After this afternoon's win over the Islanders, and knowing that the Canadiens had moved into third place overall in the NHL for the moment, I headed over to NHL.com to look over some statistical evidence that would explain their high standing.
I went into the team statistic category and looked at 30 different sets of numbers that involve goal scoring in every manner, shots on goal, power play proficiency, and performance by period.
Knowing full well the Canadiens are near the top in goals scored and have the league's second best power play, I want to see it broken down some.
One of my reasons, or curiosities, for doing so was to compare the Canadiens against the Red Wings and Senators, the two teams ahead of them in the standings, and see how they measured up.
In each category, I've listed the rankings and stats for all three teams, plus the leaders.
Montreal scored very well across the 30 categories, with four first place rankings, 11 in the top 5, and 15 in the top 10. Only once are they ranking in the bottom third in the league for a particular category, that being the 24th for total shots against since the beginning of the season. Their average ranking is 8th.
Detroit are simply stunning with 9 first place rankings, 21 in the top 5, and 25 in the top 10. There are not in the bottom third of the league in any of these categories, and their worst place was for short handed goals scored at 19th. Their overall average ranking is 5th.
Ottawa's ranking defies their first place in the East standing some. They have 4 first place rankings, along with 13 in the top 5, and 16 in the top 10. They are in the bottom third of the league in 7 categories and their average ranking is 11th.
Here are the stats I chose to look at. Click on the hyperlink and it will bring you to the NHL.com stats page in question and you can see the results in order for all 30 teams. Have fun, rejoice a bit, and keep an ice pack ready for your head!
163 goals for, 4th behind only Ottawa (178) Detroit (174) and Philadelphia (163) who have two games in hand.
137 goals against, 11th behind Detroit (108), San Jose (119), and Jersey (121). Ottawa is 20th with 148 goals against.
58 PPG's, 2nd only to Philadelphia with 61, Detroit is 3rd with 50, Ottawa is 18th with 38
37 PPG's against, good for 11th, San Jose is 1st with 27, Detroit is 9th with 36, and Ottawa is 17th with 41
7 SHG's for, good for 7th, Chicago is 1st with 12, Ottawa is 2nd with 11, Detroit is 19th with 4
1 SHG against, tops tied with Ottawa, five teams ( DAL, CBJ, COL, TBL, FLA ) are tied with 3, Detroit is 23rd with 7
76 goals scored on home ice, good for 16th, Ottawa is 1st with 93, LAK is 2nd with 91, Detroit is 3rd with 89
60 goals against on home ice, good for 9th, Boston is 1st with 50, Jersey is 2nd with 55, Detroit 3rd with 56, Ottawa is 24th with 81
26 PPG's for at home, good for 4th, LAK is 1st with 35, Philadelphia is 2nd with 33, Detroit is 3rd with 27, Ottawa is 10th with 22
18 PPG's against at home, good for 11th, Dallas is 1st with 11 allowed, Buffalo is 2nd with 12, Detroit is 6th with 15, Ottawa is 25th with 24
4 SHG's at home, good for a five way tie for 4th (MON, LAK, TBL, PHI, DAL), Ottawa and Atlanta are tied for 1st with 8, Detroit is 10th with 2
1 SHG against at home, good for 2nd, Ottawa is 1st with 0, Dallas, Buffalo and Florida also have allowed only 1, Detroit is 14th with 3 allowed
87 goals for on the road, good for 1st, Ottawa and Detroit are second with 85
77 goals against on the road, good for 19th, Detroit are 1st with 52, San Jose 2nd with 53, Ottawa is 4th with 67
32 PPG's for on the road, good for 1st, Philadelphia is 2nd with 28, Detroit is 4th with 23, Ottawa is 20th with 16
19 PPG's against on the road, good for 6th, San Jose is 1st with 10, Nashville and Colorado are 2nd with 14, Ottawa is 5th with 17, Detroit is 16th with 21
3 SHG's for on the road, good for 11th, Phoenix is 1st with 8, Chicago is 2nd with 7, Ottawa is tied with Montreal with 3, Detroit is 17th with 2
0 SHG's against on the road, good for 1st, seven teams including Ottawa have allowed 1, Detroit is 24th having allowed 4
1524 shots on goal, good for 13th place, Detroit is 1st with 1836, Ottawa is 6th with 1602
1612 shots against, good for 24th, Detroit is 1st with 1253, San Jose is 2nd with 1265, Ottawa is 18th with 1535
3.1 goals per game, good for 4th, Ottawa is 1st at 3.4, Detroit and Philadelphia are 2nd at 3.3
2,6 goals against per game, good for 10th, Detroit is 1st at 2.0, San Jose 2nd at 2.3, Ottawa is 22nd at 2.8
51 first period goals, good for 2nd, Detroit is first with 57, Ottawa is 3rd with 49
54 second period goals, good for 12th, Philadelphia is 1st with 68, Detroit is 2nd with 63, Ottawa is 5th with 60
51 third period goals, good for 13th, Carolina is 1st with 68, Ottawa is 2nd with 67, Detroit is 5th with 54
33 first period goals against, good for 7th, San Jose is 1st with 27, Detroit is 4th with 31, Ottawa is 21st with 45
52 second period goals against, good for 19th, Dallas is 1st with 37, Ottawa is 7th with 44, Detroit is 12th with 49
47 third period goals against, good for 12th, Detroit is 1st with 29, Philadelphia is 2nd with 33, Ottawa is 23rd with 58
88 goals 5 on 5, good for 13th, Ottawa is 1st with 119, Detroit is 2nd with 111
50 goals 5 on 4, good for 2nd, Philadelphia is 1st with 54, Detroit is 6th with 39, Ottawa is 13th with 35
Some other interesting notes:
The Canadiens are 1st in powerplay opportunities on the road with 131, but only 20th on home ice with 109. So much for referee favoratism at the Bell.
They have scored 32 power play goals on the road and 26 at home.
They have given up the 10th most powerplay opportunities with 240 so far.
The Canadiens home record of 10-8-5 which is near the worst in the league, but it is interesting to note that they have only played 23 or 52 games so far on Bell Centre ice, They are 6-2-2 in their last 10 at home.
Best of all, the Canadien are second in regulation time losses with 15, and third in combined losses with 23.
These stats, all told and totalled, add up to the Canadiens being the third best team in the league, and nipping at the Senators.
And damnit if that isn't something to brag about!
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