An early read on 2008-09: Goalies are having a tough go

by James Mirtle on Nov 10, 2008 7:00 AM CST in Statistics Comment 6 comments

After last night's five games, the 2008-09 season is 17-per-cent over (212 games) and it's probably high time we get a look at how things stack up compared to last season.

In 2007-08, the NHL averaged 5.44 goals per game with 58.13 shots per game, total, between the two teams. The average power play fired at 17.7 per cent.

So far this season, scoring is up, with teams averaging 5.76 goals per game on 59.67 shots per game. The average power play is slightly up, at 18.3 per cent.

Goaltending is significantly worse so far this season, with the league save percentage right around the .9035 mark. Last season, it was at .9064. It's a difference that, over the course of a 1,230-game season filled with 59-shot games, would mean about 200 extra goals, or the difference between 5.76 goals per game and 5.59.

Lower save percentages are making up about half of the goal-scoring boost, for which we can thank Marty Turco and a few others who have really struggled early on.

My guess is that the equipment changes that were made have made a small difference so far this season, but it'd be interesting to have a goaltender's perspective on that one. I'm no expert in clavicle protectors.

Here's a comparison of how penalties have been called:

	2007-08	2008-09
Minors/g	9.57	10.32
Majors/g	1.10	1.39
Misc/g	0.19	0.22
Pens/g	10.93	12.01
PIM/g	27.50	30.81

More penalties in general so far, including fights. Minors are really only up marginally, less than one per game split between two teams, which I'm sure will make some fans happy.

A few more "fun" stats to compare:

	2007-08	2008-09
Hits/g	38.02	40.50
Blocked shots/g	24.11	26.09
Missed shots/g	21.71	23.01
Giveaways/g	16.63	16.82
Takeaways/g	13.62	14.16
Faceoffs/g	112.97	116.90

In summary? More goals, more shots, more fights, more hits, more blocked shots, more giveaways and takeaways — sound about right?

Poll

Do you think the hockey has been better so far than in 2007-08?

Yes

118 votes

No

24 votes

It's about the same

71 votes

213 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Not sure about the penalties

So far, there have been a few games with some big brawls that could be skewing those numbers…I bet they’ll be pretty similar to last year overall. Just wish there were more consistence from game to game (and crew to crew) about what gets called.

Honk if you love Justice!
"I'm betting that I'm just abnormal enough to survive. "

by TheTick on Nov 10, 2008 7:10 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Poll Answers...

For the poll answers, isn’t “no” and “it’s about the same” pretty much the same answer?

Where’s the choice for “it’s worse?”

by jameshstephenson on Nov 10, 2008 12:14 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Picky, picky. Vote no for that one.

by James Mirtle on Nov 10, 2008 12:21 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

1) So the new rules resulted in more Power plays, and therefore a few more PPG’s. For a whopping .32 goals/game increase? Lets see if the increase continues as the inevitable slacking of penalties occurs down the stretch.
2) On a related matter, when did increased goals scored begin to equate to better hockey?

by Fauxrumors on Nov 10, 2008 12:17 PM CST reply actions 0 recs