Marc-Andre Fleury vs. Jonathan Quick

Goaltending is an integral part of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. To better understand the strengths and weaknesses of each goaltender, the last 100 goals allowed for each goaltender were charted, with the help of Double Blue Sport Analytics from Upper Hand Inc., to see what patterns emerge.

Vegas Golden Knights No.1 goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and his Los Angeles Kings counterpart Jonathan Quick have five Stanley Cup championships between them, but the similarities don't end there. Each has reined in some of his positional aggression during the past few years, yet each remain among the more active, explosive - and at times, still aggressive - goaltenders in the NHL.
RELATED: [Complete Golden Knights vs. Kings series coverage]
Fleury and Quick meet in the Western Conference First Round, which begins with Game 1 at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS, ATTSN-RM, FS-W).
Here is an in-depth look at each goalie's game:

Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights

Fleury, 33, has been a different goalie since Mike Bales, the former Pittsburgh Penguins goalie coach, rebuilt his post play and reined in the puck-chasing habits that led to meltdowns in the postseason between 2010 and 2013, but there were signs of the old, more aggressive Fleury under Dave Prior, the goalie coach of the Golden Knights. With a career-best .927 save percentage, Fleury has blended old and new nicely, but some notable trends that come with him painting outside the lines more regularly.

Goal trends

Attack off the rush:Of the goals tracked for this project the past two seasons, 38.5 percent were scored off the rush and 61.5 percent on play within the offensive zone. Fleury's numbers this season (49 percent off the rush and 51 percent from in-zone play) are a trend worth noting.
Vegas was slow to sort out its defensive-zone coverage on several goals, leading to open seam passes and backdoor tap-ins, but Fleury's positioning outside his posts also played a role, leaving more lateral distance to cover when cross-ice passes got through. Don't confuse this with Fleury pre-Bales. He isn't chasing the puck, but Prior wants his goalies to hold ground rather than flowing backward and, even as fast as Fleury is, he can be attacked with lateral plays, with 44 percent of his tracked goals including a play across the slot line, well above average.
Along the ice: Aggression is more than vertical positioning; it also encompasses lateral positioning. Here, too, we see a trend that matches Fleury playing beyond his posts more than other goalies. Fleury allowed more goals along the ice this season, both outside the skates (28 percent this season compared to an average of 20.6 among the tracked playoff goalies and 19 percent for Fleury last season), and between the legs (19 percent this compared to a 12.9 percent average and 12 percent for Fleury last season). Goals outside the skates often indicate backdoor tap-ins, but the increase in five-hole goals is a sign of Fleury getting stretched out laterally and having to open up with big side-to-side pushes.
Patience pays off high:The move to holding ground more and not moving backward in the blue paint has paid off with more success on high shots, especially to the glove side. It was hard to ignore the totals last season, with 18 high-glove goals allowed in the regular season and 12 high-glove goals among the 31 he allowed with Pittsburgh in the first two rounds of the playoffs. This season, Fleury only gave up 12 high-glove goals among the 100 tracked, and his high- and mid-glove total of 15 was well below the 25 percent average for playoff-starting goalies.
Noticeable numbers:Fleury was 10 percent above average with 24 percent of his tracked goals coming on shots or plays where the puck was moving one way and was passed or pulled back and shot in the other direction.

Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings

Quick, 32, has backed off his positional aggression during the past couple of seasons, at least when it comes to playing way out in front of his crease against the rush, a trend that once made him susceptible to quick shots off lateral passes from just inside the blue line. Quick, who posted his best save percentage (.921) since 2012, also backed off during play in his own end, though he can still get his heels at, or past, the edge of the crease, and out beyond his posts laterally.

Goal trends

Soft pads, five-hole, soft rebounds:Quick allowed 17 goals through the five-hole, which is only four above the average, but the manner that some were scored was notable. Quick prefers his pads soft and flexible, which lets him move explosively while keeping them strapped tighter than most goaltenders. It led to several goals slipping through, or just under, his legs when he appeared to get down to the ice in time. Three hit the top of his pads in the butterfly and went through, making shots along the ice more dangerous than they should be. Quick's softer pads also mean softer rebounds, closer to the net, compared to stiffer models, which played a role in some of the 32 rebound goals allowed among his past 100 goals allowed, 10 percent above average among playoff starting goalies.
VH down right wing:Quick played a big role in goalies adopting reverse-VH as a post-play staple but he still uses traditional VH, with the short-side pad up against the post and the back pad down along the ice, on glove side rushes and it led to a few five-hole goals from bad angles. He will also use a VH-style stance, with the glove up by his ear, as a unique blocking position on straighter shots, and although it's often effective, there is blocker-side exposure.
Low on screens:Quick is active searching out pucks through traffic, often getting low to look around bodies in front, and using a wide stance with arms spread rather than tight and upright when he can't find the release point of the shooter, which opens space high if you can get the puck through.
Noticeable numbers:Quick gives up fewer than most goalies above the pads, which isn't surprising given how well he builds vertical coverage with his glove and blocker even when he's been spread out, or in the splits, making it even more important to hit the top half of the net.