On the Forecheck
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Team faceoff performance: a situational breakdown
by Forechecker on 12/11/08 at 02:15 PM ET
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Following up on the story in this morning’s Rocky Mountain News about the impact of faceoff performance on team success in the NHL, I wanted to take a look at how teams are faring so far this season, but one level deeper than one usually sees.
The table below outlines team performance on the dot broken down by Power Play, Even Strength, and Shorthanded duty, with the leaders and laggards in each sub-category color coded. As you’ll see, across the league at large, teams on the power play enjoy a 54.5% winning percentage, which is especially important in light of this season’s rule change that forces most power plays to start off in the offensive zone. Winning that initial faceoff allows a team to get to work right away, rather than spend 10-20 seconds chasing down the puck and circling up to attack.
| Team Faceoff Winning Percentage by On-Ice Strength | ||||||||||||||||
| Team | Power Play | Even Strength | Shorthanded | Total | ||||||||||||
| Detroit Red Wings | 116 | - | 202 | 57.4% | 678 | - | 1225 | 55.3% | 106 | - | 209 | 50.7% | 900 | - | 1636 | 55.0% |
| Nashville Predators | 122 | - | 249 | 49.0% | 626 | - | 1142 | 54.8% | 135 | - | 261 | 51.7% | 883 | - | 1652 | 53.5% |
| Los Angeles Kings | 128 | - | 227 | 56.4% | 592 | - | 1098 | 53.9% | 96 | - | 214 | 44.9% | 816 | - | 1539 | 53.0% |
| San Jose Sharks | 144 | - | 249 | 57.8% | 573 | - | 1089 | 52.6% | 92 | - | 190 | 48.4% | 809 | - | 1528 | 52.9% |
| Boston Bruins | 106 | - | 196 | 54.1% | 656 | - | 1256 | 52.2% | 101 | - | 200 | 50.5% | 863 | - | 1652 | 52.2% |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 121 | - | 238 | 50.8% | 676 | - | 1271 | 53.2% | 93 | - | 206 | 45.1% | 890 | - | 1715 | 51.9% |
| Washington Capitals | 113 | - | 208 | 54.3% | 634 | - | 1233 | 51.4% | 131 | - | 256 | 51.2% | 878 | - | 1697 | 51.7% |
| Vancouver Canucks | 136 | - | 220 | 61.8% | 620 | - | 1224 | 50.7% | 109 | - | 238 | 45.8% | 865 | - | 1682 | 51.4% |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 132 | - | 223 | 59.2% | 585 | - | 1160 | 50.4% | 114 | - | 249 | 45.8% | 831 | - | 1632 | 50.9% |
| Montreal Canadiens | 117 | - | 207 | 56.5% | 613 | - | 1206 | 50.8% | 94 | - | 209 | 45.0% | 824 | - | 1622 | 50.8% |
| St. Louis Blues | 108 | - | 196 | 55.1% | 595 | - | 1173 | 50.7% | 96 | - | 206 | 46.6% | 799 | - | 1575 | 50.7% |
| Calgary Flames | 134 | - | 238 | 56.3% | 615 | - | 1212 | 50.7% | 113 | - | 254 | 44.5% | 862 | - | 1704 | 50.6% |
| Ottawa Senators | 105 | - | 198 | 53.0% | 538 | - | 1074 | 50.1% | 102 | - | 201 | 50.7% | 745 | - | 1473 | 50.6% |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 125 | - | 229 | 54.6% | 606 | - | 1210 | 50.1% | 93 | - | 196 | 47.4% | 824 | - | 1635 | 50.4% |
| NHL Total | 3521 | - | 6464 | 54.5% | 17601 | - | 35206 | 50.0% | 2943 | - | 6464 | 45.5% | 24065 | - | 48134 | 50.0% |
| New York Rangers | 139 | - | 258 | 53.9% | 625 | - | 1233 | 50.7% | 84 | - | 206 | 40.8% | 848 | - | 1697 | 50.0% |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 110 | - | 221 | 49.8% | 583 | - | 1172 | 49.7% | 96 | - | 190 | 50.5% | 789 | - | 1583 | 49.8% |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 127 | - | 236 | 53.8% | 596 | - | 1233 | 48.3% | 102 | - | 190 | 53.7% | 825 | - | 1659 | 49.7% |
| Dallas Stars | 129 | - | 227 | 56.8% | 515 | - | 1071 | 48.1% | 98 | - | 199 | 49.2% | 742 | - | 1497 | 49.6% |
| Atlanta Thrashers | 118 | - | 204 | 57.8% | 601 | - | 1213 | 49.5% | 90 | - | 217 | 41.5% | 809 | - | 1634 | 49.5% |
| New Jersey Devils | 102 | - | 182 | 56.0% | 534 | - | 1081 | 49.4% | 70 | - | 168 | 41.7% | 706 | - | 1431 | 49.3% |
| Anaheim Ducks | 118 | - | 213 | 55.4% | 612 | - | 1250 | 49.0% | 126 | - | 282 | 44.7% | 856 | - | 1745 | 49.1% |
| Colorado Avalanche | 111 | - | 200 | 55.5% | 568 | - | 1169 | 48.6% | 73 | - | 182 | 40.1% | 752 | - | 1551 | 48.5% |
| Minnesota Wild | 120 | - | 199 | 60.3% | 511 | - | 1078 | 47.4% | 76 | - | 185 | 41.1% | 707 | - | 1462 | 48.4% |
| Florida Panthers | 116 | - | 202 | 57.4% | 584 | - | 1200 | 48.7% | 87 | - | 226 | 38.5% | 787 | - | 1628 | 48.3% |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 101 | - | 181 | 55.8% | 569 | - | 1190 | 47.8% | 123 | - | 272 | 45.2% | 793 | - | 1643 | 48.3% |
| New York Islanders | 119 | - | 236 | 50.4% | 583 | - | 1190 | 49.0% | 102 | - | 244 | 41.8% | 804 | - | 1670 | 48.1% |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 103 | - | 197 | 52.3% | 505 | - | 1091 | 46.3% | 100 | - | 200 | 50.0% | 708 | - | 1488 | 47.6% |
| Edmonton Oilers | 93 | - | 190 | 48.9% | 516 | - | 1077 | 47.9% | 92 | - | 215 | 42.8% | 701 | - | 1482 | 47.3% |
| Buffalo Sabres | 116 | - | 230 | 50.4% | 549 | - | 1161 | 47.3% | 79 | - | 214 | 36.9% | 744 | - | 1605 | 46.4% |
| Phoenix Coyotes | 92 | - | 208 | 44.2% | 543 | - | 1224 | 44.4% | 70 | - | 185 | 37.8% | 705 | - | 1617 | 43.6% |
Note, for example, the performance of the Nashville Predators, who are 2nd overall, but since their two best faceoff men are Radek Bonk and Scott Nichol, that performance doesn’t carry over to the power play, where Jason Arnott and David Legwand take most of the draws (and thus, the Preds putter along with a 14.2% PP). Minnesota, on the other hand, while not a particularly offensive team, has the 2nd-best power play in the NHL, perhaps in part due to that 2nd-best performance in power play faceoffs.
Filed in: NHL Statistical Analysis | On the Forecheck | Permalink
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