Blues power play, Avalanche goalies may decide round-robin, numbers show

NHL.com goes Behind the Numbers to identify key statistics for the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.The NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. Under the Return to Play Plan, 24 teams will compete for the Stanley Cup -- 12 in the Eastern Conference, 12 in the Western Conference. Dates and the two hub cities have not been announced. The top four teams in each conference will play a round-robin in the Qualifiers to determine seeding for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Today, a look at the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars, who will participate in the Western Conference round-robin.

RELATED: [Bruins goalies, Capitals power play may decide round-robin in East, numbers show]

St. Louis Blues

The Blues power play finished third in the NHL at 24.3 percent, behind the Edmonton Oilers (29.5) and Boston Bruins (25.2). That they did so without forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who hasn't played since Oct. 24 because of shoulder surgery, makes it even more impressive. Tarasenko led the Blues with 12 power-play goals last season and was tied for first in power-play points (22) with forward Ryan O'Reilly. How did the Blues make up for Tarasenko's absence? Forward David Perron's power-play time on ice increased from an average of 2:20 per game last season to 2:59 per game this season. The production reflects the increased ice time: Perron went from 14 power-play points (seven goals, seven assists) last season to an NHL career-high 27 (nine goals, 18 assists) this season in 71 games. Tarasenko said he will be ready to play in the round-robin, so the Blues might have to make adjustments to their top unit, but Perron's success on the power play should be enough to justify his high time on ice.

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche were tied for second in 5-on-5 save percentage (.932) with the Dallas Stars. No. 1 goalie Philipp Grubauer finished with a .929 5-on-5 save percentage, which tied for fifth in the NHL with Tristan Jarry of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Avalanche backup goalie Pavel Francouz had a .921 save percentage at 5-on-5, which tied for 21st with Antti Raanta of the Arizona Coyotes, Jaroslav Halak of the Boston Bruins, Mikko Koskinen of the Edmonton Oilers and Semyon Varlamov of the New York Islanders. Francouz had more wins (21) and a higher overall save percentage (.923) than Grubauer, who had 18 wins and a .916 save percentage, so it's not a certainty that Grubauer will be Colorado's No. 1 goalie when the season resumes.

Vegas Golden Knights

The Golden Knights led the League in SAT this season with a plus-621 differential. This stat signifies that the Golden Knights control possession at 5-on-5 by way of out-attempting their opponents (shots, missed shots, blocked shots). Defenseman Shea Theodore led the League in SAT (plus-412), left wing Max Pacioretty was fourth (plus-365), and right wing Mark Stone was seventh (plus-284). The Golden Knights' only concern at even strength was their 5-on-5 save percentage (.912), which was tied for 25th with the Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Golden Knights addressed this concern prior to the NHL Trade Deadline by acquiring goalie Robin Lehner from the Chicago Blackhawks. Lehner's 5-on-5 save percentage (.922) was tied for 13th with that ofJordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues among those to play at least 30 games. This is an improvement over No. 1 goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who had a .915 save percentage at the strength. Fleury is likely to be the starter for the round-robin, but if Lehner performs well in those games he could make a case for the No. 1 job in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Dallas Stars

One area of concern for the Stars is 5-on-5 goal-scoring, where they finished 30th in the League with 108 goals in 69 games. That number could be directly correlated to their 5-on-5 shooting (6.7 percent) which was 29th in the League. When looking at individual performance this season, forward Tyler Seguin, who had the lowest goal total (17) since the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season, had a 6.9 percent shooting percentage, lower than his NHL career average (10.7 percent). Forward Jamie Benn experienced the same issues with a 11.7 percent shooting percentage compared to a 13.4 percent NHL career average. This may not seem like a big difference, but it likely accounts for the Stars' goal-scoring trouble this season. The good news is that if their individual shooting percentages revert back to normal, even a slight bump in goal-scoring could be the difference-maker for the Stars because they have some of the strongest goaltending in the League (.932 5-on-5 save percentage, tied for second).

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