What is Shutout?

A game in which a goaltender allows zero goals.

What this tells us

When a goaltender records a shutout, his team won the game while the opposing team never scored. It's the most dominant individual performance a goalie can have — not just stopping shots, but stopping *all* of them for a full game.

Limitations

A shutout requires two things: elite goaltending and strong team defense. A goalie on a weak defensive team might deserve a shutout but never get one because his teammates allow too many high-danger chances. Conversely, a goalie on an excellent defensive team might record shutouts partly because the team keeps shots to a minimum. That's why we also show expected goals against (xGA) and goals saved above expected (GSAX), which isolate the goalie's actual performance from his team's shot prevention.

Example

A top-tier starter might record 5–8 shutouts over an 82-game season. A backup or journeyman goalie might go entire seasons without one.