At the All-Star break the Panthers are 5th best in team xGF% and top 10 in real GF%, at almost 52%, when playing 5v5.
I went to check how a team with this much positive goal differential at 5v5 is out of a wildcard spot and, holy shit, the Panthers have the [most PKs](https://www.covers.com/sport/hockey/nhl/statistics/team-penaltykilling/2022-2023) in the league by 8 penalties. 2nd most PIMs behind Montreal by only 3 minutes. And an 8th worst PK% of 74.74.
I used to laugh at other teams’ fans when they tried to say something about “dirty” play… but maybe personal discipline really has taken a dive under Maurice? In 2020 the Cats were the 5th *least* penalized by PKs.
In conclusion, stay out of the goddamn box, figure your shit out Paul, and GO CATS!
by grizzlby
3 Comments
Why did you compare to 2020 to indict Maurice? What were they ranked last year?
Edit: looked it up myself and we were ranked 15th last year at 79.7%. Not as extreme compared to 2020 but OPs point still stands. The high sticks are out of control
Statistical outlier this season. You would have to go through every game and see what penalties were called to figure that out. I do believe there is an indirect bias with refs this season since we won the presidents trophy because some calls have been untimely to put it lightly.
If it weren’t for Barkov we’d only be leading the league by 7 penalties