Umfragen » ool rightly brought him the attention he deserves. It

Having covered on-ice shooting and save percentages aleady, the next step is to look at the biggest variance in individual NHL player shooting percentages this season. While it might be easy enough to accept the notion that its difficult for a player to affect on-ice shooting or save percentages, because they are heavily-dependent on other players, its another matter entirely to accept the premise that an NHL player doesnt necessrily have a significant impact on his own shooting percentage in a given season. For one thing, as much as it might be convenient for viewrs, a single season isnt enough to capture a players true shooting ability, which means there is a high degree of variance possible. This variance is important, particularly in terms of perception, because its how players end up having career years. When Brett Hull scored 86 goals in 1990-1991, he finished a career-high 22.1% of all of his shots; 65 goals for Alex Ovechkin in 2007-2008? Scored on a career-high 14.6% of all of his shots. Teemu Selannes 76-goal rookie season came on 19.6% shooting, the best of his career. This is how seasons go from good to great but, just as save percentage is wildly unpredictable for goaltenders from one year to the next, so too is shooting percentage for individual players. This is relevant because perception is widely based on goal-scoring. Goals determine winners and losers and are easy to identify, but the reason we pay attention to these outlier percentages is to have have some idea whats real and what isnt. Take Blues LW Alexander Steen, for example. Hes enjoying the best season of his career, with 33 goals and 60 points in 64 games. Hes a tremendous two-way player who has probably been underrated, but hes received more accolades this year because hes become a more prolific goal-scorer. Even though his scoring has slowed since an outrageous start to the year, when he scored 17 goals in 18 games, Steen ranks fifth in the league in goals per game, behind Steven Stamkos, Alex Ovechkin, Gustav Nyquist and Corey Perry. If Steen was finishing at his typical (5-on-5) rate, 8.87% over the previous five seasons coming into the year, that would knock 11 even-strength goals off his total and while 22 goals and 49 points in 64 games is a fine season, its not held in the same esteem as Steens 33-goal, 60-point season. When youve evaluating Steen going forward, is it fair to conclude that hes now the player who scores on 18.4% of his 5-on-5 shots, or is that departure from his established performance level essentially a fluke? There is a lot of randomness at play for a player to have his shooting percentage skyrocket, Steen (and his linemates -- David Backes and T.J. Oshie) deserve some credit because Steen is getting better quality shots than he has in previous seasons. Using Some Kind of Ninjas shot tracker, we can see that Steens average shooting distance, at even-strength, is 28.4 feet, his best of all years tracked since 2008-2009. So, getting shots 3-4 feet closer on average may account for some improvement, though most likely not enough to more than double his even-strength shooting percentage. Lets look at Nyquist, who had four goals in 40 NHL games entering this season and now has 28 goals in 51 games this year, virtually saving the Red Wings playoff chances. Even the most optimistic fan isnt going to expect Nyquist to keep scoring on more than 20% of his shots, simply because no one does. This isnt to rain on Nyquists current goal parade, because its awesome, but if we reasonably think that Nyquist might be an above-average shooter (even, as high as 12%), then that would typically mean 12 goals at 5-on-5 instead of 21 -- that nine-goal difference would be massive for both Nyquist and the Red Wings. Its the kind of thing that no player needs to apologize for, but everyone must understand that these runs will end and regression will bring a player closer to his real skill level. That can still be very good, just not necessarily the out-of-this-world pace that Nyquist is keeping now. By the same token, how many times do you hear a player, mired in a slump, say that they feel okay as long as they are getting their chances? Its cliche, but utterly true. Sure, this player might be snakebitten for 10 games, 20 games, even a whole season, but if there is an established level of being able to score, there have to be extreme reasons for that player to suddenly and dramatically lose that skill. If youre looking for bounceback players going into next season, then, consider some of those that saw their shooting percentages crash this year and, by contrast, you might consider selling high on those players that finished at an abnormally high rate this season. Below, youll see players that have the widest differentials in their previously-established 5-on-5 shooting percentages compared to their results this season. My thanks to stats.hockeyanalysis.com for the data. HIGH INDIVIDUAL SHOOTING PERCENTAGE (min. 10 5-on-5 goals in 2013-2014) Alexander Steen, LW, St. Louis 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 8.87 2013-14 5-on-5 SH%: 18.40 Difference: +9.53 Joe Pavelski, C, San Jose 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 8.19 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 16.80 Difference: +8.61 Ryan OReilly, LW, Colorado 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 6.98 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 15.13 Difference: +8.15 Joel Ward, RW, Washington 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 6.67 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 14.44 Difference: +7.77 Ryan Getzlaf, C, Anaheim 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 10.42 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 17.32 Difference: +6.90 Nick Foligno, LW, Columbus 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 7.89 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 14.74 Difference: +6.85 Artem Anisimov, C, Columbus 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 9.83 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 15.38 Difference: +6.45 Frans Nielsen, C, N.Y. Islanders 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 8.89 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 14.89 Difference: +6.00 Valtteri Filppula, C, Tampa Bay 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 11.96 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 17.20 Difference: +5.24 (Honourable mention to Nashvilles Nick Spaling, who has nine 5-on-5 goals, but has seen 5-on-5 shooting percentage jump from 8.38% to 13.64% and San Joses Martin Havlat, who only has eight goals, but his SH% is up from 9.47% to 16.00%.) LOW INDIVIDUAL SHOOTING PERCENTAGE (forwards with min. 20 5-on-5 goals from 2007-2008 through 2012-2013) Matt DAgostini, RW, Buffalo 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 7.54 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 2.53 Difference: -5.01 Todd Bertuzzi, RW, Detroit 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 9.95 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 4.76 Difference: -5.19 Torrey Mitchell, RW, Buffalo 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 7.62 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 2.33 Difference: -5.29 Mathieu Perreault, C, Anaheim 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 21.90 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 16.46 Difference: -5.44 Kyle Brodziak, C, Minnesota 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 10.20 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 4.49 Difference: -5.71 Blake Comeau, RW, Columbus 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 9.66 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 3.49 Difference: -6.17 Ryan Malone, LW, Tampa Bay 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 11.90 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 5.66 Difference: -6.24 Tomas Fleischmann, LW, Florida 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 11.58 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 5.26 Difference: -6.32 Colin Wilson, LW, Nashville 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 14.02 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 7.59 Difference: -6.43 Steve Ott, C, St. Louis 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 9.82 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 3.33 Difference: -6.49 David Jones, RW, Calgary 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 13.92 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 6.67 Difference: -7.25 Steve Bernier, RW, New Jersey 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 9.78 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 2.41 Difference: -7.37 Shawn Horcoff, C, Dallas 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 9.69 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 2.04 Difference: -7.62 T.J. Galiardi, LW, Calgary 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 10.31 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 2.47 Difference: -7.84 Benoit Pouliot, N.Y. Rangers 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 13.46 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 4.81 Difference: -8.65 Alexandre Burrows, RW, Vancouver 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 12.77 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 4.11 Difference: -8.66 Martin Erat, LW, Phoenix 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 11.90 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 2.50 Difference: -9.40 Marcus Johansson, LW, Washington 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 14.47 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 3.03 Difference: -11.44 Ville Leino, LW, Buffalo 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 12.50 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 0.00 Difference: -12.50 Steve Downie, RW, Philadelphia 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 13.00 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 0.00 Difference: -13.00 Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Dan Hampton Jersey . Bayern winger Franck Ribery marked his league return after recovering from a cracked rib by scoring two goals and setting up two more as the league leaders inflicted the heaviest home defeat on Bremen in the Bundesliga. Dick Butkus Jersey . Louis still looking for a way out of Tampa Bay, the 38-year-old NHL veteran isnt showing his cards. http://www.officialchicagobearspro.com/W...y-bears-jersey/. This was one of them. Omar Infante homered and tied a career high with six RBIs to carry the Kansas City Royals over the Baltimore Orioles 9-3 on Sunday. Devin Hester Jersey . -- Kansas City Royals right-hander Luke Hochevar will have Tommy John surgery that will sideline the pitcher for the season. Jim McMahon Jersey .Y. Islanders 4Winnipeg 5 Dallas 2Nashville 3 Colorado 0San Jose 5 Edmonton 2---AHLProvidence 5 St. Johns 4 (OT)Chicago 6 San Antonio 2---NBACleveland 105 Toronto 101Portland 98 Detroit 86New Orleans 104 New York 93Oklahoma City 114 Milwaukee 101Memphis 114 Dallas 105Miami 103 Phoenix 97Utah 100 San Antonio 96L.Manchester City know they need to be better. In fact, they promised they would be. “To win you need to keep the balance. Our squad is very strong, it will be the second year with Manuel Pellegrini so they will do much better.” Those were the words of Chief Executive Ferran Soriano this summer ahead of the new season. Last season, Manchester City were so impressive that there was some discussion about them seriously winning the domestic triple. In the end, winning the Premier League trophy and the Carling Cup, in the first year under Chilean Pellegrini, meant it was another year to remember on the blue half of Manchester. Their main rivals, Liverpool, took them to the final day, but it was another rival that Soriano and his fellow executives had more than one eye on - Chelsea. Jose Mourinhos side have grown stronger this season and after finishing just four points off the top last year, without having a true goal-scoring threat, Soriano, Pellegrini and company will know Chelsea should comfortably get to the 86-point mark that they achieved last season. City, scorers of 102 goals in 38 league games, looked for improvement as they attempt to win back-to-back Premier League titles for the first time. Bacary Sagna, Fernando and Eliaquim Mangala were added to their team, but the biggest piece of evidence in the case for their improvement this season was witnessed on another rainy Manchester night on Monday. Stevan Jovetic was mocked last season. Called anything from soft to a flop, the 24-year-old hopefully learned to not listen to football phone-in radio shows during his lengthy absences off the field. The former Fiorentina star managed to start just two Premier League games following a 25-million-Euro move from the Serie A last summer. A combination of various leg issues meant City and the league didnt come close to seeing the best of the forward during his first year in England. Those starts came six months apart and Jovetic was removed during the second half in each, 0-0 draws at Stoke and Norwich, respectively. He looked lost and nothing like the star who had been so brilliant in the purple of Fiorentina. Followers of the Serie A were perplexed, wondering when they would see the real Stevan. Even his coach, Pellegrini, admitted to not being sure what he could get from him anymore when, in an interview last season, he openly said he no longer knew what injuries he had and how long he would be out. City were deep enough to get more than enough goals without Jovetic. Alvaro Negredo, in the first half of the season, and Edin Dzeko, in the second half, were ruthless in front of goal and Sergio Aguero, when healthy, was a real threat. However, this season with Negredo on the sidelines with a broken foot and with Aguero, once again, not 100 per cent fit, this was the time for Jovetic to shine. “He had a really excellent pre-season and he is going to have a great season,” said team-mate Samir Nasri after Mondays victory over Liverpool. Nasri had the perfect view of Jovetics first master-class in England. With Liverpool dictating the flow of the game and causing a real threat at 0-0, with five minutes before half-time, Jovetic slipped in behind Alberto Moreno and powered City into the lead. It was classic Man City. Since becoming a powerhouse in the league, one of their greatest strengths has been their mental attitude and on-field leeadership.dddddddddddd They dont panic when things do not go their way. They have a wonderful record of coming from behind in games for that reason and an even better record at scoring goals when they havent necessarily played at their best. It speaks to their quality on the field, which, of course, they paid handsomely for, but it also speaks to their intelligence on the field. Before Monday night, Jovetic would not have been considered amongst these players for Pellegrini. Yet, in the second half, he was a part of a move that he ultimately finished as City passed brilliantly around Liverpool to score an essential 2-0 goal. A brace for Jovetic. There must be something about Liverpool for him. When he scored twice against the Reds in the Champions League five years ago, he said it was one of the best nights of his life. Then 19, the former Partizan Belgrade skipper was on the shopping list of many major European clubs. Rafa Benitez, on the wrong end of Jovetic that night, was so obsessed with what he had witnessed, he spent a year trying to find the money at Anfield to try and sign him. In Florence, he stayed and blossomed under the wonderful guidance of Cesare Prandelli and Vincenzo Montella. Liverpools loss was not just Fiorentinas gain. Serie A had seen many young stars come and go and it was only a matter of time before this latest star would pack his bags for good. They kept him for three more seasons following the win over Liverpool, seasons of ups and downs, but ultimately of frustration for La Viola, who were the biggest victims of Italy losing a fourth Champions League spot. Jovetic matured in Italy, becoming a finisher, a creator and once again treasuring the role of a true talisman. It would be wrong to assume he is a pure number ten, but he is far from a finisher only comfortable at the end of plays in the box. He is a pure footballer, more than capable of playing a large role in such a high footballing IQ team like City. He drifts comfortably into space, can play on the shoulder of defenders or between the lines and links up well with space invaders like Nasri, David Silva and Yaya Toure. All he needed at City was an opportunity. Now healthy, Jovetic has started the season brilliantly and his two goals against Liverpool rightly brought him the attention he deserves. It was hardly a surprise that he felt it was his best performance in a City shirt. “For sure," he said. "I had so many problems last year, but thats the past and I dont want to think about it.” Chelsea are strong this season because they have improved in the key areas they needed to address. Citys victory over Liverpool simply showed just what a different class these two will be in this season. During a true 38-round heavyweight clash between the two, Pellegrini wants to have options; two excellent players available in all positions. This is why Sagna was brought in to challenge Pablo Zabaleta, it was why Mangala was brought in alongside Vincent Kompany, Martin Demichelis and Matija Nastasic and why the impressive Fernando was brought in to challenge Fernandinho alongside Toure. Jovetics presence is also why no other forward was brought in. He is yet to start a Premier League game with Aguero, but on this evidence such a partnership would be mouthwatering. No wonder everyone at City is confident they will be better this season. 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