By Nick Obergan
Through the end of February, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson and Pekka Rinne were leading their respective positions. To no one’s surprise Malkin and Karlsson stayed on top, while the heated goalie battle ended with Jonathan Quick usurping the throne.
Malkin ran away with the scoring title, scored 50 goals for the first time in his career, and ran away with the player rankings title as well. He beat out 60-goal man Steven Stamkos, teammate James Neal, John Tavares and Marian Hossa for the crown, but it was never really close since the All-Star break. On a per game basis, only teammate Sidney Crosby had a better rating.
Karlsson was far and away the best offensive defenseman in the NHL this season, with the next closest player 25 points behind him. Rounding out the top-five are likely Norris candidates Shea Weber, Alex Pietrangelo, Zdeno Chara and Alexander Edler. On a per-game basis, long-injured Flyers captain Chris Pronger led the way, followed by Kris Letang and Karlsson.
Quick rode an NHL-best 10 shutouts to take the goalie crown, jumping from third with a little over a month to play. Phoenix’s surprisingly strong netminder Mike Smith, Rinne, Vezina favorite Henrik Lundqvist and Marc-Andre Fleury completed the top-five. On a per-game basis, backups Brian Elliott, Johan Hedberg and Cory Schneider were the top-three.
All stats as of April 9, 2012; all ranking totals are derived using the unique OCPR formulas.
Forwards
1. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh: 444.94
2. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay: 404.82
3. James Neal, Pittsburgh: 380.56
4. John Tavares, NY Islanders: 379.96
5. Marian Hossa, Chicago: 375.77
6. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia: 375.50
7. Patrick Sharp, Chicago: 374.12
8. Ilya Kovalchuk, New Jersey: 370.66
9. Zach Parise, New Jersey: 362.79
10. Joe Pavelski, San Jose: 354.97
Click Here for the top-100 Forwards in Total OCPR.
Click Here for the top-100 Forwards in Per-Game OCPR.
Defence
1. Erik Karlsson, Ottawa: 398.98
2. Shea Weber, Nashville: 366.08
3. Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis: 342.47
4. Zdeno Chara, Boston: 325.06
5. Alexander Edler, Vancouver: 314.71
6. Dan Boyle, San Jose: 308.12
7. Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg: 306.27
8. Duncan Keith, Chicago: 283.56
9. Kevin Shattenkirk, St. Louis: 278.39
10. Dion Phaneuf, Toronto: 275.83
Click Here for the top-100 Defensemen in Total OCPR.
Click Here for the top-100 Defensemen in Per-Game OCPR.
Goalies
1. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles: 128.52
2. Mike Smith, Phoenix: 125.66
3. Pekka Rinne, Nashville: 122.58
4. Henrik Lundqvist, NY Rangers: 117.39
5. Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh – 107.04
6. Miikka Kiprusoff, Calgary – 106.24
7. Jimmy Howard, Detroit – 101.42
8. Roberto Luongo, Vancouver – 99.66
9. Cam Ward, Carolina: 99.58
10. Antti Niemi, San Jose: 99.25
Click Here for the top-40 Goalies.
Click Here for the top-40 Goalies in Per-Game OCPR.
Forward stats:Goals, assists, game-winning goals, plus/minus, shots on goal, shooting percentage, shifts per game, ice time per game, power play goals and assists, short-handed goals and assists, hits, blocked shots, giveaways, takeaways, missed shots, minor penalties taken, and face-off percentage.
Defence stats:Goals, assists, plus/minus, shooting percentage, shifts per game, ice time per game, power play goals and assists, short-handed goals and assists, hits, blocked shots, giveaways, takeaways, missed shots and minor penalties taken.
Goalie stats: Wins, losses, overtime losses, shutouts, goals against, save percentage, total saves, total goals allowed, as well as saves made and save percentage on the power play.
Nick is RealGM’s NHL Feature Writer. You can reach him by email nick.obergan@realgm.com or on twitter @NickObergan
