We often talk about Chemistry in hockey. Unlike any kind of real Chemistry, though, there is nothing testable and it rarely stands up to any scrutiny. It’s just a bunch of hocus pocus used to explain why some players do well with each other and why others do not. It’s more Alchemy than anything else. When we talk about finding Chemistry with Taylor Hall or with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins we aren’t talking about finding an equation where everything balances. We’re talking about one in which the sum of the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts. We’re talking about turning Lead into Gold.
That’s exactly what we might be seeing with Taylor Hall and Nail Yakupov too. This isn’t just Chemistry we’re seeing here. This is something different altogether. This duo tore it apart last year in “Garbage Time…, as the Voting Elite will bend over backwards to tell you, but now they’ve been reunited and it’s more of the same. Last night Taylor Hall and Yak combined for 4 points, a goal and an assist each. At this point their record together seems to indicate that “Chemistry… really exists between these two.
So is this Chemistry between them real or not? I mean it makes for a great narrative, but is it more than that? Well it seems so. The WOWY (With or Without You) numbers for Yak and Hall show that they had great success together in the past. The site I’m using (stats.hockeyanalysis.com) hasn’t been updated since Monday so it lacks Hall and Yak’s most recent performance but the 2012-2013 season shows that the two together were dynamite in the Goals For category.
All numbers are 5v5, but last season Hall on the ice without Yak meant the Oilers were scoring 1.005 Goals for every 20 minutes played. Yak without Hall had the Oilers scoring 0.750 Goals for every 20 minutes played. Together they had a Staggering 1.847 Goals For every 20 minutes played. That’s a lot, but compare that to Hall’s numbers with his Roommate and best friend Jordan Eberle (1.018 GF/20) and you get the real story. The time they played together 5v5 was limited, but it was electric. It wasn’t just good, it was amazing.
That is the level of performance the Oilers can only dream to continue on a regular basis with Yak on the right side of that line with Hall. There are all kinds of reasons to believe the two can mesh well together. For one, Hall draws a lot of bodies to himself when he carries the puck, which tends to leave his line-mates open. That kind of extra space at the disposal of a shooter like Yak can create the kinds of chances that saw him score last night. The two are clearly offensively wired. It’s hard to find someone who can anticipate the game the way a 1st Overall pick can, matching two together is just natural. Finally, they can both wheel. Speed is everything and Yak isn’t going to leave Hall behind or vice-versa when the speed gets turned up. They simply complement each other and combine for a formidable one-two punch.
Yakupov has earned more ice time because of his response to playing with Hall. I hope the coach recognizes the opportunity to turn around a young man’s season around here and lets him run with it. I hope that the Chemistry we’ve witnessed doesn’t fizzle out and the explosion of offense is sustained. All other things aside, it is fun to watch.
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