Facts and Figures: Avalanche complete turnaround season

The Colorado Avalanche completed one of the greatest turnaround seasons in NHL history when they defeated the St. Louis Blues 5-2 on Saturday to go from last in the League in 2016-17 to a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs 12 months later.
The Avalanche went from 48 points (22-56-4) last season to 95 (43-30-9). Colorado's 47-point improvement was the largest since the Pittsburgh Penguins also improved by 47, going from 58 points in 2005-06 to 105 in 2006-07.

The San Jose Sharks still hold the record for the biggest one-season turnaround. San Jose went from 24 points in 1992-93 to 82 in 1993-94. The only other team in NHL history to improve by more than 50 points in a single season is the Quebec Nordiques, who doubled their total of 52 points in 1991-92 by getting 104 in 1992-93. The Winnipeg Jets (now the Arizona Coyotes) had the third-largest improvement, going from 32 points in 1980-81 to 80 in 1981-82.
RELATED: *[Avalanche rode MacKinnon, winning streak to playoff berth*]

Home cooking

One reason for the Avalanche's huge improvement was their dominance at Pepsi Center, where they went 28-11-2 and had six more wins than they managed home and away last season. A big reason for that success at home was their ability to kill penalties. The Avalanche led the League in penalty killing at home, allowing 10 goals on 121 opportunities (91.7 percent). It's the highest PK percentage at home since the Boston Bruins allowed 11 goals on 145 attempts (92.4 percent) in 1998-99.

Saying goodbye to the Sedins

It's appropriate that Vancouver Canucks forwards Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin ended their NHL careers with one last game against the Edmonton Oilers. Though neither had a point in a 3-2 shootout loss, the Sedins enjoyed great -- and equal -- success against the Oilers during their careers.
Each of the Sedins finished his career with 84 points against the Oilers. Daniel's 37 goals were the most he had against any opponent and his 84 points were more than he had against any opponent except the Calgary Flames (88).

Henrik's 84 points against the Oilers came on 17 goals and 67 assists in 95 games. The assists and points were the most he had against any team.
Which teams (minimum 15 games) were most successful in stopping the twins? The Carolina Hurricanes limited Daniel to eight points (three goals, five assists) in 19 games. The Boston Bruins held Henrik to 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 21 games.
One oddity: Henrik failed to convert on shootout attempts against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday and the Oilers on Saturday, leaving him 0-for-7 in his career. However, he was 2-for-3 on penalty shots. Daniel, who scored in the shootout loss to the Oilers, was 5-for-31 lifetime (16.1 percent).

Defense, penalty-killing helped sink Islanders

The New York Islanders missed the playoffs largely because they couldn't keep the puck out of their net; their 293 goals allowed were the most since the Philadelphia Flyers surrendered 297 in 2006-07. New York's biggest problems came on the penalty kill. The Islanders were last in the NHL in killing penalties at 73.2 percent, the worst mark in their history and the lowest percentage in the League since the 1988-89 Toronto Maple Leafs killed 72.7 percent.
The Islanders' defensive struggles wasted some excellent offensive performances. Center Mathew Barzal led all rookies with 85 points, and his 63 assists tied Sidney Crosby (2005-06) and longtime Islanders star Bryan Trottier (1975-76) for third all-time among rookies (Peter Stastny of the Nordiques set the record with 70 in 1980-81 and Joe Juneau of the Bruins tied it in 1992-93). Anders Lee became New York's first 40-goal scorer since Jason Blake in 2006-07, and Josh Bailey had NHL career highs in goals (18), assists (52) and points (70). But the Islanders hurt themselves by allowing a League-high 35.6 shots per game.
Barzal was also second in the League in drawing penalties with 40, two fewer than Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk.

Odds and ends

Some statistical tidbits from a season that will officially end when the Bruins play the Florida Panthers at TD Garden on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN. SN360, NESN, FS-F, NHL.TV) …
* The Avalanche were the only team to score five power-play goals in the same game. Colorado was 5-for-6 and scored all of its goals with the extra man in a 5-4 overtime victory against the Canucks on Feb. 20. Teams scored four power-play goals on seven occasions. The Bruins were the only team to do it twice.

* One of the teams that scored four power-play goals in one game got them all during the same penalty. The Islanders took advantage of a match penalty issued to Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi during the third period of their game on Feb. 9 to score four times in a span of 3:37 and take a 6-5 lead after trailing 5-2. Detroit tied the game in the final minute of the third period, but the Islanders won 7-6 in overtime. Bertuzzi was the only player this season to be in the penalty box for four power-play goals in the same game.
* Six players got a chance to win a game by scoring on a penalty shot in overtime. Three of them -- William Nylander of the Maple Leafs on Jan. 24, Filip Forsberg of the Nashville Predators on Feb. 13 and Jean-Gabriel Pageau of the Ottawa Senators on March 29 -- capitalized to give their teams a victory.

* Speaking of overtime: It was somehow appropriate that the Red Wings ended their season by losing to the Islanders in OT on Saturday. Detroit was 3-12 in games decided during the five-minute 3-on-3 session; only the Buffalo Sabres (10) reached double figures in OT losses. However, the Red Wings were among the NHL's best teams in the shootout, going 5-1. It was the continuation of a trend that began last season, when Detroit was 7-13 in OT but a League-best 9-0 in shootouts.
* Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy had a unique daily double. Vasilevskiy tied for the League lead in victories with 44; Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets got No. 44 on Saturday, when Vasilevskiy got the night off. He also led the NHL in power-play goals allowed - also with 44, two more than Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
* The Lightning must teach their players to shoot high. Five Tampa Bay players were among the top seven in missing shots by putting them over the net. Nikita Kucherov was the runaway leader with 30, and teammate Tyler Johnson was next with 19. Defenseman Victor Hedman was third with 17, one fewer than Calgary forward Johnny Gaudreau. Forward Steven Stamkos and rookie defenseman Mikhail Sergachev each had 16, as did Coyotes rookie Clayton Keller.