If you liked the Richards line last week . . .
Posted 3:37 PM ET | Comments 1
. . . then here are some stats you may wish to contemplate.
- In 2006-2007, R.J. Umberger at minus-32 had the lowest plus/minus rating in the league. This year he and Randy Jones are tied for first in that area with plus-9.
- Second worst plus/minus rating in the NHL last year: then-Edmonton Oiler Joffrey Lupul (minus-29) What a difference a year makes!
- People often talk about defensemen who block a lot of shots; Jason Smith (90) and Lasse Kukkonen (60) come to mind. But what about Flyer forwards?Umberger's 26 blocked shots for 2007-2008 lead all Flyers forwards and rank him among the top shot-blocking forwards league-wide. And unlike his plus/minus, that's not a new development - he led the Flyers forwards last year as well with 65 blocked shots.
- The last Flyer forward to hold the shot blocking crown: Michal Handzus with 63 in 2005-2006.
- The last few games I’ve noticed Mike Richards taking faceoffs during the power play in Danny Briere’s stead. Richards shifts back to the point after the faceoff. Is there a big difference between the two centers? By the percentages: Richards wins 53.1% of faceoffs; Briere 52.8%.
- When you shoot the puck, you give yourself the opportunity to score. And the Richards line combines for more shots taken than any other Flyers line. Richards - 94. Lupul - 92. Umberger - 72. They rank 1st, 2nd, and 4th on the team, respectively, in shots.
- In 2006-2007, R.J. Umberger at minus-32 had the lowest plus/minus rating in the league. This year he and Randy Jones are tied for first in that area with plus-9.
- Second worst plus/minus rating in the NHL last year: then-Edmonton Oiler Joffrey Lupul (minus-29) What a difference a year makes!
- People often talk about defensemen who block a lot of shots; Jason Smith (90) and Lasse Kukkonen (60) come to mind. But what about Flyer forwards?Umberger's 26 blocked shots for 2007-2008 lead all Flyers forwards and rank him among the top shot-blocking forwards league-wide. And unlike his plus/minus, that's not a new development - he led the Flyers forwards last year as well with 65 blocked shots.
- The last Flyer forward to hold the shot blocking crown: Michal Handzus with 63 in 2005-2006.
- The last few games I’ve noticed Mike Richards taking faceoffs during the power play in Danny Briere’s stead. Richards shifts back to the point after the faceoff. Is there a big difference between the two centers? By the percentages: Richards wins 53.1% of faceoffs; Briere 52.8%.
- When you shoot the puck, you give yourself the opportunity to score. And the Richards line combines for more shots taken than any other Flyers line. Richards - 94. Lupul - 92. Umberger - 72. They rank 1st, 2nd, and 4th on the team, respectively, in shots.
I think the difference is, Briere is a righty and Richards is a lefty - so depending on where the faceoff is, say it's to the left of the goalie, briere will take the faceoff to draw it back and if it's to the right of the goalie, Richards will take the facoff to draw it back to the point. Hope this helps.