How to use NHL Goalie saves

Open Goalie saves. A saves prop is a bet on how many shots a goalie stops. It depends mostly on two things: whether that goalie actually starts, and how many shots the other team takes. This board puts both next to the line.

Open the full-size screenshot (opens in a new tab)

Who starts

Goalie starts are projected, never confirmed until warmups. The board decides who is likely to start in this order:

1. If a book has posted a saves line for a goalie, that goalie is the projected starter.
2. If the team played yesterday (a back-to-back), the backup usually starts. That rule is right about 92% of the time.
3. Otherwise, the team's usual starter.

Tags on the row tell you why: Usual starter or Back-to-back. If the wrong goalie starts, most books void the saves bet, but check your book's rules.

Reading a row

• Player: the goalie, tonight's opponent, puck drop, and how the opponent ranks in shots, for example WPG 4th most shots.
• Last 10 starts · saves: one bar per start, oldest left, against the dotted line. Green bars cleared the line, red bars didn't.
• Hit: starts over the line out of the last 10.
• Saves / start: the average.
• Sv%: save percentage, the share of shots on goal stopped.
• Saves: tonight's line and the best over price.

Your first five minutes

1. Pick the slate. Step through dates with the arrows.
2. Full game or 1st period. Some books post 1st-period saves. Switch here to see that board on its own lines.
3. Sort. The default is Saves vs line, average saves against the posted line. Pick another sort from the menu.
4. Check the opponent's volume. A goalie facing a team that takes the most shots in the league has more chances to rack up saves.
5. Open a goalie. Click a row for their full history and the saves ladder: how often they cleared each line, with each line's price.

Tips for newer bettors

• Volume beats talent. Saves counts go up when a goalie faces lots of shots, even if they let in a few. A great goalie on a team that controls the puck may make few saves.
• Short outings happen. A goalie pulled after a bad first period finishes far under. That risk is always there.
• Check the news. Confirmed starters are usually announced at the morning skate or warmups. Re-check before you bet.

Troubleshooting

• A goalie has no line: books post saves lines only for the goalie they expect to start, and some only post late in the day.
• The starter changed: projections update through the day. Refresh closer to puck drop.
• Fewer than 10 bars: the goalie has fewer than 10 starts in the window. The count says so.