Buffalo's second goal in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals was a perfect example - a clean win in the offensive zone by Jason Pominville allowed Toni Lydman to pick up the puck and skate right in for a wrister that scored to tie the game. The winning goal in Game Two for the Senators also showed what can happen. Jason Spezza drew a puck right back to Joseph Corvo, whose quick shot put the Buffalo Sabres into an imposing 2-0 hole as the series heads to Ottawa. On average, a quick shot after the faceoff occured 10.2% of the time during the regular season (see criteria at bottom).
Check out Joe Corvo's double-OT winner from Game Two of the ECF
With goal-scoring on the decline during these playoffs, offensive opportunities come at a premium, and as the pressure mounts in the third period and overtime of these critical games, faceoffs take on even greater importance. So which players generated the most shots from offensive-zone draws, and which specialists allow the fewest when squaring off in their end of the ice? Let's take a look and the overall best and worst, with players still in the playoffs highlighted:
Top Shot Generators in the Offensive Zone:
Tomas Plekanec, Montreal - 18.4%
Brett McLean, Colorado - 18.2%
Kris Draper, Detroit - 18.2%
Ian Laperriere, Colorado - 17.9%
Jamaal Mayers, St. Louis - 17.7%
Mike Peca, Toronto - 17.5%
Dean McAmmond, Ottawa - 17.1%
Mark Mowers, Boston - 17.0%
Ryan Johnson, St. Louis 16.8%
Blair Betts, New York Rangers - 16.6%
Interestingly, Plekanec is a repeat winner in this category, which I would think a smart agent would bring up as he becomes a restricted free agent this summer. On the opposite end of this list we have those players generating the least such shots:
Bottom 10 Shot Generators in the Offensive Zone:
Joe Pavelski, San Jose - 3.5%
Slava Kozlov, Atlanta - 3.6%
Patrick Sharp, Chicago - 4.9%
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh - 4.9%
Brendan Shanahan, New York Rangers - 5.0%
Patrick Marleau, San Jose - 5.5%
Teemu Selanne, Anaheim - 5.5%
Todd Marchant, Anaheim - 5.7%
Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay - 6.0%
Jarome Iginla, Calgary - 6.2%
See how many big offensive names show up here? Perhaps they are thinking of different options when taking offensive-zone draws than simply winning it back to the D for a clean shot. On the defensive side of the ice, our best and worst performers in terms of preventing opposition shots are as follows:
Top 10 Shot Preventers in the Defensive Zone:
Michael Zigomanis, Phoenix - 3.6%
Patrick Sharp, Chicago - 5.4%
Brooks Laich, Washington - 5.4%
Patrick Marleau, San Jose - 5.6%
Tim Taylor, Tampa Bay - 5.6%
Marcel Goc, San Jose - 6.0%
Brian Sutherby, Washington - 6.2%
Jamie Lundmark, Los Angeles - 6.3%
Jim Slater, Atlanta - 6.5%
Scott Nichol, Nashville - 6.8%
Sharp and Marleau don't seem to either generate many shots, or give up many in their end. Apparently tying things up and not allowing a quick play to develop is part of their faceoff strategy.
Bottom 10 Shot Preventers in the Defensive Zone:
Michael Nylander, New York Rangers - 21.9%
John Pohl, Toronto - 18.3%
Travis Zajac, New Jersey - 17.3%
Petr Cajanek, St. Louis - 16.9%
Robert Lang, Detroit - 16.2%
Jason Arnott, Nashville - 15.9%
Viktor Kozlov, New York Islanders - 15.6%
Eric Staal, Carolina - 15.5%
Keith Tkachuk, Atlanta - 15.0%
Matt Stajan, Toronto - 15.0%
If it's late in the game, you sure don't want to see these guys lining up for a faceoff in your own end!
The criteria used are as follows: 43,852 non-neutral zone faceoffs from the 2006-7 Regular Season were broken down according to the participants, and analyzed as to whether a Shot, Goal, Blocked Shot or Missed Shot took place within 5 seconds, without any other intervening events. Eligible players had a minimum of 100 draws in the offensive or defensive zone, respectively.