In this post, I’ll cover the solitary game on Friday night (Columbus vs Buffalo) and include the write-ups for the 13 games from Thursday night (previously unpublished).

Here’s the note on reading the charts:

A couple of notes on reading the charts:

the Corsi differential is based on 5v5 play and is score-adjusted, as per war-on-ice.

players at the top (with bars extending to the right) posted positive differentials (good)

players at the bottom (and to the left) posted negative differentials (bad)

the colour of each bar represents the player’s time on ice (see legend at the bottom)

each players individual Corsi For attempts are included in parentheses a player with a strong C +/- but a (0) for iCF didn’t directly contribute to his strong showing. a player with a weak C +/- but a strong iCF score (i.e. greater than 5) may have been hindered by linemates. Maybe.

like any reasonable person, I don’t believe that Corsi is everything. But it’s a very important part of the everything.

On with the game chart.

David Legwand owned the best Corsi differential in this game which gives a fair indication of the weirdness going on. Even stranger, Gorges and Ristolainen both finished in the pluses. That’s an extremely infrequent happening.

For CBJ, Dean Kukan continues his run of good puck play. He’s posted repeated positive Corsi differentials of late. Dubinsky couldn’t repeat his huge performance from last game but was still a plus.

At the other end of the chart, McCabe, Gionta, Larsson, and Foligno struggled most. Pysyk finished near the bottom too, which hasn’t been his style this season.

That’s it, that’s all. A quiet Friday night in the NHL. Read on for the (previously unpublished) game chart recaps from Thursday night.

Thursday, April 7th

There were 13 games in the NHL last night – a stark contrast with the single game scheduled for Friday evening. Eric Staal, Sven Andrighetto, and Vladimir Tarasenko had huge nights. I’ll try to keep my comments brief – there’s a lot to touch on here.

Before we get started, the usual on how to read the charts:

A couple of notes on reading the charts:

the Corsi differential is based on 5v5 play and is score-adjusted, as per war-on-ice.

players at the top (with bars extending to the right) posted positive differentials (good)

players at the bottom (and to the left) posted negative differentials (bad)

the colour of each bar represents the player’s time on ice (see legend at the bottom)

each players individual Corsi For attempts are included in parentheses a player with a strong C +/- but a (0) for iCF didn’t directly contribute to his strong showing. a player with a weak C +/- but a strong iCF score (i.e. greater than 5) may have been hindered by linemates. Maybe.

like any reasonable person, I don’t believe that Corsi is everything. But it’s a very important part of the everything.

On to the charts…

McQuaid and Liles led the way. Bergeron and Marchand were their usual selves. Beleskey and Vatrano were strong, posting 6 iCF each.

Glendening, Abdelkader, and Green were in excess of -10 in Corsi differential.

Palat, Sustr, and Johnson were the game’s best. Drouin was a plus too, which bodes well for the injury-stricken Bolts.

Adam Larsson and Andy Greene were well, well back in Corsi differential. That’s been the way all season long. The degree to which you put stock in defensive zone starts will affect how you see this.

Eric Staal was incredible, posting a game-high 10 iCF. Yandle and Skjei were pluses too.

At the other end, Tavares was on an island of his own. His Corsi +/- was beyond -15. He’s not known for great puck management as a rule but this is a particularly bad performance.

Ryan White was the game leader, proving that anyone can be the game’s best in a one-off situation. Gudas was great, blasting a game-high 8 iCF. The Flyers dominated the plus side of the game chart.

Frank Corrado was the game’s worst, joined by Froese and Gardiner. The Leafs were heavily out-Corsied in this one, which isn’t their typical game.

Dumoulin impressed. Ovechkin was strong as well. Kessel led the way with 6 iCF.

John Carlson was the game’s worst and that spot on the chart is not particularly out of the ordinary for the Capitals defender.

Dietz led the way and posted 6 iCF. He’s been the game leader (or close) repeatedly since his call-up. Pacioretty blasted 9 iCF, which is pretty typical. It’s no surprise that he’s among the top-five in individual CF this season.

Terry, Hanifin, McClement, Lindholm, Pesce…the bottom of the game chart is filled by the out-of-gas Canes. They boasted great puck play this season but have looked exhausted since the trade deadline. Several key roster moves didn’t do much to help.

Zack Smith was the game’s best in Corsi differential and Buddy Robinson did strong work as well. Ben Harpur snuck onto the plus side as well – a good side for the young Senator.

Karlsson posted 6 iCF and was the game leader in that category.

Kulikov and Huberdeau brought up the rear of the game chart.

Ekholm was best in this one. Shea Weber was near the top of the chart again and has enjoyed a run of very responsible puck management over the past month or more.

At the bottom was poor, old Kevin Connauton. Regular play in Arizona hasn’t really agreed with the Coyotes’ defender (approximately -120 Corsi +/- on the season).

Pietrangelo was the game’s best but Tarasenko stole the show with a strong Corsi differential and 10 iCF. He’s been around/among the top-five in iCF all season long. Everything he does seems dangerous.

Ho-hum, another positive showing by Parayko and Edmundson.

Brent Seabrook was a negative but wasn’t worst, so that’s something. TVR owned the bottom of the chart, which is a little out of character of late.

Roussel and Faksa were the game leaders in Corsi +/- and Nichushkin led with 5 iCF (sounds low but is fairly typical of an average game).

Redmond dropped to the bottom but was only a -8 in Corsi differential. That’s not good but it’s not incredibly bad either. Beauchemin was nearby, as always, Boedker was a minus and Barrie was too.

So it goes.

Calgary wailed on the Canucks, leading to some interesting totals. Colborne and Engelland were at the top and that’s always noteworthy. Nakladal has proven to be very serviceable for the Flames and is routinely on the plus-side of the game charts.

Bartkowski was worst, Hansen was close, Granlund, Kenins, and Taven (weird) rounded out the bottom five.

The season can’t end fast enough in Vancouver.

McNabb was the game leader Doughty, Muzzin,and Carter each mustered 5 iCF. And if you’re wondering about the power of team, note that Scuderi was near break-even and Schenn’s on a run of pluses. Welcome to LA.

Fowler and Holzer were totally pounded in this one, both finishing with Corsi debts in excess of -15. That’s atrocious.

The Nic(k)s led the way and Demelo was best with 6 iCF. Tierney was a plus, which is rare and warms my heart. Wingels rebounded with a positive showing after a rough outing last game.

Martin struggled most but was only a -7, which isn’t good but isn’t stand-out bad either.

Read more…

NHL Game Charts – Wednesday, April 6

NHL Game Charts – Tuesday, April 4