After a first round that was highlighted by some incredible goaltending performances - including some of the record-breaking variety - things appear to have settled in Round 2.
All eight of the remaining teams are now five games deep in the second round and with a few more games under their belt it appears skaters are beginning to find the holes in the opposing netminders, as goalies are not stopping pucks at nearly the same rate as they were in their opening series.
| Goalie | 1st Round SV% | 1st Round G.A.A. | 2nd Round SV% | 2nd Round G.A.A. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pekka Rinne | .976 | .070 | .928 | 2.03 |
| Jake Allen | .956 | 1.47 | .912 | 2.47 |
| Henrik Lundqvist | .947 | 1.70 | .909 | 2.75 |
| Marc-Andre Fleury | .933 | 2.52 | .925 | 2.61 |
| Cam Talbot | .927 | 2.03 | .913 | 3.30 |
| John Gibson | .926 | 2.59 | .901 | 2.78 |
| Braden Holtby | .925 | 2.36 | .876 | 2.78 |
| Craig Anderson | .921 | 1.94 | .898 | 3.30 |
There isn't a single goalie among the eight remaining clubs who is posting better numbers than they did in Round 1. In fact, some are playing leaps and bounds worse than in the conference quarterfinals, including Pekka Rinne, Jake Allen, Henrik Lundqvist, and Craig Anderson who are all giving up more than one goal per game more than they did in Round 1.
Of course, the most likely reason is that teams are now playing tougher competition in the second round, but even still these numbers are puzzling.
During the regular season, the average save percentage was .913, while the averaging goals-against average was 2.59. As we can see above, six goalies are stopping pucks at or below average rate and six are also allowing more goals against in Round 2.
It's an interesting trend, but who doesn't love more goals?
(Stats courtesy: Hockey-Reference.com)
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