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Save percentage (SV%) shows the share of shots a goalie stops; goals-against average (GAA) shows goals allowed per 60 minutes; and a shutout means the opposing team was held scoreless. Each statistic measures something different, so use the relevant season and game type when comparing goalies.
What does save percentage (SV%) mean?
Save percentage is saves divided by shots faced. The NHL glossary defines it as the number of saves divided by shots faced: NHL glossary. NHL stats pages commonly display it as a decimal: .900 means the goalie stopped 90 percent of the shots counted as shots faced.
Formula: saves ÷ shots faced
Arithmetic illustration: A goalie stops 27 of 30 shots: 27 ÷ 30 = .900, or 90.0 percent. This is an example calculation, not a reported NHL result.
What does goals-against average (GAA) mean?
GAA expresses goals allowed as a rate per 60 minutes of playing time. The NHL glossary gives the formula as goals allowed multiplied by 60, divided by minutes played: NHL glossary.
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Formula: goals allowed × 60 ÷ minutes played
Arithmetic illustration: If a goalie allows 2 goals in 30 minutes, the calculation is 2 × 60 ÷ 30 = 4.00 GAA. This illustrates the formula; it is not an NHL result.
GAA is a time-based rate, while a team’s goals-against total is a team statistic. The team total may include goals allowed while a different goalie was playing, as well as empty-net goals, so it is not interchangeable with one goalie’s GAA.
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What counts as a shutout?
A shutout is a game in which the opposing team does not score. If two goalies combine to keep the opponent scoreless, the NHL records a club shutout and credits neither goalie with an individual shutout. That rule is stated in the NHL glossary.
How should you compare SV%, GAA, and shutouts?
| Stat | What it measures | Denominator or basis | How to read it |
|---|---|---|---|
| SV% | Share of shots faced that were stopped | Shots faced | Higher means a greater share of counted shots were saved. |
| GAA | Goals allowed normalized to a 60-minute rate | Minutes played | Lower means fewer goals allowed per 60 minutes. |
| Shutouts (SO) | Games in which the opponent was kept scoreless | Count of qualifying games, not a rate | Individual credit depends on the NHL’s shared-shutout rule. |
SV% and GAA can tell different parts of the story because one is shot-based and the other time-based. Neither alone isolates a goalie from team defense or the circumstances of the shots faced. An NHL.com analysis from the Seattle Kraken discusses the limits of commonly available goalie measures and the importance of context: Seattle Kraken analysis of goalie statistics.
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- Use SV% to compare the share of shots stopped, GAA to compare goals allowed per playing time, and shutouts to count scoreless games.
- Check whether a number is for an individual goalie or a team; team totals and individual rates answer different questions.
Where can you check current NHL goalie statistics?
Use the official NHL statistics interface for current figures. Confirm the season, game type, and whether the page is showing season, multi-season, or game-level data before comparing numbers. Its available views and historical coverage can depend on when data became official.
Historical benchmarks should stay dated: NHL.com reported a league-average SV% of .915 in 2015–16 and .910 through 483 games of the season underway in December 2019. Those figures were used in a 2019 article about a new NHL.com statistic, not as present-day league averages (NHL.com, December 16, 2019).
Team outcomes also matter for some distinctions beyond goalie rates. For example, NHL.com described the William M. Jennings Trophy in April 2024 as awarded to goaltenders who played at least 25 games for the regular-season team that allowed the fewest goals; that team-level criterion is different from an individual goalie’s SV% or GAA (NHL.com, April 19, 2024).
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