The following stats were tracked during manually during the game. The raw totals for the tracking stats and the glossary are at the end.
At some point I’ll write up a detailed description of each category and my specific rules for each. You can find more information on Zone Exits here and Zone Defence here. Feel free to leave any questions in the comments or on Twitter (@wheatnoil).
I’ve highlighted some of the better (blue) and worse (red) performances in each category. All time on ice stats are from www.naturalstattrick.com . I’ve provided some commentary after each section and at the end. Feel free to fire me a question or comment if you have one about the numbers.
Game: 52
Opponent: Minnesota Wild
Score: 5-2 Bad Guys
Zone Exits
The zone exits were pretty good after two periods but tailed off a bit in the 3rd as a whole. Sekera and Benning were the standouts in this game, with Benning particular leading the way, moving the puck effectively and often. Russell on the other hand… 2 controlled exit passes and 8 missed passes, 5 of which ended up coming right back in to the Oiler zone without so much as a zone entry for Edmonton.
Zone Defence
This was not a bad game as far as zone defence goes. Russell was struggling here after 2, but pulled his number up in the 3rd. Meanwhile, Larsson looked pretty good after two but dropped a touch below average in the 3rd. Overall, it was a pretty solid game for most with only Klefbom being the main standout here.
Puck Retrievals
I wouldn’t read too much in to anyone’s individual number here. The overall numbers were suprisingly small as Minnesota didn’t forecheck as aggressively, probably due to their lead. As a team, though, the Oilers did not handle the Wild well when they did forecheck.
Defensive Zone Passing
Most of the turnovers happened in the 1st or the 3rd. Larsson and Sekera turn the puck over often. Larsson, particularly, touched the puck the least but it turned it over 5 times in the defensive zone. Davidson, meanwhile, didn’t get dinged with a single defensive zone turnover. Instead, he passed the puck over to his partner (Benning) 50% of the time he touched the puck. This is the second game I’ve tracked like that with his pairing. That appears to be their standard game plan, though Davidson does have some passing ability himself. Benning, for his part, got it out of the zone over 60% of the time when he touched the puck. Russell and particularly Sekera did a good job moving the puck up to the forwards. Klefbom had a pretty standard puck moving game for him.
Raw Total Tracking Stats
(click to enlarge)
Summary:
Minnesota is a good team and Oilers were out of this one early. Most of what we saw in this game from a shot attempt perspective was score effects. However, I didn’t think the Oilers played a terrible 1st period. There were a few tire-fires off of failed zone exits and turnovers and the Wild cashed. After that, the Oilers cleaned up their game (especially in the middle frame) but it was too late. Every time they got close or gained momentum, Minnesota would cash an opportunistic one the other way and that was it.
Klefbom had a pretty standard solid game for himself. Larsson was a little below average, both in terms of puck moving and zone defense, while his turnovers were particularly poor. Sekera had a high event game, with great zone exits, good zone defence, and a high number of d-zone turnovers. Russell struggled this game moving the puck out. His give-away leading to a goal in the 2nd was a bit of a back-breaker given the Oilers controlled that period. Davidson didn’t look great via zone exits, but his zone defence was solid and he didn’t turn the puck over once. He focused on passing it to Benning who did a great job exiting the zone with it. That pairing is a solid 3rd pair who could probably pinch hit in 2nd pairing minutes as needed. As it was, Benning ended up with the 4th most minutes at 5×5.
After the recent run the Oilers had, this game is a good reminder that they have a little ways to go yet. They’re a genuine playoff team, but they’re not at the level of the Wild yet.
Next up: Nashville!
Definitions:
Zone Exit
Controlled Zone Exit: Getting the puck out of the zone maintaining possession
Carry: Skating the puck out of the zone, the defenceman keeps possession himself
Pass: Passing the puck out of the zone, the team maintains possession
Uncontrolled Zone Exit: Getting the puck out of the zone but losing possession to the other team
Dump: No clear target when getting the puck out
Missed Pass: Appears to have a clear target but pass is not complete
Zone Defence
Times Targeted: Number of times a defenceman was specifically targeted by the opposing player on a zone entry against
Denied Entry: Defenceman prevents the opposing team from entering the zone, forcing them to regroup or causing them to lose possession in the neutral zone
Controlled Entry Against: Opposing team is able to enter the zone with possession of the puck (maintained for at least one second)
Dump In Against: Opposing team is gets the puck into the zone but without possession of the puck
Untargeted: Controlled and Uncontrolled Entries against where either a defenceman was not the primary player targeted on entry OR an odd man rush not directly caused by one of the defencemen
Defensive Zone Passing
Total Touches: Number of the times the defenceman clearly has the puck on his stick in the defensive zone
To D-Partner: Successful defensive zone pass to another defenceman within the defensive zone
To Forward: Successful defensive zone pass to a forward within the defensive zone
Turnover: Other team gains possession of the puck after the defenceman clearly had possession of it
Puck Retrieval
Total: Number of times the defenceman is the closest to the puck off of an uncontrolled entry to the zone
Successful: Defenceman retrieves the puck and successfully either gets it out of the zone or passes it a teammate, retaining possession
Failed: Defenceman either turns the puck over after retrieving it or the other team gets possession off the uncontrolled entry
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