“NHL Playoffs Thoughts: The Importance of Goaltenders, Centers, Defenders, and Powerplays”

We shared five thoughts on the NHL playoffs on Thursday. Let’s have fun today doing the exercise, but going back a year in time, question of shaking or not the solidity of these observations…

No need for a big guardian

2023 : Only one goaltender, Jake Oettinger, has finished in the NHL’s top 15 in regular-season wins. The second in this chapter among the semi-finalists, at 19^e rank, Sergei Bobrovsky, won 24 games, but lost 23, including three in overtime. He allowed an average of 3.07 goals per game. Frederik Andersen of the Hurricanes is ranked 25^e row and Adin Hill, of Vegas, at 33^e. Even more surprising finding: only Oettinger started the series in front of the net.

2022 : Three of the four goaltenders in the quadruple, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Darcy Kuemper and Igor Shesterkin, were ranked in the NHL’s top six in wins. Only Mike Smith of the Oilers was left out of the top 30 due to injury. Rangers’ Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy as the best goalkeeper and even finished third in the Hart Trophy votes for his team’s most valuable player. Vasilevskiy placed sixth in the votes for the Vezina.

* Observation: need a good goalkeeper.

The Myth of the First Two Centers

2022 : None of the four number one centers present, Sebastian Aho, Aleksander Barkov, Jack Eichel and Roope Hintz, are among the NHL’s top 35 scorers. Among the second centers, only Chandler Stephenson of the Golden Knights has reached more than 60 points.

2023 : Three of the four number one centers in attendance, Connor McDavid, Steven Stamkos and Nathan MacKinnon, all three drafted first overall in their respective vintages, finished in the top ten of NHL scorers in points per game . MacKinnon would have had 100 or more points like Stamkos and McDavid had he not missed fifteen games. Mika Zibanejad of the Rangers had 81 points.

At second centers, Nazem Kadri of the Avalanche had 87 points in the regular season, Ryan Strome of the Rangers and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Oilers all produced at a rate of about 60 points on a full season.

* Observation: useful to bet on a big center!

Regular season standings don’t mean anything

2023 : Of the top four teams in the regular season, only the Carolina Hurricanes still play hockey. The Boston Bruins were upset in the first round, the New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs in the second. The Golden Knights are the only top-seven team still in the playoffs.

2022 : Among the four best teams in the regular season, only the Avalanche reached the semi-finals. On the other hand, the New York Rangers and the Lightning finished in the top eight clubs overall. The Oilers finished 11th with 104 points.

* Observation: the regular season still reflected the results of the playoffs.

We need a strong number one defender

2023 : The presence of a top number one defender seems essential. Each has one among the semi-finalists: Brent Burns in Carolina, Aaron Ekblad in Florida, Miro Heiskanen in Dallas and Alex Pietrangelo in Vegas.

2022 : The Lightning with Victor Hedman, the Rangers with Adam Fox and the Avalanche with Cale Makar were well served as number one defensemen. The Oilers on the other hand had not yet identified theirs, even if the young Evan Bouchard amassed 43 points. Tyson Barrie remains an important pivot on the power play, but he is vulnerable on a power play tie.

* Observation: a big number one defender is essential. The Oilers may finally have one with Bouchard, 17 points in 12 games in the 2023 playoffs despite the club being eliminated in the second round…

Important numerical superiorities, except that…

2023 : The Oilers posted a 46.2% save percentage in the playoffs, but were defeated by Vegas in the second round. The top four powerplay teams, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Boston and Los Angeles, are all eliminated, including the bottom three in the first round.

2022 : The Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers finished top of the powerplay standings with hit rates of 32.8% and 32.1% respectively. The Oilers were ranked sixth at 26% and the Lightning ninth at 19.8%.

* Observation: The Colorado Avalanche won the Cup thanks to this aspect of the game, among other things…

Conclusion ? The playoffs have their share of surprises every year and there is no common recipe. Breaking into the playoffs requires talent, self-sacrifice, but also luck, a healthy club, confidence at the right time and good decision-making on the part of management, regardless of the philosophy of the organization. .

In light of the results of the 2022 playoffs, the Canadiens need a great goalie, a more explosive center offensively than Nick Suzuki and still haven’t found their great number one defender…

Bryan Keller retracts…

The father of young Arizona Coyotes star Clayton Keller, Bryan, caused controversy this week by claiming that his son no longer wanted to play with the team and would not show up for training camp in September.

He served the classic excuse to colleague Craig Morgan to extricate his son from the embarrassing situation in which he had placed him. “I was informed on a business trip on Wednesday that a message from my Twitter account had gone out about the Tempe citizens’ vote to build a new amphitheater. I want to clarify that my account was hacked and the message sent by the hacker in question. I never endorsed this message and this one does not reflect my thinking. I took the necessary steps and my Twitter account is safe again. I apologize for the confusion caused by this message. »

Hands up those who believe it…