There were only 5 games last night as the NHL regular season winds towards its finish. Chiarot had a huge night, Ovechkin had an Ovechkin night, and Josh Manson struggled.

Also, one game featured a perfect Corsi differential split. If you know the night’s matchups, you’ve likely guessed this already.

Before getting into the game charts, here’s the usual on how to read them.

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 charts…

You won’t find Ericsson at the top very often but last night was that kind of night. Green and Nyquist joined him at the top of the Corsi differential battle and Parise was strong (rare).

Suter, who routinely destroys the colour bar for TOI by extending the upper limit, led all with 6 iCF.

David Jones, Jason Zucker, and Matt Dumba found their way to the bottom of the chart. No real surprises among that group.

Brouwer, Beleskey, Stastny led and Steen posted 5 iCF.

You never need to guess where Marchand/Bergeron or Parayko and Edmundson finish. The quartet are always pluses, night-in, night-out. You can count Tarasenko in that group for St. Louis too.

Except, not last night.

Tarasenko finished as the game’s worst (very, very odd) and Edmundson was a rare negative in Corsi differential.

The Jets absolutely dominated the puck in this one. Ben Chiarot completely surprised, leading the game in Corsi +/- and posted 9 (9!) iCF. Dano and Ehlers boasted positive showings as well.

I’ve said this elsewhere but it’s worth repeating – the Jets have a highly enviable group of young stars at all positions (think, Hellebuyck, Ehlers, Dano, Scheifele, Trouba, Petan, Armia, Kyle Connor on the way, etc…). It isn’t hard to imagine this team regrouping and becoming a playoff contender again soon.

TVR struggled (rare of late) and Anisimov and Panarin joined him near the bottom. Seabrook was in his usual spot.

Niskanen led but Ovechkin was the real star here. He posted 10 iCF and continues to be an other-worldly source of possession, shot attempts, goals, and pure offensive talent.

Due to the team-wide good work by the Capitals, this game is a perfect split – Caps on top, Avs on the bottom.

Bigras and Matthias struggled most as the Avs continue to log an incredibly negative possession season. Based on the the level of talent on the roster, it’s fair to ask if Patrick Roy’s systems are appropriate for this group going forward.

Nate Thompson led, which is a rarity. Wagner and Stoner joined him at the top of the chart. Tanev and Higgins were best for the Canucks. Garbutt, McCann, and Gaunce each posted 6 iCF.

At the other end of the game chart, Manson finally had a poor night. He’s been on an absolutely tear so this seems like a blip on the possession radar. Theodore and Horcoff joined him at the bottom of the chart.

Read more…

NHL Game Charts – Thursday, March 31

NHL Game Charts – Wednesday, March 30