Bruins goalies, Capitals power play may decide round-robin, numbers show

NHL.com goes Behind the Numbers to identify key statistics for the Stanley Cup Qualifiers. Today, a look at the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers, who will participate in the Eastern Conference round-robin.

Boston Bruins

With goalies Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak, the Bruins led the NHL in 5-on-5 save percentage (.933). Rask's .939 even-strength save percentage was second behind Anton Khudobin of the Dallas Stars (.945), and Halak (.921) was tied for 21st with Antti Raanta of the Arizona Coyotes, Mikko Koskinen of the Edmonton Oilers, Pavel Francouz of the Colorado Avalanche and Semyon Varlamov of the New York Islanders, all with a minimum of 20 games played. The Bruins, who won the Presidents' Trophy and have the highest points percentage in the Eastern Conference (.714), could be comfortable using either goalie in their attempt to become the No. 1 seed for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Rask is likely the first option when the playoffs begin, but the Bruins have an insurance policy with Halak.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning were sixth in SAT (plus-266) behind the Vegas Golden Knights (plus-621), Montreal Canadiens (plus-595), Carolina Hurricanes (plus-513), Los Angeles Kings (plus-401) and Toronto Maple Leafs (plus-270), which suggests that Tampa Bay was among the best teams in the NHL to control puck possession at 5-on-5. Forward Nikita Kucherov led Tampa Bay in SAT at plus-180, tied for 18th among forwards with William Nylander of the Maple Leafs. Kevin Shattenkirk led Lightning defensemen at plus-136, 20th in the NHL at the position. For the Lightning, who had the second-highest points percentage in the East (.657), controlling puck possession 5-on-5 could be the difference in putting themselves in a good position for the first round, where they were swept last season by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Washington Capitals

One area of concern for the Capitals heading into the round-robin could be their 17th-ranked power play (19.4 percent), the first time since 2011-12 (16.7 percent) that Washington scored on fewer than 20 percent of its chances. Forward Alex Ovechkin scored 18 power-play points (13 goals, five assists) in 68 games, his lowest total since scoring 23 (13 goals, 10 assists) in 78 games in 2011-12. Forward Evgeny Kuznetsov scored 12 power-play points (six goals, six assists) after scoring at least 23 in each of the past two seasons. The good news for the Capitals, who finished third in the East (.652 points percentage), is that any slight adjustments or improvements to the top unit could help them make a deep run.

Philadelphia Flyers

It was a successful first season under coach Alain Vigneault for the Flyers, who were fourth in the East (.645 points percentage). Goalie Carter Hart won 19 games at home, and four on the road, which was tied for 49th with Thatcher Demko of the Vancouver Canucks, Jonathan Quick of the Kings, Jonathan Bernier of the Detroit Red Wings, Sam Montembeault of the Florida Panthers, Carter Hutton of the Buffalo Sabres, Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers, Laurent Brossoit of the Winnipeg Jets and Martin Jones of the San Jose Sharks. The difference is clear with Hart's .945 save percentage at Wells Fargo Center compared to .857 on the road, last among 60 goalies to play at least 10 NHL games. With games being held at a neutral site, this could take away Hart's and the Flyers' home-ice advantage they had during the regular season.

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