Being a bit of a nerd, I’ve always had a fascination with numbers. And the myriad of today’s ever-evolving hockey statistics truly boggle my mind.
Heck, you can track everything from a player’s zone starts to how their teammates perform with or without them (WOWY). Corsi, Fenwick…the list is endless.
Lately, I’m enamored of a relatively new stat—points per sixty minutes. To me, it provides a truer indication of a player’s production than points per game because it takes into account how much he’s actually on the ice.
Take Bryan Rust. The speedy winger’s averaged a good-but-not-great 0.50 points per game. However, his points per sixty rate of 2.23 compares favorably with the team’s top performers.
Another, albeit extreme example? Pens heavyweight Tom Sestito. He’s averaged a paltry 0.18 points per game. His points per sixty minutes? A surprising 2.21.
On the flip side, star defenseman Kris Letang boasts an impressive average of 0.83 points per game. Only slightly off the pace set by high-scoring forward Phil Kessel. Yet his points per sixty minute mark of 1.95, while decent, lags a full point behind “Phil the Thrill’s.”
The reason? “Tanger” logs a ton of minutes when healthy.
Of course, there are many factors to consider when evaluating a player’s productivity. Their role, for one. Are they used in offensive situations, such as the power play? Or are they strictly a five-on-five guy or defensive specialist. Are they are a forward or a defenseman?
Without further ado, the following table displays the Penguins’ points per sixty minutes (P/60), as well as points per game (P/GP). For good measure, I’ve included their Corsi for 60, too.
I found the results intriguing, if not entirely unexpected.
| Player | Pos | GP | TOI | PTS | P/GP | P/60 | Corsi for 60 |
| Archibald | RW | 3 | 28 | 2 | 0.67 | 4.34 | 54.1 |
| Malkin | C | 62 | 1154 | 72 | 1.16 | 3.74 | 51.9 |
| Crosby | C | 65 | 1292 | 80 | 1.23 | 3.71 | 53.8 |
| Sheary | RW | 51 | 800 | 47 | 0.92 | 3.53 | 53.6 |
| Kessel | RW | 71 | 1277 | 63 | 0.89 | 2.96 | 48.1 |
| Guentzel | LW | 34 | 548 | 25 | 0.74 | 2.74 | 52.2 |
| Hornqvist | RW | 60 | 955 | 39 | 0.65 | 2.45 | 55.1 |
| Rust | RW | 50 | 671 | 25 | 0.50 | 2.23 | 52.7 |
| Sestito | LW | 11 | 54 | 2 | 0.18 | 2.21 | 35.6 |
| Schultz | D | 68 | 1355 | 47 | 0.69 | 2.08 | 51.9 |
| Streit | D | 9 | 153 | 5 | 0.56 | 1.96 | 52.7 |
| Letang | D | 41 | 1046 | 34 | 0.83 | 1.95 | 52.9 |
| Wilson | LW | 68 | 727 | 23 | 0.34 | 1.90 | 51.5 |
| Cullen | C | 62 | 847 | 25 | 0.40 | 1.77 | 49.2 |
| Kunitz | LW | 65 | 995 | 28 | 0.43 | 1.69 | 49.9 |
| Gaunce | D | 7 | 76 | 2 | 0.29 | 1.58 | 46.8 |
| Bonino | C | 70 | 1148 | 30 | 0.43 | 1.57 | 46.8 |
| Kuhnhackl | RW | 46 | 465 | 12 | 0.26 | 1.55 | 45.4 |
| Hagelin | LW | 61 | 945 | 22 | 0.36 | 1.40 | 53.1 |
| Rowney | C | 16 | 154 | 3 | 0.19 | 1.17 | 51.3 |
| Fehr | C | 52 | 568 | 11 | 0.21 | 1.16 | 42.4 |
| Daley | D | 54 | 1097 | 19 | 0.35 | 1.04 | 46.7 |
| Ruhwedel | D | 26 | 435 | 7 | 0.27 | 0.96 | 50.3 |
| Cole | D | 71 | 1396 | 22 | 0.31 | 0.95 | 50.7 |
| Dumoulin | D | 60 | 1222 | 13 | 0.22 | 0.64 | 52.2 |
| Maatta | D | 54 | 973 | 7 | 0.13 | 0.43 | 49.0 |
| Oleksy | D | 11 | 151 | 1 | 0.10 | 0.40 | 51.6 |
| Hainsey | D | 10 | 207 | 1 | 0.09 | 0.29 | 51.5 |
| Pouliot | D | 10 | 144 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 46.9 |
| Sundqvist | C | 4 | 34 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 44.3 |
| Warsofsky | D | 6 | 91 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 50.9 |
Hey Rick,
Costly win last night. Jake G. got a cheap shot to the head and has another concussion. The NHLPA has to get involved in this matter. I watched the hit over and over and you can say a rookie mistake…Jake should have kept his head up… What ever. The reality is Jake G. may never play again.That is a small, but real possibility. A 2 or 3 game suspensions is BS !!! Give him 10 games with out pay for a first offense and a second offense throw him out of the league. For good. But the NHLPA will never go for that.
More importantly is the new recent medical evidence that shows one major hit to the head, just one , like that can cause severe brain deterioration 30 to 40 years from now. All kinds of other serious diseases as well from just one hit to the head in the right location.( Parkinson’s,Dementia, speech, Blindness,balance, Heart and many more.)
The NFL is dealing with it and the NHL is giving it lip service. So I pray that Jake recovers and there are no long term affects to his health. That hit should never have happened in my opinion in the NHL. They know better.
Nice goal by Sid last night !!! That one will be around for a while.
Cheers
Just saw Sundqvist and Corrado were recalled. Pouliot was sent back down, according to the PG
Hey Other Rick,
Thanks for keeping us in the loop.
I’d kind of panned the acquisition of Corrado at the trade deadline. His stats aren’t all that impressive…neither are his size or pedigree (fifth-round pick in 2011). But apparently he can skate and handle the puck. And, although his traditional numbers (points, plus/minus) don’t bowl you over, his shot differential stats are reputed to be impressive.
Plus, he’s a right-handed shot.
On the flip side, I had to restrain myself from being too harsh on Derrick Pouliot in my recent game summaries. Especially after the New Jersey game when he got burned twice and was on the ice for three goals against.
I’ll withhold judgment for now. But the fact that each time they call on this kid they wind up sending him back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton speaks volumes.
On second thought, I’ll toss my two cents in. I liken Pouliot to former Pens prospect Beau Bennett. In perfect (and I mean perfect) circumstances, i.e.; Derrick being paired with a stud stay-at-home partner, I see him having the offensive skills to contribute at the NHL level.
Without a partner who can cover for him? I don’t think he has the defensive skills or instincts to make it.
Rick
Hey Rick,
We have covered Pouliot many times in the past 2 years and the results are always the same. The truth was that Shero drafted the wrong guy and many in Hockey rated him 20 to 30th, not top 7 and it looks like they were right. Due to his size he was never a strong defensive player, but more of a power play specialist.They drafted Joe Morrow a year earlier, who played for the same team as DP. I do not think he is burning up the league either.
Frankly, the Pens should have traded DP 2 years ago to a Western based team, where he was known from his junior years. Now the Pen’s will be lucky to get a 3rd rounder for him when his contract expires this summer.
Corrado was well liked by the AHL affiliate of the Leafs. Many said he is a fluid skater and a some what decent defensive player. In Toronto it was just a numbers game as they have many 2nd, 3rd, and 4 th round picks moving up in their organization and they needed space. Plus he got on the bad side of Coach Babcock … This Toronto team has been a perennial loser and for many years did not draft well.
That has all changed in the past 3 years. There system is as deep as anyone’s. So time will tell if the Pen’s made the right move.
Cheers
Hey Jim,
I do remember you providing some great background info on Pouliot. Such as Derrick functioning more as a rover during his junior days at Portland. Which, in a way, might explain a lot of the defensive deficiencies in his game.
Even though I’m not real high on him, this is one of the few instances where I don’t think the Pens have handled a young player particularly well.
Up, down, up, down.
Especially this season, Pouliot hasn’t been afforded an opportunity to play through some admittedly rough games and perhaps develop some confidence at the NHL level.
Having said that, a player does need to perform in a way that compels a team to keep him. And, at least up till now, Pouliot hasn’t been able to do that.
Ironically, in his first game as a Penguin, Frank Corrado reminded me a bit of Pouliot. Good skater, made some nice passes. However, he also seemed a little suspect in his own end…especially in the dirty areas.
Rick
Okay so I was on the NHL website again. Sestito is out with an upper-body injury, that is why the Pens recalled Sundquist I assume.
The site also listed Corrado as getting his debut tonight saying he skated alongside Streit in warm-ups.
Now, what I also saw was that Murray was the G likely to get the start. Now some people may not understand why I say this, particularly since although I like Fleury, I acknowledge that Murray is the better of the two. However, I also believe in playing the hot hand and think it is a mistake not to reward a shutout with another start. Granted it is not as hard to get a shutout when the team in front of you finally plays some D, but given the assault MAF has been under (I am mainly talking about the amount of rubber he has seen this year, I am not that sentimental), giving him a start against Buf who will be playing the back end of back to back starts would be a good reward. On paper it should give him a chance to bring his stats back.
Hey Rick,
Great minds must think alike. What that has to do with you and me, I have no idea. However, this morning, before I started to work. I decided to look at the P/60 throughour the league on the NHL website. I refined the searched to only include those players that had played half the season. What I saw was that the Pens have the 2-best in the world (or at least the league) still, Malkin and Crosby.
Hey Other Rick,
Weird, huh? That’s the second or third time you and I have been pondering the same stats at the same time.
I’d love to go with the “great minds think alike” theory. More likely, it has something to do with the water at Wright’s Gym … 🙂
Rick
Now that’s funny