Following up on my piece earlier this week on top defensive forwards, what follows is a statistical breakdown of which defencemen do the best job of keeping goals against down when they're on the ice.
The three stats I generally rely on come via Behind The Net and are quality of competition, goals against at even strength and goals against while shorthanded. Players also have to have played a minimum of 50 games and play regularly on the penalty kill (about two minutes per game).
Here's my list, using stats from after Tuesday's games:
………. |
Rk |
NAME |
TM |
GP |
QCMP |
EVGA |
SHGA |
1 |
MARC STAAL |
NYR |
78 |
0.146 |
1.85 |
5.85 |
|
2 |
ROMAN POLAK |
STL |
77 |
0.102 |
2.44 |
3.64 |
|
3 |
ZDENO CHARA |
BOS |
78 |
0.121 |
1.99 |
5.28 |
|
4 |
BARRET JACKMAN |
STL |
66 |
0.108 |
2.51 |
4.77 |
|
5 |
NICK LIDSTROM |
DET |
78 |
0.060 |
2.29 |
3.67 |
|
6 |
CHRIS PHILLIPS |
OTT |
79 |
0.126 |
2.62 |
4.76 |
|
7 |
ANTON VOLCHENKOV |
OTT |
63 |
0.140 |
2.79 |
3.98 |
|
8 |
BRENT SEABROOK |
CHI |
75 |
0.099 |
2.44 |
5.60 |
|
9 |
CHRIS PRONGER |
PHI |
80 |
0.098 |
1.93 |
6.43 |
|
10 |
DEREK MORRIS |
PHX |
72 |
0.038 |
2.35 |
3.60 |
|
11 |
ROBYN REGEHR |
CGY |
78 |
0.085 |
2.31 |
5.92 |
|
12 |
TIM GLEASON |
CAR |
61 |
0.138 |
2.61 |
5.45 |
|
13 |
M-E VLASIC |
S.J |
62 |
0.021 |
1.72 |
4.39 |
|
14 |
DENNIS WIDEMAN |
BOS |
73 |
0.056 |
2.47 |
4.84 |
|
15 |
MATTIAS OHLUND |
T.B |
63 |
0.117 |
2.60 |
5.79 |
|
16 |
JOSH GORGES |
MTL |
80 |
0.022 |
1.85 |
5.08 |
|
17 |
COLIN WHITE |
N.J |
79 |
0.037 |
2.33 |
4.81 |
|
18 |
BROOKS ORPIK |
PIT |
71 |
0.081 |
2.69 |
4.61 |
|
19 |
TYLER MYERS |
BUF |
78 |
0.068 |
2.56 |
5.43 |
|
20 |
DUNCAN KEITH |
CHI |
79 |
0.085 |
2.83 |
4.73 |
|
21 |
HENRIK TALLINDER |
BUF |
78 |
0.067 |
2.47 |
5.88 |
|
22 |
JORDAN LEOPOLD |
PIT |
78 |
0.107 |
2.54 |
6.53 |
|
23 |
BRYCE SALVADOR |
N.J |
76 |
0.032 |
1.73 |
6.12 |
|
24 |
ED JOVANOVSKI |
PHX |
63 |
0.097 |
3.25 |
3.65 |
|
25 |
ROB BLAKE |
S.J |
68 |
0.040 |
1.86 |
6.99 |
|
26 |
ZBYNEK MICHALEK |
PHX |
68 |
0.095 |
2.70 |
5.78 |
|
27 |
MIKE MOTTAU |
N.J |
76 |
0.038 |
2.51 |
5.43 |
|
28 |
DAN GIRARDI |
NYR |
78 |
0.099 |
2.91 |
5.52 |
|
29 |
KIMMO TIMONEN |
PHI |
80 |
0.047 |
2.39 |
6.47 |
|
30 |
TOM POTI |
WSH |
68 |
0.051 |
1.86 |
7.86 |
Quite a few of the usual suspects in there and a lot of players that have mostly been atop this list since about the midpoint of the season. Lidstrom, for one, is always on this list every season, and while his offensive production has slipped some this year, he remains a huge part of the Red Wings' success.
Some good unheralded names in the mix, too, like Polak, Vlasic, Gorges, Salvador and Michalek. Ask any fan of these teams and they'll likely tell you these guys are the unsung heroes.
One of the weaknesses in the system I use is that players who play almost every minute of every game together are virtually inseparable (i.e. Phillips-Volchenkov) statistically and both are given a high rating. It also rewards players who play well within a team system that is strong defensively, such as the Devils listed above.
Let me know your thoughts on who's missing and how accurately the stats reflect the game's top shutdown defenders.