Statistics are the lifeblood of sports. Love them or hate them, crunching the numbers the games supply provides fodder for discussion, argument or simple amusement.
With that in mind, the dissection of the Blackhawks statistics after 33 games is presented. Since Denis Savard replaced Trent Yawney as head coach, the Hawks are 7-2-3, collecting 17 out of a possible 24 points for a cool 71 percent.
Can the turnaround be pinned to the appointment of Savard or are other factors involved?
Perhaps the biggest factor was the Dec. 5 return of Martin Havlat after a 19-game layoff with a sprained ankle. According to the numbers, the Hawks are a completely different team with Havlat.
It would be unfair to compare the 21 games this season Yawney coached to the 14 Savard has had because the lineup for Savard is much different than Yawney’s.
Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to Nashville was Havlat’s 14th game. The first seven came with Yawney behind the bench, the last seven with Savard.
With a couple of exceptions, the lineups in the first seven games and the last seven are the same. Savard hasn’t had Michal Handzus, but Yawney didn’t have Tuomo Ruutu.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Hawks scored more with Havlat in the lineup under Yawney. The Hawks scored 29 goals in the first seven games for an average of 4.14. In the last seven games, the Hawks have 22 goals, a full goal less at 3.14.
The power play also was better, converting on 9 of 42 chances (21.4 percent) compared to 5 of its last 39 (12.8). In fact, taking the entire season into account, the power play was better in the 21 games in which Savard was an assistant in charge of it–14 of 100 for 14 percent–than it has been since he became head coach. Since Savard replaced Yawney, the power play is 5 of 59, 8.4 percent.
If the season were to end now, a case could be made that no player is more important to his team than Havlat. In the 14 games he has played, the Hawks are 8-5-1, compared to 6-9-4 without him.
But more impressive is the fact the right wing has scored 12 of the Hawks’ 51 goals with him in the lineup, 23.5 percent. The NHL leader in goals, Atlanta’s Marian Hossa, has scored 24 of the Thrasher’s 108 goals to account for 22 percent.
If Havlat continued that pace, he would join elite company. In 1981-82, Wayne Gretzky scored 92 of Edmonton’s 417 goals, accounting for 22 percent of the Oilers’ goals. In 1988-89, Mario Lemieux scored 24.5 percent of the Penguins’ goals, 85 of 347.
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Even taking into account the 19 games he missed, Havlat has scored 14.2 percent of the Hawks goals, comparable to Anaheim’s Teemu Selanne (19 of 132).
With Havlat in the lineup, the Hawks score 3.6 goals per game, which would rank second in the NHL. In the 19 games without him, they scored 33 goals, an average of 1.7.
With Havlat the power play is 14 of 81, 17.3 percent, which would rank in the middle of the NHL pack. Without him, it’s 5 of 78, 6.4 percent.
And credit should go to Yawney for finding a way to get at least a couple of goals on the power play without Havlat. Those five goals came on Yawney’s watch. In Savard’s first five games without Havlat, the power play was 0 of 20.
Considering the Hawks couldn’t score much with Havlat out, not to mention the two times they were shut out in three games when both Havlat and Ruutu were sidelined, Yawney’s decision to tighten the reigns may have been prudent.
The Hawks’ goals-against average while Havlat was sidelined was 2.43, which would be seventh in the league. In the 14 games with Havlat, the GAA is 3.08.
Yawney also may be vindicated in his use of winger Tony Salmelainen. In 14 games under Yawney, Salmelainen played about 10 minutes 23 seconds per game with just two assists. In his first six games for Savard, Salmelainen played about 14 minutes per game, scoring three goals and adding an assist.
But in the last six games, Salmelainen has been scratched three times and only played about six minutes in each of the other three games without collecting a point.
So if the Hawks had stayed patient–as general manager Dale Tallon said he would–and waited for Havlat to return instead of canning Yawney, would they be where they are now?
Maybe, maybe not.
In any event it’s likely too much blame for the defeats and too much credit for the victories was and is being placed behind the bench instead of where it belongs–in the absence or presence of Martin Havlat.
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