Goalie usage
NHL Goalie Starts by Team 2026-27
How often each team's starter plays, how often the backup gets the net, and who is taking over or losing the job. Goalies are ranked G1, G2 and G3 by recent starts, and each keeps one colour. Open a team for every game of the season.
Jesper Wallstedt has the heaviest workload in 2026-27, 19 of 22 Wild starts (86%). 5 teams ride a workhorse, 10 teams split the net 1A/1B, 5 teams are changing hands (ANA, EDM, NJD, OTT, VGK).
Who is changing, out or splitting
Changing hands
- DucksLukas Dostal 4 of last 10
- OilersDevon Levi 3 of last 10
- DevilsConnor Hellebuyck 7 of last 10
- SenatorsLinus Ullmark 2 of last 10
- Golden KnightsAdin Hill 6 of last 10
Starter out
None right now.
1A/1B splits
Gaining starts
- Connor HellebuyckNJD33% → 70%
- Laurent BrossoitANA25% → 50%
- Jonas JohanssonOTT19% → 40%
- Leevi MeriläinenVAN62% → 80%
- Justus AnnunenNSH25% → 40%
Gaining starts: share of the last 10 starts vs the season. Early in the season these are a handful of games, so read them as who is playing, not as a trend.
Atlantic Division
| Team | Status | Last 10 (old → new) | Season split | Starter | Backup | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bruins20 GP | Workhorse | 15 GS · 75% · L10 7 | 5 GS · 25% · L10 3 | – | ||
 Lightning20 GP | Clear No. 1 | 15 GS · 75% · L10 7 | 5 GS · 25% · L10 3 | – | ||
 Canadiens20 GP | Clear No. 1 | 12 GS · 60% · L10 7 | 8 GS · 40% · L10 3 | – | ||
 Red Wings21 GP | 1A/1B split | 13 GS · 62% · L10 5 | 7 GS · 33% · L10 4 | Postava 1 | ||
 Maple Leafs22 GP | 1A/1B split | 13 GS · 59% · L10 5 | 9 GS · 41% · L10 5 | – | ||
 Panthers21 GP | 1A/1B split | 11 GS · 52% · L10 5 | 9 GS · 43% · L10 5 | Black 1 | ||
 Sabres20 GP | 1A/1B split | 11 GS · 55% · L10 4 | 7 GS · 35% · L10 4 | Lyon 2 | ||
 Senators21 GP | Changing hands | 10 GS · 48% · L10 2 | 7 GS · 33% · L10 4 | Johansson 4 |
Metropolitan Division
| Team | Status | Last 10 (old → new) | Season split | Starter | Backup | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Capitals18 GP | Clear No. 1 | 13 GS · 72% · L10 7 | 5 GS · 28% · L10 3 | – | ||
 Islanders19 GP | Clear No. 1 | 13 GS · 68% · L10 6 | 6 GS · 32% · L10 4 | – | ||
 Rangers21 GP | Clear No. 1 | 13 GS · 62% · L10 7 | 2 GS · 10% · L10 2 | Shesterkin 5, Reimer 1, Martin 0 | ||
 Hurricanes21 GP | Clear No. 1 | 13 GS · 62% · L10 7 | 8 GS · 38% · L10 3 | – | ||
 Blue Jackets18 GP | 1A/1B split | 10 GS · 56% · L10 5 | 8 GS · 44% · L10 5 | – | ||
 Penguins20 GP | 1A/1B split | 12 GS · 60% · L10 6 | 8 GS · 40% · L10 4 | – | ||
 Flyers22 GP | 1A/1B split | 11 GS · 50% · L10 5 | 11 GS · 50% · L10 5 | – | ||
 Devils21 GP | Changing hands | 7 GS · 33% · L10 7 | 10 GS · 48% · L10 3 | Daws 4 |
Central Division
| Team | Status | Last 10 (old → new) | Season split | Starter | Backup | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Wild22 GP | Workhorse | 19 GS · 86% · L10 8 | 3 GS · 14% · L10 2 | – | ||
 Blackhawks20 GP | Workhorse | 16 GS · 80% · L10 8 | 4 GS · 20% · L10 2 | Commesso 0 | ||
 Stars19 GP | Workhorse | 15 GS · 79% · L10 8 | 4 GS · 21% · L10 2 | – | ||
 Blues20 GP | Workhorse | 15 GS · 75% · L10 8 | 5 GS · 25% · L10 2 | – | ||
 Jets21 GP | Clear No. 1 | 15 GS · 71% · L10 7 | 4 GS · 19% · L10 1 | Daws 2 | ||
 Avalanche21 GP | Clear No. 1 | 15 GS · 71% · L10 7 | 6 GS · 29% · L10 3 | – | ||
 Predators20 GP | Clear No. 1 | 14 GS · 70% · L10 6 | 5 GS · 25% · L10 4 | Murray 1 | ||
 Mammoth21 GP | Clear No. 1 | 14 GS · 67% · L10 6 | 7 GS · 33% · L10 4 | – |
Pacific Division
| Team | Status | Last 10 (old → new) | Season split | Starter | Backup | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Canucks21 GP | Clear No. 1 | 13 GS · 62% · L10 8 | 8 GS · 38% · L10 2 | – | ||
 Sharks22 GP | Clear No. 1 | 15 GS · 68% · L10 8 | 7 GS · 32% · L10 2 | – | ||
 Kings18 GP | 1A/1B split | 11 GS · 61% · L10 5 | 7 GS · 39% · L10 5 | – | ||
 Golden Knights21 GP | Changing hands | 10 GS · 48% · L10 6 | 11 GS · 52% · L10 4 | – | ||
 Kraken18 GP | 1A/1B split | 9 GS · 50% · L10 5 | 9 GS · 50% · L10 5 | – | ||
 Flames20 GP | 1A/1B split | 10 GS · 50% · L10 5 | 9 GS · 45% · L10 4 | Sergeev 1 | ||
 Ducks20 GP | Changing hands | 11 GS · 55% · L10 4 | 5 GS · 25% · L10 5 | Husso 4 | ||
 Oilers21 GP | Changing hands | 10 GS · 48% · L10 3 | 9 GS · 43% · L10 5 | Tomkins 2 |
Goalie data stories
How the game changed, told through the numbers.
- The Schedule Got Kinder. The Second Night Didn’t. In the Original Six era about a third of NHL games were a team’s second night in a row, and one goalie played both.
- Hainsworth’s 22 Was Mostly Arithmetic George Hainsworth’s 22 shutouts in 1928-29 have stood for almost a century.
- A Shootout Shooter Needs More Than 200 Tries Before Skill Outweighs Luck. The Most Anyone Has Taken Is 135. T.J.
- The Last Goalie Who Played Every Night A rule ended the every-night goalie in the mid-1960s, and the 1990s brought him back.
How to read it
G1 starter, G2 backup, G3 third goalie and beyond. The colour follows the goalie, so a goalie who loses the net keeps the same colour while the label changes.
Roles are ranked on recent starts: a start 10 games ago counts half as much as the latest one. Season share is plain starts over games.
Statuses: Workhorse Clear No. 1 1A/1B split Changing hands Starter out. Hover a status for its rule.
Tonight's confirmed and expected starters are on starting goalies today; save % and form are in the goalie hub.
Frequently asked questions
How do you decide who is the starter, backup and third goalie?
From recent starts, not season totals. Every start counts, but a start 10 games ago counts half as much as last night's, so a goalie who takes over the net moves to G1 within a handful of starts and a starter losing the job slides to G2. G1 is the starter, G2 the backup and G3 and beyond are everyone else who dressed. Each goalie keeps one colour on the page.
What do the team statuses mean?
Workhorse: the No. 1 has at least 75% of recent-weighted starts. Clear No. 1: 60-75%. 1A/1B split: under 60%. Changing hands: a different goalie leads the last 10 starts than the season. Starter out: the season's starts leader is on the injury report or has not dressed in the last 3 games. Too early: fewer than 5 games played.
Where does the data come from?
The starter flag and goalie lines in each official NHL boxscore, updated through the night after games end. Injury tags come from the current injury report and only appear for this season.
Which NHL teams split their goalie starts?
Teams under 60% for their No. 1 right now: BUF (Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 11, Colten Ellis 7); CBJ (Jet Greaves 10, Cam Talbot 8); CGY (Dustin Wolf 10, Devin Cooley 9); DET (John Gibson 13, Daniil Tarasov 7); FLA (Jacob Markstrom 11, Akira Schmid 9); LAK (Darcy Kuemper 11, Anton Forsberg 7); PHI (Dan Vladar 11, Joseph Woll 11); PIT (Arturs Silovs 12, Sergei Murashov 8); SEA (Joey Daccord 9, Philipp Grubauer 9); TOR (Sergei Bobrovsky 13, Anthony Stolarz 9).