Watch out for these five preseason stats – TSN.ca

It’s hard to believe, but the opening of the NHL regular season is only a week away. That means we’re nearing the end of another red-hot preseason plan and may have learned a thing or two about teams as they experiment at camp.

In preparation for the start of the season next week, I wanted to highlight five key stats from the September playlist. Enjoy!

1. The Four Goals by Danil Gushchin

Sometimes all it takes is lightning in a bottle to crack an NHL lineup, and Gushchin might be the best example of that this preseason. The 20-year-old San Jose Sharks winger and former third-round pick in the 2020 draft has been hitting at will with the Niagara IceDogs last season, and he hasn’t slacked off at camp. The only skater to score four goals this preseason, Gushchin played a majority of his minutes with journeymen Andreas Agozino and Max Veronneau. Keep an eye on Gushchin – those shots, even if fleeting, can be rocket fuel for coaches looking to experiment with lines and arm scorers with better playmaking talent.

2. Great Ice Age for Bean, Brennstrom

jake bean is a 24-year-old defenseman with a first-round pedigree. Erik Brannstrom is a 23 year old with first round pedigree. Circumstances are very different, but the Columbus Blue Jackets need to see a big season from a potential defensive anchor in Bean, just as the Ottawa Senators need to see Brannstrom establish himself as an NHL-capable two-way defenseman who is establishing himself can rely on a bottom four pairing and trusted defensively.

Both players have been put to the test this preseason — Bean (18:01) and Brannstrom (17.45 ice time per game) were two of the three most-used defenders at equal strengths. In Columbus, Brad Larsen paired Bean with Nick Blankenburg and Marcus Björk; Ottawa played with Brannstrom Nikita Zaitsev and Maxence Günette.

So far the goals have not been in favor of Bean (0:2; -2) or Brannström (1:4; -3).

3. Chytil’s shooting attempts

I didn’t miss the Rangers Center Philip Chytil was on a short list of potential breakout candidates last season based on his statistical profile. In summary, he and his line generated far more offense than his goal and assist totals would have suggested, and those scoring chances will remain as long as Chytil’s line continues to put pressure on central defense.

In three preseason games this year, Chytil has made 18 shot attempts (ranking second among forwards through Saturday), and the Rangers line has outscored opponents 54-26 (+28). Remarkably, Chytil played most of his minutes with two high-profile distributors and playmakers: Vitaly Kravtsov and Artemi Panarin.

4. Hurricane offense buzz

Carolina has quietly turned the territorial dominance they’ve seemingly had for years into a significant attack — last season, the Hurricanes finished seventh on equal scoring (3.23 goals per 60 minutes), a cut ahead of a caliber team the Tampa Bay Lightning and enough to quickly bury average teams.

It also serves as a reminder that if a team is producing shot volume at this speed and from these areas, they are doubly dangerous (via HockeyViz):

If this preseason is any indication, Carolina is picking up right where she left off. The Hurricanes have scored 14 goals in their first three games, the highest rate in the league, and that’s supported by 3.8 expected goals per 60 minutes played, also the highest number in the league. veteran Andrei Shchnikov and those recently acquired Brent Burns Everyone has a pair of goals so far.

5. Demers is having a hard time

I was excited to see Edmonton welcoming veteran Demers, a camp inviter who was the prototypical defensive back in his heyday.

Five years ago, Demers would have been the perfect cast — and maybe even the missing piece on the blue line — to stabilize an Edmonton team that still needs some defensive help. But Demers is 34 and coming from back surgery that kept him out for the whole of last season.

It’s hard to tell how patient the Oilers will be with Demers, who will clearly need time to see if he can still be a reliable defensive option deeper down Edmonton’s defensive depth chart – time the Oilers unfortunately don’t have.

The preseason numbers weren’t good: The Oilers were topped 69-32 (-37), while Demers mostly played along on the ice Markus Niemelainen as his partner.

Data on Natural Stat Trick, NHL.com, Hockey Reference, Hockey Viz, Evolving Hockey