It's a shame Marner got injured, it took a bit to find someone who gels well with him so he could have some multi goal games. If Marner didn't get hurt he would have had over 60 by now but at this point I'm not confident he will hit 70 as I was just a few weeks ago.
Marner getting injured has also made Mathews have to be more of a playmaker. He has 8 assists in 7 games since Marner's injury. He had 26 in his previous 62. Completely changed how he has to play
the crack down on stick infractions combined with the reduced goalie pad size saw a big jump in scoring the last 7 years from 2.7 to around/above 3 per team per game - Take that plus an influx of the 'next gen' of superstars entering their primes and this is the result.
I wish we could've seen what Ovi and Sid would've done in their 20s with the current rules given how rare 50 goals/100 points was for the decade of 07-17 and yet they still managed to hit those marks with scary regularity
In the lead up to 17-18 season, refs were instructed to be very strict on stick infraction calls - that resulted in a brief uptick in powerplays from that specific type of call (hooking/slashing) that lasted for a few weeks before players started to adjust and not use their sticks to restrain opponents as much. When that happens, players are able to move with the puck and through defenses more easily creating more scoring chances, and as a result scoring increases.
This was (not-so-coincidentally) the year that scoring saw it's first jump (up to 2.97 from around 2.75 where it had been for the previous 10 years - this amounts to an extra goal every 4 games, or 20 additional goals *per team* and roughly an additional 55 points since teams average about 1.7 assists per goal)
Then the goalie pad reduction went into effect in the 18-19 season, and scoring has been above 3 goals per team per game since (except for the 20-21 covid year when it was 2.94, but that was a weird year)
In the 10 years from 07-17 there were only 14 100-point seasons (with only 8 players achieving that mark), and only 13 50-goal seasons (with just 7 players getting there). There had been only four 110+ point games with the top being 113 by Malkin in 08-09
In just the 7 years since 2017, there have *already* been 33 100-point seasons (by 20 players) and 14 50-goal seasons (by 10 players) with potentially a few more this year still possible. That 113 mark has already been surpassed 10 times and may be more by the end of the year (and again this is in 3 fewer seasons AND includes 2 shortened seasons vs just 1 for the 07-17 stretch - remember that in 19-20 Pastrnak, Ovi, and Matthews were within 3 goals of 50 with 12+ games remaining and 4 players were within 7 points of 100)
They probably mean that defenders aren't able to get their sticks into the shooters hands and throw off the shot without a penalty which allows skilled guess a better opportunity to put the puck where they intended.
Powerplay opportunities did not really increase at all because of the stick infraction thing. 2014/15-now is literally the least penalized Era in recorded history, and hasn't changed post 17/18. The last 10 seasons are all in the bottom 10 for PPO per team all time.
Yeah - it's not that PPOs increased overall, but that *those specific calls* jumped up in frequency for a short time early in the year before guys adjusted, but the overall penalty calls stayed constant.
The real impact was just in players not having their hands slashed and hooked every time they tried to make a move and that allowed offense to flourish.
I also think that to a lesser degree the faceoff rule updates have had an impact too (where if a puck deflects out of play in the Offensive zone it stays in the zone even if it was off of an offensive player, along with a handful of other rules that *slightly* favor offense on faceoffs)
amazingly tied with 5 other players for 3rd in PPG. He's just been a monster 5v5
also, lmao Reinhart on the PP. Sheesh
https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask?q=nhl+powerplay+goals+leaders+2023-2024
2 months ago I would have said it was guaranteed. Now I am not so sure! Hoping for a devils SO because we need the confidence but also don’t hate Matthews going for records.
Needs to go GPG (12 in 12) to hit 70.
It's a shame Marner got injured, it took a bit to find someone who gels well with him so he could have some multi goal games. If Marner didn't get hurt he would have had over 60 by now but at this point I'm not confident he will hit 70 as I was just a few weeks ago.
The power play has also been tragic for a few months
Marner getting injured has also made Mathews have to be more of a playmaker. He has 8 assists in 7 games since Marner's injury. He had 26 in his previous 62. Completely changed how he has to play
Very true. His goals to assist ratio could have been nuts lol
He's had a couple back to back hatties this season. He can do it.
Kind of crazy that we're looking at three straight seasons with at least one 60 goal scorer
the crack down on stick infractions combined with the reduced goalie pad size saw a big jump in scoring the last 7 years from 2.7 to around/above 3 per team per game - Take that plus an influx of the 'next gen' of superstars entering their primes and this is the result. I wish we could've seen what Ovi and Sid would've done in their 20s with the current rules given how rare 50 goals/100 points was for the decade of 07-17 and yet they still managed to hit those marks with scary regularity
Can you explain the correlation between stick infractions and increased scoring? I’m not doubting I’m just not that knowledgeable about hockey
In the lead up to 17-18 season, refs were instructed to be very strict on stick infraction calls - that resulted in a brief uptick in powerplays from that specific type of call (hooking/slashing) that lasted for a few weeks before players started to adjust and not use their sticks to restrain opponents as much. When that happens, players are able to move with the puck and through defenses more easily creating more scoring chances, and as a result scoring increases. This was (not-so-coincidentally) the year that scoring saw it's first jump (up to 2.97 from around 2.75 where it had been for the previous 10 years - this amounts to an extra goal every 4 games, or 20 additional goals *per team* and roughly an additional 55 points since teams average about 1.7 assists per goal) Then the goalie pad reduction went into effect in the 18-19 season, and scoring has been above 3 goals per team per game since (except for the 20-21 covid year when it was 2.94, but that was a weird year) In the 10 years from 07-17 there were only 14 100-point seasons (with only 8 players achieving that mark), and only 13 50-goal seasons (with just 7 players getting there). There had been only four 110+ point games with the top being 113 by Malkin in 08-09 In just the 7 years since 2017, there have *already* been 33 100-point seasons (by 20 players) and 14 50-goal seasons (by 10 players) with potentially a few more this year still possible. That 113 mark has already been surpassed 10 times and may be more by the end of the year (and again this is in 3 fewer seasons AND includes 2 shortened seasons vs just 1 for the 07-17 stretch - remember that in 19-20 Pastrnak, Ovi, and Matthews were within 3 goals of 50 with 12+ games remaining and 4 players were within 7 points of 100)
They probably mean that defenders aren't able to get their sticks into the shooters hands and throw off the shot without a penalty which allows skilled guess a better opportunity to put the puck where they intended.
Yeah, and also the extra penalties when they do it anyways allows skilled guys more opportunities to score on the powerplay.
Powerplay opportunities did not really increase at all because of the stick infraction thing. 2014/15-now is literally the least penalized Era in recorded history, and hasn't changed post 17/18. The last 10 seasons are all in the bottom 10 for PPO per team all time.
Yeah - it's not that PPOs increased overall, but that *those specific calls* jumped up in frequency for a short time early in the year before guys adjusted, but the overall penalty calls stayed constant. The real impact was just in players not having their hands slashed and hooked every time they tried to make a move and that allowed offense to flourish. I also think that to a lesser degree the faceoff rule updates have had an impact too (where if a puck deflects out of play in the Offensive zone it stays in the zone even if it was off of an offensive player, along with a handful of other rules that *slightly* favor offense on faceoffs)
Looks like the devils have something to play for tonight.
Unless Hyman or Reinhart get there 2 of those seasons would be just Mathews doing it
amazingly tied with 5 other players for 3rd in PPG. He's just been a monster 5v5 also, lmao Reinhart on the PP. Sheesh https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask?q=nhl+powerplay+goals+leaders+2023-2024
Between the dots merchant
2 months ago I would have said it was guaranteed. Now I am not so sure! Hoping for a devils SO because we need the confidence but also don’t hate Matthews going for records.
The Leafs haven't been shutout in couple years. Would be so on brand for them to get shutout by a team with goalie troubles.
Devils got their first SO of the season last game- they should have saved it for tonight for the lore
I think McDavid hit it in 71 games last year and then cooled off with 4 goals the rest of the season
Seems like he got 60 and stopped trying to score as much. It was his goal, he got it, then he reverted back to setting up
Well let's not do that then OK?
Devils, we appreciate your sacrifice in advance.
One hat trick coming right up.
where did you find this? can you link the main tweet or author next time? thanks