Alex Lyon To The Rescue
The January schedule was challenging? Please. Despite having a West Coast trip followed by a 10-game gauntlet that included eight playoff teams from last year and all four conference finalists, the Wings have managed to earn 13 of a possible 14 points, putting themselves back in a playoff position.
How did they manage to pull this off? Well it’s largely thanks to the man (lion?) in net and continued excellence at finishing their chances. Since January 1st, the Wings rank (data via Evolving-Hockey):
30th in 5v5 expected goals for percentage (xGF%) at 41.29%
30th in 5v5 expected goals for per 60 (xGF/60) at 2.00
16th in PP% at 22.7%
1st in 5v5 Sh% at 12.21%
4th in Sv% at 92.9%
Despite getting largely outplayed at 5v5, the Wings have been able to convert on the few chances that they get and most importantly, have their goalie finally steal them some points.
Heading in to 2024, the Wings had not had a goalie “steal” them points since the middle of November. In the seven games since, Alex Lyon has stolen five points for the Wings based on standings points above expected which examines whether or not a team should have won, tied, or lost the game based on the number of goals they scored vs. the expected number of goals they should have allowed based on the quality of chances allowed. A scenario where a team wins the game despite allowing more quality chances against than they converted suggests that the goalie “stole” those points.
Using this metric, one could argue that Lyon is directly responsible for five of the 11 points earned in his six starts. Here’s to hoping the “Lyon King” can continue to steal points for this team as they sort out their struggles at 5v5.
If you’d like to contribute to my work, please instead consider donating to my 1-year-old nephew’s heart transplant fundraiser as he currently is awaiting a heart transplant.