Charlottetown Islanders November Recap: Analytics and Analysis

By: Nathan A'Hearn
Follow him @TheTermiNathan

November 2014
Record: 6-6-0-0

GPG: 3.17
GAA: 3.42

PP: 20.4% PK: 80%

October 2014

Record: 4-6-0-1
GPG: 2.73
GAA: 3.47
PP: 19% PK 81%

September 2014
Record: 4-2-1-0
GPG: 3.57
GAA: 4.28
PP: 21.1% PK: 68.8%

Initial Thoughts: 

The Charlottetown Islanders were able to put together their best month so far this season.  They were able to win their most games in a month.  Add 0.5 of a goal to their goals-per-game and continue to lower their goals-against-average.  Their power play has been steady and consistent while their penalty kill has been around 80 per cent since October.


Shots!

This month Charlottetown was able to average 29.33 shots for per game compared to 31.55 in October. In victories the Islanders outshot its opponents 35.83 - 29.67 which is impressive given that in October these numbers the Islanders were still getting outshot in wins 28.75 - 34.  In losses this month the Islanders were outshot 22.83 - 34.83 compared to 33.14 - 32.85 last month.  This could mean that the Isles are enjoying less third period comebacks then in previous months as teams are more effective at closing out teams.  

These numbers due show signs of improvement and are lightyears better than what we saw in September.  Look for Charlottetown to crack down on Shots Against in December as they are ranked 17th in the league letting opponents average 33.03 shots a game.

Shot Differential

1st Period: November vs Season



2nd Period: November vs Season

3rd/OT: November vs Season


These charts look near identical to their overall season counterparts.  The last two losses did not help the cause.  You can tell that this team is performing better in the third then it has been and slightly worst in the first.

Face-Offs did not make much impact at all but it is interesting to note that averages 51 per cent on the dot in wins and 54.7 per cent in losses.  In October both numbers were 53 per cent.

PIM & Hits

Last month I said Charlottetown tends to do better when they are composed, In November, they averaged nearly identical penalty minutes in both wins and losses (14.83 - 15).  In October I also mentioned that the Isles played better when they hit less than their opponents.  In November the Islanders averaged 18.67 hits per win and 14 hits per loss.

Special Teams:
Power Play
As it stands today, Charlottetown's power-play is clicking at a 19.9 per cent rate.  This is roughly what it has clicked at the past three months and is reasonable to assume that it will hover around here for the rest of the season barring any injury or trade.  However, it will be interesting to see how this team plays without team leading scorer Filip Chlapik for a possible extended amount of time. Power play improved 0.7 per cent overall in November

Power play Lines past five games (not extensive)

Sprong - Chlapik - Goulet - MacKinnon - Johnston
Kielly - Cooper - Kennedy - Weber - Deschenes

Penalty Kill
When you look at the teams cumlative Penalty Kill percentage at 77.6, you see a team at 13th who you might guess has not been a threat to kill penalties at an impressive click.  If you take the atrocious September numbers out, it is more reasonable to conclude that this team is much closer to killing penalties at 80 per cent which would be good for 7th. Penalty kill improved 1.2 per cent overall in November.

PK Lines Past five Games (Not Extensive)

Getson/Avon - Rydstrom - Henley - Thompson
Kielly - Cobbold - Weber - Henley

Goals (For and Against)

 The Islanders were able to improve on their scoring touch averaging 3.17 goals per game in the month of November.  Compare this to the struggling 2.73 in October.  These numbers were able to raise the overall goals per game from 2.89 to 3.1.  Goals Against may look similar for the past two months (3.42 - 3.45) but keep in mind the latest Islanders struggle averaging 5.25 against in their last 4.  They were however able to decrease their season goals against .1 of a goal to 3.63.

(Blue Line is GF)


Keys To December
1) Lower shots against (Second highest in league)
2) Step up in Chlapik's absence (Team Scoring Leader)
3) Stronger goal-tending performance (5.25 goals against average in past four games)