Lehner has chance at playoff shutout record with Golden Knights

NHL.com goes Behind the Numbers to examine trends during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Today, a look at Vegas Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner and his success throughout the postseason.

Robin Lehner has entered elite territory among goalies who have participated in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and advanced stats suggest he could continue to make history.
The Vegas Golden Knights goalie leads the 2020 postseason with four shutouts. In the history of the NHL playoffs, there have been 23 occasions when a goalie has at least four shutouts in a single postseason, including 17 tied with four (Clint Benedict of the Montreal Maroons did it twice, in 1927-28 and 1925-26). Martin Brodeur holds the record with seven, accomplished when the New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup in 2003. He had four in 2001 when the Devils lost to the Colorado Avalanche in seven games in the Cup FInal.
Lehner is the fourth goalie in the past 15 years to have four shutouts. Marc-Andre Fleury, his teammate this season, did it with the Golden Knights in 2018, joining Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins and Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks, who each did it in 2011.
Lehner's four shutouts have been in his past seven starts, the most recent in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final, a 3-0 win against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday to even the best-of-7 series in Edmonton, the hub city for the conference finals and the Stanley Cup Final.
Game 3 is Thursday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).

This postseason, Lehner is 9-4-0 with a .924 save percentage and 1.84 goals-against average, which is the best among the goalies remaining in the tournament.
Can Lehner catch Brodeur with seven shutouts, or at least break away from the 17-goalie pack at four?
He has enough opportunity if he maintains the pace established during the past seven games, when he has a .944 save percentage, saving 151 of 160 shots
First, Lehner needs one more shutout to join Jean-Sebastien Giguere of the Anaheim Ducks, Miikka Kiprusoff of the Calgary Flames and Nikolai Khabibulin of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are tied for third with five each.
Lehner's save percentage is lower than where Giguere (.945), Kiprusoff (.928) and Khabibulin (.933) each finished his postseason, but each played at least 21 games. Lehner could play up to 12 more games if the Golden Knights advance to the Cup Final and if Vegas elects to keep starting him over Fleury.
Dominik Hasek is second on the list with six shutouts, accomplished with the Detroit Red Wings when they won the Stanley Cup in 2002. Hasek played 23 games that postseason and had a .920 save percentage and a 1.86 GAA. His final shutout came in Game 4 of a five-game Cup Final win against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Even-strength save percentage is another stat that allows us to see where Lehner rates among those he is chasing. Lehner has a .925 save percentage during 5-on-5 play, compared to Hasek's .932 and Brodeur's .942.
Shot attempts differential, a statistic tracked beginning in the 2009-10 season, can also help see what the future might hold for Lehner. SAT measures puck possession by comparing how many shot attempts (on net, blocked, missed) one team has versus its opponent during 5-on-5 play.
The Golden Knights (plus-287) have the highest SAT in the postseason since the stat debuted. What does this mean for Lehner? It suggests that the Golden Knights possess the puck significantly more than their opponent, so Lehner should face fewer shots on goal.
Vegas is allowing the fewest shots-against per game (24.7) in the 2020 postseason. New Jersey averaged 26.3 shots-against in Brodeur's seven-shutout run (sixth in 2003). Detroit averaged 24.6 (thirrd in 2002) when Hasek had his six shutouts.