There were three games in the NHL on Sunday. The Stars narrowly eliminated the pesky Wild, the Capitals knocked out the Flyers, and the Isles upset the Panthers in double OT. Every game resulted in an elimination last night, so each game chart will be followed by a series chart as well.

Before digging into the game charts, here’s how they work:

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 games…

The Stars were up very, very big and very, very early. Then, in peak Stars fashion, the Wild were allowed to steamroll back into the game. The Stars won 5-4 but there’s lots of reason to think that the Wild actually tied the game late.

Klingberg led the puck possession battle overall and Goligoski, Eaves, Spezza, and many other Stars littered the plus side of the game chart. Sharp and Niederreiter posted 6 iCF each, though Niederreiter managed to finish in the negatives.

Ryan Suter was easily the worst in terms of Corsi differential in this game. He accumulated a mark worse than -15 with no other skater worse than -10.

With that, the Wild bow out and the Stars move on. Dallas fans must wonder about their goaltending moving forward though…

Stars win series 4-2.

*click here for a larger view

The Capitals squeezed the Flyers right out of this game, grinding their way to a 1-0 win. Ovechkin was the best, Niskanen and Alzner were strong, and most Caps finished in the pluses.

TJ Oshie led with 6 iCF – not an enormous number, which gives a sense of the breathless, tight hockey played in this one.

On the negative side, Schenn was worse and Simmonds, MacDonald, and Ghostbear were close behind. Only Schenn was worse than -10 though.

This series looked like it could be a walk. The Flyers plucked their way into a couple of wins and made a series of it. Small consolation, I suppose.

Capitals win series 4-2.

*click here for a larger view

Huberdeau was excellent, pacing all in Corsi differential and amassing 13 iCF over five periods of hockey. Barkov and Petrovic joined him at the top of the game chart.

For the Isles, Okposo, Quine, Hickey, and Tavares were best. Okposo managed 14 iCF and Tavares had a…noticeable impact on the game as well.

At the negative end, Logan Shaw stood out alone. No other skater was worse than ~-8.

Despite an excellent, magical, oft-PDO-fueled run, the Panthers bow out. Still, this is a (mostly) young group with a bright future ahead. The Islanders get the rested Tampa Bay Lightning in round two.

Isles win series 4-2.

*click here for a larger view

Read more…

NHL Playoffs Game Charts – Saturday, April 23

NHL Playoffs Game Charts – Friday, April 22

Playoff Predictions using Corsi Differential and xGF%