Pheonix Copley
Yeah, Pheonix Copley’s save percentage — .899 – is meh. The NHL league average this season is .904.
Granted, his goals-against average of 2.72 is better than the league average of 2.98, but not ridiculously so.
Yet all the 31-year-old from North Pole does is win games for the Los Angeles Kings. Dude is 23-4-3 this season.
Copley’s 23rd win ties him with current Boston Bruins backstop Jeremy Swayman of Anchorage for second-most single-season NHL wins by an Alaska goaltender – Swayman went 23-14-3 last season. The all-time single-season record for NHL wins by an Alaskan is Ty Conklin’s 25-11-2 mark for the Detroit Red Wings in 2009-09.
Copley tied Swayman by pocketing an ugly, unconventional win Sunday, when he surrendered six goals on just 22 shots in the Kings’ 7-6 win over the St. Louis Blues. According to naturalstattrick.com, Copley’s expected goals-against in the game was just 1.77, so, uh, rough one. Yet, a win. That’s three straight wins for Copley, who is 6-0-1 in his last seven starts.
(Also, Sunday’s game was not exactly a showcase for penalty-killing units, although Los Angeles did deliver a short-handed strike. But the Kings went 4-for-5 with the man advantage and the Blues went 2-for-2.)
Pheonix Copley keeps the Kings in the lead with a huge stop on Saad in tight#GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/zF9Issbtfd
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) March 27, 2023
Meanwhile, Swayman racked another win Sunday too.
The 24-year-old stopped 34 shots in regulation and overtime, then swallowed by shootout bids his way to guide the Bruins to a 4-3 win at Carolina that marked Swayman’s fourth straight win and 50th career win. His expected goals against Sunday was 4.07, according to naturalstattrick.com, so he flourished. Swayman’s save percentage against high-danger shots is .870, second on the circuit, according to the website, which credits him this season with 13.70 goals saved above average, 10th in the league. (His goalie partner, Linus Ullmark, who leads the world in most categories this season, has stopped a jaw-dropping 43.69 goals saved above average, per naturalstattrick.com – damn.)
Swayman also became the first Alaska goalie in history to bag two 20-win seasons. He’s 20-6-4. (Caveat: Only three Alaskans have played goal in the NHL – Conklin, Copley and Swayman).
MOST SINGLE-SEASON NHL WINS BY AN ALASKAN GOALIE
25 – Ty Conklin, Detroit Red Wings, 08-09
23 – Pheonix Copley, Los Angeles Kings, 22-23
23 – Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins, 21-22
20 – Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins, 22-23
18 – Ty Conklin, Pittsburgh Penguins, 07-08
Swayman’s season numbers continue to match his career marks with precision. He owns a goals-against average this season of 2.21 and a save percentage of .921 compared to 2.22 and .920 for his career. He sits third in the league in goals-against average this season and fourth in save percentage.
Oh, and he’s 8-2-0 in his last 10 decisions, with a 2.00 goals-against average and .933 save percentage.
The Kings and Bruins both have nine regular-season games remaining, so Conklin’s Alaska record for single-season NHL wins is in jeopardy. Copley has been splitting starts with Joonas Korpisalo since he joined the Kings from Columbus at the trade deadline. And it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Ullmark and Swayman basically split starts down the stretch since the Bruins have clinched their division and no doubt want Ullmark rested and ready for the Stanley Cup grind.