[h=1]Ben Bishop rises in latest NHL player rankings[/h]Tom AwadHockey Prospectus
ESPN INSIDER
Editor's note: These rankings are based on player production in terms of Hockey Prospectus' goals versus threshold valuation metric. If you are unfamiliar with GVT and how it works, you can learn more here. Total GVT might not equal the sum of other GVT components shown because of rounding and other factors not included in the rankings below.
Throughout the season, Hockey Prospectus ranks every NHL player based on our proprietary value metric GVT, a statistic that combines player contributions in all aspects of the game, including offense, defense, goaltending and the shootout. In addition to presenting the top 10 skaters and top five goalies here, we will also explore what got the players to where they are and who could overtake current residents of the leaderboard.
We're getting closer to the final rankings of the season, but there' still movement near the top.
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[h=2]Top 10 skaters[/h]<aside class="inline inline-table" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: BentonSans, -apple-system, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); clear: both; margin: 6px 0px 18px; padding: 15px; width: 565px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<caption style="box-sizing: border-box; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; color: rgb(39, 39, 39); height: 44px; line-height: 2.8; position: relative; text-align: left; text-transform: capitalize; z-index: 1000020; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Top 10 Skaters By Goals Versus Threshold</caption><thead style="box-sizing: border-box;">
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</tbody></aside>With fewer than 10 games left, we are starting to see the final rankings of the season take shape, with some familiar faces finally entering the GVT rankings after slow starts to their seasons. Patrick Kane continues to lead the pack, but he is no longer on his early-season pace. After scoring 72 points in his first 50 games (1.44 points per game), Kane now has just 22 in his past 26 (0.85 PPG) -- a decent clip, to be sure, but not the pace of a league-leading scorer. The Blackhawks have ceded mastery of the Central Division to Dallas and St. Louis, but there is little to worry about. Last season, the Blackhawks limped to the finish line, losing their last four games and starting the playoffs on the road against Nashville, but that didn't stop them from cruising to the Stanley Cup, and Kane led the playoffs in scoring with 23 points. The Hawks remain the team to beat until further notice.
Last season, Jamie Benn led the league in scoring but his team didn't make the playoffs in the strong Western Conference. This year, the Stars' offense is even better, but improved defense and goaltending have also helped lift the Stars into a tie for the Western lead. With Tyler Seguin injured, Benn has been shouldering most of the load, and he has responded well, with 12 points in his past 10 games. Benn plays more than 20 minutes a game, all in manpower situations, and is third in total ice time among NHL forwards; Kane and Anze Kopitar, both on this list as well, are the only two players ahead of him.
Brent Burns is producing one of the most impressive goal-scoring seasons by a defenseman in the past decade. Only Mike Green, with 31 goals in 2008-09, has scored more goals among defensemen than Burns' 26 in the past 12 years, and Green did that on a Capitals team laden with talent, with league scoring 10 percent higher than it is this season. The Sharks are a lock to make it into the playoffs but are also limping along, with consecutive losses to St. Louis, Edmonton and Dallas, and Burns has no goals and only three assists in his past seven games.
Joe Pavelski is likely to finish in the league's top 10 scorers for the second time in his career. Starting in 2013-14, the Sharks started playing Pavelski and Joe Thornton, both centers, on the same line. Unsurprisingly, playing with one of the greatest playmakers of the modern era did wonders for Pavelski's scoring, and, after averaging 26 goals and 32 assists per 82 games over his career up to that point, Pavelski has averaged 39 goals and 37 assists over the past three seasons. Thornton, at age 36, is 14th on this list with 16.5 GVT and is also looking to finish in the top 10 scorers for the sixth time in his career. With 1,332 points in his career, he has more than any active NHLer except the peerlessJaromir Jagr.
Erik Karlsson is the only player on this list who won't be making the playoffs, but that is more a reflection of his team than of the man. Karlsson leads all NHL players in ice time by a significant margin, playing more than 29 minutes a game, and his unique offensive talents have led to 52 even-strength points. That's 37 percent more than his nearest defenseman competitor, Burns; it's 53 percent more than any other non-Burns defenseman; and it's more than all but four forwards.
Anze Kopitar had a upsettingly slow start to his season, with only seven points in his first 18 games. But he has caught back up with 61 points in his 56 games since then and has led the Kings to the top of the Pacific Division. WithJonathan Toews having a slow year (by his standards), Kopitar has a claim to being the best all-around center in the NHL right now. He is No. 2 among forwards in ice time, but unlike Kane he can also kill penalties, and he is one of the best possession players in the league, with a 57.6 shot attempts percentage. With 14 penalty infraction minutes, he's the least penalized of the NHL's top 30 scorers.
Evgeny Kuznetsov is having his worst stretch of the season, with a five-game scoreless drought, but considering that it was preceded by a five-game scoring streak, there's no cause for panic. With 73 points already, Kuznetsov is likely to finish with more than twice the 37 points he scored in his rookie season. Given that he's only 23 years old and that he scored most of his points this season playing with Justin Williams -- not Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom -- Washington has a new offensive weapon for years to come.
Like Kopitar, Sidney Crosby started the season at a snail's pace: nine points in his first 18 games. But he's back to his old self ever since, with 69 points in 56 games to move up to third place in the league scoring race. Had he managed this same pace over the first 18 games, he would be challenging for the scoring lead. Two months ago the Penguins weren't guaranteed a playoff spot, but with eight wins in their past nine games they are now almost certain to participate. They defeated their likely first-round opponent, the New York Rangers, on Sunday, with Crosby scoring the overtime winning goal.
Despite only two goals in his past 10 games, Ovechkin is likely to lead the league in goals for the sixth time in nine years. His Capitals have clinched the Presidents' Trophy for the second time in the Ovechkin era (they also won it in 2009-10). Over the past eight seasons, the Capitals have a winning percentage of .641, second in the league by a hair to the Blackhawks (.645), but they have won only four playoff series and have never exited the second round, a weak showing they would like to improve on this year.
Brad Marchand sits in 10th place on the list with 16.8 GVT, just ahead of his linemate, Patrice Bergeron, who is in 11th place with 16.7 GVT. Both Marchand and the Bruins have been in freefall over the past few weeks. The Bruins have lost five of their past six games, which has allowed Detroit and Philadelphia to catch up with them in the standings. There are only two spots to be shared among the three teams. Marchand himself has also been on a cold streak, with a single point in his past eight games.
[h=2]Top five goalies[/h]<aside class="inline inline-table" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: BentonSans, -apple-system, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); clear: both; margin: 6px 0px 18px; padding: 15px; width: 565px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<caption style="box-sizing: border-box; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; color: rgb(39, 39, 39); height: 44px; line-height: 2.8; position: relative; text-align: left; text-transform: capitalize; z-index: 1000020; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Top 5 Goalies By Goals Versus Threshold</caption><thead style="box-sizing: border-box;">
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</tbody></aside>Among goaltenders, the real story of March has been Brian Elliott, who returned from a monthlong knee injury to post three consecutive shutouts. Elliott has played in only 37 games this season and thus might not quality for many of the goaltending rate leads, but he has by far the best save percentage (.934) and goals against average (1.95) of any goaltender this season. In part thanks to his hot streak, the Blues are now tied for the Western Conference lead.
Meanwhile, Ben Bishop has taken over the overall goaltending lead. He has also posted three shutouts in the past 15 days, and over his past six games he has a stupendous .948 save percentage and 1.67 GAA. In fact, Bishop has been the best goaltender in the league since the All-Star break, with a .933 save percentage in February and March. Considering he has shouldered the No. 1 workload all season, he should be considered one of the favorites for the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender.
Corey Crawford suffered an upper-body injury two weeks ago and hasn't played since March 14th. Scott Darling has done good work replacing him. In his past six games, he has a .928 save percentage and has performed about as well as Crawford, but the Blackhawks will certainly feel better if they have their No. 1 man back in time for the playoffs. Interestingly, the Hawks' backup is nowMichael Leighton, who was playing for the opposing Flyers in the 2010 Stanley Cup Final when Chicago claimed its first Stanley Cup of the recent trio.
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</article>Braden Holtby continues to be a source of stability for the Capitals. He has allowed one goal or fewer in five of his past eight starts, which doesn't make it hard to win when you have an offense as good as the Capitals'. Holtby proved last season that he could handle a heavy workload, starting 72 games and 13 more in the playoffs, and he'll have started more than 60 this year. His reward could be to break the NHL wins record. With a win Monday night against Columbus, he now has 46 victories -- two shy of Martin Brodeur's record -- with seven games left.
Henrik Lundqvist is in a weak stretch by his standards, with only a .911 save percentage in his past eight games. The Rangers are a lock for the playoffs and are playing for home-ice advantage. Since entering the league in 2005, Lundqvist has played in 680 games, far more than any other goaltender (Roberto Luongo is second with 656). In fact, with the exception of the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season and last year, Lundqvist has played 60-plus games in every season since 2006-07.
ESPN INSIDER
Editor's note: These rankings are based on player production in terms of Hockey Prospectus' goals versus threshold valuation metric. If you are unfamiliar with GVT and how it works, you can learn more here. Total GVT might not equal the sum of other GVT components shown because of rounding and other factors not included in the rankings below.
Throughout the season, Hockey Prospectus ranks every NHL player based on our proprietary value metric GVT, a statistic that combines player contributions in all aspects of the game, including offense, defense, goaltending and the shootout. In addition to presenting the top 10 skaters and top five goalies here, we will also explore what got the players to where they are and who could overtake current residents of the leaderboard.
We're getting closer to the final rankings of the season, but there' still movement near the top.
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[h=2]Top 10 skaters[/h]<aside class="inline inline-table" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: BentonSans, -apple-system, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); clear: both; margin: 6px 0px 18px; padding: 15px; width: 565px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
| RANK, PLAYER, TEAM | POS | OFF GVT | DEF GVT | SHOOTOUT GVT | TOTAL GVT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks | F | 20.3 | 4.6 | 0.4 | 25.3 |
| 2. Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars | F | 18.9 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 21.9 |
| 3. Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks | D | 17.0 | 4.3 | 0.4 | 21.7 |
| 4. Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks | F | 13.8 | 5.5 | 0.7 | 20.0 |
| 5. Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators | D | 17.5 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 19.9 |
| 6. Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings | F | 11.5 | 6.4 | 1.1 | 19.1 |
| 7. Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals | F | 14.3 | 3.8 | -0.2 | 17.8 |
| 8. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins | F | 14.7 | 3.1 | 0.0 | 17.8 |
| 9. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals | F | 13.6 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 16.8 |
| 10. Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins | F | 13.0 | 4.4 | -0.7 | 16.8 |
<caption style="box-sizing: border-box; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; color: rgb(39, 39, 39); height: 44px; line-height: 2.8; position: relative; text-align: left; text-transform: capitalize; z-index: 1000020; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Top 10 Skaters By Goals Versus Threshold</caption><thead style="box-sizing: border-box;">
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Last season, Jamie Benn led the league in scoring but his team didn't make the playoffs in the strong Western Conference. This year, the Stars' offense is even better, but improved defense and goaltending have also helped lift the Stars into a tie for the Western lead. With Tyler Seguin injured, Benn has been shouldering most of the load, and he has responded well, with 12 points in his past 10 games. Benn plays more than 20 minutes a game, all in manpower situations, and is third in total ice time among NHL forwards; Kane and Anze Kopitar, both on this list as well, are the only two players ahead of him.
Brent Burns is producing one of the most impressive goal-scoring seasons by a defenseman in the past decade. Only Mike Green, with 31 goals in 2008-09, has scored more goals among defensemen than Burns' 26 in the past 12 years, and Green did that on a Capitals team laden with talent, with league scoring 10 percent higher than it is this season. The Sharks are a lock to make it into the playoffs but are also limping along, with consecutive losses to St. Louis, Edmonton and Dallas, and Burns has no goals and only three assists in his past seven games.
Joe Pavelski is likely to finish in the league's top 10 scorers for the second time in his career. Starting in 2013-14, the Sharks started playing Pavelski and Joe Thornton, both centers, on the same line. Unsurprisingly, playing with one of the greatest playmakers of the modern era did wonders for Pavelski's scoring, and, after averaging 26 goals and 32 assists per 82 games over his career up to that point, Pavelski has averaged 39 goals and 37 assists over the past three seasons. Thornton, at age 36, is 14th on this list with 16.5 GVT and is also looking to finish in the top 10 scorers for the sixth time in his career. With 1,332 points in his career, he has more than any active NHLer except the peerlessJaromir Jagr.
Erik Karlsson is the only player on this list who won't be making the playoffs, but that is more a reflection of his team than of the man. Karlsson leads all NHL players in ice time by a significant margin, playing more than 29 minutes a game, and his unique offensive talents have led to 52 even-strength points. That's 37 percent more than his nearest defenseman competitor, Burns; it's 53 percent more than any other non-Burns defenseman; and it's more than all but four forwards.
Anze Kopitar had a upsettingly slow start to his season, with only seven points in his first 18 games. But he has caught back up with 61 points in his 56 games since then and has led the Kings to the top of the Pacific Division. WithJonathan Toews having a slow year (by his standards), Kopitar has a claim to being the best all-around center in the NHL right now. He is No. 2 among forwards in ice time, but unlike Kane he can also kill penalties, and he is one of the best possession players in the league, with a 57.6 shot attempts percentage. With 14 penalty infraction minutes, he's the least penalized of the NHL's top 30 scorers.
Evgeny Kuznetsov is having his worst stretch of the season, with a five-game scoreless drought, but considering that it was preceded by a five-game scoring streak, there's no cause for panic. With 73 points already, Kuznetsov is likely to finish with more than twice the 37 points he scored in his rookie season. Given that he's only 23 years old and that he scored most of his points this season playing with Justin Williams -- not Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom -- Washington has a new offensive weapon for years to come.
Like Kopitar, Sidney Crosby started the season at a snail's pace: nine points in his first 18 games. But he's back to his old self ever since, with 69 points in 56 games to move up to third place in the league scoring race. Had he managed this same pace over the first 18 games, he would be challenging for the scoring lead. Two months ago the Penguins weren't guaranteed a playoff spot, but with eight wins in their past nine games they are now almost certain to participate. They defeated their likely first-round opponent, the New York Rangers, on Sunday, with Crosby scoring the overtime winning goal.
Despite only two goals in his past 10 games, Ovechkin is likely to lead the league in goals for the sixth time in nine years. His Capitals have clinched the Presidents' Trophy for the second time in the Ovechkin era (they also won it in 2009-10). Over the past eight seasons, the Capitals have a winning percentage of .641, second in the league by a hair to the Blackhawks (.645), but they have won only four playoff series and have never exited the second round, a weak showing they would like to improve on this year.
Brad Marchand sits in 10th place on the list with 16.8 GVT, just ahead of his linemate, Patrice Bergeron, who is in 11th place with 16.7 GVT. Both Marchand and the Bruins have been in freefall over the past few weeks. The Bruins have lost five of their past six games, which has allowed Detroit and Philadelphia to catch up with them in the standings. There are only two spots to be shared among the three teams. Marchand himself has also been on a cold streak, with a single point in his past eight games.
[h=2]Top five goalies[/h]<aside class="inline inline-table" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: BentonSans, -apple-system, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); clear: both; margin: 6px 0px 18px; padding: 15px; width: 565px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
| RANK, PLAYER, TEAM | OFF GVT | DEF GVT | SHOOTOUT GVT | TOTAL GVT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay Lightning | G | 21.6 | 0.9 | -0.9 | 21.7 |
| 2. Corey Crawford. Chicago Blackhawks | G | 20.5 | -0.6 | 0.7 | 20.5 |
| 3. Brian Elliott, St. Louis Blues | G | 20.7 | -0.2 | -0.1 | 20.4 |
| 4. Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals | G | 16.9 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 18.2 |
| 5. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers | G | 16.8 | -0.7 | 0.5 | 16.7 |
<caption style="box-sizing: border-box; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; color: rgb(39, 39, 39); height: 44px; line-height: 2.8; position: relative; text-align: left; text-transform: capitalize; z-index: 1000020; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Top 5 Goalies By Goals Versus Threshold</caption><thead style="box-sizing: border-box;">
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Meanwhile, Ben Bishop has taken over the overall goaltending lead. He has also posted three shutouts in the past 15 days, and over his past six games he has a stupendous .948 save percentage and 1.67 GAA. In fact, Bishop has been the best goaltender in the league since the All-Star break, with a .933 save percentage in February and March. Considering he has shouldered the No. 1 workload all season, he should be considered one of the favorites for the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender.
Corey Crawford suffered an upper-body injury two weeks ago and hasn't played since March 14th. Scott Darling has done good work replacing him. In his past six games, he has a .928 save percentage and has performed about as well as Crawford, but the Blackhawks will certainly feel better if they have their No. 1 man back in time for the playoffs. Interestingly, the Hawks' backup is nowMichael Leighton, who was playing for the opposing Flyers in the 2010 Stanley Cup Final when Chicago claimed its first Stanley Cup of the recent trio.
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</article>Braden Holtby continues to be a source of stability for the Capitals. He has allowed one goal or fewer in five of his past eight starts, which doesn't make it hard to win when you have an offense as good as the Capitals'. Holtby proved last season that he could handle a heavy workload, starting 72 games and 13 more in the playoffs, and he'll have started more than 60 this year. His reward could be to break the NHL wins record. With a win Monday night against Columbus, he now has 46 victories -- two shy of Martin Brodeur's record -- with seven games left.
Henrik Lundqvist is in a weak stretch by his standards, with only a .911 save percentage in his past eight games. The Rangers are a lock for the playoffs and are playing for home-ice advantage. Since entering the league in 2005, Lundqvist has played in 680 games, far more than any other goaltender (Roberto Luongo is second with 656). In fact, with the exception of the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season and last year, Lundqvist has played 60-plus games in every season since 2006-07.
