Goals are split up in two ways for this study. They’re either scored off the rush, which is self explanatory, or on zone plays. Last year there were a few questions on what a zone play was, but it’s very simple; it’s a goal that’s scored after the offensive zone has been gained and controlled. It’s not off the rush, usually a passing play.
The other way goals are split up is whether the play was an individual effort or not. This is where it gets tricky, because it’s a judgement call. A player can receive a pass from a teammate and still score on an individual effort. The judgement has to be whether another player on the ice made a significant difference in the goal going in.
Last year the goal per season cut off to break players down individually was 15, but since this season was essentially cut in half, I’m going to break that in half to 8. With the inclusion of playoffs, this means we will be going over goals for Michael Ryder, Max Pacioretty, Brendan Gallagher, Tomas Plekanec, Brian Gionta, P.K. Subban, Andrei Markov, David Desharnais, Alex Galchenyuk, Rene Bourque, and Lars Eller.
After the initial breakdown is done, like last year, I will write up a complete breakdown that includes what type of shot each player uses, and I will also compare how the top scorers score compared to the rest of the team.
The purpose of this is twofold:
1. I want to see if we can learn anything about an individual player’s tendencies by looking at this, with Tomas Plekanec being the most interesting example.
2. I believe we can learn a lot about the system Michel Therrien employs by looking at how his team scores goals.
I’ll be starting tomorrow with Michael Ryder, breaking down his goals as a Dallas Star.
| Last Season’s goal scorers project |
