Sharks Stats at the 20-game mark

I hope I’m not stealing any thunder from That’ll Cheech You and the gang, but given that the San Jose Sharks are at the 20-game benchmark, I thought it would be appropriate to go ahead and list some statistics prior to tomorrow night’s matchup between the Sharks and the Washington Capitals.

INDIVIDUAL STATS

• Devin Setoguchi and Patrick Marleau are tied at 11th in the league (w/ Simon Gagne) for points amongst all skaters, at 22. Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin is ahead of the field at 31 points. The Team Teal linemates are one point behind Alexander Ovechkin, two points behind Ryan Getzlaf, and five points behind the better other Alexander (Semin) on the Caps.
• Devin Setoguchi is in a 6-way tie for 4th in goals in the league, with 11. Buffalo’s Thomas Vanek (15), Washington’s Alexander Semin (13), and New Jersey’s Zach Parise (12) lead the league.
• Joe Thornton is tied for 5th in the league in assists (16). Malkin leads by 6 over his closest adversary (um, Sidney Crosby – and Boston’s Marc Savard), with 24.
• Ryane Clowe is tied for 7th in power play goals, at 5. For comparison, Teemu Selanne leads the league with 9.
• Patrick Marleau is tied for 2nd in the league in shorthanded goals (2). Simon Gagne leads with 4.

• Milan Michalek and Patrick Marleau lead the Sharks with 2 game winning goals apiece.
• Devin Setoguchi is tied for 2nd in the league for most shots on goal = 80.  Alexander Ovechkin leads with 89, but The Gooch’s percentage (.138) is much better than Ovie’s (.090).  Patrick Marleau (74, .122) and Joe Pavelski (68, .103) are the other leaders on the Sharks.
• Both Christian Ehrhoff AND Dan Boyle are tied for 2nd in points amongst league defensemen (16).  Nashville’s Shea Weber leads with 18, while Washington’s Mike Green also has 16.  Rob Blake sits at 13, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic has 10.
• Among defensemen, Dan Boyle has the 4th most goals (6).
• Among defensemen, Christian Ehrhoff is tied for FIRST (w/ Ottawa’s Filip Kuba) in assists, with 14.  Rob Blake is 8th (11), and Dan Boyle is in a massive tie for 9th (10).
• Dan Boyle is tied for 3rd among defensemen for power play goals (3).  Washington’s Mike Green leads with 6.
• Dan Boyle is the only Sharks defenseman to have a game winning goal.  No league defenseman has more than 2 gw goals.
• Among defensemen, Rob Blake is 3rd and Dan Boyle is 4th in shots on goal (63 and 61, respectively).  Sadly, only 3.2% of Blake’s go in the net, compared to 9.8% of Boyle’s.  However, defensive leader Dion Phaneuf (75 shots on goal) has just a 4.0% success rate himself.
• Evgeni Nabokov is 5th in the league with wins.  His save percentage could stand a boost, however, at .891.  There is also room for improvement in his goals against average (2.71).
• Brian Boucher’s GAA is second best in the league, at 1.87.  Only Boston’s Tim Thomas is better, at 1.78.  Boucher has played 8 games compared to Thomas’ 12./

TEAM STATS

• The Sharks lead the league with 33 points (16-3-1).
• The Sharks lead the league in goals, with 71.  The Detroit Red Wings are second with 66.
• The Sharks also lead the league in assists, with 129.  The Red Wings are once again second, with 121.
• The Sharks ALSO lead the league in shots on goal, with 758.  The New York Rangers are a distant second, with 725.
• The Sharks are 16th in the league in penalty minutes (266); Jody Shelley has 37 of his own, while Brad Staubitz and Ryane Clowe have 25 minutes.  The Anaheim Ducks lead the league, with 395; new Duck Steve Montador has 34 minutes, Corey Perry has 33, George Parros has 32, and Ryan Getzlaf has 31.  The Dallas Stars are 5th, with 345 – Sean Avery has 66 of his own, Brenden Morrow has 49, and Steve Ott has 46.
• The Sharks are tied for 10th with Tampa Bay for least goals against (49).  The Minnesota Wild are far ahead of the pack (get it?), with only 34.
• The Sharks are tied for 5th with Ottawa for GAA (2.42).
• The Sharks are 8th in the league on the power play (21.1%).  The Red Wings are far ahead of the next best team with 34.2%.
• Negative stat = Along with the Calgary Flames, the Sharks are 4th in the league for most shorthanded goals against (4).  The Rangers are the worst, with 7.
• Along with the L.A. Kings, the Sharks are the fifth best team for power play goals against, with 12.  The two worst teams = the Edmonton Oilers and the Anaheim Ducks, with 24.
• The Sharks have the 9th best penalty kill in the league (84.6%).
• The Sharks are third in the league for faceoff wins, with 53.0%.  The Red Wings and the Nashville Predators are 1st and 2nd, respectively.
• The Sharks have the 2nd most goals at home, with 41.  The Chicago Blackhawks are 1st with 44, while the Anaheim Ducks are 3rd with 40.
• The same order as above applies to most assists at home.  The Sharks have 75, to Chicago’s 78 and Anaheim’s 74.
• The Sharks have the 8th most goals on the road (30).  The Oilers have the most, at 39.
• The Sharks are tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 2nd best power play percentage on the road (26.1%).  Detroit dominates the league at 36.0%./

LAST FUN FACT

• The San Jose Sharks are one of only three teams that Alexander Ovechkin has NOT scored a goal against. The other two are the Minnesota Wild and the Los Angeles Kings (!). Of course, the Washington Capitals play the Sharks tomorrow, and their next opponent just so happens to be the Minnesota Wild. Quick – knock on wood, lest the Sharks actually succumb to Alexander BEFORE the Kings.
• UPDATE = Actually, the San Jose Sharks are the ONLY NHL team that Alexander the Great has not registered a point against. Thank you, Washinton Capitals website.

If your brain is full, it means I’ve done my job.  Speaking of which, my lengthy lunch break is just about over – I love Fridays.  Back to work!

GO SHARKS!