Oilers at the Midway Point

7 years ago

Back in November, I took a look at some things around this Oilers team that jumped out at me analytically. Now that we’ve played over half the games of this year’s regular season I thought it would be good to highlight a few more things surrounding this team.

All stats via http://stats.hockeyanalysis.com/

Right off the top, something that jumped out to me was Patrick Maroon. The big-bodied winger has found his game playing alongside Connor McDavid, and has scored 15 5v5 goals this season. That puts him second in the NHL in 5v5 goals, behind Sidney Crosby, Michael Grabner and Auston Matthews, who each have 16.

In 5v5 goals per hour in players >200 mins, Maroon ranks seventh while Tyler Pitick sits ahead of him in the sixth slot. It’s a true shame that Pitlick went down with a torn ACL on Dec. 19. He was having a really solid season production wise, finally showing he could play in the NHL. I was curious to see if he would’ve been a player elevated more in the lineup down the stretch.

By eye, I have thought that Eric Gryba has had a solid season. He looks to be making smarter plays with the puck on his stick and has shown an ability to make passes like we haven’t from him. While his slow foot speed still gets him in trouble he has been a solid option for the Oilers this season. The numbers support him as through his 22 GP, he holds a 55 CF% and a PDO of 97.7.

As I wrote about in November, Matthew Benning has been a darling for the Oilers this season.

At five-on-five, there were a number of things that jumped out. First off, through his first seven NHL games and first 100 minutes of 5v5TOI, Matthew Benning is a 55.7 CF% player and also leads in CF%Rel. He is third on the team. The case of Benning is a curious one, as some couldn’t quite figure out why he was still up in Edmonton when he had the opportunity to get significant ice time in Bakersfield.

I’ll start off by giving a stick tap to Peter Chiarelli, as this was quite a nice find from the NCAA. Benning has stepped in and reminded me of Brandon Davidson in the sense of a rookie defenceman who has the ability to already play in the NHL Benning’s numbers have sustained, as now through 30 games he is posting a 5v5 55.2 CF%.

Benning also ranks third on the Oilers in points per hour, at a 0.79 pace. Beyond this, he has shown an ability to not be shy in the NHL. Jumping up in the rush, laying body check and dropping the mitts are all in this young man’s repertoire and he is doing it all with confidence. It’s going to be fun to continue to watch him develop.

Oilers at 5v5, 2016-2017, 2029:08 TOI:

CF% – 51.6 – 9th in the NHL
GF% – 51.7- 11th in the NHL
SF% – 51.5 – 8th in the NHL
PDO – 100.1 – 11th in the NHL

The numbers below is from my “A fifth of the way there” article with the stats pulled Nov. 15. Link at the top of the article.

Oilers at 5v5, 2016-2017, 775:34 TOI:

CF% – 50.4 – 12th in the NHL
GF% – 50.0 – 14th in the NHL
SF% – 51.0 – 10th in the NHL
PDO – 99.7 – 14th in the NHL

Oilers at 5v5, 2015-2016, 3912:44 TOI:

CF% – 48.8 – 19th in the NHL
GF% – 44.3 – 29th in the NHL
SF% – 48.5 – 23rd in the NHL
PDO – 98.7 – 28th in the NHL

At the end of the day, one thing is clear. The Oilers are legit this year. The numbers show it, and the Oilers currently sitting third in the Pacific Division and 10th in the league show it.

Let’s see what happens the rest of the way, but as Robin Brownlee put it yesterday, No longer done in 41. Buckle up, if you remember how. It’s going to be fun.

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Oilers at the Midway Point

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