It was not a good start for Darcy Kuemper. The Washington Capitals goalie faced two shots in the first period against the New York Islanders, and both went in.
Two goals on two shots means a save percentage of – hold on, I’m triple-checking this, okay yeah: zero. Consulting the historical records, that’s a million-way tie for the worst save percentage you can have.
The first goal came in the first minute, as Adam Pulock got an accidental screen from John Carlson.
22 SECONDS IN. pic.twitter.com/L1irvBbFH5
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) November 2, 2023
Kuemper didn’t react; he never saw it.
The second goal came on an odd-man rush as Hudson Fasching served to Simon Holmstrom.
Hudson Fasching and Simon Holmstrom play catch and extend the lead for the @NYIslanders! 🔵🟠 pic.twitter.com/9SweOBnc6L
— NHL (@NHL) November 2, 2023
Four Capitals skaters allowed that odd-man, and the fifth one, John Carlson, made it worse with a bad pinch.
The Islanders took no more shots that period. They attempted only four more. The Capitals controlled 82 percent of the attempts and 88.5 percent of the expected goals. It was domination except for the scoreboard.
Kuemper returned for the second period. He allowed one more goal but made seven saves, so that’s better.
There have been many, many worse periods than Kuemper’s. In 2019, Braden Holtby allowed three goals on three shots before getting pulled nine minuted into a game against the Avs. Available data makes it impossible to know how many goalies have had zero-save periods, but we are confident that .000 is the worst save percentage you can have.
Headline photo: @emilymlongtin/IG
