February 9, 2024 by Bob Schmidt

1. Adin Hill, Vegas Golden Knights

January rank: 1

Season stats: 12-2-2, 1.94 GAA, .936 SV%, 2 shutouts

January stats: 2-0-0, 2.00 GAA, .950 SV%

Key January performance: 40 saves on 42 shots in a 3-2 win vs. New York Islanders – Jan 23

After being on the injured list for over a month, Hill made his triumphant return to the lineup just before All-Star break in a fairly epic fashion. On the road on Long Island, last season’s Stanley Cup winning goalie faced a season high 42 shots for the win and then three days later, made another 36 saves to beat the powerhouse New York Rangers. Hill didn’t just pick up where he left off before getting injured, he may have actually even raised his game. How important is Hill to the Golden Knights? Vegas lost their next four games with the Comox, BC native on the injured list and went a total of 6-8-1 with a 3.20 goals against average before his return. Obviously, the loss of Jack Eichel has played a pivotal role as well in the plateauing of the Vegas season but the stability that Hill provides between the pipes can not be overlooked. His 76.5% quality starts percentage is a significant upgrade from his goaltending partner, Logan Thompson’s, 55.2%.

2. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

January rank: 3

Season stats: 23-9-3, 2.20 GAA, .924 SV%, shutouts

January stats: 6-3-0, 1.78 GAA, .940 SV%, 1 shutout

Key January performance: 29 save shutout vs. Columbus Blue Jackets – Jan 9

The shutout against the Blue Jackets gave Hellebuyck a season high five-game win streak. The Jets’ all-star goalie won four of his first six starts in January and had not lost two games in a row since November 30. That’s a 16-game span in which he went 13-1-2. The 30-year-old Commerce, Michigan native is under contract for the next seven seasons and there is no reason to believe that he won’t be at, or near, the top of his game for a minimum of at least five of those seasons. That gives General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff the luxury of primarily focusing on other areas of his team that might need improvement as the Jets starting goalie spot seems to be locked down by, arguably, the greatest netminder in the game today.

3. Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins

January rank: 2

Season stats: 16-3-7, 2.30 GAA, .924 SV%, 3 shutouts

January stats: 5-1-3, 2.46 GAA, .917 SV%, 1 shutout

Key January performance: 31 save shutout vs. New Jersey Devils – Jan 15

Swayman had only one regulation time loss in January and finished the month on a five-game win streak. The Bruins are utilizing a 1A/1B goalie system with Swayman sharing the duties with the defending Vezina Trophy winner, Linus Ullmark (ranked 11th), but Swayman holds the edge over his partner in wins, save percentage, goals against average, shutouts, quality starts percentage, and goalie point shares. He has all three of the Bruins shutouts. The 25-year-old Anchorage, Alaska product posted a career-high of 24 wins in 2022-23. He already has 16 wins this season and could very well reach the 30-win mark for the first time in his career.

4. David Rittich, Los Angeles Kings

January rank: NR

Season stats: 5-1-3, 2.09, .925

January stats: 3-1-3, 2.35, .920

Key January performance: 40 saves on 42 shots in a 4-2 win vs. Nashville Predators – Jan 31

I admit to doing a double take when David Rittich’s name popped up near the top after all the tabulations were completed. The 31-year-old is in his eighth NHL season and on his fifth NHL team. The Kings signed him to a one-year contract this past summer and assigned him to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Ontario Reign, to start the season. An injury to Pheonix Copley (unranked) prompted a call up to the big club. The struggling play of Cam Talbot (the biggest drop in the power rankings from fifth to 44th) saw Rittich get an opportunity for more playing time. The Kings struggled mightily in January going 3-7-5 for a total of 11 points. The one they call Big Save Dave was in net for all three of the wins and was the goalie of record for nine of those eleven points. In that span, Rittich finished in the top ten in 14 of the 25 statistical categories used for these ranking tabulations, nine of which he was in the top three.

5. Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks

January rank: 6

Season stats: 26-8-1, 2.44 GAA, .920 SV%, 5 shutouts

January stats: 9-1-0, 2.39 GAA, .926 SV%, 2 shutouts

Key January performance: 31 save shutout vs. Chicago Blackhawks – Jan 22

Demko finished the month on an eight-game winning streak. In six of those wins, he made 30 plus saves. In only two of the ten games he played in January, the 28-year-old registered a save percentage of under .913, and he still won both of them. The Canucks are a legitimate Stanley Cup contender this season and there is a strong possibility that Demko could have one arm around the Cup and his other arm holding the Vezina come end of June.

6. Connor Ingram, Arizona Coyotes

January rank: 7

Season stats: 17-11-1, 2.61 GAA, .916 SV%, 5 shutouts

January stats: 4-4-1, 2.83 GAA, .910 SV%, 1 shutout

Key January performance: 38 save shutout vs. Minnesota Wild – Jan 13

Where would the Arizona Coyotes be without Connor Ingram? The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native has been providing playoff quality goaltending on a team that is projecting to miss the post season yet again. His five shutouts tie him for the league lead. 29% of the Coyotes’ wins with Ingram in net have come via shutout. The former Kamloops Blazer was between the pipes for all of the Coyote wins this month. Arizona has been outshot in 67% of their games this season. but Ingram keeps his team competitive on an almost nightly basis as his 66.7% quality starts percentage would indicate.

7. Laurent Brossoit, Winnipeg Jets

January rank: 41

Season stats: 7-3-2, 2.07 GAA, .926S V%

January stats: 2-0-1, 0.98 GAA, .966 SV%

Key January performance: 37 sabes on 38 shots in a 3-1 win vs. Anaheim Ducks – Jan 5

Brossoit is another surprise name that makes his first appearance on this list. The 2011 sixth-round pick of the Calgary Flames has made the most of his playing opportunities this season in the difficult role of being Connor Hellebuyck’s backup goalie. Difficult? Absolutely. Hellebuyck is one of the elite goaltenders in the world. As his backup, not only do you get minimal playing time, but you also don’t want your team to notice a drastic downgrade in the quality of goaltending they are used to playing in front of. That’s a tall order and a lot of pressure. Brossoit has done a more than admirable job. He has not given up more than two goals in his last seven starts and has allowed more than three goals against only once this season and that was in his first game of the season.

8. Jonathan Quick, New York Rangers

January rank: 10

Season stats: 10-4-2, 2.43 GAA, .915 SV%, 2 shutouts

January stats: 1-2-1, 2.49 GAA, .907 SV%

Key January performance: 29 saves on 31 shots in a 7-2 win vs. Ottawa Senators – Jan 27

He is bending but not breaking just yet. Quick is coming off a five-game stint. where he went 0-4-1 with a 3.27 goals against average and a .884 save percentage. He finished the month off with two strong showings, posting a .923 save percentage in a loss to the Kings and a .935 save percentage in the win versus the Senators as noted above. Those two outings, combined with disappointing months from Charlie Lindgren (dropping from 4th to 12th), Anthony Stolarz (dropping from 8th to 13th), Alex Nedeljkovic (dropping from 9th to 31st), and Cam Talbot (dropping from 5th to 44th), actually had Quick move up two spots this month. The 2012 Conn Smythe Trophy winner is undoubtedly still on this list because of the start he had to the season, winning seven straight games at one point and going 9-0-1 during a ten-game stretch, and the impact that start had on the 25 statistical categories used for these rankings. Quick is still prominent on eleven of these categories and is still at the top of the league when it comes to defending high danger scoring chances.

9. Joey Daccord, Seattle Kraken

January rank: 11

Season stats: 15-9-9, 2.32, .921, 2 shutouts

January stats: 7-4-1, 2.08, .931, 1 shutout

Key January performance: 35 save shutout vs. Golden Knights – Jan 1

One positive to take from another disappointing season by the Kraken, has been the emergence of Daccord as the team’s number one goalie. Coach, Dave Hakstol, and General Manager, Ron Francis, had high hopes that a healthy Philipp Grubauer (unranked) would stabilize the goaltending situation this season in Seattle. Not only has Grubauer battled another lengthy injury this season, but has also struggled when he has been healthy, only delivering 23.5% for quality starts in his 17 games. Enter Joey Daccord. At one point this season, the 2015 7th round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators, strung together eight consecutive wins and has 15 of the team’s 21 wins. In his four previous NHL seasons, Daccord had never played more than eight games in a season and had three career wins. If he can keep this level of play up, the 27-year-old would be in line for a significant pay increase when his contract ends at the end of next season.

10. Jacob Markstrom, Calgary Flames
January rank: 22

Season stats: 14-13-2, 2.60 GAA, .912 SV%, 2 shutouts

January stats: 5-3-0, 2.27 GAA, .931 SV%, 1 shutout

Key January performance: 32 save shutout vs. Blackhawks – Jan 27

The Flames were expected to have a bit of a bounce back season in 2023-24 after a bitterly disappointing 2022-23. There was a lot of finger pointing as to who were the reasons why for that Flames collapse, and two players seemingly took the brunt of the finger pointing; the disaster that was Jonathan Huberdeau last season, and the crumbling of the wall that used to be Markstrom. His .892 save percentage and 44.8% quality starts percentage were his lowest in eight seasons. Though the Flames appear to be on a trajectory of finishing worse than they did last season, they can take some encouragement in seeing that their 34-year-old Swedish netminder appears to be returning to form. After a rough start in which he went 0-6-1 in seven consecutive starts in mid October, Markstrom only lost seven more games in his next 21 starts. His current 62.1% quality start percentage is better than the 60.3% he had in his 2nd Team All-Star and Vezina Trophy nominee season of 2001-22.