This post will focus on the impact of powerplay chances for and against; specifically thier impact on Montreal Canadiens wins and losses during the 2011-12 season. Logically, more opportunities on the powerplay should result in more goals, while less time spent killing penalties should result in less goals against.
Aside from the obvious; goals for and against, I have yet to find any one even-strength event involving skaters that is constantly and substantially higher during wins. That said, there are some traditional statistics that are consistently higher during wins. One example is special team success; which I wrote about here. While the other is save percentage; which I wrote about here.
I also touched upon the impact of offensive and defensive-zone play in each of the three zones, the impact of offensive-zone loose-puck recoveries, and the impact of offensive-zone passing.
The first graph below represents the number of powerplay chances the Montreal Canadiens enjoyed in each game, while the lower graph is the number of times the Habs were forced to kill penalties in each game. The green line shows wins, while the red line shows losses.
PP CHANCES FOR BY GAME
The Montreal Canadiens averaged 3.62 powerplay chances per-game during the 2011-12 season. Incredibly enough, the Habs averaged more PP chances during losses than wins; enjoying 3.42 PP opportunities during wins, and 3.75 powerplays during losses.
The Habs had a record of 13-28 in games they had more than 4 or more powerplays. This winning percentage of .317 was actually lower than their overall winning percentage for the season. In games where they enjoyed 6 or more powerplays their record still only jumped to surprisingly-low 4-7.
The Habs struggled getting shot through to the net on the powerplay. Even during games where they enjoyed 6 or more PP chances, they only averaged 28.09 shots per-game; barely above their overall season average of 27.9 shots per-game.
As individuals, only Alexei Emelin and Yannick Weber were able to get more than 50% of their attempted shots on the powerplay through to the net. The only forwards to do the same were Scott Gomez, Travis Moen, David Desharnais, Mathieu Darche, Max Pacioretty, Erik Cole, and Lars Eller.
PP CHANCES AGAINST BY GAME
The Montreal Canadiens averaged 3.84 powerplay chances against in 2011-12. They attempted to kill 4.04 penalties per-game during losses, and 3.52 penalties per-game during wins.
The Habs had a record of 17-20 in games where they allowed their opposition 3 or less powerplays. That record jumped to 9-9 when the Canadiens gave up 2 or less powerplay chances against.
The Habs brutal powerplay from last season just didn't produce enough goals to significantly impact their overall record. That said, strong discipline, combined with season-long success killing penalties did impact the Habs record.
