The Real Reason NHL Save Percentage is Down
- NHL save percentage has fallen to .900 in 2024-25, the lowest level since .898 in 1995-96, after peaking at .915 in 2015-16.
- Vasilevskiy identifies shot quality reduction—not just better shooters—as the primary reason goalies are saving a lower percentage of shots.
- Modern NHL shooters are coached to avoid low-danger shots, with some teams treating an unscreened shot from distance as a possession turnover.
- Younger, faster, and more skilled forwards combined with fewer defense-first defenders and rules favoring offense are compounding the save percentage decline.
- Vasilevskiy noted shot volume has dropped significantly since his 2014-15 rookie season, when 30-35 shot games were common nightly.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made several interesting points about the much talked about and seemingly continuous decline in NHL save percentage during his appearance on the InGoal Radio Podcast this week, so we wanted to dig into some of the numbers with some help from our friends at Clear Sight Analytics.
For those who missed Vasilevskiy’s key points about NHL-wide save percentage currently being all the way down to .900—that would be the lowest level since a .898 in 1995-96 if it stays there all season—the Tampa Bay Lightning star and 2019 Vezina Trophy winner pointed to facing fewer easy shots now.
“I feel like guys don’t waste shots anymore,” Vasilevskiy said. “You know, back when I came into the League [in 2014-15], it used to be 30 or 35-plus shots each game. It was almost every night, you felt good about your game, you were into it all the time. Nowadays, guys don’t waste shots. It’s all about the quality. They’re all looking for that perfect play, perfect pass, perfect shot.”
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