There were two games of Nhl Playoffs action last night. The Blues squandered their lead then saved their win in overtime. The Sharks flexed their muscle to put the Preds in an early series hole.

In other news, Brooks Orpik will miss Monday night’s game as he beings a three game suspension for his late hit on Oll Maatta:

Despite the oft-made joke that the Capitals are better off without Orpik on the ice, it’s a good thing that the NHL punished him. Here’s hoping that Maatta recovers quickly.

Before we dig into the Game Charts, 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. 

Now, on with the charts…

The Blues led. Then they turtled. Then the Stars flashed their offensive ability and tied the game late. Then the Blues saved their squandered lead when Backes punched in the overtime goal.

This is a fun series.

Edmundson led all and Stastny, Spezza, and Johns were all near the top. Klingberg and Goligoski led all skaters with 7 iCF each.

At the other end of the game chart, Parayko, Gunnarsson, Demers, and Russell posted the game’s worst Corsi differentials. None were worse than -10, so there isn’t a ton to worry about here.

Series tied 1-1.

Wilson was the game’s best and he led in iCF, registering 8 in the Preds’ loss. Fisher, Arvidsson, and Jackman were at the top of the chart as well. Overall, Nashville was good on the puck in this one.

Doonskoi was best for the Sharks.

The owner of the game’s worst Corsi differential was Melker Karlsson at -8. No one else was worse than -6. That shows just how tight this game was in terms of puck possession overall.

That’s little solace for the Preds, who now find themselves in a 2-0 hole against a strong Sharks squad.

Sharks lead 2-0.

Read more…

NHL Playoffs Game Charts – Saturday, April 30

NHL Playoffs Game Charts – Friday, April 29

NHL Playoffs Predictions – Round 2