This week I put collectively a brand new set of visuals utilizing information from MoneyPuck to get a greater learn on how groups, traces, and goalies carried out throughout the 2024–25 season. Every worksheet focuses on a distinct a part of the sport: shot effectivity, anticipated targets, rebound management, line efficiency, and filters for recreation scenario like 5-on-5, energy play, and penalty kill.
Every thing proven right here relies on full-season information. You need to use the filters to have a look at completely different conditions and see how efficiency shifts relying on context.
This is a breakdown of every worksheet and what it exhibits:
Photographs on Purpose vs. Shot Makes an attempt (Workforce Stage)
This chart compares complete shot makes an attempt with precise pictures on purpose throughout all conditions. Within the high proper, you may discover the groups that had robust common seasons and went deep within the playoffs, environment friendly, high-volume offenses that persistently pressured opponents.
Within the backside left, you have acquired a mixture of groups that struggled. What stands out right here is that some playoff groups, like Montreal, St. Louis, Minnesota, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Washington present up on this low-volume cluster. These golf equipment did not generate many makes an attempt and did not hit the online a lot both however nonetheless discovered methods to remain aggressive.
At 5-on-5, the overall structure stays the identical; there’s not an enormous shift in the place groups land, which is sensible because it’s the first recreation state. However flipping to 5-on-4 tells a distinct story.
On the ability play, Ottawa and Dallas rise to the highest, they acquired pucks via and created stress. Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Columbus, then again, had energy performs that did not do a lot. Whether or not it was a system problem, lack of expertise, or execution, these groups struggled to shoot and generate probabilities with the person benefit.
One standout: the New York Rangers’ penalty kill. They scored 18 shorthanded targets, which is essentially the most within the league. That form of offensive punch whereas down a person makes them harmful even once they’re on the again foot.
Use the filters to flip between recreation states, every one tells a barely completely different story about how these groups approached the season.
Flurry-Adjusted Anticipated Targets For vs Towards (Workforce Stage)
This chart appears at how groups carried out primarily based on flurry-adjusted anticipated targets, a model of xG that offers a cleaner learn on scoring probabilities by down-weighting rebounds and chaotic shot flurries. The concept is that if you happen to miss the primary shot, that is the one cause a rebound can occur. So these rebound probabilities get discounted to keep away from inflating a workforce’s xG with junk quantity. It has been proven to be extra predictive and repeatable than commonplace xG.
Within the chart, groups within the backside proper are those you’d anticipate to go on playoff runs. They created plenty of high quality probabilities whereas limiting what they gave up. It is a tight cluster of contenders, and it captures simply how robust their general video games had been.
Up within the high left, you may discover groups that allowed too many probabilities towards and did not generate sufficient offense principally the lottery crowd. A number of groups like Utah sit nearer to the center however lean towards the playoff aspect. That matches what we noticed: borderline groups that simply did sufficient to remain within the hunt.
What’s good about this visible is it does not simply monitor shot quantity or uncooked targets, it provides you a wiser view of which groups had been truly creating sustainable offense, and which of them had been giving up the form of appears that get you beat.
Line-Stage: Ice Time vs Anticipated Targets Share (xGF%)
This chart compares every line’s complete ice time with their anticipated targets share (xGF%), a superb learn on whether or not they’re controlling play when on the ice. You’ll be able to filter by place (ahead or protection) and set a minimal TOI threshold to chop noise from low-usage combos.
The visible naturally kinds a little bit of a funnel, high traces and trusted pairings are going to play extra, and groups normally do not give heavy minutes to traces that get caved in. So, what you are right here is each efficiency and the way a lot belief the teaching employees gave them.
One line price mentioning is Lawson Crouse – Jack McBain – Josh Doan. They sit proper within the combine with a few of the league’s finest. That is a robust signal they had been punching above their weight and profiting from their utilization.
Should you spotlight by workforce, you may rapidly scan via line combos and see who was dragging issues down, who was pushing issues ahead, and which teams logged heavy minutes. It is also a pleasant option to bear in mind streaks from earlier within the yr, when sure combos had been rolling, and see how a lot they really performed collectively.
Line-Stage: Hits For vs Giveaways For
This chart appears at how bodily or sloppy completely different traces had been by evaluating hits for and giveaways for throughout the season. Just like the final one, it is line-based, and you may filter by place to see ahead traces or D pairings.
One factor that jumps out is the Jake Guentzel – Brayden Level – Nikita Kucherov line, which gave the puck away typically however did not hit a lot to get it again. It is not essentially a knock as a result of they seem to be a high-skill, puck-dominant group, nevertheless it highlights how some high traces play a totally completely different recreation than bottom-six grinders.
On the flip aspect, the Jonah Gadjovich – Tomas Nosek – A.J. Greer line from Florida lands within the high left, exhibiting heavy bodily play with comparatively few giveaways. They’re constructed for forechecking, not finesse.
And as soon as once more, the Crouse – McBain – Doan line exhibits up within the thick of it, identical to they did on the xGF% chart. They’re bodily, dependable, and making a case for extra deployment subsequent yr.
There aren’t scenario filters on this one, however you may nonetheless use the place toggle to change between ahead traces and D pairs. It is a great way to scan how completely different teams performed stylistically, whether or not they had been clear and fast, or heavy and punishing.
Goalie-Stage: Photographs Towards vs Rebounds Created
This chart tracks how goalies dealt with shot quantity by evaluating complete pictures towards to rebounds created. The scenario filter helps you to isolate 5-on-5, energy play, penalty kill, or all conditions.
The perfect spot is backside proper, goalies who confronted plenty of pictures however did not hand over many rebounds. Prime left is the place issues actually collapse: low workload however nonetheless coughing up rebounds. That is the place you may discover names like Jake Allen, Anthony Stolarz, Spencer Knight, and Alex Nedeljkovic. Taking heavy workloads is one factor, however giving up second probabilities at that quantity is an issue.
Completely different goalies carry completely different workforce masses, so context issues. However this visible helps spotlight who’s controlling their crease and who’s feeding chaos again into the slot. Use the filters to see how that adjustments by recreation state.
Closing Ideas
Every of those visuals provides a distinct angle on how groups, traces, and goalies carried out throughout the 2024–25 season. Whether or not you are digging into shot effectivity, particular groups influence, rebound management, or which traces actually earned their minutes, the filters enable you to look deeper and discover the patterns that matter.
As all the time, if there’s one thing you wish to see damaged down subsequent, whether or not it is extra player-specific stuff or a more in-depth take a look at particular groups, ship it my means. I will preserve constructing this out as we get nearer to puck drop for 2025–26.
