As a followup to yesterday's article on offensive-zone faceoffs, here's a look at the team-by-team numbers.
Again, the criteria here is an offensive zone faceoff that results in a shot within 5 seconds of the puck drop.
Montreal Canadiens - 12.59%
Edmonton Oilers - 12.45%
Ottawa Senators - 11.85%
St. Louis Blues - 11.23%
Carolina Hurricanes - 10.77%
New York Islanders - 10.35%
Columbus Blue Jackets - 10.28%
Boston Bruins - 10.10%
Minnesota Wild - 9.96%
Toronto Maple Leafs - 9.96%
Colorado Avalanche - 9.93%
Florida Panthers - 9.88%
Calgary Flames - 9.62%
Los Angeles Kings - 9.49%
Washington Capitals - 9.48%
Detroit Red Wings - 9.31%
LEAGUE AVERAGE - 9.09%
Dallas Stars - 8.79%
New York Rangers - 8.71%
Vancouver Canucks - 8.57%
Buffalo Sabres - 8.27%
Philadelphia Flyers - 8.23%
Nashville Predators - 7.52%
Tampa Bay Lightning - 7.31%
Pittsburgh Penguins - 7.22%
New Jersey Devils - 7.18%
San Jose Sharks - 7.02%
Phoenix Coyotes - 6.89%
Anaheim Ducks - 6.77%
Atlanta Thrashers - 6.44%
Chicago Blackhawks - 6.40%
Why is it that various media outlets continue trying to put their own spin on the "what's wrong with the NHL" story? Our latest example comes from The Hockey News , in a piece by Jay Greenburg entitled, "Excitement Level On The Decline." Take the opening sentence: Attendance is down and yet still up from before the lockout, leaving it arguable whether buildings in New Jersey and Florida are half-full or half empty. It's no surprise that attendance is down from last season, particularly if you compare the first half of 2005-06 to the first half of this year. Coming out of the lockout, there were legions of fans starved to see the on-ice product, particularly in light of the massive rule changes. This year is more indicative of business as usual, so the fact that the league is above pre-lockout levels is a positive. Toss in the projection that overall revenues are increasing despite a 1% decrease in attendance, and I'd say that paying fans have come back ...