Regular Season:
Playoffs:
Key Stat: On opening night of the season Orlov scored only the second power play goal of his career. Later in the season he picked up his first shorthanded point (an assist).
The Good: Orlov was on pace to break 30 points for the third time in his NHL career, finishing the shortened season with 27 points through 69 games (.39 PPG). His time on ice was also impressive – averaging 22:10 per contest (the second highest mark of his career). Orlov was a solid presence on Washington’s second pair and spent a majority of his season alongside Radko Gudas and Nick Jensen. He spent much of the season making those players look better than they are with a steady combination of skating and physicality.
The Bad: For a defenseman with consistent minutes in the team’s top four Orlov’s individual metrics with the puck weren’t great. When prorated over a full season his 65 giveaways were on pace to be a new career worst. Additionally his hits and takeaway numbers took a drop for the third straight season. Orlov registered a shooting percentage under four (3.8) for the second straight season. Orlov’s past two seasons have been his lowest effectiveness at shooting (lockout and injury shortened 2012-2013 excluded) despite continuing to put more than one hundred pucks on net both seasons.
The Video: You make your own luck.
The Charts:
The Discussion: Orlov continues to perform adequately in a second pairing role for Washington but is there another level to his game? Could his left hand shot on the power play be more useful than previous coaching staffs have determined? Finally, what would it take for you to give Orlov a 10 next season?
Other Orlov Season Reviews: Coming soon!
The Vote: Rate Orlov 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.