Blackhawks goalie Spencer Knight is struggling in one surprising area

The Chicago Blackhawks have begun the 2026-27 season with just two wins. It's a disappointing total for fans who expected Patrick Kane’s return and several young stars taking a step forward to put the team in a playoff spot rather than another shot at the Draft Lottery. Surprisingly, the Blackhawks survived without captain Connor Bedard, who made his season debut Tuesday night (Oct. 13), as the team won 5-3 over Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

In that contest, goalie Spencer Knight picked up his second win of the season, stopping 24 of the Penguins’ 27 shots and finishing with an .889 save percentage, his third-highest total of the year. Over five games, Knight has posted a save percentage above .900 only once, a .926 SV% in Chicago’s first win of the year, a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues.

When you dig into Knight’s performance via NHL.com’s EDGE statistics, a few fascinating numbers stand out, showing areas he must improve in if the Blackhawks hope to finish with more wins than losses. 

Knight is currently playing below his career averages

As a first-round, 13th overall pick by the Florida Panthers at the 2019 Draft, Knight has yet to become a bona fide No. 1 goalie who contends for the Vezina Trophy. In 155 games between Florida and Chicago, he’s produced only a 70-61-20 record with eight shutouts. He’s compiled career averages of 2.86 GAA and .903 SV%. 

In just five games this year, Knight has posted 3.64 GAA and an .885 SV%, far worse than fans are used to. Last year, he started the season 2-2-1 in five outings with 2.00 GAA and .937 SV%. Moreover, in those games, Knight posted only one sub-.900 SV% game, in a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. 

One staggering reason for such a drastic drop in totals? Mid-range scoring opportunities.

Blackhawks are playing a dangerous game in their own end

According to EDGE, Knight has a .780 mid-range SV%, almost 100 points lower than the NHL average of .878 SV%. Before his win against the Penguins, he was below .700, so one good game significantly improved his numbers. However, he remains below the 50th percentile, and it's clear that giving up goals in the slot between the faceoff circles is an area of concern for Knight and the Blackhawks.

Overall, Knight’s season .885 SV% is slightly below the NHL average of .891, while he’s ahead of the curve regarding high-danger chances, currently at .836 SV% compared to the average of .809 SV%. Among goalies who have played at least two games, Knight ranks in the 67th percentile for EDGE statistics, including his current high-danger SV%.

Looking back at last year's totals, he finished with a .902 SV%, ranking in the 66th percentile and six points above the league average of .896. His high-danger SV% of .847 was well above the league average of .811, while his mid-range SV% of .869 was higher than his current total but below the NHL average of .884.

Even though five games is a small sample size, Knight is off to a slower start and needs to clean up his game in certain areas, with help from his teammates. It takes everyone pulling in the same direction, and goalies can only do so much. Especially if the guys in front are giving up opportunities where people get the most goals. Thankfully, Knight has plenty of time to find his groove and improve his stats, showing the hockey world he can be a true No. 1 goalie.

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