All-Blogs.net directory Light the Lamp - a Columbus Blue Jackets blog: Stat of the day

Countdown to Rick Nash's contract expiration:

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Stat of the day

Here is a stat for you as I was analyzing our PP problems.

Christian Backman has a total of 8 shots on goal for the season.

Methot, Tyutin, Commodore and Klesla all have more. Kris Russell has one less in far less games and PP time. Heck Jan Hejda has 6 shots.

For a guy who leads this team in total PP time (47:47) to only generate 8 shots on a goal is a problem. I thought one of this guy's strengths was his shot from the point?

Bottom line is that our PP QB needs to be generating alot more offense with the man advantage.

-LTL

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amen brother...it's one thing to try & fail...it's entirely another to just go out & let everybody else carry you! I'm glad to see RJ knock the monkey off his back & he did it by continuing to try as hard as he could knowing that he was doing what he needed to do! Backman, you are currently a liability & it's time to step up & act like you know how to play this game even if you don't feel up to the task! Raffi is going to keep the fire going that is burning right now IMO. I think that Nash is feeling the pressure of the "C" & it's time for Raffi, Peca, Commodore, Chimmer to stand beside him & fire the room up! I don't see Rick going to Hitch & saying I want more from this guy or bench him while Rick feels he's not performing as he should. I see this as the opportunity to begin of our next evolution into a playoff team. Everybody has to be willing to do more than they feel they can, soldier on & you'll be amazed at what happens when you believe!!!

LTL said...

Good post Lam.

The good thing is that over the past couple of games the Jackets have been pretty good hockey overall. They are just coming up short in key areas such as special teams or having an "oh sh*t!" moment.

If they can get this PP going and the PK shored up (which Leclaire should help if he can stay healthy) the Jackets could go on a run.

I'm not convinced we have the personel on the blueline to get the PP going though. With the way Hitch is rotating forwards on the point (Huselius saw time last night) I tend to think he agrees.

We need more of those heavy shots from the point and I'm not seeing anyone capable of 1. having that kind of shot and 2. getting it through.

-LTL

Anonymous said...

I see people arguing back and forth on the PP and PK.. .listen... first off I think the PP is better then people think... about 1 out of 3 PP we have difficulty entering the zone and setting up a presence. THAT is unacceptable, and embarrassing.. BUT once we are in the zone, we position well and cycle the puck better then any previous CBJ team in history. We just seem to let the puck slip out of the zone too much and we are not getting pucks on net... and you have to give credit to other teams on that, every single opponent so far has aggressively pursued our pointmen (especially Backman gets hunted down quickly). Give it some time and we will get better on the PP, there is a strong foundation. I am not too worried about the PP..
The PK however is a different story, we need to get more aggressive and the positioning/adapting to plays is NOT good. Peca has helped a lot but we need a better overall effort. the PK is more worrisome to me.

Talking about defense.. as a fan... watching the Colorado game I never really felt threatened by the AVS offense, they kept them to the side and didn't allow for any good scoring chances.. I felt calm and relaxed. However with Chicago I felt that every single chance they had was a 100% scoring chance... shots on goal seemed to rebound to the open Hawk without coverage...

BTW Nash needs to kick it into the next gear... hopefully Huselius, Nash and Umberger put up 4 goals tonight..

Anonymous said...

We didn't bring in a PP QB and your surprised that we're not doing better?

So you gonna use your blog for your lastest Backman bashing? He may not be lighting it up, but he's been a decent 5/6 for us.

You mean we have a problem getting the puck on net from the point? Shocking.

LTL, a little nugget for you. The PP is a work in progress and will continue to be. We don't have the personell on defense to do what you want. It's why Jake is on the point.

Having said that, we have had some glorious scoring oppurtunities on the PP that we haven't buried. Chances are being created, even if it's not shots from the point from the defense.

Now, what's actually a real problem that can be fixed in practice. Entry into the zone and retrieving the puck. We spend half the PP trying to set it up in their zone.

However, thank you for bringing up your stat site and repeating the number of shots on goal from out defense.

Anonymous said...

I agree with erik here. I'd even take it one step further and say that teams have ONLY been pressuring Christian Backman. The times this season when Backman and our powerplay have been most effective has been when Backman has an equally skilled point man on the other side who can take the pressure off of him. The opposing teams defenders don't have to guard against Klesla, or Tyutin, or HEjda or Commodore and the hard cold fact is Backman is not the type of powerplay quaterback who can come in and do everything himself especially when the other team seeks to smother him and his shots. Voracek has looked goood on the point (he was there for the one goal we did score versus the hawks) as did Russel (Though he's now back in Syracuse). The point I'm trying to make is don't be so hard on Backman when he has little to no help back there taking the pressure off of him.

LTL said...

That's my problem though Scott. Teams know we don't have the skill on the blueline so they gameplan against it by pressuring them.

Until we get that skill our PP will continue to sputter.

I still can't give Backman a pass for only generating 8 shots on goal with all that PP time though. Afterall he is known as on offensive d-man. We've had some decent puck movement where he has had opportunities but often mis-fires or gets them blocked.

I mean if Marc Methot has more shots in far less games and PP time then getting pressured while having the man advantage isn't enough for me.

Right now Christian Backman is 30th overall in PP time for NHL defensemen. He's tied for 57th in points by a d-man and he's 116th in shots.

Of course its not all on Backman.. the rest of the team isn't pulling its weight either with the man up but its one area where I think we need significant improvement to get better.

Now I will say that Backman isn't near the liability defenisvely that I thought he'd be. I also think he has a nice outlet pass.

We just need more productivity on the PP from him b/c he's got such an important role.

You look at all the top PPs thoughout the league and most have a very strong PPQB:

1. Det - Lindstrom (and Rafalski)
2. St Louis - ?
3. Phi - Timmomen / Coburn
4. Ott - ? (Kuba has 12 points!)
5. Calgary - Phaneuf
6. Minnesota - Burns
7. Pit - ? (Gonchar is out)
8. Chicago - Campbell
9. Anaheim - Pronger/Niedermeyer
10. Buffalo - Spacek
11. Colorado - Liles
12. Toronto - Kaberle/Van Ryn
13. Edmonton - Vishnovski/Souray
14. Boston - Chara

Great posts per usual guys!

-LTL

LTL said...

So whose fault is for not bringing in a PP QB anonymous? Last I heard he was "far better than anything we've had".

Thanks as always for the positive posts C.

-LTL