The Pittsburgh Penguins are one of the best teams in the league and tonight they will face the worst team in the league. The Arizona Coyotes have been pitiful so far this year. Is it tanking by design? Maybe? Whether it is or not they stink.
Here is a snap shot of the league
And top 5 all from the East:
— NHLnumbers (@NHLnumbers) December 12, 2016
5. NYR (.683 points percentage)
4. WSH (.685)
3. PIT (.696)
2. CBJ (.731)
1. MTL (.732) https://t.co/cYdUeBvA0r
Four of the top five teams are in the Metropolitan Division. During the month of December the Penguins are 5-0-0 and haven't really pulled away in the standings. The reason...
In December, the top-5 teams in Metro (PIT, NYR, PHI, CBJ, WSH) are combined 24-3-1 and are 12-0-0 in their last 12 games.
— Mark Scheig (@THWMark) December 12, 2016
The division is on fire right now.
Just to show how off the mark the Coyotes are here is every team's Score-Adjusted Fenwick up to this point for the year
In previous blogs I have referenced a stat known as 'game score' which can be used to evaluate how well a player has played in a specific game. As the sample size grows you can take the average of those scores to see who is playing consistently well or poor. Here is a breakdown of how each player has done in the games this year
I was a little jealous of everyone else's awesome Game Score charts. So, here's the Pens through 12/10. #Pens #GameScore @omgitsdomi pic.twitter.com/o5WpdySwhx
— Elle (ElleCC) (@EastSideElle) December 11, 2016
There really aren't any surprises on here. Eric Fehr and Olli Maatta have had poor seasons. All the big dogs are at the top and Murray has outplayed Fleury.
Here are the forward lines for tonight
Penguins forwards:
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) December 12, 2016
Sheary-Crosby-Hornqvist
Hagelin-Malkin-Kessel
Kunitz-Bonino-Rust
Wilson-Cullen-Kuhnhackl
Out: Fehr
Max Domi is expected to miss a month and a half due to a hand injury and as a result will not be in the lineup tonight.
Jake Guentzel registered his third consecutive game with a goal and an assist since being sent down. His goal was nice.
GIF: Guentzel GOAL!!!! His second point of the night, and the #WBSPens are up 4-1. pic.twitter.com/jmcH77Hj3U
— WBS Penguins (@WBSPenguins) December 12, 2016
Thanks for reading!