's 10 has a combined 13 shutouts against nine in the AHL, with the AHL totals coming off the performances of just four goaltenders. 

The verdict? While it's hard to make an apples-to-apples comparison given the skew in ice-time generated towards the NHL level and the major league notion of steering work towards the hot hand, we do see a tendency for steadier numbers at the AHL level. Higher minutes tend to - naturally - lead to more opportunities for burnout and rough performances. Though there's no denying that repetition can only sharpen the skills of a goaltender. 

Stars tend to turn in star performances though, and the number of shutouts at the NHL-level from the elite goalies on the planet pays proof to that fact.

Coupled with the reality that the bulk of the AHL's top 10 leans towards the younger side, hands in the hockey world can look proudly upon a bright future in the crease at the pro level.