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KlusteR · 07-18-2021, 12:48 AM

For my Deep Dives this season, I will be looking towards special teams, and will highlight three facets in each conference that interested me so far this season.

1. Newfoundland Sputters, Then Kicks To Overdrive

The death of the special teams in Newfoundland was greatly exaggerated. While it is true the Northeastern-most team of the league faced some powerplay woes to start the season (2/41 in October), it has since been revitalized by the resurgence of the Black-Trudeau-Athanasios combination, all three players showing an impressive 20 powerplay points on the tally so far this season. The pendulum has swung so much that Newfoundland now finds itself in 3rd position in the league as far as powerplay percentage goes, at 26.4%. Not only that, but their penalty kill is still playing stellar hockey, ranking 2nd in the league at an impressive 82.6% - even if it hasn't had to work as often as the rest of the league, since the Berserkers are the least penalized team in the league, with only 86 shorthanded chances against. The only blemish on the record? A mind-boggling four shorthanded goals against since the start of the season. Aggressiveness is everything for the Berserkers, but that can be a double-edged sword.

2. Maine Timber : Artisans Of Their Own Demise

On the other side of the spectrum, the worst team in the Eastern Conference has struggled on the man advantage. While they have had their fair share of chances by drawing an impressive total of 124 chances on the powerplay (around league average), the Maine crew only converted on 14 of those chances, the second lowest amount of powerplay tallies in the league, just ahead of the struggling youth squad of the Nevada Battleborn. And if that wasn't demoralizing enough, they also allowed a league-leading five shorthanded goals against. On the other side of the ice, their indiscipline has hampered them, as they are also struggling on the penalty kill, with a 77.8% efficiency rate - while being the only team in the league that hasn't taken the opposing team by surprise by scoring shorthanded. The Timber have struggled away from home, and with such a big momentum swinger out of their arsenal, one can wonder what their record might be, had they converted at a better rate than 11.3%...

3. The Best Of The Rest

Here, I'll be highlighting a few facts from the other four teams in the conference.
St. Louis refuses to help themselves, as a decent powerplay is being held back by sheer indiscipline, with the Scarecrows taking almost four minor penalties per game - and a dreadful 76.3% PK conversion rate. They also allowed as many goals on the man advantage as the Maine Timber have, with 5 shorthanded goals against.
Apart from the dominant Berserkers, two other teams have reached the "efficiency threshold" of a total >100% on their combined special teams conversion rate in the Eastern Conference - the Carolina Kraken and Québec City Citadelles. The former is boasting the better powerplay conversion rate at 23.5%, but the latter shows better poise in shorthanded situations, with an impressive 82% rate on the penalty kill.
Detroit is also struggling on the specialty teams - however, the impact this has on their overall play is diminished by the fact that they are much less involved in special teams play as the other teams in their conference. The Falcons are spending the most of their time playing even-strength hockey, since the team has the second least PP+SH chances in the league at 216.

(591 words) Approved, +5 TPE to @KlusteR

Nhamlet · 07-18-2021, 12:51 AM

cuuteee

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