Early Season Stat Check

by Bob Wage on Oct 12, 2009 4:01 PM EDT

We are only five games into the season and the Carolina Hurricanes have the dubious distinction of leading the NHL in minor penalty minutes, but everything is not negative for the team from Tobacco Road. For one thing, the new players have pretty much lived up to expectations so far.

Andrew Alberts is tied with Alexander Ovechkin for most hits in the NHL after five games with 20. Next on the team is Tim Gleason with 15.

Aaron Ward still blocks shots like the old days and is among the league leaders in that category. (13)

Stephane Yelle has been solid on the fourth line and leads the team in faceoff percentage. (53.5%) Brind'Amour is second with 52%.

Tom Kostopoulos has the team's only shorthanded goal, but he has taken a few penalties.

Jay Harrison continues to improve and has the second best plus/minus on the team with a +2. He is also the only defenseman who has scored a goal for Carolina.

Team leaders are as follows:

Jussi Jokinen has the most points with five, (2G 3A).

Scott Walker has the best plus/minus with +4

Joe Corvo leads the "time on ice" category with an average of 27:13. That places third best in the league behind only Chris Pronger and Jay Bouwmeester.

Both of Eric Staal's goals have been scored while on the powerplay, which is tops for Carolina.

Tuomo Ruutu leads the team with 21 shots on goal. Staal is next with 20.

Ray Whitney is tied for second in the league with 6 takeaways. Cullen and Samsonov have 5 each.

_____

Is the age of the team a factor?

The Hurricanes have yet to win a game on the road this year and they are winless in the second games of back to backs, (0-2). With the acquisitions of Aaron Ward (36), and Stephane Yelle (35), the team is officially the oldest in the NHL. Will this be a factor as the season wears on?

The Canes have 14 more back-to-backs to go.

(These stats taken from NHLnumbers.com)

Team		Avg. Age

Carolina		30.244
Detroit		29.717
NJ Devils		29.468
NY Islanders		28.764
Nashville		28.651
Minnesota		28.386
Ottawa		28.333
Vancouver		28.295
Washington		28.087
Pittsburgh		27.943
NHL Average		27.815
Florida		27.398
Atlanta		27.344
Tampa Bay		27.322
Chicago, (youngest)		25.906

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Comments

Old guys get tired and take penalties, simple right? :-)

Still not a crook!

by TrickyD26 on Oct 12, 2009 4:14 PM EDT reply actions

LOL

But shouldn’t they be more clever and know how to get away with it?

Let's go Canes!
Hakkaa Paalle!

by Carolyn Christians on Oct 12, 2009 4:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Last year Detroit was the oldest team and I believe Carolina was second. Sometimes being older is not a bad thing.

But I wanted to toss that softball out there for paladin to take a swing at. :-)

GM of CanesCountry.com

by Bob Wage on Oct 12, 2009 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Frankly I am surprised he hasn’t jumped on it already.

by caniacgirl on Oct 12, 2009 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions

So true!

My thoughts exactly…is there some goofy sports “formula” you can use to connect +/- to age to demonstrate that Brind’Amour is the best player on the roster? That would drive him batty!

Let's go Canes!
Hakkaa Paalle!

by Carolyn Christians on Oct 12, 2009 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Not that I know of, but that’s not to say we couldn’t create one. LOL

I’m actually a little surprised to see we’re the oldest team. I knew we were up there, but somehow, I never connected the dots.

by caniacgirl on Oct 12, 2009 5:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Well then why don’t you make one up?
Something like
[(+/- rating) x (age of player-average age in NHL) / penalties per 60 minutes] x Career trophies (as in Stanley, Selke, etc) = VEQ (veteran excellence quotient )

Let's go Canes!
Hakkaa Paalle!

by Carolyn Christians on Oct 12, 2009 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions

If he’s te best player on the roster no wonder we suck….

by Paladin6 on Oct 12, 2009 5:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Welcome back Paladin! We were starting to get worried that something had happened up there…

by caniacgirl on Oct 12, 2009 5:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks, my family used to, too. For my birthday they all pitched in and got me one of those satelite tracking units they use for serious expeditions and mountain climbing and what not. I am expected to set it off in check in mode every Monday. If I forget they go ape shit. I guess it’s good to be loved, but it’s easier to get killed in the city than out here. The worlds kind of funny sometimes.

BTW, I’m glad Rod’s contiributing, we need all hands on deck!!

Chiockens and I say
GO CANES!!!

by Paladin6 on Oct 12, 2009 5:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Something nice about Rod? What are you feeding those chickens anyway?

by caniacgirl on Oct 12, 2009 9:48 PM EDT up reply actions

It’s definately coming…

Still not a crook!

by TrickyD26 on Oct 12, 2009 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions

as soon as he comes in from gathering the eggs.

Let's go Canes!
Hakkaa Paalle!

by Carolyn Christians on Oct 12, 2009 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Here chicky, chicky, chick, chick…

mmmmm, breakfast!!!

by Paladin6 on Oct 12, 2009 5:46 PM EDT up reply actions

That’s more like a slider to the outside.

According to HM’s awesome post and breakdown of the stats, the four most players taking positional penalties are: 30, 26, 32, and 24. Only Cullen is above the average age of the Canes of those.

by Pirate Caniac on Oct 12, 2009 8:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Oh, and Detroit has only fallen below the Canes because they no longer have Chelios at 1,023,924 years old off the roster.

by Pirate Caniac on Oct 12, 2009 8:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Back to backs

Does the goaltender situation frighten anyone else? Obviously Cam was a workhorse last year, but with the condensed schedule this year wouldn’t a reliable veteran backup do him a ton of good? Nothing I’ve seen from the staff shows that they have confidence in Leighton, so why not take a peak into the FA pool? Kevin Weekes is still available!!

Still not a crook!

by TrickyD26 on Oct 12, 2009 5:31 PM EDT reply actions

I don’t think it has anything to do with lack of confidence in Leighton, I think it actually has more to do with the amount of confidence they have in Cam. I for one am NOT at all frightened with the goaltender situation (barring any, well I can’t bring myself to say it but you know what I mean). Cam has looked good to me to me so far, and I think we have some bigger issues to deal with.

by jenniwa30 on Oct 12, 2009 6:39 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree with the bigger issues, but it would be nice to be able to give Cam some nights off with all of the back to backs in the schedule this year.

Still not a crook!

by TrickyD26 on Oct 12, 2009 7:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Hey...

if we are the oldest NHL team, and one of the youngest/most talented AHL teams… then we should be able to make it. SHOULD is the word.

by packpigskinfan25 on Oct 12, 2009 8:26 PM EDT reply actions

Since our team is so old and brittle, I feel like we will have a season full of injuries. I’m not giving up on this year by any means but I will say I’m looking more forward to next year when all the young guys come up. JR got a little to happy how far the team went last year in the playoffs. He thought all we needed was a few vets to get us back and maybe to the big show. What the team NEEDS is offense which we did nothing in the off season to help that. I’m still predicting Boychuk next year will out score Staal if given enough minutes to work with.

by canescup on Oct 12, 2009 8:51 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

we got beat in the playoffs because our Defense was not good enough…..

by Mateos_Canes_Lamp on Oct 12, 2009 9:29 PM EDT up reply actions

by defense you mean Cams back problems????

by canescup on Oct 12, 2009 10:09 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Older usually equals slower, and we’ve gotten slower. I think that JR wanted to get bigger for the playoffs, and until the coaching staff learns to handle the new offensive lines and defensive pairings we’re gonna flounder a bit. It’s only five games in but I see these trends: 1. We lose bad. 3 losses at 14-4. 2. Way too many penalties. 3. Our top line is inconsistent at best, non-productive at worst. When can we expect a sniper on the wing with Staal? Just like teams figured out in the playoffs that Babchuk couldn’t handle pressure, Cole (before he got hurt) , Samsonov, and Ruutu are not players that generate their own chances. Just jam Staal and that first line gets nothing.
I’m all for getting bigger and grittier on the blue line, and I really like the things that Alberts and Ward and Harrison are doing. But we’ve got to have the other side of the coin and have the offensive players that can put the puck in the net. I am aware that the plan seems to be to let the Rats get another year under their belts and play together and be ready for 2010, but if the current trends of being slow, penalty-prone, and weak on special teams continue than maybe the offense needs some fresh blood. It’s still extremely early in the season, I know, and things could change, but I thought I’d try to crystallize my own fears about the team as it is currently constituted.

by Gillimus on Oct 12, 2009 8:56 PM EDT reply actions

“Just jam Staal and that first line gets nothing.” I would say that Cole definetly creates his own chances, struggles to finish yes, but Cole can still come down the boards like a train. Ruutu can very well create his own chances and will “get his”. Whitney in my opinion is one of the most underratted players in the game, he will also “get his”. I disagree with the first line gets nothing. Staal feeds off his mates, not the other way.
All Im saying is we all maybe just need to wait and see. Many are being very judgemental at this stage. Staal will get his 40, Whitney will get his 60-70, Brindy will get his 50, its just a matter of will they gel in time, and will anyone rise above expectations. I think well be just fine and no “trend” that i’ve seen at this stage has changed my expectations.
GO CANES!!

by TylerA7707 on Oct 12, 2009 10:44 PM EDT up reply actions