A look at some early season stats that reveal, among other things, the excellence of Brandon Prust and effectiveness of Patrick Kaleta, as well as line changes that look good for David Laliberte and not as good for Vincent Lecavalier.
By all means, please take a look at this week's updated NHL Power Rankings and Player Rankings.
A few lineup notes from recent games:
- Bruins LW Brad Marchand skated with Patrice Bergeron and Michael Ryder on Boston's number one line Sunday, but was replaced by Mark Recchi on the PP.
- Oilers C Sam Gagner was skating with Robert Nilsson and Jean-Francois Jacques Monday night against the Islanders. Not a great situation for point production.
- Flyers rookie LW David Laliberte has played more than six minutes on the power play through his first two NHL games. With three points already, he figures to continue seeing time with the man advantage.
- While he saw first-unit PP time against the Flyers Tuesday, Tampa Bay C Vincent Lecavalier spent his even-strength time with LW Drew Miller and RW Stephane Veilleux.
Taking a look at one of my favourite sites, www.behindthenet.ca, here are some statistical leaders from the first month (or so) of the season:
The league leaders in penalty differential (drawn - taken):
Patrick Kaleta, RW, Buffalo - plus-10
Mason Raymond, LW, Vancouver - plus-9
Steve Downie, RW, Tampa Bay - plus-7
Dustin Brown, LW, Los Angeles - plus-7
Devin Setoguchi, RW, San Jose - plus-7
The other end of the spectrum:
Hal Gill, D, Montreal - minus-9
Shane O'Brien, D, Vancouver - minus-6
Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh - minus-6
10 tied at minus-5
The leaders in goal differential (for - against) per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time (minimum 9 games):
Paul Gaustad, C, Buffalo - 4.02
James van Riemsdyk, LW, Philadelphia - 4.01
Alexander Ovechkin, LW, Washington - 3.99
Brandon Prust, RW, Calgary - 3.96
Ryan O'Reilly, C, Colorado - 3.47
Patrick Kaleta, RW, Buffalo - 3.43
Mike Knuble, RW, Washington - 3.35
Henrik Tallinder, D, Buffalo - 3.23
Steven Stamkos, C, Tampa Bay - 3.12
Brian Sutherby, C, Dallas - 3.06
The trailers in goal differential (for - against) per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time (minimum 9 games):
Tim Conboy, D, Carolina - minus-7.15
Kyle Chipchura, C, Montreal - minus-3.87
Rod Pelley, C, New Jersey - minus-3.80
Robert Nilsson, LW, Edmonton - minus-3.63
Dmitry Kulikov, D, Florida - minus-3.24
Nick Schultz, D, Minnesota - minus-3.16
Stephane Yelle, C, Carolina - minus-3.12
Bryan Allen, D, Florida - minus-3.08
Tomas Kopecky, RW, Chicago - minus-3.08
Martin Erat, LW, Nashville - minus-3.00
According to the calculation on www.behindthenet.ca, the players facing the highest level of competition (minimum 9 games):
Jarome Iginla, RW, Calgary
Patrick Sharp, RW, Chicago
David Booth, LW, Florida
Anton Volchenkov, D, Ottawa
Ryane Clowe, LW, San Jose
Nathan Horton, RW, Florida
Stephen Weiss, C, Florida
Olli Jokinen, C, Calgary
Saku Koivu, C, Anaheim
Chris Phillips, D, Ottawa
According to the calculation on www.behindthenet.ca, the players facing the lowest level of competition (minimum 9 games):
Brad Staubitz, RW, San Jose
Brandon Prust, RW, Calgary
Aaron Voros, RW, N.Y. Rangers
Dustin Boyd, C, Calgary
Marcel Goc, C, Nashville
Jason Williams, RW, Detroit
Brian Boyle, C, N.Y. Rangers
Danny Syvret, D, Philadelphia
Shean Donovan, RW, Ottawa
Todd Fedoruk, RW, Tampa Bay
According to the calculation on www.behindthenet.ca, the players playing with the highest level of teammates (minimum 9 games):
Justin Williams, RW, Los Angeles
Ryan Malone, LW, Tampa Bay
Jamie Langenbrunner, RW, New Jersey
Brian Gionta, RW, Montreal
Mike Richards, C, Philadelphia
Alexander Semin, LW, Washington
Martin St. Louis, RW, Tampa Bay
Nicklas Backstrom, C, Washington
Scott Gomez, C, Montreal
Anze Kopitar, C, Los Angeles
According to the calculation on www.behindthenet.ca, the players playing with the lowest level of teammates (minimum 9 games):
Rene Bourque, LW, Calgary
Raitis Ivanans, LW, Los Angeles
Stephane Yelle, C, Carolina
Rod Pelley, C, New Jersey
Tomas Kopecky, RW, Chicago
Tim Jackman, RW, N.Y. Islanders
Colin Fraser, C, Chicago
Peter Harrold, D, Los Angeles
Tom Kostopoulos, RW, Carolina
Nigel Dawes, LW, Calgary
Finally, the Top 10 Players using the rating at www.behindthenet.ca (minimum 9 games):
Matt Carle, D, Philadelphia - 4.67
Steven Stamkos, C, Tampa Bay - 4.54
Brandon Prust, RW, Calgary - 4.49
James van Riemsdyk, LW, Philadelphia - 4.36
Alexei Ponikarovsky, LW, Toronto - 4.34
Alexander Ovechkin, LW, Washington - 4.13
Ryan O'Reilly, C, Colorado - 4.05
Steven Reinprecht, C, Florida - 4.01
Dustin Penner, LW, Edmonton - 3.95
Zach Parise, LW, New Jersey - 3.80
Feel free to compare them to the TSN.ca Player Rankings, keeping in mind that the TSN rankings encompass more than 5-on-5 play.
Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@ctv.ca