At each quarter of the regular season, I will produce two teams of analytics all-stars. http://www.officialraidersgear.com/Raiders-Jared-Cook-Draft-Jersey/ . Ultimately, the goal with this mini-series is to capture great player performance. Sometimes, there will be obvious overlap between players with great counting numbers and great underlying numbers. Other times, I’ll include players who I think deserve significantly more attention than they’re receiving. FIRST TEAM L – Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks I’m always impressed with players well over the age of thirty who are still caving in the opposition with frequency, mostly because the aging process – even for elite hockey talent – makes that an increasingly difficult accomplishment. The argument in support of Daniel Sedin is the same as it ever was. He, along with common linemate Henrik Sedin, have again come together to form one of the league’s most dynamic top lines. Vancouver’s scoring 57% of the goals and controlling about 56% of play with the twins on the ice at 5-on-5. They’re doing it the same way they have always done it – Henrik Sedin’s largely the setup guy and distributor in the middle of the ice, and Daniel Sedin’s the shot-generating maniac on the wing. The other team infrequently has the puck when they’re on the ice, and as you might have guessed, it creates situations where scoring against the twins is relatively impossible. Unfortunately, there are separate parameters for evaluation here. Daniel Sedin’s compared to other left wingers, and Henrik Sedin’s compared to other centers. So, while performance may be virtually identical and indiscernible away from ‘this guy passes’ and ‘this guy shoots’, Daniel Sedin finds a spot on our team. Henrik Sedin? He’ll have to wait for the mid-season review. C – Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins I think there’s a decent case to be made that Patrice Bergeron’s the second-best player in the world after Sidney Crosby, though guys like Steven Stamkos, Anze Kopitar, and Jonathan Toews are definitely in the mix. Ten years ago, I don’t know if Bergeron’s evaluated the same way as he is now. It’s a great testament as to why Corsi% can further capture excellent player performance, especially on the defensive side on things. Often times while watching games, we get caught up in the forward (or defenseman) making the diving poke check, or getting off a thunderous hit in the defensive zone. That, certainly, is defense. But, over thousands and thousands of repetitions, defense is really just about consistently putting yourself in a position where you only need to make the unbelievable play on rare occasion. That’s what Patrice Bergeron does. Over, and over, and over. He’s a relentless forechecker, a player never caught out of his tight position in the neutral zone, and a guy who defends with vigor in the defensive third. This year’s been virtually identical by Corsi% dominance standards – Boston’s controlling 59% of the 5-on-5 play with Bergeron on the ice, though that number drops to 51% when he’s off. This year is different on one front, though – Patrice Bergeron doesn’t have a rock to lean on in Zdeno Chara due to injury. For most Bruins skaters in the past, Chara’s been the guy propping them up. For Patrice Bergeron, that’s really never been the case – in years past, or in 2014-2015. The Chara Effect YEAR Bergeron/Chara Together Bergeron Without Chara Chara Without Bergeron 2007-14 57.6% 56.3% 53.7% 2014-15 57.8% 59.4% 55.8% The analytics community has long held up Zdeno Chara as one of the league’s most extraordinary of talents. Withstanding Sidney Crosby, I’m not sure there’s been a more terrifying player since the 2004 lockout. What does that say about Patrice Bergeron, a guy who consistently exhibits the ability to excel with or without Zdeno Chara on the ice? R – Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers Philadelphia’s a lot like Calgary in that the gap between their top-group and the rest of their team is the size of the Grand Canyon. Part of that is because there’s virtually zero competent depth on the roster. Part of it is because the top group has unique, game-changing talent – Calgary’s is the Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie defensive pairing, and Philadelphia’s is the forward duo of Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux. Giroux’s the perfect pivot for Voracek, but Voracek’s making the most of the opportunity again this season. Through nineteen games, Voracek’s second in per-60 scoring at 3.9, trailing only youngster Ryan Strome of the New York Islanders. A lot of his scoring is embedded in his high frequency individual shooting rates – this year, just a recurrence of what he’s established in years past. The on-ice rate numbers with Voracek are impressive, too. With Voracek on the ice, Philadelphia’s in the black +1.6 goals per 60 minutes, +13.1 shot-attempts per 60 minutes. Now, if only Philadelphia’s second, third, and fourth lines could replicate what Voracek and company are doing. D – Ryan Ellis, Nashville Predators Here is a comprehensive list of NHL defensemen with a better Corsi% than Ryan Ellis through the first quarter of the season: Jonas Brodin. End list. A lot of smart people have pointed to a lot of different reasons why Nashville’s so improved this season, and I think each argument has some merit. Coaching influence – Peter Laviolette’s hyper-aggressive neutral zone system, in particular – seems to fit the roster beautifully. A bunch of smart, cheap signings by David Poile gave him the arsenal to enact such a strategy. And the growth of younger forwards like Colin Wilson, Filip Forsberg, Craig Smith, and so on have given the team plenty of attacking options. The improvement of the blue line cannot be overlooked, though. The young defenders are finally starting to put together sequences of favorable offensive zone time, and it’s turned Nashville into a legitimate playoff contender. Chief among those improvements have been with Ryan Ellis. Now, the Ellis/Mattias Ekholm pairing are certainly receiving favorable usage – they’re starting 57% of their shifts in the offensive zone, and by most quality of competition standards, they’re getting the softest minutes. But, it’s important to remember that there are many, many, many other defenders getting comparable zone starts and competition – none of whom are playing as strongly as Ellis. I pulled out some deployment comparables for Ryan Ellis, and have noted the Relative Corsi% for each defenseman -- or, the difference in the shot-attempts a team receives with a player on the ice versus the shot-attempts a player receives with a player off of the ice. You’ll quickly notice that one of these players is not like the others. Zone Start Comparables PLAYER Off. Zone Start % QualComp (Corsi) RelativeCorsi% Mark Streit 59.3% +0.24 +5.6% Brent Seabrook 58.4% -0.24 -2.6% Tim Erixon 58.1% +0.19 +4.5% Ryan Ellis 57.8% -0.25 +11.84% Jason Garrison 57.7% +0.58% +0.51% Kevin Shattenkirk 57.5% -0.16 +5.41% Torey Krug 56.8% -0.26 +0.11% Tyson Barrie 56.5% -0.64 +4.33% Michal Rozsival 55.8% -0.12 -0.09% This is sort of a random spread of talent, but I think it does well to illustrate just how dominant Ellis has been in those lofty offensive zone minutes – even compared against guys who are enjoying similar usage rates. D – Nick Leddy, New York Islanders I think there’s going to be an interesting debate – if one plagued in hindsight – about whether Chicago made the right move in dealing Nick Leddy to the New York Islanders, theoretically to preserve a player like Johnny Oduya. Leddy’s underlying numbers are sparkling. He’s played most of his minutes with Johnny Boychuk, and the two have formed one of the league’s most effective pairings through the quarter season mark. How is he doing it? Well, part of it may be attributed to his excellence in the neutral zone, something recently discussed by Garik16 at Lighthouse Hockey. Click through, and you’ll find that Leddy’s sort of a carry-in extraordinaire – a player who refuses to dump the puck in as he comes through the neutral zone, and perhaps not surprisingly, a player that tows a ridiculous 60% Corsi% on the year. G – Jonathan Quick, LA Kings This year’s been a bizarre one in Los Angeles. It’s the first time in what feels like forever that Darryl Sutter’s club, at least at even-strength, has struggled to control play. It’s an issue we talked about last week, and one that warrants further investigation. The middling performance would’ve probably crippled the Kings in the standings, had it not been for consistently strong goaltending – another unexpected development. It’s odd considering his reputation, but there are very legitimate criticisms about Jonathan Quick and his consistent mediocrity at stopping shots. Despite a glowing reputation, Quick’s usually paled in comparison to the league’s elite on the save percentage front, drawing the ire of many from the analytics community. But this year, when his team has really needed it more than ever before, he’s been sensational. Among regular goaltenders, Jonathan Quick ranks #4 in EVSV% at .939, trailing only Brian Elliott, Pekka Rinne, and Roberto Luongo. Expand the sample of data to account for all shots faced (primarily those on the penalty kill), and Quick moves to the top of the SV% list at .931. Based on the years and years of data we have, one should be cynical about Jonathan Quick’s ability to maintain such impressive splits. But, to his credit, he’s been sensational this season, and probably the biggest reason why the Kings are still pulling a playoff-caliber point-per-game pace. SECOND TEAM L – Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay Lightning C – Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins R – Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues D – Zbynek Michalek, Arizona Coyotes D – Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames G – Michal Neuvirth, Buffalo Sabres http://www.officialraidersgear.com/Raiders-Amari-Cooper-Draft-Jersey/ . scored 18 of his career- high 28 points in the first half, as fifth-ranked Ohio State dominated No. Dave Casper Jersey . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. http://www.officialraidersgear.com/Raiders-Gabe-Jackson-Draft-Jersey/ . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91.SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Florida Panthers scored early and then played enough defence to hang on. Scottie Upshall scored a short-handed goal and had an assist to lead the Panthers over the New York Islanders 4-2 on Tuesday night. Nick Bjugstad, Drew Shore and Aleksander Barkov also scored for the Panthers. Tim Thomas stopped 31 shots, and Ed Jovanovski had two assists. "We had chances tonight early in the game and they went in," Florida coach Peter Horachek said. Thomas Vanek and Colin McDonald scored for the Islanders. Kevin Poulin made 22 saves. The win was the first for Florida over the Islanders in five games, dating to the 2011-2012 season. The Islanders lost for the first time in five games and had a seven-game road winning streak snapped. Florida took a 4-0 lead on the short-handed goal by Upshall in the second. He took control of the puck as it slid away from New Yorks Andrew MacDonald at the blue line and skated in on Poulin, beating him on the stick side at 15:54 for his second short-handed goal of the season and first goal since Nov. 30 against Pittsburgh. "Anytime you get a flip up to a D-man who has trouble with bouncing pucks, youve just got to get on him," Upshall said. "It was one of those plays that I was lucky to poke it past him and stick with it and make a move." New York had come from behind in five straight road games to pull out a win, but a 4-0 deficit proved too much to overcome. "We talked about it before tonights game, that we wanted a better start," McDonald said. "Obviously, we didnt do that and got ourselves in a deeper hole than in the last couple games. Going down four, its just too tough to come back." The Islanders scored with 31 seconds left in the second. Matt Martin passed from behind the net in front to McDonald, who poked the puck past Thomas to make it 4-1. New York closed to 4-2 on Vaneks goal in the third. Vanek took a pass from Frans Nielsen behind the net and beat Thomas at 2:38. Thomas faced 15 shots in the third period but was abble to keep the Islanders in check after Vaneks goal. Howie Long Jersey. "Its rare in the NHL to have that kind of cushion," Thomas said. "It was nice, but at the same time its a challenge, too, because you dont want to let the other team back into it. They were right on the brink of coming back there after they got the second goal." The Panthers took a 3-0 lead in the first, the first time they had scored three goals in a period since a 4-2 win over Dallas in the season opener on Oct. 3. Florida scored just 32 seconds in for its fastest goal this season. The Islanders turned the puck over at the blue line and Brad Boyes passed to Barkov low in the right circle. His wrist shot beat Poulin. "Early on we made some tough mistakes that cost us goals right away," Vanek said. Shores goal made it 2-0. Shore was the last Panthers player to touch the puck before it went off the skate of defenceman Brian Strait and into the net at 15:34. The goal was Shores first of the season. Bjugstad stretched the lead to 3-0 when his shot from in front beat Poulin on the left side with 36 seconds left in the first. Even though he gave up four early goals, Poulin made some good saves to prevent the game from turning into a rout. "Thats my job, I guess. To give the team a chance to win and thats what I tried to do tonight and every night Im in," Poulin said. "It wasnt an easy game tonight." The Islanders killed off a 5-on-3 penalty for 1:14 in the first period. The Panthers power-play drought extended to 0 for 22 in the past seven games. NOTES: The Panthers will host the 2015 NHL draft in Sunrise from June 26-27. ... Jovanovskis two assists were the first points for the Panthers captain since returning to the lineup from hip surgery on Jan. 4. ... Thomas faced New York for the first time since he left the team as a free agent in July. He was traded to the Islanders from Boston in February but never played a game for them. ... Islanders goalie Evgeni Nabokov, on injured reserve since Jan. 6, has resumed skating but is still inactive. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '