The Pittsburgh Penguins have allowed 32 goals in their last six games. That is not a typo. They are allowing, on average, 5.33 goals per game over their last six contests. In those six games, they have amassed one win—a comeback win, during which they fell behind 3-0 within the first 27.5 minutes and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic was benched after allowing three goals on fifteen shots. 

Goaltending has been the biggest problem all season. The revolving door of Nedeljkovic, Tristan Jarry (who was waived at one point), and Joel Blomqvist has produced nothing but misery.

There is a statistic in the National Hockey League: goals saved above expected (GSAX). It measures how many goals a goalie has allowed compared to their expected total. As can be expected, a positive GSAX is good. For example, the odds-on favorite to win the Vezina Trophy, Connor Hellebuyck, has a GSAX of +32.2, saving an average of 0.697 goals above expected per game. All statistics for GSAX have been derived from moneypuck.com. 

Now that we have the best goalie in the game for reference, here are Money Puck’s numbers for the three Penguins’ goaltenders:

According to these numbers, Ned has been the best goalie, “only” allowing 0.2 more goals per game than one would expect. How the hell are you supposed to win hockey games when more than one out of every ten pucks ends up in your net? Blomqvist has a save percentage of .884, Nedeljkovic .892, and Jarry also .884 in NHL games this season. 

Among all goalies that have played 15 games (which is the criterion I will use, as that is the number of games that Blomqvist has played), Jarry ranks 55th out of 61 tenders in GSAX per game. Blomqvist ranks 52nd. Nedeljkovic ranks 48th. In other words, you have three goalies in the bottom fourteen in the league. 

The problems stretch beyond their inability to stop shots. They are never ready to play. At the time of writing, Penguins goaltenders have allowed a goal on the first shot they have faced in thirteen of the 63 games they have played. A .793 save percentage on first shots is abysmal, and is absolutely inexcusable. 

The bottom line is, when you have three goalies that are the human equivalent of Swiss cheese, you have zero goalies. The acquisition of a new one is a necessity. Trading for a young, promising goaltender at the deadline should be a priority. 

One model to follow may be that of the Chicago Blackhawks. Defenseman Seth Jones, like the Penguins’ Erik Karlsson, was on a presumably immovable contract. The ‘Hawks retained a large portion (a little over 25%) of Jones’s monstrous salary, but were able to acquire Panthers’ goalie Spencer Knight and a first-round pick by doing so. If general manager Kyle Dubas can do something similar with Erik Karlsson, Rickard Rakell, or any other trade-able assets to improve the goaltending room, it would be a massive success. 

To be clear, I do not solely blame the net-minders for this disastrous season. A lot of the high-danger chances they have faced have been the result of poor defensive play and/or turnovers. However, it would be greatly beneficial to have someone that can make a big save from time to time, rather than knowing that the puck will find twine.