OTF Classic

Extending our review yesterday of the top players in the league at generating offensive chances through forced turnovers (Hits & Takeaways), let's take a look at the team-by-team numbers: Team Hits Takeaways Total Montreal Canadiens 69 144 213 Ottawa Senators 99 100 199 Carolina Hurricanes 95 90 185 New York Islanders 98 81 179 Dallas Stars 94 82 176 Washington Capitals 75 88 163 Toronto Maple Leafs 97 60 157 New York Rangers 92 65 157 Edmonton Oilers 60 96 156 Florida Panthers 90 65 155 Atlanta Thrashers 73 73 146 New Jersey Devils 59 83 142 Buffalo Sabres 63 77 140 Anaheim Ducks 70 68 138 Los Angeles Ki...

One of the more interesting angles I looked at for the 2005-6 NHL season dealt with Takeaways and Hits that lead to immediate offensive chances. This helped shine some light on those players whose hard work actually provides benefit for their team, as opposed to a more general look at the basic leaderboard for those stats. So who's out there doing the yoeman's work to pave the way for the scorers? The selection used here reflects Hits and Takeaways that result in an offensive chance (shot, goal, missed shot, or blocked shot against) within the next 10 seconds, for the current season up through the All-Star break. Top 15 in Offensive Chances Generated From Hits Chris Neil , OTT 20 Craig Adams , CAR 17 Antii Miettinen , DAL 17 Matt Cooke , VAN 16 Alexander Ovechkin , WSH 14 Erik Cole , CAR 14 Shane Doan , PHX 14 Trent Hunter , NYI 13 Ryan Hollweg , NYR 13 Blair Betts , NYR 13 Mike Fisher , OTT 13 Jeff O'Neill , TOR 12 Patrick Rissmiller , SJS 12 Chad Kilger , TOR 12 Sean Hil...