On the Forecheck
Who’s Naughty, Who’s Nice
by Forechecker on 12/23/08 at 04:09 PM ET
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This week’s update of the NHL Penalty Plus/Minus numbers brings us new leadership at both ends of the scale; L.A’s Dustin Brown (+20) has pulled ahead of Calgary captain Jarome Iginla at +18 and the Kings’ Patrick O’Sullivan (+17), while San Jose defenseman Rob Blake has sunk below three competitors to hold down the bottom with a -16. (Ed: data correction made shortly after this was initially posted)
But let’s take a further view to find out how Santa Claus will treat some of your favorite NHL players later this week…
Data updated each Monday during the season
Click here to go to the Google Doc
When it comes to receiving lumps of coal, the forwards who toil towards the bottom of the standings here are likely candidates: Robert Lang in Montreal, Olli Jokinen in Phoenix, Rob Niedermayer in Anaheim, and David Backes in St. Louis, all of whom have earned a -10 so far.
And who will find shiny new toys under the tree? Perhaps Carolina’s Tim Gleason, a defenseman with a +7, the highest mark among blueliners and only a step ahead of Colorado’s Scott Hannan and Toronto’s Ian White at +6.
And as a special holiday treat, here’s the data rolled up to the team level, and grouped for forwards and defensemen. It doesn’t include Bench minors, which are a very small portion of the overall totals, but this does present a good picture of overall team play and discipline so far:
| Team Total | Forwards | Defense | |||||||
| Team | Draws | Fouls | P +/- | Draws | Fouls | P +/- | Draws | Fouls | P +/- |
| San Jose Sharks | 188 | 162 | 26 | 145 | 93 | 52 | 42 | 68 | -26 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 171 | 150 | 21 | 121 | 93 | 28 | 47 | 56 | -9 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 181 | 161 | 20 | 127 | 94 | 33 | 54 | 63 | -9 |
| New York Rangers | 199 | 186 | 13 | 161 | 121 | 40 | 37 | 64 | -27 |
| Minnesota Wild | 160 | 150 | 10 | 115 | 84 | 31 | 43 | 66 | -23 |
| Phoenix Coyotes | 178 | 169 | 9 | 134 | 114 | 20 | 43 | 54 | -11 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 176 | 173 | 3 | 143 | 121 | 22 | 33 | 49 | -16 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 164 | 162 | 2 | 129 | 100 | 29 | 32 | 61 | -29 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 178 | 176 | 2 | 144 | 129 | 15 | 33 | 45 | -12 |
| Calgary Flames | 197 | 197 | 0 | 132 | 110 | 22 | 58 | 85 | -27 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 171 | 174 | -3 | 138 | 122 | 16 | 31 | 50 | -19 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 214 | 218 | -4 | 146 | 118 | 28 | 63 | 99 | -36 |
| Dallas Stars | 178 | 182 | -4 | 146 | 122 | 24 | 28 | 58 | -30 |
| Colorado Avalanche | 170 | 174 | -4 | 137 | 132 | 5 | 29 | 42 | -13 |
| Atlanta Thrashers | 179 | 184 | -5 | 128 | 101 | 27 | 46 | 81 | -35 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 184 | 191 | -7 | 144 | 127 | 17 | 36 | 64 | -28 |
| Boston Bruins | 158 | 166 | -8 | 118 | 99 | 19 | 37 | 65 | -28 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 168 | 176 | -8 | 124 | 105 | 19 | 35 | 71 | -36 |
| St. Louis Blues | 191 | 202 | -11 | 152 | 132 | 20 | 34 | 70 | -36 |
| New York Islanders | 182 | 193 | -11 | 134 | 117 | 17 | 41 | 73 | -32 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 180 | 192 | -12 | 138 | 127 | 11 | 35 | 63 | -28 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 136 | 152 | -16 | 113 | 98 | 15 | 22 | 53 | -31 |
| New Jersey Devils | 126 | 142 | -16 | 95 | 88 | 7 | 29 | 53 | -24 |
| Ottawa Senators | 148 | 165 | -17 | 124 | 117 | 7 | 22 | 46 | -24 |
| Florida Panthers | 132 | 155 | -23 | 95 | 84 | 11 | 35 | 71 | -36 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 136 | 160 | -24 | 104 | 90 | 14 | 28 | 65 | -37 |
| Nashville Predators | 180 | 208 | -28 | 131 | 120 | 11 | 44 | 87 | -43 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 195 | 227 | -32 | 153 | 143 | 10 | 38 | 84 | -46 |
| Washington Capitals | 157 | 189 | -32 | 118 | 117 | 1 | 36 | 69 | -33 |
| Anaheim Ducks | 183 | 241 | -58 | 136 | 148 | -12 | 43 | 92 | -49 |
| Grand Total | 5160 | 5377 | -217 | 3925 | 3366 | 559 | 1134 | 1967 | -833 |
Gee, no wonder when Brian Burke was still with the Ducks he pushed to have penalties cut in half during overtimes; this was one of the dumbest, most self-serving suggestions I’ve seen in quite a while. I’m guessing we’re not going to hear quite so much of that now that he’s in Toronto.
My posting activity will probably be quite light over the next few days, so if I don’t catch your comments or Tweets until next week, Happy Holidays, folks…
Filed in: NHL Statistical Analysis | On the Forecheck | Permalink
Tags: brian+burke, jarome+iginla, rob+blake,
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