A couple of games back Phil Krundle, esteemed founding father of PenguinPoop, opined that the Penguins seem to do a better job of getting pucks and bodies to the net when our defensemen join the attack.
It got my nerdy side to thinkin’. Is there any correlation between production from the defense and wins? I also was curious to see how our present backline corps stacks up against last year’s group, which was spearheaded by puck-mover extraordinaire Kris Letang. So I decided to crunch some numbers.
The first table displays the average shots on goal, goals, assists and points per postseason game from our defense, broken down by wins and losses.
| Result | Games | Shots/Game | Goals/Game | Assists/Game | Points/Game |
| Wins | 14 | 6.50 | 0.43 | 1.86 | 2.29 |
| Losses | 9 | 8.33 | 0.22 | 1.11 | 1.33 |
| Total | 23 | 7.22 | 0.35 | 1.57 | 1.91 |
Not surprisingly, the black and gold receive more output from the ‘d’ on a per game basis when they’re victorious.
A hidden stat? Our no-name defense has collected at least one point in each of our 23 playoff games. Struck by their consistency, I decided to break down the numbers by opponent to see how our rearguards produced from one series to the next.
| Opponent | Games | Shots on Goal | Goals | Assists | Points |
| Columbus | 5 | 36 | 1 | 11 | 12 |
| Washington | 7 | 35 | 2 | 10 | 12 |
| Ottawa | 7 | 73 | 5 | 8 | 13 |
| Nashville | 4 | 22 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Total | 23 | 166 | 8 | 36 | 44 |
Noting the pronounced spike in shots on goal against Ottawa, I also wanted to see if shot activity from the defense affected puck possession.
Sure enough, the Pens as a team had 54.8 percent of the overall shot attempts against the Sens, versus 47.4 percent against Columbus, 43.8 percent against Nashville, and a low of 39.6 percent against Washington, when our defense was productive but comparatively inactive in shooting terms.
The numbers clearly support Phil’s assertion that the Pens do a better job of pressuring foes when the defense helps drive the offense. They also back up my perception that Mike Sullivan and his staff changed our breakouts in Game Seven against Washington, which gave our defense more leeway to lug the puck and join the rush. An onus that seems to have fallen by the wayside thus far in the Final.
For a final comparison, I wanted to see how this spring’s bunch compared to last season’s Cup winning defense.
| Postseason | Games | Shots on Goal | Goals | Assists | Points |
| 2016 | 24 | 219 | 9 | 40 | 49 |
| 2017 | 23 | 166 | 8 | 36 | 44 |
Given the considerable hole created by Letang’s unfortunate absence, the numbers are remarkably similar. While Justin Schultz (3 goals and 11 points) and Ian Cole (9 assists) have picked up most of the slack, everybody’s chipped in.
In short, our defensemen—banged up as they are—have done a respectable job of contributing this postseason.
Puckpourri
Sullivan reunited Sidney Crosby with Jake Guentzel and Conor Sheary at practice yesterday. “Sid and the Kids” tore up the league down the homestretch before the line was broken up during the first round series against the Blue Jackets.
Nick Bonino (ankle) and Patric Hornqvist (wrist) didn’t participate in yesterday’s session. No word on whether they’ll be ready for Game Five.
Sullivan named Matt Murray as his starting goaltender for tonight’s contest.
The Pens are 9-3 this postseason at PPG Paints Arena.
And maatta riding pine
Just a whole lot of O from anywhere and every where please!!!
Amen!
Rick
👍👍
And from the “o”!!
Wow Rick! Love the last year/this year comparison!
The way I remember last year the Penguins were winning easy, when here we are playing the same amount of games. Funny how you remember things!
What I was alluding to with my comment was that Ottawa was clogging in front of the net when the Penguins controlled the zone because the Penguins defensemen were dumping the puck down the boards instead of shooting.
There were way too many times where they dumped it down the boards without it being a pass, basically handing it over to the other team when they could have shot the puck instead. They rectified that problem the last four games of the Ottawa series.
Unfortunately they have fallen into the same problem again. Nashville is clogging up in front of their net like Ottawa did because of Pittsburgh’s defense’s unwillingness to shoot when they have control of the zone. The defense needs to help open the zone up.
I’m going to add missed shots to your shot total to make the numbers a little clearer.
2016 – 219 shots + 104 missed shots = 323 Shot attempts.
2017 – 166 shots + 63 missed shots = 229 Shot attempts.
Almost 100 less shot attempts or just about 30% less.
It amazes me looking at your numbers that the defense has about the same offensive totals as last year without Letang and with 30% less shot attempts.
Here’s another amazing stat. It sure looks like the penguins’ defense is giving the puck away all the time when in fact they have 19 less give-aways this post season.
Hey Phil,
Truly great thoughts and add-ons … 🙂
The picture really snaps into focus when you factor in the missed shot attempts.
Along those lines, as a team we’re down about 19.3% in total shot attempts (including opponents blocked shots) from last seasons’ Cup run, by my unofficial count (1525-1230). Yet we’ve scored only four less goals (73-69).
Efficiency truly seems to be the watchword of this group. Let’s hope we can keep it going tonight.
GO PENS!
Rick