The trade for and subsequent signing of Andrew MacDonald caused mixed reactions from Flyers fans. Hell who am I kidding, the trade was bad and the contract is even worse, and it will continue to get worse. However, we cannot dwell on the past but only try to look at the few positives that might come from Mr. MacDonald. In an effort to discover what exactly is MacDonald's problem, or his problems, I decided to look at all the (regular season) goals against that MacDonald was on the ice for since his trade. Here goes nothing.

The Eyetest

Looking at all the regular season goals against that Andrew MacDonald was on the ice for. I only had access to the highlights on NHL.com, not NHL Vault, so some might be cut a little bit short.

Goal 1:

Notes: Forces man to outside for tough shot, failed cover and rebounds lead to scramble in slot and eventual goal as MacDonald ties up his man in the crease.

Goal 2:

Notes: Over-pursues man in slot leaving passing lane for Jagr leading to a 1-on-1 in front of Mason. Some blame on B. Schenn here as well.

Goal 3:

Notes: Forces play to outside/point before tying up man in crease (possibly interfering with Mason) as a shot goes in from the point.

Goal 4:

Notes: Gets beat to the puck and loses battle behind net, ties up man in front of Mason as a shot from the point goes in.

Goal 5:

Notes: Inadvertently blocks shot/pass and fails to clear, leading to a walk-in shot from the slot.

Goal 6:

Notes: Raffl/Hartnell turnover leads to a fluke goal as the puck trickles through Mason.

Goal 7:

Notes: Missed shot on 3-on-2 by Rinaldo leads to a 4-on-2 the other way. MacDonald a bit indecisive.

Goal 8:

Notes: Floater from the point goes in as MacDonald is in decent/good defensive position.

Goal 9:

Notes: Over aggression and a blue line turnover leads to a 2-on-1 in close. MacDonald recovers and pokes the puck away, but it finds its way through Emery.

Player Breakdown:

Goalies:

Not much of a surprise here due to playing time.

Defensemen:

Interesting to see that the MacDonald - Streit pairing allowed only 1 goal (0.8 goals per 60 minutes), while MacDonald - Schenn allowed 6 (1.8 goals per 60 minutes). Going along with that, MacDonald - Coburn allowed 2 goals in less than 60 minutes together. However, the one goal that MacDonald-Streit allowed was the horrible misplay against NJ, but still some pretty good numbers.





The Black Hole Effect?

As you all know, no fanpost is complete without the use of #fancystats or C.O.R.S.I. Here are MacDonald's WYWO numbers for this past year, which looked much better than I expected.

(5v5 CF%; Black is with MacDonald, Orange is without).

MacDonald only has a profound impact on Coburn's numbers in a small sample size of 58 minutes. In 202 minutes with MacDonald, Luke Schenn's CF was 47.20% opposed to 47.80% without him, barely a difference. The most surprising and/or positive thing about this is showing how well MacDonald and Streit worked together. Streit's CF jumped from 49.70% without MacDonald to 58.5% with him in 75 minutes of ice time. This same pairing had 58 minutes together in the 2013 season as Islanders, putting up a 54.2% CF as well as a 51.2% CF in 92 minutes together in the 2011-2012 season. As for his 3 year WYWO stats, the MacDonald - Streit pairing has been on the ice for 204 minutes, posting a 54.40% CF. This shows some promise for the future.

Adding Grossmann (5 minutes) and Gustafsson (2 minutes) into the picture, MacDonald played 265 minutes with "defensive defensemen" (Schenn, Coburn, Grossmann) and 77 minutes with "offensive defensemen" (Streit, Gustafsson).

Combining the numbers, MacDonald has a 58.71% CF with offensive defensemen and 44.88% CF with defensive defensemen. Hopefully the coaching staff and management have seen this as well and MacDonald will have the opportunity to develop his game with the right defensive partner, preferably Mark Streit.