Goaltender Perseverence

Goaltender Perseverence is an NHL statistic, invented by Jeff Z. Klein and Karl-Eric Reif, that attempts to factor the number and quality of shots faced by a goaltender into an existing metric called Save Percentage. The rationale behind Perseverence is that, according to Klein & Reif, "the more shots you face, the less likely the chance that you have time to get set for each shot, to be in position for each shot, to see each shot." Perseverence is found by:

Perseverance = (6 x (Saves/Shots Faced x 100) + Shots Faced per 60 minutes)/.6

The usefulness of Perseverence is debated, however. The formula is weighted arbitrarily, for one thing, and there as is of yet no evidence that Klein & Reif's assertion about the inverse proportionality of shots faced and save percentage is even true. Still, the equation does well at identifying the NHL's best goaltenders, year-in and year-out.

External link

"Goaltender Perseverance: a meaningless stat", by Iain Fyffe of Puckerings