Goal Scoring, Powerplays, and Penalties in the NHL

Powerplay opportunities (PPO) in the NHL are up sharply in the 2012-2013 season and this could have interesting ramifications for your fantasy hockey squad. The NHL reaches the 1/4 mark officially on Wednesday and we’ll take this time to compare the current season to those since the 2004-2005 lockout.

*These are the 2012-2013 current numbers projected out over an 82-game season for comparison. At present, the NHL has played 352 of the 1440 game season (24.4%).

With the number of PPO rising to the level of 2008-2009 (combined with the elevated PP success rates – 19.1% compared to 17.3% last season), it is critical that fantasy hockey managers put an emphasis on players who get PP TOI. To find out which players receive PP TOI and who their linemates are, make use of our Line Combinations Tool. It’s free, updated daily with accurate data, and easy to use. Did you know that Jakub Voracek spends 27% of his time on the ice playing on the PP? Use our TOI Charts to breakdown how a player spends his time on the ice throughout the season. These charts allow you to spot TOI trends that tabular data would never reveal.

You’re also likely to notice that you can probably win in fantasy hockey this season with lower save percentages and fewer shutouts. Both of these stem from the greater number of PPO this season. There have been 23 SHO so far this season, which projects out to 161 SHO in an 82-game season. That number is consistent with the SHO totals from the 2007-2009 seasons. Contrast that with the two most recent seasons which saw 176 and 179 SHO. Note that this doesn’t mean you can get by with rostering bad goalies; it means that goalie statistics as a whole will be down this season.