- The San Jose Sharks in 8 games have scored 10 goals-for and allowed 12 goals-against. That is, they are allowing 1.2 goals for every one they are scoring.
- The Anaheim Ducks in 10 games have scored 8 goals-for and allowed 13 goals-against. They are allowing 1.6 goals for every one they are scoring.
- The Los Angeles Kings in 9 games have scored 11 goals-for and allowed 23 goals-against. They are allowing 2.1 goals for every one they are scoring.
- All three teams together in 27 games have scored 29 goals-for and allowed 48 goals-against. They are allowing 1.7 goals for every one that they are scoring.
Outscoring opponents at even-strength isn't a real necessity to make the playoffs; certainly a lot can be made up with special teams. But come postseason, generally the level of opposition goes up and often special teams production decreases. The Ducks last spring, for example, primarily killed in the playoffs not because of their power play, but rather because they dominated 5-on-5 hockey. For all three teams, this looks so far to be one key area to work on; an effective 5-on-5 game makes success look easy.
Just for fun, here's the top 15 and the bottom 15 BoC performers at even-strength-goal-differential-per-60-minutes. Unlike the above discussion, these tables include more than just 5-on-5 production, but rather anything labeled as "even-strength". That means that in terms of ice time and results, these include 4-on-4 and empty-net situations (basically, any time icing can be called on both teams). Note that quality of opposition is not considered here; that may help explain why some players fall on either list.
The top 15:
Player | Team | Pos | GP | ES Min. |
G–A–Pts | Plus–Minus–Diff | Diff/hr. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Petteri Wirtanen | ANA |
C |
1 |
2.87 |
1 – 0 – 1 |
+1 – -0 – +1 |
+20.93 |
Douglas Murray | SJS |
D |
6 |
57.00 |
0 – 2 – 2 |
+4 – -1 – +3 |
+3.16 |
Scott Thornton | LAK |
W |
6 |
46.00 |
1 – 0 – 1 |
+2 – -0 – +2 |
+2.61 |
Brad May | ANA |
W |
8 |
49.50 |
0 – 0 – 0 |
+2 – -0 – +2 |
+2.42 |
George Parros | ANA |
W |
9 |
33.88 |
0 – 1 – 1 |
+1 – -0 – +1 |
+1.77 |
Joe Thornton | SJS |
C |
8 |
106.30 |
2 – 4 – 6 |
+7 – -4 – +3 |
+1.69 |
Kent Huskins | ANA |
D |
10 |
152.50 |
1 – 3 – 4 |
+7 – -3 – +4 |
+1.57 |
Jaroslav Modry | LAK |
D |
9 |
126.82 |
0 – 0 – 0 |
+7 – -4 – +3 |
+1.42 |
Joe Dipenta | ANA |
D |
9 |
86.10 |
0 – 3 – 3 |
+3 – -1 – +2 |
+1.39 |
Corey Perry | ANA |
W |
10 |
132.88 |
3 – 1 – 4 |
+7 – -4 – +3 |
+1.35 |
Ryane Clowe | SJS |
W |
8 |
89.22 |
1 – 2 – 3 |
+4 – -2 – +2 |
+1.35 |
Milan Michalek | SJS |
W |
8 |
92.05 |
2 – 1 – 3 |
+4 – -2 – +2 |
+1.30 |
Ladislav Nagy | LAK |
W |
7 |
60.72 |
0 – 2 – 2 |
+2 – -1 – +1 |
+0.99 |
Ryan Getzlaf | ANA |
C |
10 |
133.53 |
2 – 5 – 7 |
+8 – -6 – +2 |
+0.90 |
Jonathan Cheechoo | SJS |
W |
8 |
94.13 |
2 – 1 – 3 |
+5 – -4 – +1 |
+0.64 |
The bottom 15:
Player | Team | Pos | GP | ES Min. | G–A–Pts | Plus–Minus–Diff | Diff/hr. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Raitis Ivanans | LAK |
W |
8 |
52.33 |
0 – 1 – 1 |
+1 – -3 – -2 |
-2.29 |
Rob Davison | SJS |
D |
3 |
22.03 |
0 – 0 – 0 |
+0 – -1 – -1 |
-2.72 |
Brady Murray | LAK |
W |
4 |
39.48 |
1 – 0 – 1 |
+1 – -3 – -2 |
-3.04 |
Andrew Miller | ANA |
W |
4 |
39.42 |
1 – 0 – 1 |
+1 – -3 – -2 |
-3.04 |
Rob Blake | LAK |
D |
9 |
116.02 |
0 – 0 – 0 |
+4 – -10 – -6 |
-3.10 |
Patrick Rissmiller | SJS |
W |
7 |
57.85 |
0 – 0 – 0 |
+0 – -3 – -3 |
-3.11 |
Lubomir Visnovsky | LAK |
D |
9 |
152.50 |
0 – 1 – 1 |
+6 – -13 – -7 |
-3.11 |
Patrick O’Sullivan | LAK |
W |
9 |
91.33 |
1 – 1 – 2 |
+4 – -9 – -5 |
-3.28 |
Michal Handzus | LAK |
C |
9 |
97.90 |
0 – 1 – 1 |
+4 – -10 – -6 |
-3.68 |
Brad Stuart | LAK |
D |
9 |
122.45 |
0 – 0 – 0 |
+1 – -9 – -8 |
-3.92 |
Marcel Goc | SJS |
C |
7 |
56.67 |
0 – 0 – 0 |
+0 – -4 – -4 |
-4.24 |
John Zeiler | LAK |
W |
7 |
56.17 |
0 – 0 – 0 |
+0 – -4 – -4 |
-4.27 |
Curtis Brown | SJS |
C |
3 |
20.57 |
0 – 0 – 0 |
+0 – -2 – -2 |
-5.83 |
Maxim Kondratiev | ANA |
D |
2 |
9.42 |
0 – 0 – 0 |
+0 – -1 – -1 |
-6.37 |
Jason King | ANA |
W |
2 |
21.38 |
0 – 0 – 0 |
+0 – -3 – -3 |
-8.42 |