Stars defenseman Thomas Harley may not be lighting the lamp like we got accustomed to last season, but he’s still having an impact.
If you ask casual Dallas Stars fans whether Thomas Harley is having a down season, most of them would likely say, “Yes.” A common, yet misconstrued metric that defines success in the NHL is the number of goals a player scores.
Those who understand the game a bit better will tell you that is far from true. There are many aspects that define what “success” is, and it goes beyond always being the one who puts the puck in the back of the net. Although Harley has not made a lot of noise this season, D Magazine‘s David Castillo can explain why his lack of noise doesn’t mean lack of success. As Castillo summarizes his latest article, there are many elements to Harley’s game that exhibit his effectiveness:
“Harley is head and shoulders above his defensive partners in terms of impact on goal differential. Granted, most of his impact is coming from his ability to drive the offensive rate of play (he leads the blueline in shots on net per game). But he’s also remarkably disciplined, which I would argue is a lowkey defensive skill because it means you’re not taking shortcuts. And he’s above average on special teams. Harley’s only flaw is his defensive impact on goals, and his ability to draw penalties. All in all, not a bad combination.”
Castillo goes on to say:
“Harley may not be scoring goals at the absurd rate he was last year, but his job is to control all three zones with his gifted edgework, lateral movement, and playmaking.”
All that being said, the cause for concern regarding Harley’s “lack of noise” should be tempered, as analytics indicate he is in fact having a positive impact, despite it being rather “muted”.
David’s article can be viewed in its entirety here.
Stars Stuff
Hockey Fights Cancer Night 💪:
Happy 60th Birthday, John MacLean.
The More You Know: Maclean finished his 18 season professional career with the Stars after spending most of his time with the New Jersey Devils.
Around The Central
Aside from the Stars hosting the San Jose Sharks this evening, the Nashville Predators take a trip up to Seattle to take on the Kraken [ESPN].
What you missed last night:
- The Minnesota Wild got back on track with a win against the St. Louis Blues, 4-2 [ESPN]. The Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov continues his dominance, netting two goals in last night’s victory. He is now up to 33 points on the season, second to the Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon (34) [ESPN].
- The Winnipeg Jets won a “test” game against the defending Stanley Cup Champion, Florida Panthers, 6-3 [ESPN].
- The Chicago Blackhawks dropped their third straight game, getting quacked by the Anaheim Ducks 3-2, who have now won three straight [ESPN].
The World of Chel
Too busy stargazing and missed the games last night? Here’s what happened:
Sad to see, but I think we all saw this coming:
Finally
Let’s avoid getting trapped again:
