Stanley Cup playoffs: Marc-Andre Fleury, the worst playoff goalie in hockey

Is Marc-Andre Fleury the worst playoff goalie in hockey right now? The numbers say so, and so do the hilarious GIFs.

May 8, 2013, 4:46 PM UTC

Justin K. Aller

It seems like Marc-Andre Fleury is settling nicely into his role as “That Goalie Who Really Sucks In The Playoffs.” His latest audition came Tuesday night in Game 4 against the New York Islanders.

A brief overview of his performance:

You can tell how Fleury lacks focus merely by watching the clips above, but this isn’t a new phenomenon for the Penguins goaltender in the postseason, and the numbers tell the exact same story. We can look at this years numbers:

2013 Playoffs			GA	SA	Svs	Save %
ECQF Gm 1	Islanders	W	0	26	26	1.000
ECQF Gm 2	Islanders	L	4	42	38	0.905
ECQF Gm 3	Islanders	W	4	36	32	0.889
ECQF Gm 4	Islanders	L	6	24	18	0.750
Totals			14	128	114	0.891

Or his numbers against the Flyers in 2012:

2012 Playoffs			GA	SA	Svs	Save %
ECQF Gm 1	Flyers	L	4	26	22	0.846
ECQF Gm 2	Flyers	L	7	30	23	0.767
ECQF Gm 3	Flyers	L	6	28	22	0.786
ECQF Gm 4	Flyers	W	3	25	22	0.880
ECQF Gm 5	Flyers	W	2	26	24	0.923
ECQF Gm 6	Flyers	L	4	22	18	0.818
Totals			26	157	131	0.834

Or the 2011 Eastern Quarterfinals versus the Lightning:

2011 Playoffs			GA	SA	Svs	Save %
ECQF Gm 1	Lightning	W	0	32	32	1.000
ECQF Gm 2	Lightning	L	4	20	16	0.800
ECQF Gm 3	Lightning	W	2	27	25	0.926
ECQF Gm 4	Lightning	W	2	31	29	0.935
ECQF Gm 5	Lightning	L	4	14	10	0.714
ECQF Gm 6	Lightning	L	4	21	17	0.810
ECQF Gm 7	Lightning	L	1	23	22	0.957
Totals			17	168	151	0.899

Or even the 2010 playoffs, where he played 13 games in two series:

2010 Playoffs			GA	SA	Svs	Save %
ECQF Gm 1	Senators	L	5	26	21	0.808
ECQF Gm 2	Senators	W	1	20	19	0.950
ECQF Gm 3	Senators	W	2	22	20	0.909
ECQF Gm 4	Senators	W	4	30	26	0.867
ECQF Gm 5	Senators	L	4	44	40	0.909
ECQF Gm 6	Senators	W	3	31	28	0.903
ECSF Gm 1	Canadiens	W	3	31	28	0.903
ECSF Gm 2	Canadiens	L	3	21	18	0.857
ECSF Gm 3	Canadiens	W	0	18	18	1.000
ECSF Gm 4	Canadiens	L	3	25	22	0.880
ECSF Gm 5	Canadiens	W	1	33	32	0.970
ECSF Gm 6	Canadiens	L	4	25	21	0.840
ECSF Gm 7	Canadiens	L	4	13	9	0.692
Totals			37	339	302	0.891

Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2009 with the Penguins, Marc-Andre Fleury hasn’t broken a .900 save percentage in a single playoff year. (So close that one time though!) And when you take these numbers cumulatively, it doesn’t get any better:

Year	GA	SA	Svs	Save %
2013	14	128	114	0.891
2012	26	157	131	0.834
2011	17	168	151	0.899
2010	37	339	302	0.891
Cumulative	94	792	698	0.881

How do these numbers compare to other goalies around the league? Here’s a list of every goalie who has played at least 20 playoff games in the last four playoff years, sorted by overall cumulative save percentage:

Rk	Player	Team	Games	GA	SA	Saves	Save %
1	Tim Thomas	Bruins	32	67	1056	989	0.937
2	Henrik Lundqvist	Rangers	28	58	809	751	0.928
3	Jonathan Quick	Kings	36	77	1067	990	0.928
4	Jaroslav Halak	Canadiens/Blues	20	46	608	562	0.924
5	Pekka Rinne	Predators	28	69	818	749	0.916
6	Jimmy Howard	Red Wings	32	86	987	901	0.913
7	Martin Brodeur	Devils	29	67	755	688	0.911
8	Antti Niemi	Blackhawks/Sharks	49	135	1460	1325	0.908
9	Brian Boucher	Flyers	21	49	527	478	0.907
10	Roberto Luongo	Canucks	42	112	1208	1096	0.907
11	Ilya Bryzgalov	Coyotes/Flyers	22	78	721	643	0.892
12	Marc-Andre Fleury	Penguins	30	94	792	698	0.881

There he is, dead last in the league. You could extend this group to include goalies who have played 10 games or more, too, and Fleury would still be dead last. He’s been awful in the playoffs, and since winning the Cup in 2009, he’s been awful with unparalleled consistency.

It’s safe to say that Marc-Andre Fleury is the worst playoff goalie in the NHL right now. (Yes, even worse than his Pennsylvania counterparts over in Philadelphia.) The numbers back it up, the hilarious GIFs back it up, and who knows? Should Pittsburgh lose this series to the Isles, a Ray Shero roster move might even back it up.

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