Sheng Peng: Numbers Behind LA's Improved Penalty Kill The Kings PK has vaulted into the top-10 of the league over the last month and a half...how?

Nice work as usual.

sheng peng, nice blog.

Nice work as usual.
- poisondhearts37

sheng peng, nice blog.
- kicksave856

Thank you!

carter = en fuego
dowd = wtf on the second goal
gaborik = wtf on the OT goal

carter = en fuego
dowd = wtf on the second goal
gaborik = wtf on the OT goal
- hiway39

Dont forget Kopi. He wasnt to hot in this game either. And based on how many times Brown fell down once again. I had to drink alot. Thank god for uber.

What's promising is that all of LA's recent improvements on the PK seem fairly sustainable -- including Budaj's middle-of-the-road 86.14 Save% at 4v5 since 11/3/16 -- chiefly because there haven't been any enormous, unusual improvements from earlier in the year.
- Sheng Peng

I respectfully disagree that it's sustainable and would argue that there not being "any enormous, unusual improvements from earlier in the year" is a big clue that it's not. If you can't point to obvious changes, but you're seeing obviously better results, then it's likely just a hot streak that'll run its course eventually.

Besides, a 90% PK just isn't sustainable, especially for a squad that ends up between 81 and 83% every season (12-13: 83.2%, 13-14: 83.1%, 14-15: 80.9%, 15-16: 81.4%). Even if they just maintain their current, overall 84.7%, it'll be the highest in the last five years by over a point and a half. It stands to reason, then, that their average the rest of the way probably won't be much higher than that, 84.7%. What's likely is that this PK success will end at some point and they'll go through stretches in the high 70s and early 80s again to even things out.

dowd = wtf on the second goal
gaborik = wtf on the OT goal
- hiway39

Personally, I usually never mind defensive mistakes which lead to goals against -- there's so much space out there. Dowd, however, no such excuse. Hopefully, he's not scratched next game as a result.

I respectfully disagree that it's sustainable and would argue that there not being "any enormous, unusual improvements from earlier in the year" is a big clue that it's not. If you can't point to obvious changes, but you're seeing obviously better results, then it's likely just a hot streak that'll run its course eventually.

Besides, a 90% PK just isn't sustainable, especially for a squad that ends up between 81 and 83% every season (12-13: 83.2%, 13-14: 83.1%, 14-15: 80.9%, 15-16: 81.4%). Even if they just maintain their current, overall 84.7%, it'll be the highest in the last five years by over a point and a half. It stands to reason, then, that their average the rest of the way probably won't be much higher than that, 84.7%. What's likely is that this PK success will end at some point and they'll go through stretches in the high 70s and early 80s again to even things out.
- Osprey

Sorry, that's on me, my writing wasn't clear. I didn't mean to suggest that LA will be killing penalties at a 90% clip for the rest of the season. I meant to say that their current top-10 status reflects where I think they'll remain the rest of the year. They'll certainly have some swoons.

For what it's worth, LA is first or second in the league in 4v5 Fenwick Against/60, Shots Against/60, Scoring Chances Against/60, and Expected Goals Against/60. Penalty killing appears to be a legitimate asset of the team's.

did you mean defensive mistakes in OT? if its misreading a play, sure, i don't disagree. but gaborik was the fresh fwd on the ice, while carter was at the tail end of the shift...gabbo had to turn on the jets there and help back.

did you mean defensive mistakes in OT? if its misreading a play, sure, i don't disagree. but gaborik was the fresh fwd on the ice, while carter was at the tail end of the shift...gabbo had to turn on the jets there and help back.
- hiway39

Yea, I meant defensive mistakes. I thought Gaborik tried his best to get back, but he had sunk down so low in the offensive zone, so he had a lot to make up. And of course, there's the question of how good Gaborik's jets are at this point.

Yea, I meant defensive mistakes. I thought Gaborik tried his best to get back, but he had sunk down so low in the offensive zone, so he had a lot to make up. And of course, there's the question of how good Gaborik's jets are at this point.
- Sheng Peng

relatively speaking, gabbo's jets are still upper tier on the kings...which isn't saying much.