7.0 -- The Boston Bruins’ shooting percentage. Out of 29 other teams, only the Buffalo Sabres’ is lower (6.8%). This is why the Bruins (15-12-2) haven’t been able to translate their excellent possession numbers into a really great record. On Saturday, the B’s outshot the Maple Leafs, 33-20, but lost the game, 4-1. “Goalies are too good in this league if you don’t make it hard on them,” said center Patrice Bergeron. “A lot of it is that.” Some of it may also be bad luck. But it won’t get any easier tonight in Montreal, where Carey Price is expected to start for the Habs.
.893 -- The Dallas Stars’ team save percentage, the lowest in the league. It’s a broken record by now, but Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi aren’t getting it done. The fact the Stars aren’t scoring nearly as many goals as they did last season has really exposed their goaltending and defensive deficiencies. Both Lehtonen and Niemi are signed through next season for a combined cap hit of $10.4 million, so it’s not an easy fix for GM Jim Nill. And there’s no solution in the AHL, where Maxime Lagace and Philippe Desrosiers have identical .893 save percentages for the Texas Stars.
12 -- The number of first-period goals for the Vancouver Canucks, who have only opened the scoring in eight of their 29 games. The Canucks have a respectable 22 goals in the second period and 26 in the third. “When we’re down, we’re playing well,” Daniel Sedin said recently. “Why is that? We’re aggressive. We have to bring back that aggressiveness early on. ... I think we’re waiting to see what happens in the game and you can’t play that way.” The Canucks failed to score in any period Sunday in Washington, where they were shut out, 3-0, by the Capitals.
10 -- Power-play goals for the New York Islanders, the fewest in the NHL. In a related story, Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen combined for 14 PP goals last season. This season, John Tavares leads with three, Anders Lee has two, nobody else has more than one, and Andrew Ladd is still looking for his first. While execution has been sorely lacking, part of it is a simple lack of opportunities. The Isles have only had the man advantage 77 times in 27 games. The Flyers, in contrast, have had an NHL-high 116 power plays in 31 games.
16 -- Regulation losses for the Winnipeg Jets, who are in worse shape than the standings may appear at first glance. That’s because the Jets have already played 32 games, at least two more than any other team in the Central Division. Last season, Chicago finished third in the Central and only lost 26 times in regulation. To match the Blackhawks’ record from last season, the Jets would need to go 34-10-6 the rest of the way. No team in the NHL has more regulation losses than Winnipeg.
