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Predators Bingo: A Goal Scoring Combination Matrix

While watching the Predators beat up (literally and figuratively) the Wild last Saturday, I started wondering about the different combinations of players that have combined on goals this year. With an impressive number of players contributing offensively, I thought it might be fun to see how many different combinations of goals-assists there have been so far. Obviously Mike Ribeiro and Filip Forsberg have combined on several goals this year, but what about Colin Wilson and Roman Josi? Shea Weber and Gabriel Bourque? Craig Smith and Seth Jones?

The scoring combination matrix below is simple: each cell indicates the number of times those two players have combined to generate a goal: one player assisting a goal that the other scored or both players assisting on a goal scored by another player. Unassisted goals are indicated on the matrix as well, marked in green.

The matrix is current through January 13th vs. the Canucks.scoringmatrix1.13.0.png

If you are looking for #advancedstats, you won’t really find that here. The most this could tell you is what we already know. Colin Wilson has had a huge year, the Forsberg-Neal-Ribeiro line has been killer, and Viktor Stalberg hasn’t done much. But there are some interesting quirks, for example:

  • Shea Weber and James Neal have not combined on a goal this year.
  • Neither have Mike Fisher and Craig Smith.
  • Filip Forsberg has scored or assisted on goals with 19 different players, a team high.
  • Weber and Josi have combined on 11 different goals… the next closest defensemen pair is Seth Jones and Ryan Ellis with 3.
  • There have only been two unassisted goals so far, Colin Wilson and Mattias Ekholm.

I have yet to find similar matrices for other teams, so with nothing to compare this to, it’s hard to draw any ultimate conclusions about these results. This is really just another way to view our team’s offensive numbers and goal production. Statistical play-doh, if you will. It might be fun rooting for certain combinations to hit throughout the rest of the season, almost like “Predators Bingo.” Here’s to that moment when we finally hit the Volchenkov-Stalberg combo!