This season, we’re tracking nine stats which we thought might help tell the story of the Los Angeles Kings‘ 2015-16 season, and we’re bringing you updates on those stats every nine games. Previous installments:
Games 1-9
Games 10-18
Games 19-27
Games 28-36
6-2-1 in Games 37-45, which means that LA has so far put together six, six, six, five, and six wins in the first five stretches of the season. Extraordinary.
Jonathan Quick‘s Save Percentage
Quick’s save percentage over this nine-gamer: .932. Not too shabby. (He let Enroth have one start, which was a dispiriting loss to Colorado. Whoops.)
Shots on Goal by Anze Kopitar
You thought Kopitar was shooting a lot before? He took an whopping (by his standards) 27 shots in the last nine games, something we can probably chalk up to Carter’s absence and the beneficial addition of Tyler Toffoli to his line. For one, Lucic has been deferring to his two linemates, but for another, Kopitar has seen universal boosts in both offensive and defensive rate stats with Toffoli.
Kopitar took advantage to the tune of three more goals in this stretch.
Team Offensive Zone Penalties
Not great, but considering they took three offensive zone penalties against Calgary in Game #37, this could have been much worse. (Milan Lucic’s revenge penalty on Roman Polak was removed from the tally.)
Dustin Brown Points
Oh, dear. (Brown’s recent goal and assist came after this nine-game stretch ended, so at least the next chart will have some happy news.)
Goals by Defensemen
A slight cool-off for the Kings’ blueline. Based on past returns, Luke Schenn should add about two goals to this tally by season’s end.
Top King’s NHL Score-Adjusted Corsi For% Ranking
So far, so… the same! If you go with a minimum of 40 games played, the Kings have the top EIGHT players in the league in this metric. Holy crap. (In order: Shore, Brown, Lucic, Toffoli, Lewis, Gaborik, Doughty, Kopitar.)
Tyler Toffoli’s Average Time on Ice
It seems like Toffoli has graduated from the doghouse. A noticeable trend has emerged: in this past nine-game stretch, the only games he’s played fewer than 18 minutes in have been wins. When the team trails, Toffoli goes on the ice, and who can fault Darryl Sutter for that?
Power Play Percentage + Penalty Kill Percentage
I believe that post-Game 45 power play percentage of 21.5% is a season-high. Vincent Lecavalier, Power Play Specialist!
His power play time is just one area in which he’s been getting to do more for LA; he’s taken 14 shots on goal and 118 faceoffs in nine games in LA, compared to seven shots and just seven faceoffs in Philly. He’s won exactly 50% of the draws, and 29% of his shots have found the net.
Most JftC Reader #1 Rankings for One Player
We had a first in Game #45: a dead heat at the top of the rankings! Milan Lucic and (naturally) Anze Kopitar both had an identical number of thumbs up and zero thumbs down. Otherwise, business as usual, no new #1 Stars (though Marian Gaborik and Brayden McNabb picked up a second #1 along with Lucic), and a lot more Kopitar.