By the Numbers: Game 81 vs. Edmonton

Scoring Chances

San Jose

Even Strength Scoring Chance Shooting Percentage: 6.25%

Even Strength Scoring Chance Save Percentage: 90.9%

Even Strength Scoring Chance PDO: 971.5

Percentage of Even Strength Fenwick Events that were Scoring Chances: 50.0%

Edmonton

Even Strength Scoring Chance Shooting Percentage: 9.09%

Even Strength Scoring Chance Save Percentage: 93.75%

Even Strength Scoring Chance PDO: 1027.5

Percentage of Even Strength Fenwick Events that were Scoring Chances: 31.4%

Period-by-Period Summary

-Clearly this game was absolutely dominated by the Flames ERGH, AHEM, Sharks, as not only did they outchance the Kings AGH, AHOO, AGHHH, Oilers by almost a 3-1 margin, they also outchanced the Oilers while on the PK.

-That marks yet another game in which the Sharks have managed a shorthanded scoring chance, as they're on a streak of four straight games with shorthanded scoring chances.

-Last night on twitter I admitted how wrong I was about wanting Devin Setoguchi back on the Sharks. However, I will counter that with saying that I have never really been prouder of being such a Derek Roy apologist. I thought it was a great move when the Oilers acquired him, and he showed his value last night, as he and Yakupov were the most effective non-goalie Oilers in this game, not only putting up a combined 9 scoring chance points, but also ending their games with some of the best scoring chance differentials on the Oilers (ending your night an "even" in a game where your team is a -21 is quite the feat).

-Much of Roy and Yakupov's work came against Couture's line, which, despite producing quite a bit of offense, gave up quite a bit in the defensive zone, as they were on the ice for 7 of Edmonton's 11 scoring chances.

-Other than that minute detail, and the fact that the Sharks' first powerplay unit didn't produce squat last night, there really isn't much to complain about in this game, especially since every member of the Sharks had at least 1 scoring chance point.

-Of course the numbers that really pop out are Thornton and Pavelski's 7 scoring chance points, but I think what's equally impressive is Lerg's 6. This was quite a game for the rookie, as he had his first career scoring chance assist, scoring chance, and then goal all in the same game. As bummed as I was to see the Sharks win this game (a loss would've landed them in the ninth overall draft slot), seeing Lerg dominate this game did get me a bit stoked.

-But really, I think the story of last night's game was John Scott's 2 scoring chance points, as he continues to cement himself as a Shark legend.

Passing Stats

San Jose

Edmonton

-The first line saw somewhat of a return to dominance in this game, as Thornton once again put up over 20 pass attempts, and he had 3 PLSCs.

-Hertl was also pretty on point with his passing, as 2 of his 7 pass attempts led directly to San Jose scoring chances.

-Playing against the team whose organization first brought him into the NHL, I'm sure Taylor Fedun wanted to have a good game last night, and he delivered, being the Sharks' most active defenseman in the offensive zone.

-In contrast, Burns wasn't very active in the offensive zone at all, as his first pass attempt didn't come until there was only 12:40 left in the game.

-There's not much notable about Edmonton's numbers in this game, though I find Keith Aulie's numbers pretty funny, as the only non-shot attempt play he attempted in the offensive zone ended up being a turnover.

-I do think we really need to discuss the mental fortitude of Taylor Hall though, as in yet another pointless game for his club, he came out with a disappointing effort for a player of his calibre, attempting 13 plays in the offensive zone.

Zone Entries

San Jose

Edmonton

-The neutral zone was open for use in this game, as both teams managed carry-in percentages above 50 (the Sharks only had 3 players who didn't carry the puck in on over half of their entries, while the Oilers had 4).

-Leading the way for the Sharks were the usual suspects, as Thornton, Marleau, and Pavelski put up really good numbers.

-This was just another facet of the game that Lerg did very well in, as he managed 5 carry-ins on 7 entry attempts.

-Hall and Eberle had good neutral zone games as well, as did guys like Lander and Roy.

-You really do have to wonder about the mindset of a guy like Tyler Pitlick though. To feel important enough to change your number midseason, and then to come out and put up entry numbers like this? Unacceptable, in my opinion.

Meaning of Life

-Pretty self-explanatory stats here, IMO.

Entry Targeting

San Jose

Edmoney

-The gaudy entry numbers put up by both teams certainly get explained a bit by the numbers here, as not a single Shark defenseman managed a carry-in against percentage under 50 in this game.

-Burns and Braun put up decent numbers on the few amount of entries they were targeted for, as these numbers were really the first non-hideous ones Braun's put up in a while.

-Really the whole left side of the Sharks' defense was pretty weak on defending the blue line in this game, as Irwin, Stollery, and Dillon combined for a 71% carry-in against percentage.

-On the bright side, none of Edmonton's defensemen did very well either, aside from Musil and Schultz.

-The Oilers are currently at an 11.5% chance of winning the draft lottery, and you gotta figure they could really use a guy like McDavid, as their current first line center just isn't getting things done. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, their supposed star first line center was absolutely invisible last night.

Zone Exits

San Jose

Edmonton

-The Sharks were absolutely amazing on zone exits last night, managing successful exits at a good rate, and also turning the puck over far less often than usual.

-A big reason for this was the play of the Sharks' D-men in this game, as Braun was the only player on the backend who really put up "bad" numbers.

-Another reason was the effectiveness of their forwards, as 6 players (Nieto, Tierney, Marleau, Pavelski, Smith, Scott) didn't turn the puck over a single time while attempting a zone exit last night (thought Scott did ice it once).

-Justin Schultz had very mixed results on zone exits, as he did manage a healthy amount of successful zone exits, but he did also turn it over quite a few times, with one of those turnovers quickly ending up in the back of his net.

-Tyler Pitlick also had very mixed results last night, managing 7 breakouts, and 6 turnovers, not attempting a single in-zone pass.

-As a final note, just for those who were unaware, the Kings will not be making the playoffs this season.

Note:

Because Saturday night's game is on national TV, I will be unable to track it live, and thus, this is my last By the Numbers post for this season. Although I will be writing more articles in the next few months breaking down the oodles of numbers I have, and will continue to compile from this season, I just wanted to take this chance to thank everyone for tagging along this season. This has definitely been a new and exciting experience for me, tracking all this stuff, and writing all these articles, and a big part of that is the support I get from you readers. Especially in such a disappointing season, I can't really express how much motivation I've gotten from your words of praise and thanks and whatnot. It'll probably be a while until I can get another article up so I wanted to thank you all while I had the chance, and say that I look forward to enduring this long offseason with you all. Thanks again for the support!

-Jake Barrow