In this week’s instalment, we ‘re going to be doing things a little differently. Instead of dissecting a couple of lines, we’ll analyze the data collected in the table below. Using Dobber’s Line Production Tool, we compared even-strength point production around the league over the past 10 games. I compiled a list of the highest scoring line for each team at even strength. Here’s the list…

Notable Notes

Johnny Gaudreau is on pace for 120-point season. Sean Monahan is on pace for a 99-point season. Elias Lindholm is on pace for a 92-point season. The Flames are hot!

The San Jose Sharks have been rolling recently, winning eight of their last nine games. They’ve scored 4 or more goals in seven of those nine games. During this stretch, the trio of Evander Kane, Tomas Hertl and Joonas Donskoi have been clicking at an insane rate. Kane has 11 points in his last eight games, Donskoi has 10 in his last nine, and Hertl has 11 in his last 10.

The Blackhawks line of Dylan Strome, Artem Anisimov and Patrick Kane might have some of the most unappealing advanced stats I’ve seen while writing these articles. They’ve controlled just 39.3% of shots taken while they’re on the ice and they’ve generated only 39.0% of all scoring chances created while they’re on the ice. It pains me to tell you that a mere 29.7% of high-danger opportunities were created by Strome-Anisimov-Kane. Which means their opponents control 70.3% of those chances! Despite all this, they’ve somehow managed to outscore the opposition 7-6 at even strength. Also, Patrick Kane has 27 points in his last 14 games…

Detroit’s top line is pretty high up on this list considering the team’s spot at the bottom of the standings. 22-year-old Dylan Larkin might be one of the most underrated players in the league. He has 44 points in 47 games. Gustav Nyquist has nine points in his last eight games.

Since Reilly Smith is out for the foreseeable future with an injury, Max Pacioretty has been seeing a lot of time on the ‘top line’ with William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault. This move allows Brandon Pirri to continue playing with Paul Stastny and Alex Tuch – two players he plays well with. While the sample size is still small, it’s hard to ignore how well the Pirri-Stastny-Tuch line has been playing. They Vegas trio controls 61.6% of shot attempts, 56.5% of scoring chances and 56.5% of high-danger opportunities. They’ve been capitalizing on opportunities too, outscoring their opponents 6-0 at even-strength.

In Edmonton, Ty Rattie is getting another shot on the top line with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. When they play together, Draisaitl and McDavid are probably one of the league’s most dynamic duos. While coach Ken Hitchcock might shuffle his lines often, expect McDavid and Draisaitl to play together more often than not.

Ilya Kovalchuk was moved to the top line with Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown. His recorded ice-time in the past four games has been 17:12, 17:52, 19:39, and 20:53. He’s recorded a point in three of those four games. Who would have thought that giving offensively-gifted players an opportunity to score would result in more production?!?!

It’s the first time in a long time that Buffalo’s top line of Jeff Skinner, Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart isn’t featured on this list. This is easily explained by Eichel’s recent injury which prevented the line from playing together very much over the last ten games. Regardless, Eichel hasn’t recorded a point in his last four games. The Sabres have also lost six of their last eight. 

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