Decks » Bobcats coach Steve Clifford benched him in Wednesdays 98-85 w

Having covered on-ice shooting and save percentages aleady, the next step is to look at the biggest variance in individual NHL player shooting percentages this season. While it might be easy enough to accept the notion that its difficult for a player to affect on-ice shooting or save percentages, because they are heavily-dependent on other players, its another matter entirely to accept the premise that an NHL player doesnt necessrily have a significant impact on his own shooting percentage in a given season. For one thing, as much as it might be convenient for viewrs, a single season isnt enough to capture a players true shooting ability, which means there is a high degree of variance possible. This variance is important, particularly in terms of perception, because its how players end up having career years. When Brett Hull scored 86 goals in 1990-1991, he finished a career-high 22.1% of all of his shots; 65 goals for Alex Ovechkin in 2007-2008? Scored on a career-high 14.6% of all of his shots. Teemu Selannes 76-goal rookie season came on 19.6% shooting, the best of his career. This is how seasons go from good to great but, just as save percentage is wildly unpredictable for goaltenders from one year to the next, so too is shooting percentage for individual players. This is relevant because perception is widely based on goal-scoring. Goals determine winners and losers and are easy to identify, but the reason we pay attention to these outlier percentages is to have have some idea whats real and what isnt. Take Blues LW Alexander Steen, for example. Hes enjoying the best season of his career, with 33 goals and 60 points in 64 games. Hes a tremendous two-way player who has probably been underrated, but hes received more accolades this year because hes become a more prolific goal-scorer. Even though his scoring has slowed since an outrageous start to the year, when he scored 17 goals in 18 games, Steen ranks fifth in the league in goals per game, behind Steven Stamkos, Alex Ovechkin, Gustav Nyquist and Corey Perry. If Steen was finishing at his typical (5-on-5) rate, 8.87% over the previous five seasons coming into the year, that would knock 11 even-strength goals off his total and while 22 goals and 49 points in 64 games is a fine season, its not held in the same esteem as Steens 33-goal, 60-point season. When youve evaluating Steen going forward, is it fair to conclude that hes now the player who scores on 18.4% of his 5-on-5 shots, or is that departure from his established performance level essentially a fluke? There is a lot of randomness at play for a player to have his shooting percentage skyrocket, Steen (and his linemates -- David Backes and T.J. Oshie) deserve some credit because Steen is getting better quality shots than he has in previous seasons. Using Some Kind of Ninjas shot tracker, we can see that Steens average shooting distance, at even-strength, is 28.4 feet, his best of all years tracked since 2008-2009. So, getting shots 3-4 feet closer on average may account for some improvement, though most likely not enough to more than double his even-strength shooting percentage. Lets look at Nyquist, who had four goals in 40 NHL games entering this season and now has 28 goals in 51 games this year, virtually saving the Red Wings playoff chances. Even the most optimistic fan isnt going to expect Nyquist to keep scoring on more than 20% of his shots, simply because no one does. This isnt to rain on Nyquists current goal parade, because its awesome, but if we reasonably think that Nyquist might be an above-average shooter (even, as high as 12%), then that would typically mean 12 goals at 5-on-5 instead of 21 -- that nine-goal difference would be massive for both Nyquist and the Red Wings. Its the kind of thing that no player needs to apologize for, but everyone must understand that these runs will end and regression will bring a player closer to his real skill level. That can still be very good, just not necessarily the out-of-this-world pace that Nyquist is keeping now. By the same token, how many times do you hear a player, mired in a slump, say that they feel okay as long as they are getting their chances? Its cliche, but utterly true. Sure, this player might be snakebitten for 10 games, 20 games, even a whole season, but if there is an established level of being able to score, there have to be extreme reasons for that player to suddenly and dramatically lose that skill. If youre looking for bounceback players going into next season, then, consider some of those that saw their shooting percentages crash this year and, by contrast, you might consider selling high on those players that finished at an abnormally high rate this season. Below, youll see players that have the widest differentials in their previously-established 5-on-5 shooting percentages compared to their results this season. My thanks to stats.hockeyanalysis.com for the data. HIGH INDIVIDUAL SHOOTING PERCENTAGE (min. 10 5-on-5 goals in 2013-2014) Alexander Steen, LW, St. Louis 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 8.87 2013-14 5-on-5 SH%: 18.40 Difference: +9.53 Joe Pavelski, C, San Jose 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 8.19 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 16.80 Difference: +8.61 Ryan OReilly, LW, Colorado 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 6.98 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 15.13 Difference: +8.15 Joel Ward, RW, Washington 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 6.67 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 14.44 Difference: +7.77 Ryan Getzlaf, C, Anaheim 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 10.42 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 17.32 Difference: +6.90 Nick Foligno, LW, Columbus 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 7.89 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 14.74 Difference: +6.85 Artem Anisimov, C, Columbus 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 9.83 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 15.38 Difference: +6.45 Frans Nielsen, C, N.Y. Islanders 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 8.89 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 14.89 Difference: +6.00 Valtteri Filppula, C, Tampa Bay 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 11.96 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 17.20 Difference: +5.24 (Honourable mention to Nashvilles Nick Spaling, who has nine 5-on-5 goals, but has seen 5-on-5 shooting percentage jump from 8.38% to 13.64% and San Joses Martin Havlat, who only has eight goals, but his SH% is up from 9.47% to 16.00%.) LOW INDIVIDUAL SHOOTING PERCENTAGE (forwards with min. 20 5-on-5 goals from 2007-2008 through 2012-2013) Matt DAgostini, RW, Buffalo 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 7.54 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 2.53 Difference: -5.01 Todd Bertuzzi, RW, Detroit 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 9.95 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 4.76 Difference: -5.19 Torrey Mitchell, RW, Buffalo 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 7.62 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 2.33 Difference: -5.29 Mathieu Perreault, C, Anaheim 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 21.90 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 16.46 Difference: -5.44 Kyle Brodziak, C, Minnesota 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 10.20 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 4.49 Difference: -5.71 Blake Comeau, RW, Columbus 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 9.66 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 3.49 Difference: -6.17 Ryan Malone, LW, Tampa Bay 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 11.90 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 5.66 Difference: -6.24 Tomas Fleischmann, LW, Florida 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 11.58 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 5.26 Difference: -6.32 Colin Wilson, LW, Nashville 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 14.02 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 7.59 Difference: -6.43 Steve Ott, C, St. Louis 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 9.82 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 3.33 Difference: -6.49 David Jones, RW, Calgary 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 13.92 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 6.67 Difference: -7.25 Steve Bernier, RW, New Jersey 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 9.78 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 2.41 Difference: -7.37 Shawn Horcoff, C, Dallas 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 9.69 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 2.04 Difference: -7.62 T.J. Galiardi, LW, Calgary 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 10.31 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 2.47 Difference: -7.84 Benoit Pouliot, N.Y. Rangers 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 13.46 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 4.81 Difference: -8.65 Alexandre Burrows, RW, Vancouver 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 12.77 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 4.11 Difference: -8.66 Martin Erat, LW, Phoenix 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 11.90 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 2.50 Difference: -9.40 Marcus Johansson, LW, Washington 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 14.47 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 3.03 Difference: -11.44 Ville Leino, LW, Buffalo 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 12.50 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 0.00 Difference: -12.50 Steve Downie, RW, Philadelphia 2007-2013 5-on-5 SH%: 13.00 2013-14 On-ice SH%: 0.00 Difference: -13.00 Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Odell Beckham Jr Youth Jersey . 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Chad Thomas Womens Jersey .com) - Nathan MacKinnon scored the winning goal in the shootout as the Colorado Avalanche rallied for a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.MILWAUKEE -- Kemba Walker scored 21 points and Al Jefferson added 16 of his 20 in the second half to help the Charlotte Bobcats beat the Milwaukee Bucks 101-92 on Sunday for their fourth straight victory. Gary Neal added 18 in his return to Milwaukee after the Bucks traded him to Charlotte last month. Gerald Henderson scored 14 as the Bobcats matched their longest winning streak of the season, set Feb. 18-22. Brandon Knight scored 21 points and Ramon Sessions added 18. Jeff Adrien and John Henson each had 12, but it wasnt enough to stop the Bobcats from their first sweep of a season series from the Bucks. Neal led the way in the fourth quarter as the Bobcats slowly pulled away. He scored seven the Bobcats first 12 points and finished with 10 in the period. Josh McRoberts hit a 3-pointer and then Neal added a jumper that gave Charlotte an 88-85 lead. Khris Middleton answered with a basket to pull Milwaukee within one, but Jefferson scored on a hook shot and layup to end any chance of the Bucks win. Neal continues to rebound from a one-game trip to the bencch.dddddddddddd. After Neal scored 19 points in a 105-98 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday, Bobcats coach Steve Clifford benched him in Wednesdays 98-85 win at Washington for an "internal team matter." Neal scored 19 in the 105-93 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. Neal and Luke Ridnour faced their former teammates for the first time since being traded by the Bucks last month. Milwaukee sent Neal and Ridnour to Charlotte on Feb. 20 for Adrien and Ramon Sessions. Neal complained about his role with the Bucks and clashed with coach Larry Drew and centre Larry Sanders, who is out indefinitely with a fractured orbital bone. Neal got into a heated exchange with Sanders in the Bucks locker room after the 116-100 loss to the Suns in Phoenix on Jan. 4. Then Neal, in his fourth season in the NBA, fell out of the rotation when Drew played younger players. The sparse crowd booed when Neal entered the game in the first quarter and when he made two free throws in the second. Notes: Bucks F Ersan Ilyasova missed the game due to a sore right ankle. ' ' '