Rangers Roundup

Some interesting stuff that caught our eye.

Tom Dianora / Hockey Writers:
Derick Brassard: The Rangers’ Unsung Hero --

Henrik Lundqvist. Rick Nash. Martin St. Louis. Derek Stepan. Mats Zuccarello. Ryan McDonagh. Dan Girardi. Marc Staal. These are the names that come to mind when one generally thinks about the leaders on the New York Rangers, and the top players who drive the team’s success.

There is another player, however, who is second on the team in scoring this season, yet for whatever reason does not receive the same level of attention or praise as these other names. That player is center Derick Brassard...

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Steven Loffredo  / Hockey Writers:
Is Cam Talbot a Number 1 Goalie? --

The New York Rangers are 7-1-2 since Cam Talbot took over as starter in place of injured Henrik Lundqvist. Talbot’s record is solid, but the whole experience hasn’t been a cake walk. Now we examine if Talbot’s performance puts him in a position to be considered a number one goalie...

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Michael Torsiello  / Hockey Writers:
Rangers Playing Strong in February; Making It Hard on Opponents -- 

This is the first time since the 70′-71′ season that the New York Rangers have had multiple goalies with 4 shutouts in one season since Giacomin and Villemure...

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Per Elias: @ctalbot33 is 2nd in @NYRangers history to post 7 shutouts in his 1st 38 NHL decisions (L. Chabot: 10 in 38, Nov. 1926-Nov. 1927)
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 25, 2015

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NHL.com:
Primer: Get to know new enhanced stats on NHL.com --

• SHOT ATTEMPTS (Corsi) -- Puck possession has always been important in hockey, but analysts have proven how valuable it can be. Shot attempts are the best proxy for understanding and quantifying puck possession....

• UNBLOCKED SHOT ATTEMPTS (Fenwick) -- This is very similar to shot attempts, but with one caveat: Blocked shots are not counted. Shot attempts are three types of shots (shots on goal, missed shots and blocked shots), and unblocked shot attempts are two types of shots (shots on goal and missed shots)... 

• SPSV% (PDO) -- "Puck luck" is a term that's used with ambiguity in hockey, but by adding on-ice shooting percentage and on-ice save percentage (SPSV%, also known as PDO) it gives us a statistic that measures that concept. The idea was developed by Brian King, who began using it in comments on Barnes' blog under the username PDO.

• ZONE STARTS -- A coach is unable to choose which players he sends out for a faceoff after his team ices the puck, but there are plenty of other situations when he makes those decisions. And who a coach chooses to deploy in certain situations can offer insight about strategy or willingness to trust a player's defensive acumen...

• MODIFYING STATISTICS -- A majority of these statistics are viewed primarily in even-strength situations; there are other modifying terms and filters used to gain a further understanding of certain areas of the game. One of these concepts is a "relative" statistic; in this example, shot attempts relative (formerly known as CorsiRel). What this statistic shows is how a player is performing relative to his team's average.

• RATES -- Much like different players are deployed in different situations based on defensive accountability and strategy, players also receive different amounts of ice time. By using rate statistics, we can view skaters on a level playing field and compare them based on the same criteria...

Though Rick Nash of the New York Rangers didn't finish in the top 40 in goals scored last season, he ranked fifth in even-strength goals per 60. Nash missed time last season because of an injury, playing 65 games, but was one of the most efficient even-strength goal scorers when he was on the ice.

This season, Nash leads skaters in even-strength G/60 by a wide margin and is in contention for the Rocket Richard Trophy. The second name on that list, rookie Mike Hoffman of the Ottawa Senators, might surprise some people.

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