Monday, October 24, 2011

Some interesting stats at the 10 game mark

So you don't think special teams matter?  The Penguins are 6-2-2 despite missing megastars, and key contributors on both offense and defense.  How?  Special Teams?  Well, to the surprise of nobody, the Penguins PK is the best in the NHL killing 32 of 33 penalties for a 97% kill rate.  In addition to that, the achilles heel of the Penguins, the Power Play is actually 8th in the NHL right now.  Yes, ten games in, and the Penguins have a top 10 power play unit, despite the absence of Crosby and Malkin.  Further, the Penguins are 29th in the league in terms of Goals Against at even strength.  Even with that statistic, the Penguins are 8th in the league in overall Goals Against, due to the penalty kill.  So a top 8 power play, and the top penalty kill unit have the Penguins flying despite the fact that they are near the bottom of the league in terms of goals against even strength.  Hats off to the special teams, and the goal tenders this season.  Guys like Neal, Letang, Park, Adams, Dupuis, Staal, Sullivan, Niskanen, and Kunitz stepping up in the absence of leaders like Orpik, Crosby, Malkin, and Kennedy.  They will have to continue this as we have just learned of the absence of Zybnek Michalek for a month due to a broken finger sustained in the NJ game.  In the words of the young man seen above, Let's fucking do this!

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