Is Francouz better than Grubauer?

[LTC Pain]

And if he posts a .925 in the playoffs again this year than I won’t care about his regular season performance as much.

You'd care if his current Save Percentage DOES NOT get us into the playoffs. And that's how he's currently trending!

 

[LTC Pain]

Scream Grub's positives all you want. If Bednar keeps going with Grub's the Avs may MISS the playoffs!

 

[Pokecheque]

Scream Grub's positives all you want. If Bednar keeps going with Grub's the Avs may MISS the playoffs!

 

[The Abusement Park]

You'd care if his current Save Percentage DOES NOT get us into the playoffs. And that's how he's currently trending!

His save % is .01% below league average. Could he have played better lately? Sure. But he hasn’t gotten a lot of help from defense over the last few games either so...

 

[avsfan9]

Frankie should get a chance to run with it. Grub is an awesome goalie though. Would not have made the playoffs without him last year

 

[cody275]

You gotta put trust in the guy that single handedly got you into the playoffs last year and then played at a very high level in said playoffs. That also isn't me saying that Frank has also look like a sieve in 4 of his last 5 games. Just like Grubauer.

Single handedly got you into the playoffs? It was him and Varly not stopping a beachball for multiple months that caused the need for that run at the end of the year to begin with.

Don't get me wrong, he played well down the stretch and the playoffs, but lets not pretend that the team wasn't in that situation because neither goalie was capable of making a save no matter how the team in front of them was playing any night. I don't count what he did as carrying the team on his back, despite how well he played. His inconsistency concerns me moving forward because he hasn't shown this year that a difference should be expected moving forward regarding it.

I'd rather give Franky some more games and see if he can cut back on his odd stinkers too. If he can't, at least they'll know they have to look elsewhere for a stop gap (if they plan on one of the prospects stepping in eventually) or a longer term fix. I'd much rather someone more consistent than someone with the highs that Grub has shown but you're stuck dealing with the lows.

Grub seems like a solid guy, he's definitely an average-ish NHL goalie. It's getting to the point I'd rather them look elsewhere. (Same situation with Varly for his end here, great team guy but not consistent enough towards the end for the team).

 

[The Abusement Park]

Single handedly got you into the playoffs? It was him and Varly not stopping a beachball for multiple months that caused the need for that run at the end of the year to begin with.

Don't get me wrong, he played well down the stretch and the playoffs, but lets not pretend that the team wasn't in that situation because neither goalie was capable of making a save no matter how the team in front of them was playing any night. I don't count what he did as carrying the team on his back, despite how well he played. His inconsistency concerns me moving forward because he hasn't shown this year that a difference should be expected moving forward regarding it.

I'd rather give Franky some more games and see if he can cut back on his odd stinkers too. If he can't, at least they'll know they have to look elsewhere for a stop gap (if they plan on one of the prospects stepping in eventually) or a longer term fix. I'd much rather someone more consistent than someone with the highs that Grub has shown but you're stuck dealing with the lows.

Grub seems like a solid guy, he's definitely an average-ish NHL goalie. It's getting to the point I'd rather them look elsewhere. (Same situation with Varly for his end here, great team guy but not consistent enough towards the end for the team).

Look I’m not trying to say Grub is anything special. But the hate he’s getting is very over the top considering he’s a league average goalie who’s been left out to dry a bit over some of the last games. Could he have played better lately? Sure. But he could also use a little help from his team as well.

 

[Sea Eagles]

Both goalies are elite, and compliment each other. Keep them both. Goalies have peaks & gutters (Lebowski shout out), ups and downs. Love them both. Love this tandem as much as I loved Varly / Jiggy.

 

[nightonthesun]

I think that neither goalie is elite by NHL standards, but I do agree that you gotta abide the peaks and gutters.

Certainly not hanging the Philly loss on Grub, that's for sure.

 

[S E P H]

Alright so I wanted to get a little bit more in-depth with this...

If people want to say that Grubauer hasn't been good, that is a statement I can agree with. I was going through some stats over the weekend and didn't realise that his save percentage at this point is .908%. Is that bad? Not even in the slightest, but it isn't great either...it is somewhere in the middle.

I went through all the relevant teams' starting goalers and found this...

(BOS) Tuuka Rask: .927%
(DAL) Ben Bishop: .925%
(WSH) Ilya Samsonov: .923%
(NYI) Thomas Griess: .922%
(BOS) Jaroslav Halak: .920%
(VAN) Jacob Markstrom: .917% (I suggest that he's played much better)
-------------------------------------------------------------
(TBL) Andrei Vasilevsky: .917%
(NYI) Semyon Varlamov: .915%
(STL) Jordan Binnington: .911% (Has had a .879% save over his last 10 games)
(TOR) Frederik Andersen: .910% (Has played at .893% level since Jan 1st, 2020)
(CGY) David Rittch: .910%
(COL) Phillip Grubauer: .908%
(LV) Marc-Andre Fleury: .908%
(PHI) Carter Hart: .905%
(CAR) Petr Mrazek: .904%
(ANA) John Gibson: .904%
(PHI) Brian Elliott: .901%
(PIT) Matt Murray: .900%
(NSH) Pekka Rinne: .898%
(FLA) Sergei Bobrovsky: .897%
(WSH) Braden Holtby: .896% (Has let in 4 goals in 6 out of last 10 starts)

Now if you calculate the high-dangerous scoring chance save percentage, Grubauer is 11th in the entire league after you get rid of some two games played and backup goalers...

1. Rask: .885%
2. Binnington: .865%
3. Merzlikins: .863%
4. Rinne: .862%
5. Bishop: .859%
....
11. Grubauer: .846%

Grubauer is also 12th in the entire league in regards to high-dangerous goals saved above-average after you get rid of some backup goalers and rookies who've played like four games maximum...

1. Binnington: 10.01
2. Rask: 8.64
3. Rinne: 7.57
4. Bishop: 6.62
5. Blackwood: 6.28
....
12. Grubauer: 4.26

Grubauer also faces the 10th most rush attempts against in the league. The goalers who have faced the least are both the Bruin netminders along with the Wild goalers, Carter Hart, and Samsanov in comparison...

1. Andersen: 63
2. Price: 59
3. Fleury: 57
4. Gibson: 56
5. Vasilevskiy: 54
....
10. Grubauer: 43

If there is one thing that Grubs can fix on, it is rebound shots faced as he has faced the 12th most at 95 and in comparsion first place is Bobrovsky at 138, Hellebuyck at 137, and Gibson at 118. Additionally, Avs are currently 23rd in the league when it comes to high-dangerous scoring chances generated, but do have a positive number in regards to high-dangerous chances vs against percentage, which is good enough to be 10th (51.72%). Avs as a team do have the 9th best high-dangerous save percentage as well, which backs up Grubauers numbers. Lastly, Avs have a good team-combine save percentage that is fourth in the league at 92.96% which is only behind the Blue Jackets, Stars, and Bruins.

So if I was going to guess based on the results I dictated in this post, what I think is killing Grubauer and his save percentage is the penalty kill. Now I don't have time to go through the PK numbers, but I'll estimate that Grubauer is probably close to Murray and Rinne's level and numbers once you filter out PK. Some coaches say that your goaler has to be your best PKer, I don't disagree with that, but when you see the eye test there is so much wrong on the PK from a combination perspective. Grubs isn't helping his teammates with his rebound control and number of them, but his teammates aren't doing a good job at anticipating the play, staying stationary, puck watching, and not clearing loose pucks in front of Philipp.

In my conclusion, I still suggest that Grubauer is being negatively targeted by certain selective vision posts. True he hasn't played extremely well to this date and some of his streakiness is definitely real, but I am also under the impression that good teams don't always have to rely on their goalers. Avs have good underlying numbers for the most part, perhaps with a high PDO and shooting percentage, but nothing insanely out there. What Grubauer needs to be for us is what Chris Osgood was for the Detroit Red Wings, someone who can keep momentum on our side with a timely save. For majority of his career he has been that, but I suggest that special teams have exacerbated his numbers and negativity from posters.

TL;DR Version: Grubauer is playing like a top 12 goaler in the NHL, at least on 5v5. Penalty kill he has struggled just like his teammates have.

 

[AvsRobin]

Neither of them is a top 5 goalie in the league, but we have a solid tandem that I think 20 teams would prefer over their current one.

Very cost friendly at the moment too. They are by no means a problem.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

 

[DarthProbert]

Frankie should get a chance to run with it. Grub is an awesome goalie though. Would not have made the playoffs without him last year

They could even spin it that it's to keep Grubby rested for the playoffs.

 

[LTC Pain]

Good job Grub

 

[ThatAvsGamer]

He's probably better than Grub.

That being said, our goaltending is amazing. Cheap and winning more games than Varly!

 

[Avs_19]

 

[Pokecheque]

Not that I think that this is reflective of his character in any way, since a lot of hockey players don't like doing them, but you could tell Groob was not exactly thrilled about the 1st star interview last night.

 

[ETTHAKING67]

Scream Grub's positives all you want. If Bednar keeps going with Grub's the Avs may MISS the playoffs!

Grub saw that post and said '' F*ck it''

.974% since

 

[The Abusement Park]

Grub saw that post and said '' F*ck it''

.974% since

The Grub hate was very over the top here. He had a couple bad games, but there were also some where the defense just left him hanging. The guy has proven to be at least an average NHL starter.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

Obviously the way to go for Bednar in the future seasons is to play Grub as the #1 goalie in Oct, Nov, and Feb to the end of their season including playoffs...and play the backup goalie in Dec and Jan.

 

[AvsGuy]

I think Grub and Francouz are both greatly effective in their roles. Once Francouz gets a few starts in a row, he has somewhat faltered. Grubauer is a solid starter, and Francouz is a fantastic reliever. Let’s not rock the boat.

 

[EXTRAS]

Grubauer Monthly Splits
Oct - 916
Nov - 903
Dec - 910
Jan - 910
Feb - 937
Overall - 916

Francouz Monthly Splits
Oct - 926
Nov - 922
Dec - 930
Jan - 909
Feb - 942
Overall - 931

Frank should be the starter unless he falls off.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Grubauer Monthly Splits
Oct - 916
Nov - 903
Dec - 910
Jan - 910
Feb - 937
Overall - 916

Francouz Monthly Splits
Oct - 926
Nov - 922
Dec - 930
Jan - 909
Feb - 942
Overall - 931

Frank should be the starter unless he falls off.

Grub has had harder starts, but what this tells me is that we have two very good goalies which is a good problem to have.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

Need to see it long-term to say for sure, but he is on some kind of run.

If Francouz plays close to this level down the stretch, I’m definitely rolling with him in the playoffs.

He’s on a similar run to Dwayne Roloson, that year he took the Oilers to the finals.

 

[Ararana]