Using the excellent data provided by Natural Stat Trick (naturalstattrick.com), I decided to put a couple of quick visualizations together to show where teams stand at this point in the season. Two team-level visualizations are provided, one using statistics from all situations (even strength, power play, short-handed) and one from 5-on-5 play. Although both are similar, it’s useful to see where teams may differ on the two charts to specifically look at their success or failure on special teams (another visualization for a different day).
To get a quick overview of team performance, I’ve decided to plot variables related to possession, team success, and the key shooting/saving metrics. Specifically, the visualization shows Corsi For % (The ratio of shot attempts (shots on goal, missed shots, blocked shots) of the team compared to its opponents), Point % (percentage of possible points earned on the season so far), Shooting %, and Save %. Corsi For % is placed on the horizontal axis and Points % is placed on the vertical axis. Teams in the upper right, for instance, are dominating in possession and in winning games, while those in the lower left are not possessing the puck and losing the majority of their games. A simple linear trend is plotted between these two variables. The size of the marker for each team (circle in the All Situations graph and squares in the 5v5 graph) represents team shooting % (higher shooting % leads to a bigger circle/square) and the color represents Save % (Gold is excellent – Red is poor).
What are some insights from these charts about the season so far in the NHL? Boston and Carolina have been dominant possession-wise, and this had led to great team success. Vegas has also been good possession-wise (less so at 5v5) and is also experiencing terrific team success. Defending champions Tampa Bay have had stellar goaltending coupled with a relatively high shooting percentage to explain their good start (despite the loss of Kucherov for the season and the rash of injuries they have suffered). Toronto and Florida have good numbers across the board and have both experienced many wins to start the season. Colorado has the best possession figures but appear to be somewhat unlucky at this point with a relatively low 5v5 shooting percentage contributing to a lower Points % that would be expected.
Philadelphia and Washington are benefitting from very high shooting percentages, which are likely unsustainable, as both will need to improve on their possession and goaltending to continue winning. Other interesting items the visualizations shows is how great of goaltending at 5v5 New Jersey has achieved and how Nashville and Buffalo could be in a position to improve in the standings if their low 5v5 shooting percentages are due to bad luck, rather than skill of converting on scoring chances.
Comments