It happens about four or five times a game, and whenever it does, it brings the fans out of their seats - a big hit or takeaway that directly results in a scoring opportunity. The question is, who produces those signature moments? As a followup to the question of how Hits might impact Shot Quality and offensive production, I thought it would be interesting to find out how often Hits and Takeaways result in Shots, Missed Shots, Blocked Shots, or Goals within 10 seconds of the turnover. Data again comes from the 2005-6 NHL Regular Season Play-By-Play files.
I'm including Missed Shots and Blocked Shots here, as they are really the result of either a poor effort by the shooter or an outstanding effort by the opposing team, but either way these are unrelated to the value of the turnover generated by the player making the Hit or Takeaway.
Edit: Many thanks to Anonymous, for pointing out how to tighten up the table presentation.
Check out last year's Calder Trophy winner, Alex Ovechkin! He's really the lone offensive superstar on this list.
A few dandies in here, more interested in swiping the puck than merely making a hit. Notice Ovechkin's the only player on both lists. And now, the totals...
And finally, there's the most impressive play of all, when a player makes a Hit to take the puck and then scores a goal immediately afterwards. It's pretty rare, happening only 20 times last year. The only player to record multiple such feats was Lee Stempniak of the St. Louis Blues. To top things off, he made those plays in back-to-back games first against Detroit on February 1st, then against Chicago the next night. Maybe he he got hypnotized into thinking he was the second coming of Cam Neely or something - regardless, he's off to a good start this year with 10 points in his first 12 games.
I'm including Missed Shots and Blocked Shots here, as they are really the result of either a poor effort by the shooter or an outstanding effort by the opposing team, but either way these are unrelated to the value of the turnover generated by the player making the Hit or Takeaway.
Edit: Many thanks to Anonymous, for pointing out how to tighten up the table presentation.
| Trent HUNTER, NYI | 30 |
| Brendan MORROW, DAL | 27 |
| Dustin BROWN, L.A | 24 |
| Christopher NEIL, OTT | 21 |
| Arron Asham, NYI | 20 |
| Alexander OVECHKIN, WSH | 18 |
| Steve OTT, DAL | 17 |
| Shane DOAN, PHX | 16 |
| Dainius ZUBRUS, WSH | 15 |
| Donald Brashear, PHI | 15 |
| Michael RYDER, MTL | 15 |
| Jed ORTMEYER, NYR | 15 |
| Grant MARSHALL, N.J | 15 |
| Steve BEGIN, MTL | 15 |
Check out last year's Calder Trophy winner, Alex Ovechkin! He's really the lone offensive superstar on this list.
| Scott GOMEZ, N.J | 22 |
| Daniel ALFREDSSON, OTT | 22 |
| Jason WARD, NYR | 21 |
| Mike MODANO, DAL | 20 |
| Saku KOIVU, MTL | 20 |
| Ryan SMYTH, EDM | 19 |
| Jason BLAKE, NYI | 19 |
| Marian HOSSA, ATL | 18 |
| Alexander OVECHKIN, WSH | 17 |
| Andrei MARKOV, MTL | 17 |
| Joe SAKIC, COL | 17 |
| Ilya KOVALCHUK, ATL | 17 |
| Ian LAPERRIERE, COL | 17 |
A few dandies in here, more interested in swiping the puck than merely making a hit. Notice Ovechkin's the only player on both lists. And now, the totals...
| Trent HUNTER, NYI | 41 |
| Alexander OVECHKIN, WSH | 35 |
| Brendan MORROW, DAL | 35 |
| Christopher NEIL, OTT | 30 |
| Dustin BROWN, L.A | 28 |
| Shane DOAN, PHX | 28 |
| Michael RYDER, MTL | 27 |
| Arron Asham, NYI | 27 |
| Dainius ZUBRUS, WSH | 26 |
| Marian HOSSA, ATL | 26 |
| Saku KOIVU, MTL | 26 |
| Daniel ALFREDSSON, OTT | 26 |
And finally, there's the most impressive play of all, when a player makes a Hit to take the puck and then scores a goal immediately afterwards. It's pretty rare, happening only 20 times last year. The only player to record multiple such feats was Lee Stempniak of the St. Louis Blues. To top things off, he made those plays in back-to-back games first against Detroit on February 1st, then against Chicago the next night. Maybe he he got hypnotized into thinking he was the second coming of Cam Neely or something - regardless, he's off to a good start this year with 10 points in his first 12 games.