By the Numbers: Sweeping the Coyotes

As the Red Wings recover from a hard-fought, physical and emotionally-charged series against the Phoenix Coyotes, how ’bout we take a look at some impressive numbers from the four-game series with scores that were never indicative of how closely contested the battles were? In a nutshell, the Red Wings cracked the code that is Ilya Bryzgalov, the penalty kill was terrible, the grinders were clutch, and the contributions came from everyone. All numbers and rankings are as of Thursday afternoon.

0 :: Minutes Henrik Zetterberg played in this series.

1 :: The Coyotes leader in +/- and the only player from Phoenix above the break-even line, Kyle Turris.

1 :: The fewest hits thrown by anyone in the series — shared by Keith Yandle and Mike Modano (the latter only played one game).

3 :: The most goals an individual scored in the series. And they were scored by Shane Doan.

4.5 :: Goals per game scored by the Wings, 0.75 more than second place (Anaheim).

6 :: The top post-season +/-, across all sixteen teams. It’s shared by Pavel Datsyuk, Ruslan Salei, and Niklas Kronwall.

6 :: Goals scored by the Coyotes on the power play — tied for the most of all playoff teams in four games.

7 :: Minutes Todd Bertuzzi spent in the penalty box, the most of any Red Wing and one less than Martin Hanzal for the series lead.

7 :: First period goals scored by the Red Wings — two more than the next best among playoff teams.

9 :: Ruslan Salei led either team in blocked shots.

10 :: Pavel Datsyuk takeaways, two and a half times more than the closest competitor for either team.

15 :: Shots Pavel Datsyuk took in four games — the most of either team.

24 :: Post-season goals allowed by Ilya Bryzgalov, dating back to Game 7 of last year’s first round matchup with the Wings, just under 5 goals per game.

24 :: Hits thrown by the leader in that department for either team, Shane Doan: ten more than the closest competition.

25:50 :: Average time on ice for Keith Yandle — the most of either team.

28.6 :: Shooting percentage of Patrick Eaves — the best of either team.

33.3 :: Power Play efficiency of the Coyotes — second best among playoff teams (Vancouver, 40%)

35 :: Average shots taken per game by the Red Wings — the most of any team not to go into overtime.

41:15 :: Minutes played by Jiri Hudler — the least of all Red Wings who played in all four games.

61.1 :: Faceoff percentage of Justin Abdelkader — by far the best of either team among players who took more than four faceoffs.

66.7 :: Penalty Killing efficiency of the Red Wings — tied for second worst among playoff teams (with Nashville, only Chicago’s 60% is worse).

89:39 :: Minutes played by Niklas Kronwall, including 16 minutes shorthanded — both are the most of all Red Wings.

103:22 :: Minutes played by Keith Yandle — the most of either team.

Get some sleep, Hockeytown. It’s looking pretty likely that the Winged Wheelers will be facing the Sharks — another Pacific Time Zone team and another repeat of the 2010 playoffs. Let’s hope for a better outcome than last year’s five-game stinker that sent the Wings into an earlier-than-usual summer.

Photo Credit: David Guralnick, The Detroit News, @DavidGuralnick