Rough Stretch: February Islanders Analytics: Part 1

Mason McDonald. Darrell Therialt photo.

Month By Month Performance

Many different factors can be attributed to the downfall experienced by the Islanders for the month of February. One of which could be the weather. Charlottetown experienced a large amount of snowfall which may have canceled practices as well as two games. Another could be that the team was falling back to earth after going 8-3-0-2 before 1-6-0-0. Whatever the reason, it looks as if the Isles have put it behind them with a strong start to March in the early going.

Shots

Shots against just ballooned in February. Mason McDonald and Daryl MacCallum saw a lot more of the puck then they wanted to and goals against reflected this. The Islanders' only win after Feb. 8 came from a game in which McDonald made 50 saves. Such a strong contrast compared to the team which dictated a lot more of the play a month earlier. However, had January been the actual abnormality, February`s "Estimated Fenwick Close" was actually closer to the team's average.

Saves

Charlottetown also shot the puck the same rate as they did the month before but shots against jumped 8.3 shots per game from January. Islanders remain among the top teams in shots-for-per-game but also among the last for shots against. If Charlottetown can work in limiting chances without sacrificing their offense, then this team has a chance to go another round in the playoffs.


McDonald still posted very respectable numbers given the amount of pucks he saw.  He posted goals against average of 3.55 and a save percentage of 0.907.  MacCallum only saw 30:08 of action but even he made 20 saves in that time.  Collectively they posted a save percentage .906 which over the course of the year would be among the leagues best.  Not so much when the team is giving up 40 shots a night.

Special Teams

(Cumulative)

Power Play

Lines (approx):

7 - 11 - 14 - 19 - 46

2 - 8/4 - 10 - 44 - 48

2 - 8/4 - 10 - 17 -44

The power play has been in an upwards trend since December and continues to click at a nice pace. Charlottetown as of today ranks third in power play percentage at 25.3 per cent. They are also second last in power plays drawn (249) but ninth in PP goals. With the playoffs not too far away its nice to see our special teams are a strength.

Penalty Kill

Lines (approx):

10 - 12 -27 - 46

13 - 20 - 8 -15

48 - 19 also have significant PK Time

Penalty killing however took a bit of a fumble in February. Part of the reason can be contributed to the fact that the Islanders took 11 more penalties in February compared to January (37 to 48). An extra minute or two a game may not seem like much but over time can make a huge difference as the penalty kill percentage for the month suggests.

Charlottetown now ranks sixth in penalty killing percentage at 79.5 per cent and are ninth in Times Shorthanded (TSH).

Overall Goals For and Goals Against