Too Much of a Good Thing: Checking in on the NHL's shot leaders at the quarter pole
The NHL season has reached the unofficial quarter pole, and those willing to dive deep into the numbers have been able to formulate fairly accurate opinions on the league's top stars, as well as notice some off-the-radar players who could be in for big things.
Here's an overview of the league's top shot-takers through the first month and a half of the season:
Forwards
| Rk | Player | SOG |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Ovechkin (WSH) | 96 |
| 2 | Taylor Hall (EDM) | 85 |
| 3 | Nazem Kadri (TOR) | 84 |
| 4 | Tyler Seguin (DAL) | 83 |
| T5 | Max Pacioretty (MTL) | 81 |
| T5 | Daniel Sedin (VAN) | 81 |
| 7 | Vladimir Tarasenko (STL) | 79 |
| 8 | Patrick Kane (CHI) | 77 |
| 9 | Radim Vrbata (VAN) | 74 |
| 10 | Phil Kessel (PIT) | 72 |
Alex Ovechkin is the only player in the NHL averaging better than five shots per game. He led the league in shots each of the past three seasons. ... Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane are tied for the league lead in goals with 13 apiece. ... Nazem Kadri and Radim Vrbata are the only players among the top 10 with fewer than 19 points (each have eight). ... There was some speculation that Phil Kessel would see a diminished role in Pittsburgh, but his 72 shots through 20 games are identical to what he produced a year ago.
Defensemen
| RK | Player | SOG |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brent Burns (SJ) | 90 |
| 2 | Dustin Byfuglien (WPG) | 71 |
| 3 | Justin Faulk (CAR) | 65 |
| 4 | Oliver Ekman-Larsson (ARI) | 61 |
| 5 | Johnny Boychuk (NYI) | 60 |
| T6 | Torey Krug (BOS) | 56 |
| T6 | Kris Letang (PIT) | 56 |
| 8 | Rasmus Ristolainen (BUF) | 55 |
| 9 | Erik Johnson (COL) | 53 |
| 10 | Drew Doughty (LA) | 52 |
Brent Burns peppered Marc-Andre Fleury with seven shots Saturday night, scoring twice. His 90 shots are second-most among all skaters. ... The list of defensemen to just miss the top 10 is quite impressive: P.K. Subban (51), Roman Josi (51), Aaron Ekblad (51), Mark Giordano (51), and Erik Karlsson (50).
Rookies
| RK | Player | SOG |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Eichel (BUF) | 67 |
| 2 | Nikolaj Ehlers (WPG) | 62 |
| 3 | Dylan Larkin (DET) | 55 |
| 4 | Artemi Panarin (CHI) | 51 |
| 5 | Colton Parayko (STL) | 47 |
| 6 | Max Domi (ARI) | 42 |
| 7 | Jared McCann (VAN) | 34 |
| 8 | Oscar Lindberg (NYR) | 33 |
| 9 | Mattias Janmark (DAL) | 32 |
| 10 | Sam Reinhart (BUF) | 30 |
Jack Eichel is the only player among the top nine rookie shot leaders with a negative plus-minus rating. ... Artemi Panarin's 21 points are five more than any other rookie. ... Colton Parayko's 47 shots are 18 more than any other rookie defenseman. ... Connor McDavid tallied 24 shots in 13 games prior to suffering his injury.