Hurricanes Lead League With Power Play Chances
by Bob Wage on Aug 19, 2010 12:00 PM EDT
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PrintEven though the 2009-10 season was disappointing in many ways, the Carolina Hurricanes were able to maintain consistency in at least one positive area. For the third year in a row, the Canes led the NHL with the most power play opportunities.
Related to that, the team leads the league in total power play opportunities since the lockout.
While the overall number of penalties called throughout the league decreases each year, (as players conform to the rule changes, or refs relax their previous standards), the Hurricanes continue to draw more penalties than anyone else.
- 2009-10 PP 332 1st in league (Dallas 2nd with 328)
- 2008-09 PP 374 1st in league (tie with Montreal)
- 2007-08 PP 420 1st in league (Detroit 2nd with 391)
- 2006-07 PP 447 2nd in league (Pittsburgh 1st with 463)
- 2005-06 PP 531 3rd in league (LA and Phoenix tied for 1st with 541)
The above information shows the total of power play chances the team earned each season, their placement in the league, and who was either immediately above them or below them.
It's great news that the team has consistently been able to draw a large number of penalties over multiple seasons, even though there has been a coaching change and several modifications in player personnel. The bad news is that the Hurricanes have continually struggled to convert those chances.
- 2009-10 PP% 16.9% 20th in league (Washington 1st at 25.2%)
- 2008-09 PP% 18.7% 18th in league (Detroit 1st at 25.5%)
- 2007-08 PP% 18.8% 8th in league (Montreal 1st at 24.1%)
- 2006-07 PP% 15.0% 25th in league (Montreal 1st at 22.8%)
- 2005-06 PP% 17.9% 17th in league (Detroit 1st at 22.1%)
The information above shows Carolina's power play success ratio for each season, their placement in the league, and the team who finished first.
What if the Hurricanes had an elite power play unit? Last season the team converted for 56 power play goals, (which is a 16.9% conversion rate out of 332 chances.) If they could have converted 25% of their chances, the Canes would have scored 83 power play goals, (an increase of 27). Needless to say, that higher number of goals might have had a tremendous affect on the team's win/loss record.
While it's a good thing to lead the league in chances, it's more important to be able to convert those chances. Ask the Capitals, who scored 79 power play goals on just 313 opportunities.
It's no accident that the teams with the higher conversion percentages usually place near the top of the league with wins. Early last season while the Hurricanes were flirting with last place in the league, their conversion rate was wallowng near 13%, also last in the league. When Maurice and company changed up the power play unit and Eric Staal got healthy, the power play goals went up and the wins came.
Next season the defense is loaded with power play specialists and this should directly affect the scoring ratio. Will the Canes be able to break the 20% level for the first time this decade?
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Last season the team converted for 56 power play goals, (which is a 16.9% conversion rate out of 332 chances.)
I knew the Mo power play was awful but I had not idea it was that bad. That alone should be enough to get a coach fired.
it always burns within
the downward spiral never ends
when driven into sin
your salvation's found in a sinner's deed
by Douchebag St John on Aug 19, 2010 12:06 PM EDT reply actions
Ron Francis runs the power play. To be totally fair, the team missed Corvo last year. That’s why things looked better when McBain came on board — you need that good, low, hard shot from the point.
by Cory Lavalette on Aug 19, 2010 12:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Looking forward to seeing if our PP conversions improve with Corvo, McBain and Babchuk sending in boomers from the point.
"The increase in pain is way beyond what you would expect a person to play with," said coach Paul Maurice. "Unfortunately it’s even beyond what Tim Gleason can play with, because he can play with just about anything."
Much like in football
The head guy is responsible for the actions and failings of his assistants. I was aware that " Franchise " ran the PP, but he is not the boss. Thanx though…..
it always burns within
the downward spiral never ends
when driven into sin
your salvation's found in a sinner's deed
by Douchebag St John on Aug 19, 2010 12:37 PM EDT up reply actions
On the other hand...
They’ve made it clear that they divide responsibilities more than a lot of other hockey coaches do, so Francis would still take the lion’s share of this, IMHO. If we just blame all the way up, Karmanos was a horrible coach last season. ;)
by Raccoon Fink on Aug 19, 2010 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions
If we just blame all the way up, Karmanos was a horrible coach last season. ;)
I am totally ok with that too!
it always burns within
the downward spiral never ends
when driven into sin
your salvation's found in a sinner's deed
by Douchebag St John on Aug 19, 2010 1:07 PM EDT up reply actions
Then I guess we give Maurice credit for the improvements Ward showed two seasons ago under Barrasso. sigh
I wasn’t absolving Mo from anything, but calling it the “Mo Power Play” just isn’t correct. If Mo got fired tomorrow and Francis took over as head coach, you can bet Francis would still run the PP. Therefore would anything change philosophically?
by Cory Lavalette on Aug 19, 2010 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Football coaches fire coordinators all the time. They( the team) were the ones who decided to say it was coach by committee. If you go that route, then they live and die together and as the big boss, that falls on Mo’s shoulders.
Preciate the condescension though :-)
it always burns within
the downward spiral never ends
when driven into sin
your salvation's found in a sinner's deed
by Douchebag St John on Aug 19, 2010 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Thanks for bothering to read what I wrote. Like I said, it doesn’t absolve Mo from anything (which basically means exactly what you said — that at the end of the day, it’s his responsibility).
But if your concern is the way the PP is run (which it seems to be), then you’re going to be disappointed for a while b/c I don’t think Francis is going anywhere unless he decides he wants out of coaching.
Also, like I said, the PP stunk for a lot of the year b/c there was no legit point shot from the point. Corvo had four goals — all on the PP. McBain’s promotion led to improvement. This year you add Babchuk and perhaps Sanguinetti as well. So I honestly don’t think it’s a philosophical problem, but a personnel problem, which has been addressed.
Same situation if the defense leaves Ward out to dry this year. It likely won’t be because of Rowe, but rather the blue line’s lack of defense-first guys.
by Cory Lavalette on Aug 20, 2010 8:45 AM EDT up reply actions
Personnel and Injuries and the Power Play
As far as I can tell, if the sun comes up or goes down that is a reason to fire Maurice in your view. As Cory points out, the injuries to the team and the lack of players willing to go to the net prior to the arrival of the young players killed the power play. Once Sutter arrived, the power play improved. Once McBain came to the team, the power play improved. Using Boychuk on the power play improved the ability to score on the power play. Bowman did a great job late in the season on the power play.
Francis was assigned the job of improving the power play, which had been ineffective under Laviolette and Maurice. The good news is the at the Hurricanes were drawing penalties. The bad news was that there was a lack of speed and willingness to pay the price in front of the net by some of the veterans. Additionally, the powerful shot by Babchuk was absent in 2009-2010, which was not a coaching decision.
The power play improved when the players on the power play changed and when players returned from being hurt. Next season there is no shortage of offensive talent, but at forward and from the defense.
Good news or bad news
I am not sure how to take this. And Doug is right in that the young guys, especially McBain helped. I am not sure I would say any of them were “willing to go to the net” per se. Maybe Bowman, but we have a super small sample size with him. Sutter was there all year, remember. I don’t see Boychuk or any of the European youth as net-crashers, but maybe Bowman will be that guy. Obviously McBain, Pitkanen, and Corvo will be a huge improvement. Babchuk will obviously be a big help too.
I still wonder about the lack of speed issue…. Samsonov, Larose, Jokinen, are all plenty quick. Not that Boychuk’s speed won’t help, but I am not sure that is what we are lacking, especially on the PP. We need more natural goal scorers. We have, best I can tell, one (Staal, two last year including Ray Whitney). Jokinen was a nice surprise, and I’d like to see that continue, but a lot of these wingers are either not yet ready to score a ton (Boychuk, Bowman, Skinner) or just not true goal scorers (Ruutu, Cole, Samsonov, etc.).
What I would like to see is more of a shoot first PP, instead of looking for the cute tap in all the time which is what Whitney & Jokinen tended to do at times last year. Get the puck to dman, walk to middle and let it rip; simple yet effective.
Getting the Shot to the Net from the Point
As long as the shot gets through from the point and gets to the net. Some of the issue at the start of 2009-2010 was the situation where shots from the point were blocked and off went the opposing team on a 2 on 1.
Going to the Net
Watch Bowman’s first goal in the NHL against Tampa. It’s on the Hurricanes website w Bowman. Sutter, Boychuk, and Bowman all were crashing the net. I don’t think you’d mistake them for Rick Nash as he thunders to the net; but all of them get to the net and take the beating to stay there. Another issue on the power play was net presence. To be blunt, but hopefully not rude, as much as I personally like Whitney, Cullen, and Samsonov, those guys did not get in front of the net and take a beating. Of the three, Whitney was the one who occasionally would wander into the dark areas; but that certainly was not his forte. At the start of the year, it was said over and over, “we have to get to the net.” That talk did not occur after Sutter, Boychuk, Dwyer, and Bowman started to get ice time; and it did not happen ever when Sutter, Boychuk, and Bowman were on power plays. I just don’t recall Dwyer’s time on the power play. All that being said, I continue to lobby for the wide-bodied power forward; but despite the absence of that player, I feel confident the young kids will get to the net in 2010-2011 and that their speed and skilled play will improve the power play.
Speed and creativity was missing when the power play was mis-firing. Boychuk’s and Sutter’s speed and Boychuk’s offensive creativity make the power play much more effective because they got to pucks behind the net and made things happen.
So you think Cullen, Whitney, and Samsonov would be better if they played more of a Ryan Smith type role on the PP?
Cullen, Whitney, Samsonov
What I think is that until a player like Osala, Matthias, or Jared Staal emerge as a top 12 forward for the Hurricanes, the Hurricanes will need to use fast, talented, fearless, skilled forwards on the power play – including players such as Sutter, Boychuk, Dalpe, Nash, Tlusty, and Bowman. I think and hope that Ruutu will be healthy and can also serve that role. I think Cullen and Samsonov will not go to the net or the dark areas in circumstances in which they will take a pounding. I think Whitney is vastly better as a sniper than in front of the net or crashing the net on the power play – amazing as Whitney was and is. The kids are highly skilled and have the compete level to take a beating in front of the net; and they proved it every time they had the opportunity. I also think their speed and offensive creativity will open spaces for Staal and Jokinen to work. I also think adding McBain, Sanguinetti, Babchuk, and re-signing Corvo will give the Hurricanes much needed help on the power play; and will also increase the space for the forwards to do their work. There was a reason why the Hurricanes power play improved when the kids arrived; and there was also a reason why the power play was often highly ineffective before those players came. The kids also brought great hands – as evidenced by some of the fantastic passes by McBain and some excellent goals by Sutter, Boychuk, and Bowman in particular.
The Hurricanes coaches clearly are seeking players who want to get in the dirty ice (an area that Ron Francis owned as a player) and who have the eye hand coordination and strength to finish.
I still dont see...
How we can already consider total unknowns like Dalpe and Nash as talented and fearless. And as far as Tlusty goes, if he ends up being a power-forward type, he will be the very rare Russia exception.
I agree totally with Bowman, and I hope he is at least as good as pre-injury Cole, maybe more like an Adam Deadmarsh, which would be something the Canes have never really had.
I might also point out that Ron Francis was much more of a finesse player than a “dirty ice” guy. He was tough, to be sure, but much more adept at play-making and then scoring from seemingly invisible spots, like Brett Hull. He was not a power forward, at least not in his Carolina years.
I certainly agree with your characterization of Francis’ play.
He was more of a Stillman-like player, that collected his mail from a mailbox hung on the weak-side goal post.
Took a lot of post-goal banging from opposing defenders, but that’s about all the “dirty areas” Mr. Byng ever saw.
Here we are now...entertain us.
There is only one Holmstrom. Francis, however, did routinely set up shop in front of the goalie and take a beating while deflecting goals into the net.
The guy didn’t even wear the type of shoulder pads that most players play.
You’re remembering a guy that no one else seems to be remembering.
Letting players pound on him was never in his repertoire, unless as I said, it was the seemingly traditional knockdown a goal scorer seems to be allowed by the on-ice officials to suffer.
Sure, he deflected in some goals. Who hasn’t? But it wasn’t from routinely going to the front of the net and enduring a pounding.
He got most of those goals by deflecting them in from the weak side.
Here we are now...entertain us.
For those interested in looking at some of the video of Ron Francis to determine if Francis hung back and cherry-picked or got into the battle in front of the net, here is a URL with a small snippet of some Francis goals.
http://tinyurl.com/http-www-hockeyvideohighligh
I disagree with the statement above that
But it wasn’t from routinely going to the front of the net and enduring a pounding.
He got most of those goals by deflecting them in from the weak side. bq.
Even this short segment of video shows not only weak side goals, but a player who was fearless in battling around the net. I prefer to rely on video where available than memory.
More Francis Video
Here is another segment of Ron Francis video. Note the goals from having his back to the net and/or goals battling in front of the goalie.
Can you count on one hand the number of goals Whitney, Cullen, and Samsonov had from being positioned in front of the goalie and deflecting in a goal? My recollection is that Whitney had one (1) goal in 2009-2010 with his back to the goalie in front of the net, and that Cullen and Samsonov had zero (0).
Did you have the chance to watch any of the Albany Rats games, including the playoffs? I realize those games were not widely broadcast. Dalpe showed skill and fearlessness from the tie he hit the ice. As far as I know there is very little video of Nash. Tlusty’s willingness to battle in the dangerous ice has been shown at his time with the Hurricanes and the Rats.
Tlusty is from the former Czech Republic
"He has all the virtues I dislike, and none of the vices I admire." -Sir Winston Churchill
by SouthernHockeyFan on Aug 20, 2010 9:52 AM EDT up reply actions
So you think Cullen, Whitney, and Samsonov would be better if they played more of a Ryan Smith type role on the PP?
The image of Sammy trying to plant in front of a goalie left me hysterical. I love him too, but that was just to funny.
it always burns within
the downward spiral never ends
when driven into sin
your salvation's found in a sinner's deed
by Douchebag St John on Aug 19, 2010 5:26 PM EDT up reply actions
The Utility of Speed
The faster Canes get to more pucks and have more time to decide what to do with the puck. Samsonov is an example of where great quickness does not equal great speed and his lack of speed hinders him in close quarters. LaRose has great speed, but he doesn’t have the nuanced hands and vision that some of the Hurricanes have. Jokinen has excellent quickness and what is almost equivalent to photographic memory and his hands are great. I believe he will benefit from being on power plays with Sutter and Staal where Jokinen can sneak in for his patented power play goals.
Yeah, but
When you are 22nd in the league with 16.9% success on the PP, teams can afford to take more chances without getting scored on.
Positive news...
Of course this is a very positive stat, and helps me “justify” my optimistic outlook on the upcoming season. Why positive? (i know i’ll get an argument from all u “half-empty, and sky-is-falling folks”) well, #1 as said above, the overall number of penalties called has decreased each year. can, or is this TREND likely to continue in the future? well, it’s not likely in the long-run! two reasons- refs have really been pretty lax (for whatever reason) and unless you believe they intend to “swallow-the-whistle” as much or more than b4 for the forseeable future, then that trend should change! also, players will cut back less on the cheap fouls, if they perceive they can get away with it: IF U AIN’T CHEAT’N U AIN’T TRYIN’!!
Why am i an optimist? well, #1 it’s my nature! #2 the prospects/ youth should help improve our shooting % #3 the xtra speed in the lineup should help us draw even more fouls #4 after last year the path of least resistance is UP!!!!!
Question… no one keeps an official player stat as to penalties drawn, do they? I’ve always thought that would be valuable information.
Oh, and I’m just waiting for a few fans of opposing teams to show up with these stats as proof that we’re a bunch of divers.
Phoblographer and Finn Aficionado
SISU
Penalties Drawn and Productive Shifts
I have been trying to formulate a chart for information that would be more enlightening than some of the present stats. For example, there should be a stat for “productive shifts” versus “unproductive shifts.” Not every shift winds up with a goal and sometimes the player happens to be coming on the ice when a great goal is scored. In addition to scoring goals during the shift, players who consistently have productive shifts are ones who during their shift (1) win pucks the corners; (2) break up passes; (3) separate the puck from the player on a check; (4) get good scoring opportunities; (5) take a hit to put the puck out of danger; (6) make great passes to a line-mate (even it doesn’t wind up with a score); (7) force the opposing team to take penalties in order to defend them, etc.
The non-productive shifts tend to be when the line comes out, sweeps the puck around the corner, drifts around, and then gets off the ice. I’m not suggesting every shift has to be wildly exciting and an amazing display of hockey; but if a player consistently has shifts that are useful merely to shorten the length of the game, it is somewhat telling.
Official, no, but this table at Behind the Net might have what you’re looking for.
Oh, and I’m just waiting for a few fans of opposing teams to show up with these stats as proof that we’re a bunch of divers.
Buncha divers.
Playing Devils' advocate since 1982.
Excellent! Thank you so much (for the link to the table AND for not letting me down on the diving comment)!
And I was RIGHT in my suspicion as to who on our squad draws the most. And it’s not even close.
Phoblographer and Finn Aficionado
SISU
by Jamie Kellner on Aug 21, 2010 12:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Glad to oblige.
In all seriousness, after getting to see the awe-inspiring diving of Daniel Carcillo for 11 games last year, no one else even registers on my radar as a diver.
I don’t find it surprising that Ruutu leads the Hurricanes, the top penalty drawers (outside of the divers like Carcillo) tend to be either the skill guys like Datsyuk that have the uncanny knack of putting the opposition into a situation where they have to penalize them, or the agitators who get under people’s skin and provoke them into taking dumb penalties. Ruutu has a bit of both going for him.
Playing Devils' advocate since 1982.
Table really shows the positive effect a pesterous, gritty, trash-talking, big-hitting type guy can have on the team. Both Dustin Brown and Daniel Carcillo topping the list is a perfect example, both are widely hated, big-hitting, trash-talking guys who may not score a ton… But creating an extra 40 powerplays for your team solely due to your behavior at a PP conversion rate of 20% equals 8 goals… Not an insignificant amount.
Good luck quantifying...
The CORSI like stats are probably your best bet.
over all ay good article
at least the canes over all, have the people and the tools they all bring to the table to not only give we the fans or Mr.K some hope,but to actually do something the canes have not done in ages…be in the mix of things even before the first face off is done…true last year at this time,many of us were excited…but this time around we have more hope and the tools needed…and "hopefully’ Mo on down will see and utilize what he has…instead of wear out the other parts of the team…as on paper and in this dicision aside from a few exceptions, the canes can do and be even more competive….but then again..what’s on paper isn’t on the ice now is it ?
And if it Aint Hockey,It Aint Nothin !!
That Checkers 3rd Sweater ROCKS !!!
Per-player statistics?
Is there a per-player statistics for this? I would really like to see who were the main players responsible for this.
Here’s the link eleisas posted above from Behind the Net, filtered for the Canes players. Not an official source, but probably close enough to do a decent compare across players.
If you extrapolate his per-game stats out across an 82-game season, Ruuty probably would have been in the top ten league-wide if he’d played close to a full season. Cole wouldn’t have been too far behind him.
I’d expect the two of them to draw the most, but they really stand way above the rest of the crowd. If I’m reading this correctly, they draw almost twice as many penalties per game played than anyone else on the team.
I thought Chad’s would have been higher.
I didn’t look at the ratios of penalties drawn/taken to see if there’s any correlation but that would be an interesting compare as well.
I really don’t understand why penalties drawn is not an officially-kept stat. Seems like an important one to omit.
Phoblographer and Finn Aficionado
SISU
by Jamie Kellner on Aug 21, 2010 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions
Looking at the same stats from the 2008-09 season (when they both played a full season), Cole was 4th in the league and Ruuty was 8th.
Staal was tied for 12th which should indicate he factors in significantly as well when healthy, not so much last season.
From there it pretty much drops off.
Phoblographer and Finn Aficionado
SISU
by Jamie Kellner on Aug 21, 2010 4:17 PM EDT up reply actions
I didn’t look at the ratios of penalties drawn/taken to see if there’s any correlation but that would be an interesting compare as well.
It is an important factor to consider, I think, when judging a player’s overall contribution in this respect.
For instance, Ruutu draws about twice as many as he takes per 60 minutes, which is pretty good. Pitkanen takes 3 times as many as he draws, per 60 minutes. And Sutter drew 15 without taking a single one, which is really good… he’s one of only four guys in the league who played more than 20 games to take no penalties, and drew far more than any of them (2, 4, 1)
Playing Devils' advocate since 1982.
What's the comment?
“When you suck that badly, you’re going to lose”?
Or something like that.
All "Real Men" have one name in common: "Daddy"
Penalties drawn/ Penalties taken
Using link posted by elesias, we can calculate difference between penalties drawn and taken (per 60 minutes). Obviously, positive numbers are good, negative not so good. Here it goes:
1.1 Ruutu
1.0 Sutter
0.7 Cole
0.5 McBain
0.4 Whitney
0.4 Dwyer
0.2 Jokinen
0.2 Carson
0.0 Brind’Amour
0.0 Gleason
0.0 Tlusty
-0.2 Staal
-0.2 Samsonov
-0.2 Kostopulous
-0.3 LaRose
-0.6 Rodney
-0.8 Pitkanen
-0.8 Harrison
Looking at these numbers, I am disappointed that Staal is negative. A player like him should be generating penalty chances for his team, not giving them away. Pitkanen should get better too.
Too many personal fouls for Staal, little “I’ll hit you back!” cross-checks, etc. that get caught by the officials.
Very correctable.
Here we are now...entertain us.
I would agree with you both regarding Staal if his numbers weren’t so markedly different for the 2008-09 season. That season he took 14 penalties and drew 32. That’s more in line with my expectations for him as well, and my opinion is that the difference last season wasn’t as much a change in his style of play as it was playing injured.
Phoblographer and Finn Aficionado
SISU
by Jamie Kellner on Aug 22, 2010 11:08 PM EDT up reply actions
In my opinion, Pitkanen should have that low of a rating. He is one of the only guys on our team that will actually do something when our opponent is throwing cheap shots around. This happens often, and every time you will see Pitkanen finally take an “enough is enough” penalty because he crosschecks a guy hard in the face or boards someone very purposefully. Many people consider that simply undisciplined play, personally I think it really does have an effect on the game. Some games the refs simply won’t police a game (or “coincidentally” miss continuous calls) and I’m happy to have a guy like Pitkanen who will take the penalty, but also send a big message.
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