Goalies through 40 home starts

The distinguished St. Louis Blues historian posted a fun fact about the distinguished St. Louis Blues goaltender: Jordan Binnington is 29W-3L-5O with 3-no-decisions in his first 40 career home regular season starts.

And then a curious follower asked how Binnington compares to the rest of the field, present and past, and I was happy to research.

Research is too loud a word, though, because the total of about 30 lines of code including formatting the output did the job, and I am sure if I were more skilled in MongoDB, that would even be less.

Anyways, it turned out that Binnington indeed has the best record of the 40 home regular starts among the active goaltenders. He ranks 8-15th all-time by winning percentage with 72.5% and 14-20th in points percentage with 76.2%. He shares the ranks with the likes of Tony Esposito, Bunny Larocque and Martin Brodeur.

The best goaltender in both categories turns out to be Bill Durnan. The very close runner-up is Frank Brimsek, his contemporary. The only goaltenders from the post-expansion era who performed better than Binnington are Ken Dryden and Pete Peeters. And the second best home career start among the active goalies belongs to... The question was asked on Twitter, and no correct answer was given. It belongs to Jaroslav Halak.

Below are the top-50 tables. If you want the full ones, please don't hesitate to write us!

By W%

By Pt%

# Name G W T O L N W% 1 BILL DURNAN 40 34 4 0 2 0 85 2 FRANK BRIMSEK 40 34 2 0 4 0 85 3 TINY THOMPSON 40 32 1 1 6 0 80 4 CLINT BENEDICT 40 32 0 1 7 0 80 5 ALEC CONNELL 40 31 2 1 6 0 77.5 6 KEN DRYDEN 40 30 8 0 2 0 75 7 PETE PEETERS 40 30 3 0 6 1 75 8 GILLES VILLEMURE 40 29 6 0 4 1 72.5 9 JACQUES PLANTE 40 29 6 0 5 0 72.5 10 MICHEL LAROCQUE 40 29 3 0 8 0 72.5 11 ROGER CROZIER 40 29 3 0 8 0 72.5 12 JORDAN BINNINGTON 40 29 0 3 5 3 72.5 13 BOB FROESE 40 29 2 1 6 2 72.5 14 MARTIN BRODEUR 40 29 0 2 7 2 72.5 15 GEORGES VEZINA 40 29 0 2 9 0 72.5 16 TERRY SAWCHUK 40 28 7 0 5 0 70 17 DON EDWARDS 40 28 6 0 6 0 70 18 RICK WAMSLEY 40 28 6 0 5 1 70 19 ROLAND MELANSON 40 28 5 0 5 2 70 20 RICHARD SEVIGNY 40 28 5 0 3 4 70 21 CHRIS OSGOOD 40 28 0 4 4 4 70 22 HARRY LUMLEY 40 28 4 0 8 0 70 23 GILLES GILBERT 40 28 4 0 8 0 70 24 MARIO GOSSELIN 40 28 3 1 7 1 70 25 ANDY MOOG 40 28 3 0 7 2 70 26 JAROSLAV HALAK 40 28 0 2 8 2 70 27 MARTIN GERBER 40 28 0 1 8 3 70 28 GLENN RESCH 40 27 8 0 3 2 67.5 29 TONY ESPOSITO 40 27 7 0 6 0 67.5 30 GRANT FUHR 40 27 6 0 7 0 67.5 31 NIKLAS BACKSTROM 40 27 0 6 6 1 67.5 32 CURTIS JOSEPH 40 27 0 4 6 3 67.5 33 MATT MURRAY 40 27 0 4 6 3 67.5 34 TIM CHEVELDAE 40 27 0 3 8 2 67.5 35 PEKKA RINNE 40 27 0 2 10 1 67.5 36 FREDERIK ANDERSEN 40 27 0 2 8 3 67.5 37 ED BELFOUR 40 27 0 0 11 2 67.5 38 VESA TOSKALA 40 26 0 7 3 4 65 39 MIKE RICHTER 40 26 0 6 7 1 65 40 AL JENSEN 40 26 5 1 7 1 65 41 CHARLIE HODGE 40 26 6 0 8 0 65 42 ROGIE VACHON 40 26 5 0 9 0 65 43 HENRIK LUNDQVIST 40 26 0 4 10 0 65 44 RYAN MILLER 40 26 0 3 11 0 65 45 CORY SCHNEIDER 40 26 0 2 9 3 65 46 BRADEN HOLTBY 40 26 0 1 12 1 65 47 GLENN HALL 40 25 8 0 7 0 62.5 48 RON GRAHAME 40 25 6 0 8 1 62.5 49 CHRIS MASON 40 25 0 5 7 3 62.5 50 MURRAY BANNERMAN 40 25 5 0 9 1 62.5

# Name G W T O L N P% 1 BILL DURNAN 40 34 4 0 2 0 90 2 FRANK BRIMSEK 40 34 2 0 4 0 87.5 3 KEN DRYDEN 40 30 8 0 2 0 85 4 TINY THOMPSON 40 32 1 1 6 0 82.5 5 CLINT BENEDICT 40 32 0 1 7 0 81.25 6 ALEC CONNELL 40 31 2 1 6 0 81.25 7 GILLES VILLEMURE 40 29 6 0 4 1 80 8 JACQUES PLANTE 40 29 6 0 5 0 80 9 PETE PEETERS 40 30 3 0 6 1 78.75 10 TERRY SAWCHUK 40 28 7 0 5 0 78.75 11 DON EDWARDS 40 28 6 0 6 0 77.5 12 RICK WAMSLEY 40 28 6 0 5 1 77.5 13 GLENN RESCH 40 27 8 0 3 2 77.5 14 MICHEL LAROCQUE 40 29 3 0 8 0 76.25 15 ROGER CROZIER 40 29 3 0 8 0 76.25 16 JORDAN BINNINGTON 40 29 0 3 5 3 76.25 17 BOB FROESE 40 29 2 1 6 2 76.25 18 ROLAND MELANSON 40 28 5 0 5 2 76.25 19 RICHARD SEVIGNY 40 28 5 0 3 4 76.25 20 TONY ESPOSITO 40 27 7 0 6 0 76.25 21 MARTIN BRODEUR 40 29 0 2 7 2 75 22 GEORGES VEZINA 40 29 0 2 9 0 75 23 CHRIS OSGOOD 40 28 0 4 4 4 75 24 HARRY LUMLEY 40 28 4 0 8 0 75 25 GILLES GILBERT 40 28 4 0 8 0 75 26 MARIO GOSSELIN 40 28 3 1 7 1 75 27 GRANT FUHR 40 27 6 0 7 0 75 28 NIKLAS BACKSTROM 40 27 0 6 6 1 75 29 ANDY MOOG 40 28 3 0 7 2 73.75 30 VESA TOSKALA 40 26 0 7 3 4 73.75 31 JAROSLAV HALAK 40 28 0 2 8 2 72.5 32 CURTIS JOSEPH 40 27 0 4 6 3 72.5 33 MATT MURRAY 40 27 0 4 6 3 72.5 34 MIKE RICHTER 40 26 0 6 7 1 72.5 35 AL JENSEN 40 26 5 1 7 1 72.5 36 CHARLIE HODGE 40 26 6 0 8 0 72.5 37 GLENN HALL 40 25 8 0 7 0 72.5 38 MARTIN GERBER 40 28 0 1 8 3 71.25 39 TIM CHEVELDAE 40 27 0 3 8 2 71.25 40 ROGIE VACHON 40 26 5 0 9 0 71.25 41 DON BEAUPRE 40 23 11 0 5 1 71.25 42 NORMIE SMITH 40 22 10 3 5 0 71.25 43 PEKKA RINNE 40 27 0 2 10 1 70 44 FREDERIK ANDERSEN 40 27 0 2 8 3 70 45 HENRIK LUNDQVIST 40 26 0 4 10 0 70 46 RON GRAHAME 40 25 6 0 8 1 70 47 FELIX POTVIN 40 24 0 8 7 1 70 48 RYAN MILLER 40 26 0 3 11 0 68.75 49 CHRIS MASON 40 25 0 5 7 3 68.75 50 MURRAY BANNERMAN 40 25 5 0 9 1 68.75

A challenging task

While the page "Coaches - Challenges" has been present on my website for a long while, it was always bothering me with a variety of inaccuracies, as well as the inability to properly incorporate another event, when the Situation Room interferes with the game: the Video Review. Therefore I put myself to a task of comprehensive accounting of all Coach Challenges and Video Reviews dating back to 2015.

The main information about challenges and reviews comes from the Play By Play sheets. In many cases the flow is straightforward:

• There's a CHL event with the type of challenge and the challenging side
• There's the outcome in form of the timeout event by the challenging side

Unfortunately, the data is not very consistent and in many cases, lacking. Sometimes there's no CHL event, but instead a STOP event with a CHLG string. Sometimes the timeout is not there. Sometimes the challenge is attributed to 'League' - something that should only happen in the last minutes of the third period or in the overtimes. Sometimes there are two challenges, and one is missing. And sometimes even the wrong team is attributed to the challenge. While overall the NHL data is pretty steady, the challenge is the worst - probably because it involves a lot of human-contemplated input. And a lot of Video Reviews just go AWOL from that event sheet.

Fortunately, from about mid-2015 season, NHL publishes the "Situation Room Blog" - a rubrique on its site that is very scrape-able and moderately structured. Thus I was able to pick all the Situation Room proceedings since around January 2015 and parse them into a structure similar to the challenges from the PBP sheets. Then I was able to cross-compare the lists per game. That allowed me to correct quite a few challenges as well as add more challenges and video reviews.

The total tally includes:

• 885 Coach challenges from CHL events
• 264 Coach challenges from STOP events
• 30 Coach challenges from Situation Room blog
• 56 Video Reviews from CHL events
• 937 Video Reviews from STOP events
• 216 Video Reviews from Situation Room blog

Altogether 2388 events.

I consider the League Challenges equivalent to Video Reviews.

In the next blog post I'll show how they are breaking down by outcomes for each team and in other ways. I plan to add a page of challenges and reviews in the Team section of my website.

Consecutive hat-tricks against the same opponent

A question was asked on Twitter:

How many hat-tricks by the same player have been recorded in two consecutive games between the same teams in the regular season?

The question was prompted by the anniversary of this feat achieved by Brett Hull against Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1990/91 season (image courtesy of @STLBluesHistory)

So I ran a set of queries against my database and here are the results (data since 1917/18)

The number of consecutive pairs of games between two teams during a regular season: 2753
The number of such games with any hat-tricks: 460
The number of such games with hat-tricks in both of them: 34

You see how quickly the list is dwindling...
And then, the number of such games with hat-tricks by the same player in both of them: ... 3
You would think that's 3 players. It's actually two.
Babe Dye of the LeafsToronto St. Patricks did it twice!
Against Montreal Canadiens, on 1921/02/05 and 1921/02/09
Against Hamilton Bulldogs, on 1922/12/23 and 1922/12/27

Also, if we combine the last game of one regular season, and the first game of the next one, Babe Dye earns himself a hat-trick of such hat-tricks:
Against Montreal Canadiens, on 1922/03/08 and 1922/12/16

And then, 68 years later, Brett Hull earned himself yet another fantastic distinction. And he's the only one to do it on the consecutive days.

More trivia:

• The Toronto franchise is involved in all 6 (or 8) of these games.
• 3 of 6, or 5 of 8 of these games happened in its home arena.
• 5 of 6, or 7 of 8 of these games happened on Canadian soil.

If we expand that query to include playoffs, the series style of the playoffs grow the lists significantly.

The number of the consecutive pairs increases to 6348

The number of the hat-tricks in such consecutive games almost doubles to 909

And the number of hat-tricks in both of such consecutive games becomes 58

So two more players enter this venerable list:

Doug Bentley of the Chicago Black Hawks achieved this feat against the Detroit Red Wings on 1944/03/28 and 1944/03/30.

Jari Kurri of the Edmonton Oilers did that to the Chicago Black Hawks on 1985/05/14 and 1985/05/16.

Brett Hull's record will stand undisturbed at least for today (October, 25, 2019).

Answering the $200 Lineup Challenge

These days of summer, about halfway through the offseason, are usually extremely important for analytics and stats websites - this is the golden opportunity to fix bugs and add features. So during this "time of cucumbers" as the offseason is known in Israeli media I opened an updated, cleaner version of our website, just a couple of days ago and moved to improving our models used in a variety of pages.

However, yesterday was lost to. @DownGoesBrown posted his $200 Lineup Game challenge. While at first I tried to ignore it, to stuff the jinn back into the bottle, eventually the urge to give a computed answer prevailed. And here we go. Not for one team, but for all. Below are the best lineups fitting under $200 that produced most value (as sum of career regular season points and career regular season wins). As a bonus, I also give the best "bang for the buck" lineup, i.e. with the highest value/cost ratio. For each team. Except the Golden Knights - for obvious reasons.

Active players are shown in italic. The source of the script (Perl) can be downloaded from here.
Enjoy!

ANA ARI BOS BUF CAR CBJ CGY CHI
COL DAL DET EDM FLA LAK MIN MTL
NJD NSH NYI NYR OTT PHI PIT SJS
STL TBL TOR VAN VGK WPG WSH

Top 3:

1. St. Louis Blues (7996 pts+wins)
2. Boston Bruins (7338 pts+wins)
3. Toronto Maple Leafs (6627 pts+wins)

ANAHEIM DUCKS

STEVE THOMAS (\$12, 933 pts) - ADAM OATES (\$67, 1420 pts) - JARI KURRI (\$82, 1398 pts)
KEN KLEE (\$3, 195 pts) - TOM KURVERS (\$22, 421 pts)
RAY EMERY (\$10, 145 wins)
Total cost: \$196
Total value: 4512 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

CURTIS GLENCROSS (\$2, 275 pts) - DANY HEATLEY (\$6, 791 pts) - STEVE THOMAS (\$12, 933 pts)
IAN MORAN (\$1, 71 pts) - KEN KLEE (\$3, 195 pts)
SEBASTIEN CARON (\$1, 26 wins)
Total cost: \$25
Total value: 2291 (pts+wins)

ARIZONA COYOTES

BRETT HULL (\$5, 1391 pts) -- BOBBY HULL (\$18, 1170 pts) -- MIKE GARTNER (\$142, 1335 pts)
MATHIEU SCHNEIDER (\$8, 743 pts) -- TOM BLADON (\$9, 270 pts)
BRENT JOHNSON (\$8, 140 wins)

Total cost: \$190
Total value: 5049 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

BRETT HULL (\$5, 1391 pts) -- PASCAL RHEAUME (\$1, 91 pts) -- BOBBY HULL (\$18, 1170 pts)
MATHIEU SCHNEIDER (\$8, 743 pts) -- JAMIE MCBAIN (\$3, 110 pts)
DAVID AEBISCHER (\$1, 106 wins)

Total cost: \$36
Total value: 3611 (pts+wins)

BOSTON BRUINS

JAROMIR JAGR (\$11, 1921 pts) - DAVE ANDREYCHUK (\$63, 1338 pts) - JAROME IGINLA (\$78, 1300 pts)
PAUL COFFEY (\$18, 1531 pts) - SERGEI GONCHAR (\$15, 811 pts)
JACQUES PLANTE (\$8, 437 wins)
Total cost: \$193
Total value: 7338 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

TED IRVINE (\$1, 331 pts) - ROBERT LANG (\$3, 703 pts) - GERRY EHMAN (\$1, 214 pts)
JEFF NORTON (\$3, 384 pts) - PAUL COFFEY (\$18, 1531 pts)
TIM CHEVELDAE (\$2, 149 wins)
Total cost: \$28
Total value: 3312 (pts+wins)

BUFFALO SABRES

VYACHESLAV KOZLOV (\$38, 853 pts) - DOUG GILMOUR (\$82, 1414 pts) - WILF PAIEMENT (\$56, 814 pts)
REED LARSON (\$1, 685 pts) - PHIL RUSSELL (\$18, 424 pts)
PHIL MYRE (\$5, 149 wins)
Total cost: \$200
Total value: 4339 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

PAUL GARDNER (\$2, 402 pts) - MARK PARRISH (\$2, 387 pts) - JOEL ARMIA (\$1, 81 pts)
REED LARSON (\$1, 685 pts) - PHIL RUSSELL (\$18, 424 pts)
PETER SKUDRA (\$1, 51 wins)
Total cost: \$25
Total value: 2030 (pts+wins)

CAROLINA HURRICANES

BOBBY HULL (\$9, 1170 pts) -- MARK RECCHI (\$20, 1533 pts) -- GORDIE HOWE (\$80, 1850 pts)
TOMAS KABERLE (\$29, 563 pts) -- JAMES PATRICK (\$47, 639 pts)
JEAN-SEBASTIEN GIGUERE (\$8, 262 wins)

Total cost: \$193
Total value: 6017 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

BARRY PEDERSON (\$5, 654 pts) -- BOBBY HULL (\$9, 1170 pts) -- PAT HUGHES (\$2, 258 pts)
JAMES WISNIEWSKI (\$1, 274 pts) -- CHARLIE BOURGEOIS (\$1, 70 pts)
MARK FITZPATRICK (\$3, 113 wins)

Total cost: \$21
Total value: 2539 (pts+wins)

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

THOMAS VANEK (\$19, 789 pts) - MARIAN GABORIK (\$34, 815 pts) - JEFF CARTER (\$39, 705 pts)
ADRIAN AUCOIN (\$36, 399 pts) - DARRYL SYDOR (\$49, 507 pts)
BRIAN BOUCHER (\$3, 120 wins)
Total cost: \$180
Total value: 3335 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

MIKE YORK (\$1, 322 pts) - JONATHAN MARCHESSAULT (\$2, 204 pts) - CHRIS GRATTON (\$6, 568 pts)
FRANCOIS BEAUCHEMIN (\$11, 288 pts) - TAYLOR CHORNEY (\$1, 22 pts)
BRIAN BOUCHER (\$3, 120 wins)
Total cost: \$24
Total value: 1524 (pts+wins)

CALGARY FLAMES

JAROMIR JAGR (\$22, 1921 pts) -- BRETT HULL (\$57, 1391 pts) -- MARTIN ST. LOUIS (\$69, 1033 pts)
LEE NORWOOD (\$16, 211 pts) -- BRAD STUART (\$27, 335 pts)
CURTIS JOSEPH (\$9, 463 wins)

Total cost: \$200
Total value: 5354 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

GERRY O'FLAHERTY (\$1, 194 pts) -- MARK LAMB (\$1, 146 pts) -- RICH LEMIEUX (\$1, 121 pts)
RIK WILSON (\$2, 90 pts) -- NICKLAS GROSSMANN (\$3, 86 pts)
KAY WHITMORE (\$1, 60 wins)

Total cost: \$9
Total value: 697 (pts+wins)

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

JOHN TONELLI (\$33, 836 pts) -- PETER BONDRA (\$37, 892 pts) -- THEO FLEURY (\$54, 1088 pts)
PAUL COFFEY (\$10, 1531 pts) -- BOBBY ORR (\$26, 915 pts)
DOMINIK HASEK (\$25, 389 wins)

Total cost: $185
Total value: 5651 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

TONY TANTI ($3, 560 pts) -- LARRY MICKEY (\$1, 92 pts) -- JEFF JACKSON (\$1, 86 pts)
RICK LANZ (\$1, 286 pts) -- PAUL COFFEY (\$10, 1531 pts)
GILLES MELOCHE (\$2, 270 wins)

Total cost: $18
Total value: 2825 (pts+wins)

COLORADO AVALANCHE

DAVE ANDREYCHUK (\$14, 1338 pts) -- THEO FLEURY (\$15, 1088 pts) -- JARI KURRI (\$70, 1398 pts)
JOHNNY BOYCHUK (\$4, 195 pts) -- RAY BOURQUE (\$94, 1579 pts)
RICK TABARACCI (\$2, 93 wins)

Total cost: \$199
Total value: 5691 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

DAVE ANDREYCHUK (\$14, 1338 pts) -- DAVE HANNAN (\$4, 305 pts) -- THEO FLEURY (\$15, 1088 pts)
JOHNNY BOYCHUK (\$4, 195 pts) -- TOM PREISSING (\$4, 132 pts)
RICK TABARACCI (\$2, 93 wins)

Total cost: \$43
Total value: 3151 (pts+wins)

DALLAS STARS

JAROMIR JAGR (\$34, 1921 pts) -- CLAUDE LEMIEUX (\$32, 786 pts) -- MIKE GARTNER (\$80, 1335 pts)
REED LARSON (\$11, 685 pts) -- ROB RAMAGE (\$34, 564 pts)
TIM THOMAS (\$8, 214 wins)

Total cost: \$199
Total value: 5505 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

ROB BROWN (\$1, 438 pts) -- CHUCK ARNASON (\$1, 199 pts) -- MATS ZUCCARELLO (\$2, 355 pts)
GREG HAWGOOD (\$2, 224 pts) -- JOHN BARRETT (\$1, 97 pts)
TIM THOMAS (\$8, 214 wins)

Total cost: \$15
Total value: 1527 (pts+wins)

DETROIT RED WINGS

MIKE MODANO (\$40, 1374 pts) -- STEVE THOMAS (\$44, 933 pts) -- DARRYL SITTLER (\$61, 1121 pts)
DOUG HARVEY (\$2, 540 pts) -- BORJE SALMING (\$49, 787 pts)
BILL RANFORD (\$4, 240 wins)

Total cost: \$200
Total value: 4995 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

REAL LEMIEUX (\$1, 155 pts) -- CRAIG CAMERON (\$1, 152 pts) -- WES WALZ (\$2, 260 pts)
DOUG HARVEY (\$2, 540 pts) -- TOM BLADON (\$2, 270 pts)
AL JENSEN (\$1, 95 wins)

Total cost: \$9
Total value: 1472 (pts+wins)

EDMONTON OILERS

RAY WHITNEY (\$9, 1064 pts) - ADAM OATES (\$60, 1420 pts) - VINCENT DAMPHOUSSE (\$80, 1205 pts)
REED LARSON (\$10, 685 pts) - TOMAS JONSSON (\$20, 344 pts)
ILYA BRYZGALOV (\$20, 221 wins)
Total cost: \$199
Total value: 4939 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

MARTIN RUCINSKY (\$2, 612 pts) - NICK FOTIU (\$1, 137 pts) - RAY WHITNEY (\$9, 1064 pts)
TOM BLADON (\$1, 270 pts) - BRUCE BELL (\$1, 76 pts)
MARTIN GERBER (\$3, 113 wins)
Total cost: \$17
Total value: 2272 (pts+wins)

FLORIDA PANTHERS

ALEX KOVALEV (\$14, 1029 pts) - DINO CICCARELLI (\$42, 1200 pts) - JOE NIEUWENDYK (\$80, 1126 pts)
IGOR KRAVCHUK (\$7, 274 pts) - RYAN WHITNEY (\$7, 259 pts)
MIKE VERNON (\$34, 385 wins)
Total cost: \$184
Total value: 4273 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

JIM CAMPBELL (\$1, 136 pts) - TODD BERTUZZI (\$7, 770 pts) - ALEX KOVALEV (\$14, 1029 pts)
JAMIE RIVERS (\$1, 66 pts) - CHRIS WIDEMAN (\$1, 45 pts)
ANTTI NIEMI (\$2, 242 wins)
Total cost: \$26
Total value: 2288 (pts+wins)

LOS ANGELES KINGS

JAROME IGINLA (\$19, 1300 pts) - NEAL BROTEN (\$19, 923 pts) - JEREMY ROENICK (\$58, 1216 pts)
DAVE BABYCH (\$8, 723 pts) - PAUL COFFEY (\$60, 1531 pts)
TERRY SAWCHUK (\$36, 445 wins)
Total cost: \$200
Total value: 6138 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

ROB BROWN (\$2, 438 pts) - RICHARD MARTIN (\$4, 701 pts) - TED DONATO (\$2, 347 pts)
DAVE BABYCH (\$8, 723 pts) - POUL POPIEL (\$1, 54 pts)
BILLY SMITH (\$5, 305 wins)
Total cost: \$22
Total value: 2568 (pts+wins)

MINNESOTA WILD

PETR SYKORA (\$14, 721 pts) - CHRIS SIMON (\$10, 305 pts) - CLIFF RONNING (\$80, 869 pts)
JEAN-JACQUES DAIGNEAULT (\$1, 250 pts) - SEAN HILL (\$35, 298 pts)
JOSE THEODORE (\$32, 286 wins)
Total cost: \$172
Total value: 2729 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

JOHAN LARSSON (\$1, 79 pts) - ANDREI NAZAROV (\$2, 124 pts) - PETR SYKORA (\$14, 721 pts)
JEAN-JACQUES DAIGNEAULT (\$1, 250 pts) - MATT BARTKOWSKI (\$2, 48 pts)
ILYA BRYZGALOV (\$12, 221 wins)
Total cost: \$32
Total value: 1443 (pts+wins)

MONTREAL CANADIENS

ALES HEMSKY (\$7, 572 pts) - THOMAS VANEK (\$18, 789 pts) - PIERRE TURGEON (\$104, 1327 pts)
ROB RAMAGE (\$14, 564 pts) - SERGEI GONCHAR (\$45, 811 pts)
TOMAS VOKOUN (\$1, 300 wins)
Total cost: \$189
Total value: 4363 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

BRONCO HORVATH (\$1, 326 pts) - BOB BERRY (\$2, 350 pts) - RICK MEAGHER (\$2, 309 pts)
FRANCOIS BEAUCHEMIN (\$1, 288 pts) - REG FLEMING (\$3, 240 pts)
TOMAS VOKOUN (\$1, 300 wins)
Total cost: \$10
Total value: 1813 (pts+wins)

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

ESA TIKKANEN (\$9, 630 pts) -- DOUG GILMOUR (\$83, 1414 pts) -- IGOR LARIONOV (\$49, 644 pts)
PHIL HOUSLEY (\$22, 1232 pts) -- DAVE ELLETT (\$20, 568 pts)
JOHN VANBIESBROUCK (\$9, 374 wins)

Total cost: \$192
Total value: 4862 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

STEPHANE VEILLEUX (\$1, 106 pts) -- ESA TIKKANEN (\$9, 630 pts) -- STAN WEIR (\$10, 346 pts)
JOEL BOUCHARD (\$1, 75 pts) -- PHIL HOUSLEY (\$22, 1232 pts)
ROLAND MELANSON (\$1, 129 wins)

Total cost: \$44
Total value: 2518 (pts+wins)

NASHVILLE PREDATORS

PETER FORSBERG (\$17, 885 pts) -- OLLI JOKINEN (\$48, 750 pts) -- ANDREW BRUNETTE (\$77, 733 pts)
MATT CARLE (\$6, 283 pts) -- JEAN-JACQUES DAIGNEAULT (\$35, 250 pts)
DEVAN DUBNYK (\$2, 235 wins)

Total cost: $185
Total value: 3136 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

MATTHEW LOMBARDI (\$2, 262 pts) -- STEVE BEGIN (\$2, 108 pts) -- PETER FORSBERG (\$17, 885 pts)
STAN NECKAR (\$1, 53 pts) -- MATT CARLE (\$6, 283 pts)
DEVAN DUBNYK (\$2, 235 wins)

Total cost: $30
Total value: 1826 (pts+wins)

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

RYAN SMYTH (\$18, 842 pts) - CRAIG JANNEY (\$18, 751 pts) - KIRK MULLER (\$27, 959 pts)
REED LARSON (\$33, 685 pts) - MATHIEU SCHNEIDER (\$78, 743 pts)
ROBERTO LUONGO (\$24, 489 wins)
Total cost: \$198
Total value: 4469 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

JIM DOWD (\$3, 239 pts) - MIKE DONNELLY (\$3, 235 pts) - TONY HRKAC (\$7, 371 pts)
BRUCE AFFLECK (\$1, 80 pts) - RICK GREEN (\$4, 263 pts)
RICHARD BRODEUR (\$2, 131 wins)
Total cost: \$20
Total value: 1319 (pts+wins)

NEW YORK RANGERS

JARI KURRI (\$14, 1398 pts) - GLENN ANDERSON (\$12, 1099 pts) - MARCEL DIONNE (\$118, 1771 pts)
ROMAN HAMRLIK (\$12, 638 pts) - BRYAN MCCABE (\$19, 528 pts)
TERRY SAWCHUK (\$8, 445 wins)
Total cost: \$183
Total value: 5879 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

TODD MARCHANT (\$1, 498 pts) - DOUG WICKENHEISER (\$1, 276 pts) - BILLY TAYLOR SR. (\$2, 266 pts)
JIM DOREY (\$1, 99 pts) - DUANE RUPP (\$2, 117 pts)
HARRY LUMLEY (\$1, 330 wins)
Total cost: \$8
Total value: 1586 (pts+wins)

OTTAWA SENATORS

SCOTT GOMEZ (\$13, 756 pts) - MARIAN GABORIK (\$16, 815 pts) - PETER BONDRA (\$23, 892 pts)
BOBBY DOLLAS (\$1, 138 pts) - STEVE DUCHESNE (\$140, 752 pts)
TOM BARRASSO (\$7, 369 wins)
Total cost: \$200
Total value: 3722 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

BROOKS LAICH (\$1, 332 pts) - NELSON EMERSON (\$3, 488 pts) - SCOTT GOMEZ (\$13, 756 pts)
BOBBY DOLLAS (\$1, 138 pts) - JOE CIRELLA (\$6, 275 pts)
TOM BARRASSO (\$7, 369 wins)
Total cost: \$31
Total value: 2358 (pts+wins)

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

AL MACADAM (\$5, 591 pts) - ADAM OATES (\$14, 1420 pts) - JAROMIR JAGR (\$73, 1921 pts)
GORDIE ROBERTS (\$11, 420 pts) - PAUL COFFEY (\$94, 1531 pts)
MICHEL LAROCQUE (\$2, 160 wins)
Total cost: \$199
Total value: 6043 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

JERE GILLIS (\$1, 173 pts) - WES WALZ (\$2, 260 pts) - TODD WHITE (\$3, 381 pts)
JOHNNY ODUYA (\$1, 190 pts) - SHAWN ANDERSON (\$1, 62 pts)
DUNC WILSON (\$1, 80 wins)
Total cost: \$9
Total value: 1146 (pts+wins)

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

JAROME IGINLA (\$13, 1300 pts) - MARIAN HOSSA (\$12, 1134 pts) - LUC ROBITAILLE (\$46, 1394 pts)
SERGEI ZUBOV (\$64, 771 pts) - TIM HORTON (\$44, 518 pts)
TOMAS VOKOUN (\$20, 300 wins)
Total cost: \$199
Total value: 5417 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

JAROME IGINLA (\$13, 1300 pts) - MARIAN HOSSA (\$12, 1134 pts) - ALAIN LEMIEUX (\$1, 72 pts)
IAN TURNBULL (\$6, 440 pts) - JOEL KWIATKOWSKI (\$1, 45 pts)
RICK TABARACCI (\$1, 93 wins)
Total cost: \$34
Total value: 3084 (pts+wins)

SAN JOSE SHARKS

BILL GUERIN (\$16, 856 pts) - CLAUDE LEMIEUX (\$18, 786 pts) - SCOTT GOMEZ (\$39, 756 pts)
BRIAN CAMPBELL (\$20, 504 pts) - DOUG WILSON (\$86, 827 pts)
ED BELFOUR (\$13, 484 wins)
Total cost: \$192
Total value: 4213 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

BRAD BOYES (\$1, 505 pts) - MARK PAVELICH (\$2, 329 pts) - MIKAEL SAMUELSSON (\$4, 346 pts)
SERGEI BAUTIN (\$1, 30 pts) - MATT CARKNER (\$1, 27 pts)
ED BELFOUR (\$13, 484 wins)
Total cost: \$22
Total value: 1721 (pts+wins)

ST. LOUIS BLUES

WAYNE GRETZKY (\$18, 2857 pts) - PETER STASTNY (\$23, 1239 pts) - DALE HAWERCHUK (\$66, 1409 pts)
PHIL HOUSLEY (\$26, 1232 pts) - DAVE ELLETT (\$52, 568 pts)
MARTIN BRODEUR (\$7, 691 wins)
Total cost: \$192
Total value: 7996 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

MARTIN HAVLAT (\$2, 594 pts) - GARY LEEMAN (\$2, 466 pts) - TED DONATO (\$2, 347 pts)
PHIL HOUSLEY (\$26, 1232 pts) - NATE PROSSER (\$1, 47 pts)
MARTIN BRODEUR (\$7, 691 wins)
Total cost: \$40
Total value: 3377 (pts+wins)

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

RADIM VRBATA (\$18, 623 pts) - GARY ROBERTS (\$30, 910 pts) - MARK RECCHI (\$62, 1533 pts)
ADRIAN AUCOIN (\$26, 399 pts) - DOUG CROSSMAN (\$40, 464 pts)
EVGENI NABOKOV (\$11, 353 wins)
Total cost: \$187
Total value: 4282 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

JIM CAMPBELL (\$1, 136 pts) - GLEN METROPOLIT (\$2, 159 pts) - RICH SUTTER (\$4, 315 pts)
JANNE LAUKKANEN (\$2, 121 pts) - NORMAND ROCHEFORT (\$6, 158 pts)
OLIE KOLZIG (\$8, 303 wins)
Total cost: \$23 Total value: 1192 (pts+wins)

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

RON FRANCIS (\$12, 1798 pts) -- JOE NIEUWENDYK (\$64, 1126 pts) -- ANDY BATHGATE (\$70, 973 pts)
PHIL HOUSLEY (\$1, 1232 pts) -- BRIAN LEETCH (\$15, 1028 pts)
TOM BARRASSO (\$4, 369 wins)

Total cost: $166
Total value: 6526 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

J.P. PARISE (\$1, 594 pts) -- KEN LINSEMAN (\$2, 807 pts) -- SYD HOWE (\$3, 529 pts)
PHIL HOUSLEY \($1, 1232 pts) -- GLEN WESLEY (\$7, 537 pts)
GERRY CHEEVERS (\$2, 227 wins)

Total cost: $16
Total value: 3926 (pts+wins)

VANCOUVER CANUCKS

MATS SUNDIN (\$41, 1349 pts) - RICK VAIVE (\$47, 788 pts) - THOMAS VANEK (\$61, 789 pts)
MATHIEU SCHNEIDER (\$17, 743 pts) - DOUG BODGER (\$13, 528 pts)
SEAN BURKE (\$16, 324 wins)
Total cost: \$195
Total value: 4521 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

MARCO STURM (\$6, 487 pts) - SERGEI NEMCHINOV (\$6, 345 pts) - MARTIN RUCINSKY (\$13, 612 pts)
MATHIEU SCHNEIDER (\$17, 743 pts) - DOUG BODGER (\$13, 528 pts)
MURRAY BANNERMAN (\$1, 116 wins)
Total cost: \$56
Total value: 2831 (pts+wins)

VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS

MARK STONE (\$18, 322 pts) - PAUL STASTNY (\$50, 688 pts) - DANIEL CARR (\$6, 35 pts)
JASON GARRISON (\$8, 160 pts) - JIMMY SCHULDT (\$1, 1 pts)
MARC-ANDRE FLEURY (\$107, 439 wins)
Total cost: \$190
Total value: 1645 (pts+wins)

WINNIPEG JETS

KEITH TKACHUK (\$18, 1065 pts) -- MARK RECCHI (\$53, 1533 pts) -- PETER BONDRA (\$60, 892 pts)
CHRIS CHELIOS (\$7, 948 pts) -- MATHIEU SCHNEIDER (\$44, 743 pts)
STEVE MASON (\$13, 205 wins)

Total cost: \$195
Total value: 5386 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

CHRIS KUNITZ (\$2, 619 pts) -- KEITH TKACHUK (\$18, 1065 pts) -- PATRICK RISSMILLER (\$1, 46 pts)
CHRIS CHELIOS (\$7, 948 pts) -- UWE KRUPP (\$4, 281 pts)
RICK TABARACCI (\$1, 93 wins)

Total cost: \$33
Total value: 3052 (pts+wins)

WASHINGTON CAPITALS

JASON ARNOTT (\$11, 938 pts) - RICK TOCCHET (\$13, 952 pts) - SERGEI FEDOROV (\$70, 1179 pts)
JEFF BROWN (\$9, 584 pts) - ROMAN HAMRLIK (\$72, 638 pts)
JAROSLAV HALAK (\$12, 254 wins)
Total cost: \$187
Total value: 4545 (pts+wins)

Best bang for the buck

KEITH ACTON (\$6, 584 pts) - OREST KINDRACHUK (\$4, 379 pts) - JASON ARNOTT (\$11, 938 pts)
ROD SEILING (\$1, 331 pts) - SHAWN CHAMBERS (\$2, 235 pts)
ROGER CROZIER (\$3, 206 wins)
Total cost: \$27
Total value: 2673 (pts+wins)

Website A Page - A Day, Part VI - Warm Welcome

Prologue
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V

With nothing else to do for about half an hour, why not to resume the series?

Have you wondered if it is your team, or your goalie, who always has the first career goal scored against them? Now you can check if your feeling is right. On the page 'Warm Welcome' of the League section on the website we present a look at the first goals scored against different teams and goalies.

With the two left items in the top menu you can select the span over which you want to see the statistics. Want one season only? Select the same season for the start and for the end. Then you can toggle the view by the team or the goalie the first goal is scored against.

For example, for the 2016/17 season, team view:

#	Team	Goals Allowed
1	Dallas Stars	7
2	Carolina Hurricanes	7
3	New Jersey Devils	7
4	Tampa Bay Lightning	6
5	Ottawa Senators	6
6	Detroit Red Wings	5
7	Pittsburgh Penguins	5
8	New York Rangers	5
9	San Jose Sharks	5
10	Vancouver Canucks	5
11	Colorado Avalanche	5
12	Nashville Predators	4
13	Boston Bruins	4
14	Buffalo Sabres	4
15	Winnipeg Jets	4
16	Arizona Coyotes	3
17	Columbus Blue Jackets	3
18	Edmonton Oilers	3
19	Montreal Canadiens	3
20	Anaheim Ducks	3
21	St. Louis Blues	3
22	Los Angeles Kings	2
23	Washington Capitals	2
24	Calgary Flames	2
25	Minnesota Wild	2
26	New York Islanders	2
27	Toronto Maple Leafs	2
28	Chicago Blackhawks	2
29	Florida Panthers	2
30	Philadelphia Flyers	0

Take a look. You might be surprised. Or not.

On Leads Changes and Swings

Wild thing, you make my heart sing

You make everything groovy, wild thing

Also inspired by Twitter, and because I can, I decided to gather statistics on games with

• most lead changes^*
• most lead swings^**

Here, for the 2016/17 season:

By most lead swings:

AWAY    HOME   Date        Sco LC LS

CHI  vs DAL  on 2017/02/04: 5-3 7 3

CBJ  vs OTT  on 2017/01/22: 7-6 11 3

PHI  vs STL  on 2016/12/28: 3-6 7 3

MTL  vs PIT  on 2016/12/31: 3-4 7 3

CHI  vs NYI  on 2016/12/15: 5-4 7 3

ARI  vs PHI  on 2016/10/27: 5-4 9 3

with 60 games at 2 lead swings. Dallas leads the way with 8 games with at least two swings, and Carolina, Chicago, NY Islanders and Winnpeg follow with 7 each.

By most lead changes:

AWAY    HOME   Date        Sco LC LS

CBJ  vs OTT  on 2017/01/22: 7-6 11 3

TOR  vs WSH  on 2017/01/03: 5-6  9 2

TOR  vs NYI  on 2017/02/06: 5-6  9 2

NYI  vs DET  on 2017/02/03: 4-5  9 1

CHI  vs COL  on 2017/01/17: 6-4  9 2

CAR  vs NYI  on 2017/02/04: 5-4  9 2

CHI  vs STL  on 2016/12/17: 6-4  9 1

BUF  vs OTT  on 2016/11/29: 5-4  9 1

ARI  vs PHI  on 2016/10/27: 5-4  9 3

with 31 game with at least 7 lead changes. Here we've got Carolina, Chicago and NY Islanders at the lead with at least 6 games with 7 or more lead changes.

And what do we get historically?

The wildest games, regular season, by lead swings:

AWAY    HOME   Date         Sco LC LS

PHI  vs BOS  on 2011/01/13: 5-7  11 5

COL  vs CGY  on 1991/02/23: 8-10 11 5

ARI  vs CGY  on 1991/01/15: 5-7  11 5

PHI  vs COL  on 1988/11/19: 5-6  11 5

with 30 games at 4 lead swings.

The wildest games, regular season, by lead changes:

AWAY    HOME   Date        Sco LC LS

DET  vs SJS  on 2005/11/26: 7-6 13 4

MTL  vs COL  on 2002/12/06: 6-7 13 2

COL  vs SJS  on 1997/04/04: 6-7 13 2

ARI  vs PHI  on 1990/01/25: 6-8 13 1

TOR  vs PIT  on 1989/10/25: 8-6 13 3

COL  vs WSH  on 1997/11/18: 6-6 12 3

PIT  vs NJD  on 1993/04/14: 6-6 12 1

BUF  vs CAR  on 1991/12/07: 6-6 12 4

CAR  vs TOR  on 1990/02/14: 6-6 12 2

VAN  vs TOR  on 1988/01/04: 7-7 12 3

with 65 games at 11 lead changes (even numbers can only occur in the ties era).

The wildest games, playoffs, by lead swings:

AWAY    HOME   Date        Sco LC LS

STL  vs DAL  on 1999/05/08: 4-5 9 4

MTL  vs COL  on 1993/04/26: 5-4 9 4

EDM  vs LAK  on 1992/04/20: 5-8 9 4

with 33 games at 3 lead swings.

The wildest games, playoffs, by lead changes:

AWAY    HOME   Date        Sco LC LS

BUF  vs OTT  on 2006/05/05: 7-6 13 2

PHI  vs CHI  on 2010/05/29: 5-6 11 3

COL  vs SJS  on 2010/04/16: 5-6 11 1

PHI  vs WSH  on 1989/04/11: 8-5 11 3

with 42 games at 9 lead changes (only odd numbers can occur)

The data is presented since the year 1987 - the earliest boxscores from the NHL.com

Now this one is going to make it into the website, I just haven't decided in which form.

^*   Lead swing is defined as when a team takes the lead after the other team had it. 

^** Lead change is defined as when a team loses the lead, even if only temporarily to a tied score.