Penguins Shot Attempt Differentials

A chart like this is one of my favorites.

On the bottom axis, you have each player on the Penguins roster and the number of shot attempts they are on ice FOR per 60 minutes of ice time at even strength. And you have that cross-referenced on the left axis with the number of shot attempts they are on ice AGAINST per 60 minutes.

So for example, in general, a player who shows up on the chart on the bottom and to the right means that they are on ice for a lot more attempts than they are against. A player who shows up on the top and to left means the opposite.

It's a nice way to visualize how each player on line stack up against the rest of the team.

Here, you can see that the line of Chris Kunitz, Sidney Crosby, and Patric Hornqvist are just dominating at even strength. By far the best on the team both in terms of Shot Attempts For and Against.

The pairing of Kris Letang and Olli Maatta was killing it too. It will be interesting to see if and how these marks trend moving forward with the different pairings while Maatta is out of the lineup.

Pretty much everyone else is in the positive range with the exception of the Penguins bottom pairing of Simon Despres and Rob Scuderi, as well as the 4th line of Zach Sill, Marcel Goc, and Craig Adams.

That's fine. As far as I am concerned, you don't need your 4th line and bottom pairing to be outstanding, as long as they aren't getting killed or hemmed in shift after shift.

Mostly, I am just blown away by Crosby's line. It's something special to see right now.

(Data for the chart via stats.hockeyanalysis.com...and also a stick tap to Jen LC for teaching me how to make these charts)