Everyone’s most impressive and most concerning numbers through the first two months of the Colorado Avalanche’s season.
Well, the Colorado Avalanche made it to December with 26 points, one more than they had by the end of December a year ago. It took until game 39, in January, for the Avalanche to reach the same point plateau they’ve hit by game 23 this year. Things are starting to look up for the franchise, even if there’s still a long way to go.
With two months in the books, let’s look back at some of the best and worst numbers behind the Colorado Avalanche’s season so far.
All stats are from Hockeyreference.com or NHL.com, and are as of December 1st, before the game against the New Jersey Devils.
Sven Andrighetto:
Best 6 – The number of 2 point games for the Swiss forward this year.
Worst 16 – The number of of games he’s been held pointless. Added bonus, he has 0 single point games, all 12 of his points have come in those 6.
Mark Barberio:
4 – His point total, nearly 1/3 his career best.
2 – The number of 5+ game pointless streaks he’s had.
Tyson Barrie:
18 – The number of points he’s scored through 22 games. That’s a 66 point pace.
3.8 – His shooting percentage, the same it was last year, and half of the year before. His -3 isn’t great, but it’s not bad either.
Jonathan Bernier:
10 – The number of starts he’s given the Colorado Avalanche so far.
3.25 – The number of goals he’s surrendered above what a statistically average goalie would have in the same scenario.
Chris Bigras:
19:07 – His season high ice time against Nashville. Pickings are pretty slim, unfortunately.
-8.4 – His Fenwick% relative to his teammates, especially considering his 58.4% offensive zone starts.
Gabriel Borque:
75.5 – Percentage of faceoffs starting in the defensive zone
-12.3 – His Corsi% relative to his teammates.
Blake Comeau:
10 – His point total, half of what he managed last year
2.4 – His caphit for a depth winger
JT Compher:
51 – His faceoff percentage. He has a lot of good numbers, but on a team struggling to win faceoffs, this stands out for the rookie.
-9.5 – His Corsi% relative to his teammates. 6 games lost to injury is a strong contender.
Samuel Girard:
21:33 – His average time on ice. It’s tough to pick just one, especially given his +4 rating and his positive possession numbers.
8 – The number of shots he’s managed through 9 games.
AJ Greer:
15 – Hits thrown in 6 games.
-8.1 – His Corsi% relative to teammates.
Rocco Grimaldi:
3 – Points he’s put up.
5 – The number of games he’s made it into. None of his stats are that bad, actually.
Erik Johnson:
32.17 – His shifts/game, first in the league.
18 – Consecutive games without a goal.
Tyson Jost:
93.5 – His PDO, suggesting he’s in for some more puck luck the rest of the year.
0 – Number of times he’s scored on a goalie. It’s tough to pick just one unfortunately, his games lost to injury and his average ice time are both contenders.
Vladislav Kamenev:
3 – The number of hits he managed to throw before getting injured.
4:06 – His ice time before getting injured.
Related Story: Avs Call Up Kamenev
Alexander Kerfoot:
60 – The point total he’s on pace for, a 28/32 split.
32 – His shooting percentage, suggesting he’s bound to slow down at some point.
Gabriel Landeskog:
9 – His goals and his plus/minus rating, both leading the team.
4 – Number of games he’ll miss due to his current suspension.
Anton Lindholm:
1.4 – His Corsi% relative to his teammates, mostly impressive due to his 62.3% defensive zone starts.
13 – The number of games he’s missed due to injury or being scratched.
Nathan MacKinnon:
1.22 – His points/game, good for 6th in the league. There are plenty of contenders, including his 28 points, 1st Star of November and 9 multi point games.
39.8 – His faceoff percentage.
Related Story: MacKinnon's Magical November
Andrei Mironov:
3 – His points in only 9 games.
-5 – His Corsi% relative to teammates, even worse given his 60% offensive zone starts.
Patrik Nemeth:
6 – His point total and his plus minus rating.
107.1 – His PDO, suggesting he’s in for some worse puck luck going forward.
Matt Nieto:
1 – Hat-tricks this season.
15 – Games without a goal and only one point total.
Mikko Rantanen:
20 – His point total, more than half last year’s output. His possession numbers are relatively strong as well.
1 – Even strength goals.
Carl Soderberg:
9 – His point total in a bounce back season.
41 – His faceoff percentage.
Dominic Toninato:
2 – Number of games to register his first point.
8:26 – His average time on ice.
Semyon Varlamov:
57 – The number of saves he made en route to a franchise record.
906 – His save percentage.
Colin Wilson:
1.2 – His Fenwick% relative to his teammates.
5 – His point total.
Nail Yakupov:
7 – His goal total, only 10 shy of his career best.
12:14 – His average time on ice.
Nikita Zadorov:
44 – His number of hits.
2 – The number of goals he’s had disallowed.
Matt Duchene Bonus:
2 points, -9 For Ottawa. Girard has the same number of points, and his plus/minus is 13 points better.
Conclusion
These numbers are some of the best and worst that each guy on the Colorado Avalanche has managed so far. Some are pretty clear cut. Others, I really had to dig and nitpick to find. A few guys had so many good or bad numbers that it was hard to choose just one. A couple of others had the opposite problem, that they didn’t stand out one way or the other.
All told, the Avalanche have put a successful couple months behind them, but the games will only grow more challenging from here on. Here’s hoping the boys can put together some more strong performances and avoid a repeat of last December’s meltdown.