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
Games 37-45
The Los Angeles Kings finally went and did it. Their sixth nine-game stretch of the season was the first one with a losing record, as LA went 4-5-0 in Games 46-54. It was a wild set, to say the least. Goals scored in the nine games: 0, 2, 3, 3, 6, 2, 9, 2, 5. Goals allowed: 3, 3, 2, 4, 2, 4, 2, 5, 4. If a couple of overtime games had gone the other way there would be a lot more concern, but the Kings were able to cap off the nine-game set with an OT win in New York. (As you very well know, they lost the next three games, but those fall outside of this timeframe. Hooray!)
(The following stats are as of February 13, 2016. The four ensuing games are included in the next Nine Numbers.)
Jonathan Quick‘s Save Percentage
Quick had two absolute stinkers, two below-average starts, and an injury in his six starts during this nine-game stretch. On the bright side, he helped the Pacific Division win the All-Star Game smack in the middle of it all!
Shots on Goal by Anze Kopitar
I am so, so glad he’s merely listed as day-to-day.
Team Offensive Zone Penalties
For the second straight nine-game stretch, I’ve removed Milan Lucic retaliations from the tally, as it’s not really in the spirit of this table. There were multiple this time; the punch on Kevin Connauton which got him suspended, the cross-check on Josh Manson after he hit Kopitar, the additional roughing on that same play…
They also had four offensive zone penalties against the Avalanche, which I’m pretty sure is a season-high for the team.
Dustin Brown Points
At long last! Obviously the 9-2 game helped, but he had six points in the other eight games, including a throwback two-goal performance against the Coyotes. Brown has moved up to fifth among forwards in scoring; he hasn’t been top-five among forwards since 2012-13.
Goals by Defensemen
Schenn got on the scoresheet! We haven’t actually posted the individual defensive scoring breakdown in Nine Numbers yet, so let’s do that now…
Drew Doughty: 11
Alec Martinez: 7
Jake Muzzin: 6
Christian Ehrhoff, Jamie McBain, Brayden McNabb: 2
Luke Schenn, Derek Forbort: 1
Martinez has outscored Muzzin despite taking 40 fewer shots. Last year, they had the exact same 5.8% shooting percentage, but Muzzin’s has gone down and Martinez’s has gone up.
Top King’s NHL Score-Adjusted Corsi For% Ranking
Shore paces the league in CF%, Doughty leads all defensemen, water is wet, and the sky is blue.
Tyler Toffoli’s Average Time on Ice
Toffoli’s ice time took a hit as February began, culminating in just 14:43 of ice time in the overtime win in New York. Darryl Sutter rode his first line extremely hard in that game, but Toffoli also played less than 16 minutes against the Coyotes and the Islanders. With Kopitar injured, though, Toffoli was back to almost 19 minutes in St. Louis.
Power Play Percentage + Penalty Kill Percentage
The power play has only gotten better since our last update. The Kings went 9 of 29 with the man advantage, peaking with a perfect 3-for-3 showing in Boston a week after scoring 3 PPGs in Arizona. On the other hand, they gave up power play goals in seven of the nine games, though they only gave up one in each of those seven.
Most JftC Reader #1 Rankings for One Player
Marian Gaborik and Milan Lucic make it a four-way tie for the coveted “bronze medal” position. Vincent Lecavalier (Colorado), Kyle Clifford (Anaheim), and KEVIN GRAVEL (New York Islanders) all earned their first #1 rankings of the season. Everyone was really mad about that Ducks game, by the way; Clifford, Jhonas Enroth, and Dustin Brown were the only players to earn positive ratings.
Somehow, Drew Doughty still hasn’t won a single-game poll yet, though he was a very close #2 to Gaborik after the San Jose game. The Erik-Karlsson-for-Norris team is gonna love that.