Nashville Predators vs. Anaheim Ducks on the faceoff dot

by Dirk Hoag on Apr 13, 2011 5:47 PM EDT in Statistical Analysis

A playoff series tends to bring our attention to the narrowest of details, the battles within the battles which can sometimes turn the direction of a game, a series, and hence a team's entire season, in an instant. For the Ducks and Predators, one such battleground will be the faceoff dot.

So follow after the jump for a detailed look (by zone on the ice, and manning situation) at how some of the key faceoff guys in this series have fared this season...

Anaheim

Ryan Getzlaf

#15 / Center / Anaheim Ducks

Height: 6-4

Weight: 220

Born: May 10, 1985

Getzlaf is a relatively poor performer on the faceoff dot, especially on the power play, where guys usually win 52-53% of draws on average, as opposed to 50% at even strength.

	Def	Neu	Off	Totals
PP	6 - 7	18 - 36	101 - 251	125 - 294
	85.7%	50.0%	40.2%	42.5%
EV	129 - 288	198 - 407	77 - 158	404 - 853
	44.8%	48.6%	48.7%	47.4%
PK	11 - 29	1 - 3	1 - 4	13 - 36
	37.9%	33.3%	25.0%	36.1%
Total	146 - 324	217 - 446	179 - 413	542 - 1183
	45.1%	48.7%	43.3%	45.8%

Saku Koivu

#11 / Center / Anaheim Ducks

Height: 5-10

Weight: 178

Born: Nov 23, 1974

The veteran Finn is more effective generally on faceoffs, as part of his overall reputation for defensive prowess.

	Def	Neu	Off	Totals
PP	2 - 6	23 - 33	107 - 192	132 - 231
	33.3%	69.7%	55.7%	57.1%
EV	189 - 364	194 - 389	74 - 115	457 - 868
	51.9%	49.9%	64.3%	52.6%
PK	110 - 223	4 - 11	4 - 6	118 - 240
	49.3%	36.4%	66.7%	49.2%
Total	301 - 593	221 - 433	185 - 313	707 - 1339
	50.8%	51.0%	59.1%	52.8%

Todd Marchant

#22 / Center / Anaheim Ducks

Height: 5-10

Weight: 179

Born: Aug 12, 1973

Decent enough, but certainly not a difference maker.

	Def	Neu	Off	Totals
PP	0 - 0	1 - 3	1 - 1	2 - 4
	0.0%	33.3%	100.0%	50.0%
EV	76 - 135	73 - 148	40 - 93	189 - 376
	56.3%	49.3%	43.0%	50.3%
PK	50 - 119	19 - 42	3 - 7	72 - 168
	42.0%	45.2%	42.9%	42.9%
Total	126 - 254	93 - 193	44 - 101	263 - 548
	49.6%	48.2%	43.6%	48.0%

Nashville

David Legwand

#11 / Center / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-2

Weight: 204

Born: Aug 17, 1980

Generally sub-standard numbers across the board for Leggy. The best bet here is to give him as many of the neutral zone draws as possible and save the more important ones for the rest of the crew.

	Def	Neu	Off	Totals
PP	1 - 1	8 - 13	94 - 195	103 - 209
	100.0%	61.5%	48.2%	49.3%
EV	93 - 199	143 - 307	22 - 45	258 - 551
	46.7%	46.6%	48.9%	46.8%
PK	24 - 55	8 - 17	2 - 5	34 - 77
	43.6%	47.1%	40.0%	44.2%
Total	118 - 255	159 - 337	118 - 245	395 - 837
	46.3%	47.2%	48.2%	47.2%

Mike Fisher

#12 / Center / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-1

Weight: 208

Born: Jun 05, 1980

Hopefully, some of Fisher's underwater totals are due to the upper body injury which dogged him throughout most of the season. But these values probably won't inspire confidence.

	Def	Neu	Off	Totals
PP	2 - 6	16 - 25	128 - 273	146 - 304
	33.3%	64.0%	46.9%	48.0%
EV	143 - 291	187 - 395	72 - 139	402 - 825
	49.1%	47.3%	51.8%	48.7%
PK	48 - 94	4 - 17	2 - 6	54 - 117
	51.1%	23.5%	33.3%	46.2%
Total	193 - 391	207 - 437	202 - 418	602 - 1246
	49.4%	47.4%	48.3%	48.3%

Jerred Smithson

#25 / Left Wing / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-3

Weight: 206

Born: Feb 04, 1979

Now this is more like it! In my mind, Smitty's performance on the PK (which is perhaps Nashville's most critical need in this series) will be driven in good part by his ability to short-circuit the Anaheim power play and dominate Ryan Getzlaf on the dot. I like his odds there, and if he can get the better of the Ducks captain while killing penalties, he could neutralize Anaheim's greatest strength.

	Def	Neu	Off	Totals
PP	1 - 1	5 - 7	102 - 174	108 - 182
	100.0%	71.4%	58.6%	59.3%
EV	224 - 397	145 - 224	5 - 11	374 - 632
	56.4%	64.7%	45.5%	59.2%
PK	71 - 155	20 - 29	5 - 8	96 - 192
	45.8%	69.0%	62.5%	50.0%
Total	296 - 553	170 - 260	112 - 193	578 - 1006
	53.5%	65.4%	58.0%	57.5%

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Comments

Smithers on the dot is a Nashville treasure.

Known by George Plaster since 4/13/2011
Inventor of the AMTWBC meme
Proud member of The Frozen Chosen
The Velvet Hammer

by JRTheByLineGrinder on Apr 13, 2011 6:02 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

Holy crap

I didn’t realize Smitty was so beast on the dot. Wow.
That brings me back to the days of Yanic…

I live in the OC.
The one in OH.

by MattBen on Apr 13, 2011 6:15 PM EDT reply actions

Smitty rules.

"Nothing." - Tuukka Rask, after being asked what he saw on Shea Weber's game winner in overtime.

by Chris Burton on Apr 13, 2011 7:12 PM EDT reply actions

Don’t forget his Jedi Mind Trick

"My, my, here's one for the (no) neck. Don't relax, 'cause you're next for the check!"

by DonBorvio on Apr 13, 2011 7:17 PM EDT up reply actions

All hail King Smitty!

by TitanPredBearFan on Apr 13, 2011 7:15 PM EDT reply actions

I would like to see Legwand's FO numbers

since he returned from injury at the end of December. In many of the games in the last couple of months he has done much better than his season stat would suggest.

by Only Fan In J.C. ? on Apr 13, 2011 10:02 PM EDT reply actions