Detroit Red Wings goaltender Thomas Greiss hasn’t had the best of seasons in his first campaign in the Motor City. With a record of 2-14-4, most will point to the fact that the team in front of him isn’t the greatest.
Still, others will be left wondering why a capable goaltender hasn’t posted better stats. In fact, Greiss happens to be ranked dead last in the NHL in one key analytical aspect.
He’s ranked 87th with a goals saved above expected line of -19.7:
For this unfamiliar with this particular stat, take a look at how Last Word on Sports describes it:
“This is the key stat to use when evaluating goalies. We learned about expected goals in the last article, and this expands upon that. This stat evaluates how many goals a goalie saved above what he was expected to based on the shot quality he faced. The formula is simply expected goals against minus goals against. Unlike goals saved above average, goals saved above expected (GSAx) accounts for the quality of shots a goaltender faces and levels the playing field for goalies on good defensive teams and bad defensive teams. This is why it appears to be one of the best metrics for goaltenders.”
Greiss has sat behind goaltender Calvin Pickard the past two games, and has watched the former taxi squad goaltender rack up two straight wins.
Can Greiss turn things around?
