Alex Ovechkin, Henrik Sedin, Mike Green, Duncan Keith, Nicklas Backstrom, Joe Thornton and Thomas Voukon are amongst our leaders as the NHL pauses for the Olympics.
“It isn’t tennis, I can tell you that much!” xxclaimed one local observer who, out of embarrassment, wished to remain anonymous. “They both just kinda…push the ball over the net, you know?"
RealGM Search
By Nick Obergan
When I was looking at the standings over the past couple of months, I realized that they didn’t accurately portray how good or bad certain teams are, especially in relation to each other. The commonly held view has been that weak/strong divisions play a large role in this. And while they do play a role, it is not as large as you might think.
So I began to think of other reasons why points don’t accurately portray the teams’ actual skill level, and found the following to be true:
- I noticed that average teams were being saved by above average goaltending, while above average teams were being let down by average goaltending.
- More often than not, offensive teams get all of the attention, while important factors such as penalty killing, face-offs, and how many shots a team allows end up being overlooked.
- As the playoffs loom, it becomes increasingly important to fare well in one-goal-games, and in overtime. Additionally, it is important to be consistent, as well as streaking in a positive way.
Thus, I created a unique formula that pulls from all important team stats/percentages and combines them into one number value. While the formula won’t be listed (as not to have it stolen, and keep it unique to myself and RealGM), I am listing all of the stats used to come to the conclusion you see below.
Stats of the OCTR:
Wins-Losses-OT Losses (Record);
Point percentage (PT%) – which is the percentage of available points the team has secured during their games played;
Goals for and against (G/GA);
Shots for and against (S/SA);
Power play and penalty killing % (PP%/PK%);
Percentage of wins in 1 goal games (1GG%);
Percentage of wins in overtime games (OT%);
Point percentage over the last 10 games (L10PT%);
Season point percentage of opponents faced over the last 10 games (L10PT%Opp);
Team faceoff percentage (FO%).
Without further ado, let’s unveil the first ever ‘Obe’s Comprehensive Team Rankings’ (OCTR), counting all games played up until March 9th.
1. Chicago Blackhawks Record:43-17-5 PT%:70.0 G/GA:3.22/2.4 S/SA:34.0/24.2 PP%/PK%:19.6/84.4 1GG%:60.6 OT%:50.0 L10PT%:65.0 L10PT%Opp:52.2 FO%:52.4
Final Rating: 105.884
2. Washington Capitals Record:44-13-9 PT%:73.5 G/GA:3.88/2.76 S/SA:33.0/31.0 PP%/PK%:25.2/78.5 1GG%:46.7 OT%:25.0 L10PT%:75.0 L10PT%Opp:54.7 FO%:51.6
Final Rating: 102.440
3. San Jose Sharks Record:42-14-9 PT%:71.5 G/GA:3.17/2.37 S/SA:32.0/31.3 PP%/PK%:22.2/86.2 1GG%:55.2 OT%:35.7 L10PT%:60.0 L10PT%Opp:51.9 FO%:55.9
Final Rating: 97.364
4. Vancouver Canucks Record:41-23-2 PT%:63.6 G/GA:3.24/2.54 S/SA:30.4/29.1 PP%/PK%:21.4/80.6 1GG%:60.9 OT%:20.0 L10PT%:70.0 L10PT%Opp:54.4 FO%:51.2
Final Rating: 91.068
18. Montreal Canadiens Record:33-29-6 PT%:52.9 G/GA:2.6/2.74 S/SA:28.2/32.6 PP%/PK%:24.2/83.1 1GG%:47.2 OT%:43.8 L10PT%:60.0 L10PT%Opp:59.5 FO%:49.4
Final Rating: 72.869
19. St. Louis Blues Record:30-26-9 PT%:53.1 G/GA:2.63/2.74 S/SA:29.4/30.6 PP%/PK%:16.1/86.1 1GG%:50.0 OT%:55.6 L10PT%:60.0 L10PT%Opp:62.0 FO%:48.9
Final Rating: 91.565
