Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Stunning Numbers: Power failures, penalty magnets in NHL playoffs

Stunning Numbers is an occasional look at stats and figures from around the NHL.

In their tremendous semifinals sweep of the Washington Capitals, the Tampa Bay Lightning dominated the special teams play with a power play that clicked and a penalty kill that kept the Caps in check.

Against the Boston Bruins, the kill remains solid; but please feel free to insert your hackneyed "Lightning" and "power outage" line here about how their scoring with the man advantage has been zapped.

11.8 percent

Say, are you wondering why the Tampa Bay Lightning are one loss away from being eliminated from the Eastern Conference finals? Look no further than one of the most lethal and impressive power plays in the postseason going ice cold when it's mattered most.

The Bolts entered the series with the Boston Bruins clicking at a 26.7 percent clip; through five games against the B's, Tampa is 2 for 17, sputtering along at a 11.8 percent conversion rate and failing to put a power-play goal on the board in its last three games.

This was supposed to be a huge advantage for the Lightning, given the craptastic nature of the Boston power play (a trend that's continued into this round). Playing the Bruins even here is one reason they're looking at a possible elimination in Game 6.

62.9 percent

The ridiculous faceoff winning percentage for Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins in 329 total faceoffs (207-122). Were the playoffs to end today, Bergeron would have the highest faceoff winning percentage in the postseason since Kris Draper of the Detroit Red Wings won 64.6 percent of his draws in 2008 (min. 250 chances).

39.2 percent

The faceoff winning percentage for Blair Betts of the Flyers, the�lowest for any player with at least 100 faceoffs in the 2011 postseason. Betts was at 50.3 percent in the regular season, second best on the team behind Jeff Carter (54.7).

2.3

The average penalties drawn per 60 minutes of even-strength hockey by Jordin Tootoo of the Nashville Predators in 12 games, tops in the playoffs for players that have played 10 or more postseason games. Dominic Moore of the Lightning (2.2 in 16 games) is second, followed by Darroll Powe and Danny Briere of the Flyers at 2.1 in 11 games each. [Behind the Net]

7.4

The number of penalties taken per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 hockey by Ben Eager of the San Jose Sharks in 10 games, by far the leader for the postseason. Eager has 41 PIMs in just 10 games.

11

The number of minor penalties taken by both Ryan Malone of the Lightning and Ryane Clowe of the Sharks to lead all playoff skaters and prove that no matter how you spell it, that first name is clearly felonious.

3

The number of major penalties taken by Kevin Bieksa of the Canucks, tops in the playoffs. That said, Bieksa has at times been a model of restraint in comparison to years past: "It's easier to take a punch to the face if it leads to us winning the game. Anyone in the room would make that tradeoff any day."

.946

Dwayne Roloson's save percentage while short-handed, having made the most saves (88) and given up the fewest goals for goalies that have played at least 10 games (5) in the playoffs.

.804

Sharks' goalie Antti Niemi's save percentage while short-handed, yielding a league-worst 18 goals on 74 shots. Which is what happens when you face the Sedins and your teammates are on an endless parade to see if the penalty box flasher will show up again.

4:22

The amount of 5-on-3 power-play time that the Philadelphia Flyers had through the postseason, tops in the playoffs and failing to score during it. Which is one reason they're no longer in the playoffs.

85:55

The amount of time the Tampa Bay Lightning have spent short-handed on the road through 16 games; Vancouver is second at 66:05.

Plus-11

The best plus/minus rating of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, owned by Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins. He was only a plus-1 through six games against Montreal.

Minus-8

The worst plus/minus ratings of the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs through Monday night. Who owns them? Matt Carle of the departed Philadelphia Flyers, Devin Setoguchi of the San Jose Sharks and, perhaps most surprisingly, Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

5.67

The average hits per game through six games for Dustin Brown of the Los Angeles Kings, who still leads the NHL playoffs in that category. Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals was second with an average of 4.44 hits per game through nine games.

66.4 percent

Of the remaining players in the playoffs with at least 14 games played, the even-strength offensive zone start percentage for Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins, who has finished 56.1 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone. Second is Alex Burrows of the Vancouver Canucks with 66.3 percent starts and 56.6 percent of his shifts finishing in the offensive zone.� [Behind The Net]

12

The number of points on the road scored by Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks in eight games, leading Vinny Lecavalier of the Lightning by a point. He's scored seven on home ice.

10

The number of points scored by Nathan Horton of the Bruins on home ice, including five goals. He has four points in seven road games, including nothing on the road vs. Tampa Bay. In case you needed a reminder of how much Nathan enjoyed his time in Florida.

$63.5 million

Finally, the high-end estimate for next year's salary cap, based on the $3 billion in revenue the NHL is expected to post for this season. It was $59.4 million in 2010-11, with a $43.4 million cap floor, which will rise as well. Dale Tallon grabs wallet, starts looking to overspend like a socialite at Tiffany's.

Blake Lively Christina Applegate Shana Hiatt Tara Conner Drea de Matteo

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