Exceeding Expectations
What’s Happening: The Anaheim Ducks’ Troy Terry has had a start well beyond expectations. Through 18 Games, the 2015 5th Round Pick has put up a stellar 12 Goals and 22 Points, already surpassing his previous best season (7 Goals and 20 Points in 48 Games last year). This currently puts him at 7th and 10th in the league in each of these respective categories. Is it just a streak, or is it a sign of more to come for the winger? At an unsustainable shooting percentage of 27.3%, one could expect an eventual drop in goal productivity, but he definitely has been doing something right.
Ducks Fly Together: Talking about doing something right, at this point, the same can be said about the Ducks. Through 19 games, the team currently sits at 3rd in the Pacific Division, well above expectations. However, as expected, you can thank goalie John Gibson for this, who has a .925 Save Percentage (SV%) and 2.36 Goals Against Average (GAA) through 15 starts. Otherwise, the team has seen a sort of reemergence in veterans Ryan Getzlaf (1 Goal and 19 Points), Adam Henrique (6 Goals and 15 Points), and Kevin Shattenkirk (4 Goals and 14 Points), all of whom are performing at paces similar to past career years.
And finally, special teams performance has been a key contributor, with the Ducks sitting at 5th in the league in Power Play (25.9%) and 9th in Penalty Kill Percentages (85.7%). Like Terry, the question is: Can they keep it up?
Around the NHL: To start, the most obvious surprise isn’t that Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid are performing, but the rate at which they’re doing it. Draisaitl still sits atop the league at 1.00 Goals and 2.00 Points per Game and McDavid is at 0.67 and 1.78, respectively. Those numbers are incredible.
What’s even more shocking is they show no sign of slowing down. It’s quite possible we’ll see the highest points total in the past 20 seasons (Nikita Kucherov, 2018-19, 41 Goals, 128 Points) or maybe even 30 (Mario Lemieux, 69 Goals, 161 Points).
In net, a change of scenery has paid off for the Carolina Hurricanes’ Frederik Andersen, posting 11 Wins, a .937 SV%, and a 1.89 GAA through 13 starts. So far, the Philadelphia Flyers’ Carter Hart has reverted back to his past performance, putting up a .928 SV% and 2.39 GAA through 12 starts, and the same can be said of the Los Angeles Kings’ Jonathan Quick, at a .939 SV% and 1.88 GAA, and Dallas Stars’ Braden Holtby, at a .918 SV% and 2.54 GAA.
As NHL coaches always say, “it’s a long season,” so a lot can change between now and the end. But for those who were mentioned above, they’re certainly hoping their trajectory continues.
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