CRANBERRY, Pa. -- The NHL on Monday unveiled NHL EDGE -- a new website that makes the league's player- and puck-tracking data available to the public.
The NHL's tracking system has been in use since 2021-22, but prior to this week the only times that data was made public was when it was occasionally shown on NHL broadcasts or shared by the league's official channels.
The system -- which uses a combination of sensors within players' jerseys and infrared cameras mounted above the ice, can record data like skating speed and distance, shot speed and location, and how long the puck spends in each zone.
Here are some takeaways from the Penguins' first five games of the season using the new NHL EDGE data.
• There is still no publicly-available actual possession data in terms of whose stick the puck is on, but the zone data is the closest metric available. The Penguins rank ninth in the league in offensive zone time at 42.8%, trailing the Hurricanes (48.3%), Rangers (44.5%), Flames (43.7%), Maple Leafs (43.4%), Golden Knights (43.4%), Panthers (43.3%), Oilers (43.2%) and Devils (42.9%). The league average offensive zone time is 40.6%.
NHL EDGE
Penguins' time in each zone at five on five
• The Penguins are in the middle of the pack when it comes to offensive zone time on the power play. The top five teams in that category are all above 63%. The Penguins are in the offensive zone 60.5% of the time on the power play. They rank seventh in the league in time in the neutral zone (15.8%, not ideal) and eighth in time in the defensive zone (23.7%, even less ideal). Mike Sullivan said Monday that one of the reasons for moving Bryan Rust to the top power play in practice was his ability to retrieve pucks and contribute toward sustained time in the offensive zone. The data backs up that being a need.
NHL EDGE
Penguins' time in each zone on the power play
• The team's bursts of speed have been above average. The league average for 18-20 mile per hour bursts of speed is 465, and the Penguins have had 501. The average 20-22 mile per hour bursts of speed per team is 104, and the Penguins have had 112. They've only had two bursts of over 22 miles per hour though, and the league average is five.
• One of those 22-plus mile per hour bursts have come from Sidney Crosby. The other was from Rust.
• Jeff Carter's higher-end speed hasn't even been bad. The league average top skating speed for a forward is 21.31 miles per hour, and Carter's top speed this season is 21.43 miles per hour -- in the 63rd percentile. Forwards this season have had an average of six bursts of speed that were over 20 miles per hour, and Carter has had eight, in the 75th percentile. He's had 27 bursts of speed that have been between 18-20 miles per hour, and the league average for a forward is 27 -- he's in the 64th percentile. Being able to maintain that speed for a period of time is obviously a separate issue, and there isn't any kind of data to quantify that. But he's certainly moving. The league average for miles skated per 60 minutes is 9.70, and Carter's above that at 9.83.
• Carter's higher-end speed wasn't bad last season, either. His top speed was 22.80 miles per hour (85th percentile, league average for forwards was 22.05), he had seven bursts of speed over 22 miles per hour (91st percentile, league average for forwards was three), 115 of 20-22 mile per hour bursts (87th percentile, league average for forwards was 67), and 450 of 18-20 mile per hour bursts (84th percentile, league average for forwards was 284).
• Jake Guentzel is better than 97% of the league when it comes to burst of speed between 20-22 miles per hour. He's had 17 and the league average for a forward is six. Rust is right behind in the 96th percentile with 16.
• Crosby, at 36 years old, remains toward the top of the league in about every one of these metrics. He's in the 90th percentile for top skating speed at 22.26 miles per hour. He's in the 87th percentile for speed bursts over 20 miles per hour at 11. He's in he 78th percentile for top shot speed at 88.18 miles per hour (the league average for forwards is 78.77). He's in the 79th percentile for shooting percentage at 16.7% (league average for forwards is 10.2%). He's in he 91st percentile for offensive zone time at even strength at 45.2% (league average for forwards is 40.5%).
• Erik Karlsson is up there in about every category too. His top skating speed is 21.70 miles per hour, and the league average for a defenseman is 20.72. He's in the 75th percentile there. He's had six speed bursts over 20 miles per hour, and the league average for a defenseman is two. He's in the 64th percentile for speed bursts. He's in the 91st percentile for top shot speed, maxing out at 92.58 miles per hour when the league average for defensemen is 85.37. He's in the offensive zone 44% at the time at even strength, and the league average for defensemen is 40.3%. He's in the 85th percentile for offensive zone time.
• Tristan Jarry's save percentage on high-danger shots is .818, and the league average is .789. His mid-range save percentage is .897 and the league-average is .880.
