November 2, 2023 by Bob Schmidt

Each month this season, I will be tabulating a goaltending power rankings chart and sharing the top 10 here on The Heavy Hockey Network. This chart comes to form based on calculations stemming from 24 statistical categories from five different sources. I have also included a key performance from the month passed that helped them reach the top 10.

1. Jonathan Quick – New York Rangers (29 save shutout vs. Oilers – Oct. 26)
2. Semyon Varlamov – New York Islanders (34 save shutout vs. Blue Jackets – Oct. 28)
3. Jeremy Swayman – Boston Bruins (23 save shutout vs. Blackhawks – Oct. 24)
4. Jake Oettinger – Dallas Stars (38 saves on 39 shots win vs. Penguins – Oct. 24)
5. Thatcher Demko – Vancouver Canucks (22 save shutout vs. Blues – Oct. 27)
6. Joseph Woll – Maple Leafs (27 saves on 27 shots win in relief vs. Lightning – Oct. 21)
7. Linus Ullmark – Boston Bruins (30 saves on 31 shots win vs. Ducks – Oct. 22)
8. Logan Thompson – Vegas Golden Knights (36 saves on 39 shots win vs. Jets – Oct. 19)
9. Lukas Dostal – Anaheim Ducks (35 saves on 37 shots win vs. Blue Jackets – Oct. 24)
10. Jonas Johansson – Tampa Bay Lightning (32 save shutout vs. Hurricanes – Oct. 24)

The minimum requirement to qualify for these power rankings after the first month of the season, was two games played. That explains some of the more surprising names on this list. Both Quick and Varlamov are the number two goalies on their respective teams. You would be hard pressed to find them ranked above Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Sorokin, two of the league’s elite goaltenders, on anyone’s depth chart of the New York clubs.

Quick made two starts and played three games in total in October and only allowed one goal. He led the NHL in 10 of the 24 categories used for the purpose of creating this chart. Varlamov played in only two games, the minimal requirement to qualify for the first month of power rankings. He only won one of them, which was a shutout, but his performances in both games had him leading seven of the 24 statistical categories used for the rankings.

As more games are played, the sample sizes of each goaltender grows, so you will see a lot more of the expected names pop up and paint a truer picture of the 2023-24 top goalies.