SENShobo
Sens Give Their League Leader Another Chance
by SENShobo on 12/17/08 at 11:12 AM ET
Comments (0)
My NHL Christmas Wish List will continue, but not at the moment; I wanted to follow up on a previous story first.
This past Friday morning, I wrote about how the Sens cast a League leader aside in taking one of the League’s top ranked face off man (currently tied for 2nd at 63.1%) and having him take most of his draws on the penalty kill and powerplay, while leaving the vast majority of even-strength draws to whomever his linemate would be (primarily Kelly, 50.0%, but also Fisher, 48.2%, and Spezza, 50.9%).
Some ten hours later, and 24 hours after that, the Sens played the first of three recent games, and I think I’ll take a quick moment to update the ‘score’.
The 5-1 loss to the Capitals on Friday, followed by a 2-0 win with an empty-netter against the Bolts on Saturday would not necessarily make you think something different was happening, but change was underway. Before that game, Vermette was averaging 8.8 face offs per game, but only 3.5 at even strength, lower than the over 9.5 face offs per game for his primary linemate, Kelly, of which over 8.8 were even strength draws. Against the Caps on Friday, Chris Kelly’s face offs total was reduced.
To 3. He would win one of those.
Vermette, on the other hand, was standing by the ref, breath bated for the puck drop, a full 13 times, winning seven to lead the team with a 54% success rate. Eight of them were at even strength, over twice his typical rate, and he won five of them. He was also on the ice for the Sens’ lone goal by Winchester, and finished +1, never being on the ice for a Caps goal, not even for any of their three powerplay tallies.
In their 2-0 win against Tampa Bay, Kelly won all of his face offs, all three. 100% successful is wonderful, but those three were the only face offs he took.
Vermette won twelve draws, lost only five, for a stellar 71% rating (Spezza was next, winning 13 and losing 9 to go 59%). The next most wins was five by Lecavalier. Of those twelve, eight were won at even strength, of the 10 he took in those situations. Ottawa allowed no goals, telling you how well he played in 3:08 on the penalty kill.
After 1:36 of 5 on 3 time without a goal, Vermette was sent over the boards. He won his draw, and before the next stoppage, before he would need to step off the ice again, the Sens would finally break through and score, not letting the last 4 seconds of the second powerplay go to waste. He was also on the ice for the final 1:23 of the game, Tampa pulling Smith for the extra attacker. That put him on the ice for Alfie’s empty-netter, Fisher taking and winning that particular draw, though Vermette had time to win the last two draws of the game in the final 45 seconds, helping to preserve Ottawa’s first shutout of the season.
Last night, the Sens looked lifeless against the Thrashers, losing 4-1 from a pair of powerplay goals, a gimme to Armstrong, and an empty-netter. Vermette took 10 draws, losing only one, to Todd White while killing a penalty (Enstrom would take a penalty before the next faceoff). That left him with three penalty-killing faceoffs for the game, and a 66.6% success rate with them. He won all seven of his even strength face offs, a 100% success rate. He would be on the ice for a single goal, at the end of the game, with Fisher losing the draw with Gerber pulled for the extra attacker. Fisher, who was 25% at the dot (5 for 20), lost the puck to Todd White, who scored the empty-net goal that shift, sealing the deal. Why the Sens chose a success rate of 25% over 90%, at this crucial juncture, I will never know. For his part, Kelly won both even strength face offs he took, his only time at the dot.
As it stands now, whether you make something of it or not, the Sens are 7-7-2 when Vermette out-draws Kelly (his most common partner on lines and on the penalty kill), 0-0-1 when they split duties evenly, and 4-6-2 when Kelly out-draws Vermette. Surprisingly, some of Kelly’s best games at the face off dot have come when he is used more sparingly.
I can’t say for certain that this small but statistically significant change made any kind of difference. I can say that it did not cause one single problem in either of those games.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | SENShobo | Permalink
Tags: Antoine+Vermette, face+off,
Comments
Be the first to comment.
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
Most Recent Blog Posts
Can Ottawa Build Key Organization & Roster Element This Week?
As Fisher’s Character Departs, Ottawa’s is Revealed
Hockey Blogging Leading to Hockey Engineering
Heatley’s “Homecoming” Must Be About The Message As Much As The Man
In Case You Wondered About My Absence
Ottawa Strolls Into Contender’s Clutches
Senators Run Out Of Gas Against Canucks
Canucks Offer Ottawa’s First Stern Test
About Kukla’s Korner
Kukla’s Korner is updated around the clock with the work of our own talented bloggers, plus links to the best hockey writing around the internet. We strive to bring you all the breaking hockey news as it happens.
The home page allows you to see the latest postings from every blog on the site. Subscribe here. For general inquiries and more, please contact us anytime.
Get the top online sports betting bonuses available to sports betters!
Kukla’s Korner is always a free service for readers, but it costs some money to maintain. If you’re ever in a position to donate a few dollars to help out, we’d be very appreciative.