Japers’ Rink Player Card (click for a hi-res version, and a glossary of terms used in this post can be found here; data via NHL.com, war-on-ice.com, General Fanager and Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com):
Niskanen’s Season, Game-by-Game (via HockeyViz, explained here):
Niskanen’s HERO Chart (via Own The Puck):
Niskanen and His Defensive Partners:
Niskanen’s 5v5 Teammates and Competition (via HockeyViz, explained here):
Niskanen’s 5v5 Usage:
Niskanen’s With-or-Without You (via HockeyViz, explained here):
Niskanen’s Rolling Shot-Attempt (Corsi) -For Percentage:
Niskanen’s Nine Seasons (via Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com):
Key Stat: Niskanen logged an average ice time of 24:40 during the 2015-16 regular season, topping his previous career high (set last year) by over two minutes a night. Those minutes jumped up again come playoff time when he skated well over 26 minutes a night during the team’s 12-game run, also a career high.
Interesting Stat: Only 43.3% of Niskanen’s (non-on-the-fly) five-on-five shifts started in the offensive zone in 2015-16. That’s by far the toughest zone starts he’s had in his 10 seasons, and just the second time he’s even been below 50% (he hit 49.5% in 2012-13 with Pittsburgh). Couple that with the competition he faced and it’s pretty clear that Niskanen and regular partner Karl Alzner were Barry Trotz‘s first choice for tough-minute defenders.
The Good: The 2015-16 season was marked by injuries to John Carlson and Brooks Orpik, effectively removing the team’s “top” defensive pair – something that could have been devastating to the Caps, had Niskanen not stepped in and established himself as a steady, consistent and highly effective substitute.
For starters, he ate up big minutes on a nightly basis, setting a new personal high in average ice time and topping 28 minutes four times this season (including a whopping 32:04, a career high, in a shootout loss to the Blue Jackets). He accumulated that ice time by playing a role in all situations, leading the team in both even-strength and shorthanded minutes while trailing only Carlson among Caps’ blueliners in power-play time. That was hugely important for a team suddenly lacking in defensive depth, as Niskanen – along with defensive partner Karl Alzner – was able to take on the tough assignments each night.
He handled those tough assignments pretty well, too. Niskanen’s unblocked shots-against per 60 at five on five was a team-low 38.29, and his even-strength goals-against per 60 was also the lowest on the team at just 1.58 despite routinely facing opponents’ top lines. But Niskanen’s success wasn’t limited to the defensive zone, as he put up 32 points on the season, second only to Carlson. His work on the power play was particularly crucial in Carlson’s absence, and Niskanen established a new career high in power-play assists (14) and points (16) during the regular season. His possession numbers at even strength weren’t off the charts, but they were respectable, with CF%, FF% and SF% all on the good side of 50% – not bad considering who he was going up against on a nightly basis.
Niskanen’s regular-season performance was strong, but it was in the playoffs that he really stepped up his game – a welcome change after a rough run last spring. Appearing in all 12 games (one of just three Caps’ blueliners to do so), he wasn’t setting the world on fire with his offense – he had just three assists in the two series – but he was probably the team’s steadiest defenseman over the team’s postseason run, particularly on the penalty kill, and a big reason why the Flyers‘ and Penguins‘ top lines were relatively quiet.
The Bad: As solid as he was overall this season, Niskanen struggled at times to put up points, including a seven-game pointless streak in late October/early November, an 11-game drought in December and a stretch of 15 games to finish out the season in which he had just three points (and two of those in one game). Despite the fact that he was logging a ton of minutes on the power play, he picked up just two power-play goals – tied with Carlson for the lead among Caps’ blueliners, but in 26 fewer games.
That carried over into the playoffs, when he had a grand total of zero points with the extra man, joining Jason Chimera as one of two Caps to be held off the scoresheet while logging at least 20 minutes of power-play time. And while his overall postseason performance was strong, he faltered in the final game of the run, finding himself on the ice for three of the Penguins’ four goals on the night… including the game winner in overtime.
He also struggled with discipline, racking up 38 penalty minutes to lead all Caps’ defensemen while drawing just five penalties by opponents for a team-worst minus-13 penalty differential (tied with Orpik).
The GIF/Video:
#Niskanen dangles and beats #Mason blocker side to give #Caps 3-2 lead #CapsFlyers pic.twitter.com/NGHaZiXEU5
— CAPITALS HILL (@CapitalsHill) February 7, 2016
The Vote: Rate Niskanen below on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season – if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.
The Discussion: Should Niskanen be used on the team’s “top” defensive pair next season, regardless of Carlson and Orpik’s relative health? What are your expectations for Niskanen’s offensive production in 2016-17? What would it take for you to give him a “10” next year?