Penguins by the Numbers: Some Metrics to Ponder
I was all set to do final report cards on our Penguins when, like Ford Motor Company back in the day, I got a better idea.
The ultimate aim of any hockey player is to contribute to his team scoring goals while preventing the other team from scoring. With that in mind, I decided to take a gander at some advanced stats instead of doling out what would be largely subjective and perhaps less meaningful grades.
In terms of ranking, I elected to go with Goals For Percentage (GF%) as my cornerstone stat. I’ve also included Goals For (GF), Goals Against (GA) and Expected Goals For Percentage (xGF%), as well as Goals For/60 (GF/60) and Goals Against/60 (GA/60). For good measure, I’ll include Corsi as well. All stats are courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and represent 5v5 play.
Keep in mind, while metrics certainly provide a measure of performance, they don’t necessarily tell the whole story. There’s all sorts of variables that come into play…a player’s role and deployment, the quality of opposition, game situations, etc.
When I parsed the numbers, there were quite a few surprises.