Releases » This year, Im more excited. I cant call it

A few weeks back, I looked into the scoring chance tracking done at War on Ice, comparing scoring chance rates to shot attempt rates for individual players. Now, for more of a macro look at team-level results, comparing goals for and against, scoring chances for and against, and shot attempts for and against to see if its possible to get a better grasp on the ever-elusive shot quality. Ive compiled some ratios, looking at goals, scoring chances and shot attempts, using colour scales to help identify outliers. (All measures during 5-on-5 play) (G - Goals, SA - Shot Attempts, SC - Scoring Chances) When it comes to goals per shot attempts, its not a surprise to see non-playoff teams languishing near the bottom, but San Jose, Los Angeles and Boston are also at the bottom of the range. Given that L.A. and Boston are in the Top 10 of shot attempt differential, the low-percentage finishing has an impact on their offensive production. On goals per scoring chance, the Rangers, Predators, Blues, Avalanche and Panthers are getting goals at the highest rate per scoring chance, but that could reveal a little something about their respective attacks. Nashville, for example, has 22 even-strength goals from their defencemen, while Carolina has seven. Given the qualifications for scoring chances, teams that get more goals from the point could have a higher percentage of non-scoring chances that ultimately result in goals. Otherwise, San Jose, Los Angeles and Boston remain in the lower tier, not taking advantage of opportunities. As for scoring chances per shot attempt, the Tampa Bay Lightning are far and away the leaders in percentage of shot attempts that count as scoring chances. That offers some support for converting the highest percentage of 5-on-5 shot attempts into goals and backs them up as the leagues highest-scoring team. Theyre high-percentage finishers, but not outrageously so and the quality of opportunities suggest that they should score on a relatively high percentage of shot attempts. Notably, both Dallas and Toronto ranked highly in terms of goals per shot attempt and scoring chances per shot attempt. The Stars are one of the highest-scoring teams in the league and the Maple Leafs were before their pre-All-Star drought. At the bottom of scoring chances per shot attempt chart sits the Florida Panthers, which is interesting because of the juxtaposition. The Panthers are one of the leagues lowest-scoring teams but, as noted above, they actually finish on a relatively high percentage of their scoring chances, rare as they may be. Thats the offensive side. How does it look in terms of goals, scoring chances and shot attempts allowed? Defensively, Nashville, Montreal, Calgary, Winnipeg and the Rangers allow the lowest percentage of goals per shot attempt. Certainly something to be said for quality goaltending. But if good goaltending can save teams, the opposite is true at the bottom end of the chart. Minnesota, Edmonton, Arizona, Columbus and Dallas are allowing the most goals per shot attempt during 5-on-5 play. For the most part, those teams have had poor goaltending this year. Minnesota and Edmonton stand out, in the wrong way because they are middle of the road in terms of scoring chances allowed, but goals per scoring chance and goals per shot attempts are right at the bottom. Lets not attribute all of this to goaltending, though, because part of this exercise is to look at shot quality, at least in terms of recorded scoring chances. The teams allowing the lowest goals-per-scoring chance arent especially surprising. Nashville, led by Pekka Rinne, and Montreal, led by Carey Price, are 1-2 again, with Colorado, Winnipeg and St. Louis rounding out the Top Five. The contributions of rookies Calvin Pickard, in Colorado, and Michael Hutchinson, in Winnipeg, have been positive in relatively limited playing time. Most of the teams allowing more goals per scoring chance are teams that have allowed a lot of goals overall but, again, the Florida Panthers stand out. The Panthers have a middle-of-the-road defensive record this season, allowing 2.64 goals per game (tied for 16th) and 30.3 shots per game (20th), but they are among the worst in terms of goals-per -scoring-chance-allowed ratio. What makes this fascinating is that the Panthers also happen to surrender the lowest percentage of scoring chances per shot attempt. If we combine this with the offensive findings, it appears that the Panthers are somewhat fortunate despite few scoring opportunities, while they are a legitimately strong defensive team that is, unfortunately, surrendering goals on a high percentage of the relatively few scoring chances that they do allow. Which brings us to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team that is far-and-away allowing the highest percentage of scoring chances per shot attempt. While Florida, Nashville, the New York Rangers, Anaheim and Ottawa are allowing the lowest percentage of scoring chances, relative to shot attempts, the Leafs are in a class of their own at the bottom behind Tampa Bay, Carolina and the New York Islanders. This is where trouble comes home to roost for the Leafs, though. Not only do they allow a high-percentage of scoring chances -- thats bad enough -- but they also allow more shot attempts than any non-Buffalo-Sabres entry. A poor shot attempt differential is one thing, and important in its own right, but getting further burned on shot quality is utterly crushing. Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com. Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca Kamil Grabara Jersey .Heres Ralph the Dog with the crew here at TSN jumping into the James Duthie TradeCentre selfie: Happy to drop by! RT @TSN_Sports: @tsnjamesduthie: Take this Ellen. Georginio Wijnaldum Liverpool Jersey .C. - Canadian ice dancing, it seems, is in good hands. http://www.liverpoolgear.us/Authentic-Joel-Matip-Liverpool-Jersey/ . Unfortunately for Toronto, that surge was too much to handle as the Stars scored six straight goals and ended the Marlies season with a 6-2 victory on Tuesday. Toronto had built a 2-0 lead on goals by Frazer McLaren and Peter Holland, but Texas charged back with a wild rally late in the second period to spark its trip to the Calder Cup final. Curtis Jones Liverpool Jersey .K. Subban and Matt Duchene will be the two skaters sitting out the teams opening game. Joel Matip Jersey . Alen, 28, hit .315 with five home runs, 59 RBI and a career-high nine stolen bases for the Goldeyes last season. He is the longest serving catcher in Goldeyes history, having already spent five seasons with the organization.ALAMEDA, Calif. - For a general manager who preaches building through the draft, Reggie McKenzie has struggled to find impact players his first two years in Oakland. With all of his picks on the first two days for the first time in three drafts with the Raiders, McKenzie is looking to add players who can be part of the foundation of the rebuilding project in Oakland. "Its my goal and the Raiders goal to hit on my picks, and to be right in everything we do," he said. "This year, Im more excited. I cant call it pressure. Im more excited because of the foundation that weve built this off-season." The Raiders enter the draft with the fifth overall pick and also have choices near the top of the second, third and fourth rounds. Oakland has traded its fifth- and sixth-round picks away but does have three selections in the seventh round. The Raiders didnt pick until 95th overall in 2012 because of previous deals. But McKenzie was unable to find any hidden gems as none of the six players selected started a single game last season. Oakland had premium picks a year ago, but first-round cornerback D.J. Hayden was hampered as he recovered from heart surgery and struggled in his limited playing time. Second-round offensive lineman Menelik Watson barely made it on the field because of injuries. "I want to get it right every year, with every pick," McKenzie said. "Will you be 100 per cent right? Absolutely not." Here are five things to watch with the Raiders when the draft starts Thursday night: QUARTERBACK QUANDARY: The Raiders entered the off-season in need of finding a starting quarterback. After trading a sixth-round pick for Matt Schaub in March, McKenzie no longer needs to fill that hole through the draft. "Thats still a position that well look at, but I think what it does is, you dont feel that pressure that you have to go out there and try and draft a quarterback," coach Dennis Allen said. "You kind of let everything fall to you now." WIN NOW: The Raiders have spent the first two years under the leadership of McKenzie and Allen tearing down the franchise after years of poor management under late owner Al Davis.dddddddddddd. Now they are in the rebuild mode, but owner Mark Davis is losing patience after consecutive four-win seasons. McKenzie said that does not put pressure on him to find players who can contribute immediately. "You draft for the future," McKenzie said. "You dont draft for right now. Thats not the way I do it." GOING DEEP: One of the deepest positions in this draft is receiver, where more than a dozen players are projected to go in the first three rounds. Even after adding veteran James Jones in free agency, the Raiders could look for a playmaker in the draft. Clemsons Sammy Watkins is considered the best of the group, but the Raiders also could wait to get a quality receiver in the second or third round. "If I feel like this guy is an impact player, Im not going to bypass him just because theres some other good, solid receivers," McKenzie said. "When youre comparing great to good, Id rather have great." DRAFT DEALINGS: McKenzie has not been shy about making draft-day trades. He has moved down in the draft four times in his first two years to add additional picks, including dropping nine spots in the first round last year to take Hayden 12th overall and add the pick for Watson in the second round. "Thats what makes it fun — the uncertainty," he said. "But I cannot plan that at all. I can just be hardheaded and stubborn and say, Im not moving. But thats not my style." UNDRAFTED GEMS: A GMs work is not done once Mr. Irrelevant is picked. McKenzie has done a good job finding some gems in the undrafted free agent market with receiver Rod Streater, quarterback Matt McGloin, punter Marquette King and offensive lineman Lucas Nix all making contributions the past two years after joining Oakland as undrafted free agents. ' ' '