There were two games in the Nhl Playoffs last night. Both games needed overtime before each series was evened at 2-2. The Blues and Stars locked into one of the lowest Corsi totals of the season (more on that below) while the Sharks and Predators needed six periods to settle things.

I imagine the Predators weren’t the only ones falling out of their seats at the end of triple OT.

Before we start, here’s how the Game Charts 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…

This game only needed one overtime period.

Steen led all and Stastny was close behind while posting a game-high 9 iCF. Brouwer, Faksa, Pietrangelo, and Bouwmeester were strong too.

Tarasenko was quiet in this one, finishing on the negative side of the puck possession battle and mustering only 3 iCF. Not a horrendous total, just un-Tarasenko-like.

At the other end of the chart, Parayko suffered an uncharacteristically bad showing. He was the game’s worst at about -10 Corsi Differential. Benn and OT hero Cody Eakin were next worst.

This entertaining series has started all over again.

Series tied 2-2.

Wow.

Triple overtime had exactly the kind of impact on this game chart that you might predict. Basically, thanks to playing two and part of a third extra period (almost a full second game) all of the totals here are ~doubled. In the end, the two teams combined for 213 all-situations Corsi.

Braun was the best, followed closely by Vlasic who posted 12 iCF. Normally this would be a huge total. Hertl and Pavelski were also strong. For the Predators, Ekholm and Fisher led the way. Neal and Arvidsson were also very strong, posting 14 and 11 iCF, respectively.

At the other end of the game chart, Weber and Josi logged huge ice time and were pounded. Each finished around -15 in Corsi differential. That’s not good. Gaustad, Forsberg, and Sissons round out the bottom-five.

Oh, and don’t forget Brent Burns. He posted 10 iCF and was a minus.

That’s some truly high-event hockey.

This series looked like it might be an easy swim for the Sharks. Thanks to Fisher’s triple OT winner, the series now starts over and has become a best-of-three.

Series tied 2-2.

Read more…

NHL Playoffs Game Charts – Wednesday, May 4th

NHL Playoffs Game Charts – May 3

NHL Playoffs Predictions – Round 2