The butterfly posture has become synonymous with goaltending at every level of the game, but there is a cost to dropping repeatedly and forcefully into a position the human hip wasn’t designed to accommodate, which is why several NHL teams measure the number of times their goalies do it.

Some refer to it as a “drop rate.” Others a “down count.” Each is a measurement of the number of times during practices and games a goalie drops into the butterfly position, with their knees on the ice and their legs splayed out to the sides at varying degrees to take away the bottom half of the net from shooters.

“I don’t know the word but every time we go down, I think it counts,” goalie Sam Montembeault said of the tracking done by his Montreal Canadiens. “Last year, I played 62 games, obviously the

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