Welcome to the first installment of the Daily Driver. The season is already passed one-third of the way and we can begin to see how teams have performed, and what to expect the rest of the way, this season. As well, it’s a chance to see how the Blue Jackets are stacking up against their (still new) Division.
1. New York Islanders
Pros: We’re only two years removed from a time when the New York Islanders and GM Garth Snow were filling the empty spots on their roster with a few waiver pickups. This summer the Islanders had, arguably, the best offseason of any team. Coming off of a great draft, Snow was given the green light from new ownership to spend a little more money. He did so very wisely. First, the goaltending was finally taken care of when Snow gave Jaroslav Halak a 4-year deal. Their biggest problem was taken care of right away. Chad Johnson, a solid backup option, was also signed for two-years.
Inking fancy stats darling Mikhail Grabovski and his buddy Nikolay Kulemin to 4-year deals shored up any depth problems the team had up front. Meanwhile, Snow also traded for Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk without having to give up any serious pieces in return. The Islanders had an underrated defensive core, but with Leddy and Boychuk now stepping in as the 1-2 defenders, nobody is underrating this team’s defensive prowess, or their ability to chip in on offense.
With this team’s young core of players now a little more experienced, and several key players signed through 2017-18, it’s looking like this team will be a serious threat for several seasons. And they still have plenty of cap space to work with ($5.7M).
Garth Snow has obviously shown an ability to build a really good team. They’re sure to be a big hit when they move to Brooklyn next season.
Cons: The biggest con is their numbers of goals that have been scored against them. 89 goals on the season isn’t a huge problem (it’s probably better than average) but teams like Pittsburgh and Chicago have allowed 71 and 64, respectively. The biggest question, is Jack Capuano the right guy to take this team all the way? Perhaps someone like Dan Bylsma is what they need, but for now, we have to wait and see.
Numbers: The Islanders have the highest corsi-for percentage, 5v5 close in the Metropolitan, 5th overall at 53.5%. They’re one of four teams generating 1 shot attempt per minute of ice-time (5v5 close), joining Chicago, San Jose and Dallas. They are allowing 52 shot attempts per 60 minutes.
The Islanders are 4 points back from Pittsburgh.
2. Pittsburgh Penguins
Pros: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, etc.
Make no doubt about it, these top two spots are a neck and neck race between Pittsburgh and the Islanders. Nobody else is even close.
The Penguins made a wholesale change in the front office this summer. New GM Jim Rutherford made some smart moves in free agency, signing Christian Ehrhoff and Blake Comeau.
When James Neal was traded to Nashville, many were left scratching their heads, but Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling have played very well next to Crosby and Malkin.
Meanwhile, Marc Andre Fleury’s .930 save percentage and six shutouts this season has been nothing short of impressive.
Cons: The medical staff allowed players with the mumps to visit a children’s hospital.
Numbers: The Penguins are playing more of a shot suppression game than the Islanders. Surprisingly, the Penguins are third best at suppressing shots. They are only one of four teams allowing less than 50 shots per 60 minutes in close situations, joining Detroit, Tampa Bay and Winnipeg(?). However, Pittsburgh isn’t generating as many attempts as the Isles: 54
Their corsi-for percentage is 51%.
Fleury has been impressive, but the Penguins’ PDO (save percentage + shooting percentage) is one of the highest in the league at 102.5. This is an insane number that is very likely to come back down at some point this season.
However, maybe shot suppression and the lighter workload is the answer Fleury was looking for.
3. Washington Capitals
Pros: Barry Trotz has taken the Capitals, a team that was only able to score on the power play last season, and helped them become a well-rounded team.
Alex Ovechkin is not having one of his best seasons, but he’s still been able to score a goal in every other game this season.
The Capitals have a few young players, Andre Burakovsky and Evgeny Kuznetsov, providing some much-needed scoring depth when Ovechkin hasn’t been able to.
Cons: The Capitals scoring depth is something that will need to be addressed eventually. Since I can even remember the Capitals have been a top-heavy team when it comes to scoring.
Brooks Orpik’s contract.
Goaltending. Braden Holtby’s save percentage is .914 this season. That’s below league average. Justin Peters hasn’t been much help as a backup. His save percentage is .872, allowing 22 goals on 172 shots.
The Capitals spent to the cap limit and still have little to show for it.
Numbers: You have to look at Washington and think that they are (always) a few pieces away from being serious contenders. However, with Trotz behind the bench the Caps have stifled their opponents, only allowing 50.5 CA/60. They’ve also been able to generate more than 55 shot attempts per 60 minutes giving them a 52.3 corsi-for percentage in close situations, second best in the Metropolitan Division.
4. New York Rangers
Pros: Rick Nash is on pace to score 57 goals this season, yet he’s still 3 goals behind Tyler Seguin. That’s just a ridiculous offensive output.
Cons: The negatives weigh heavy on this team, but they’re close to turning it around and becoming a contender again.
Losing Anton Stralman and gaining Tanner Glass.
Henrik Lundqvist is notorious for his slow starts, but his save percentage is .912 this season. That’s sort of surprising given their PDO of 102.1.
Numbers: The Rangers are riding percentages. Their PDO is 102.1 and their corsi-for percentage is 49.8%. If they can bring their possession back up and Hank gets hot, they could make another run.
Meanwhile, their top two defenseman (by ice time), Marc Staal and Dan Girardi, are laying eggs on the ice. Staal’s CF% is 47.6 and Girardi is 44%. I guess it’s time to quit complaining about Jack Johnson.
5. New Jersey Devils
The Devils are a very old team. Most of their roster is over 30.
Their biggest improvement was removing Martin Brodeur from their roster. While Cory Schneider has played well (despite being severely overworked) the team isn’t always giving him the goal support he needs. Although, on the off chance that New Jersey finds the back of the net, it’s one of those games where Schneider gives up just as many, if not more.
Conversely, backup goaltender, Keith Kinkaid, has a .942 save percentage, but has yet to win a game.
The Devils still know how to keep the opponent from getting many shots off (less than 50 per 60 minutes at 5v5) but they are just barely getting as many shots as they give up.
They’re so starved for an offensive spark that they recently gave Scott Gomez a deal, who’s been hanging around practicing with the team, and he’s been decent. 6 points in 9 games and 19 minutes per.
At this point it looks like the Devils aren’t going to make the playoffs, despite having an incredible CF% last season. I wouldn’t blame the coach on this one. They’re just too damn old.
6. Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers 4th-line is one of the highest paid in the league. Vincent Lecavalier and RJ Umberger have been terrific additions. Combined, they’ve put up an impressive 11 points in 48 games between them.
Astounding depth.
Meanwhile Steve Mason is the goalie of the present and future in Philadelphia.
Oh, and Andrew MacDonald is such a stud on defense.
Between the four of them, they’re making $18.2 Million this season.
Seriously, it’s like the front office was looking at analytics and decided it was bull.
However, all of their numbers are just slightly better than Columbus. Slightly better at suppressing shots, slightly better at generating shots, and Mason has actually been decent this season.
7. Columbus Blue Jackets
We finally get to Columbus. I’m trying to look at this as objectively as possible.
The Jackets are 7-0-1 in their last 8, and that’s really good. However, the puck possession just isn’t there this season. At all.
At times it has been, but they’re just not consistent enough.
Couple that with the most insane injury list I’ve ever seen, and it’s a recipe for disaster.
I’m not going to get too deep into it, because that will be a post for a later date. However, their PDO is just above 98%, and steadily rising. We really need another month to see if this team is good enough for the playoffs, or if they should just tank. They’re still just a few points out of a playoff spot, but they really need to work on their possession. It’s dire.
8. Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have some really good possession numbers this season at 52.5% 5v5. So what’s going on?
Well, they’ve scored 42 goals at even strength, and had 62 goals against. Cam Ward might be the worst starter in the league. His even-strength save percentage is 29th in the league at .907%.
Ron Francis was recently given full control of this team, and it’ll take a few seasons before this team is really his team. As a minority owner, he’s certain to have long-term success on his mind. However, drafting high in the 2015 Entry Draft is a nice way to start.
Statistics used herein from NHL.com and puckalytics.com
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