Matthews vs McDavid Fueled by Poor Opponents?
The 2020-21 NHL season is about 30% completed, and everyone is talking about Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid. The two superstars have had an incredible start to the season. There’s no doubt they’re superstars and two of the faces of the NHL, but how beneficial has exclusively playing the North Division helped them?
Matthews has a whopping 18 goals in 19 games, and is on the stat sheet almost every night, as he has at least one point in 17 of 19 games. Meanwhile, McDavid, has been able to amass his points due to his iconic speed, passing, and vision, as he has 25 assists in 21 games, all while being 2nd in goals with 13, behind the aforementioned Matthews.
There’s been a lot of talk, from myself included, that these stats, more so Matthews’, are inflated due to the poor quality of goaltending and defense in the North Division. After all, 6 of the top 10 scorers in the NHL right now, are from the North Division. I’ve never really looked into the validity of that claim, so I decided to put that idea to the test. let’s take a look at every division and how save percentages and goals allowed per game to compare to one another.
Stats are from 2/24/2021 before any games are played.
North Division Goaltending and Goals Allowed/Game:
| Team | Games | Saves | Save Attempts | Save Percentage | Goals Allowed | Goals Allowed Per Game |
| Toronto | 20 | 523 | 576 | .908% | 54 | 2.70 |
| Edmonton | 21 | 618 | 681 | .907% | 65 | 2.62 |
| Winnipeg | 18 | 531 | 577 | .920% | 49 | 2.72 |
| Montreal | 18 | 480 | 528 | .909% | 52 | 2.88 |
| Calgary | 19 | 521 | 573 | .909% | 54 | 2.84 |
| Vancouver | 23 | 672 | 750 | .896% | 82 | 3.57 |
| Ottawa | 21 | 574 | 656 | .875% | 84 | 4.00 |
North Division Save Percentage: .903% Goals Allowed/Game: 3.14
East Division Goaltending and Goals Allowed/Game:
| Team | Games | Saves | Save Attempts | Save Percentage | Goals Allowed | Goals Allowed Per Game |
| Boston | 16 | 365 | 401 | .910% | 36 | 2.25 |
| Washington | 18 | 497 | 552 | .900% | 63 | 3.50 |
| Pittsburgh | 17 | 432 | 485 | .891% | 55 | 3.24 |
| NY Islanders | 18 | 460 | 500 | .920% | 43 | 2.39 |
| Philadelphia | 15 | 451 | 500 | .902% | 51 | 3.40 |
| NY Rangers | 16 | 414 | 454 | .912% | 42 | 2.63 |
| New Jersey | 14 | 424 | 461 | .920% | 41 | 2.93 |
| Buffalo | 16 | 424 | 466 | .910% | 47 | 2.94 |
East Division Save Percentage: .908% Goals Allowed/Game: 2.91
Central Division Goaltending and Goals Allowed/Game:
| Team | Games | Saves | Save Attempts | Save Percentage | Goals Allowed | Goals Allowed Per Game |
| Florida | 17 | 469 | 515 | .911% | 48 | 2.82 |
| Carolina | 17 | 433 | 477 | .908% | 47 | 2.76 |
| Chicago | 20 | 617 | 675 | .914% | 61 | 3.05 |
| Tampa Bay | 16 | 416 | 451 | .922% | 38 | 2.38 |
| Columbus | 20 | 580 | 646 | .898% | 70 | 3.50 |
| Nashville | 18 | 464 | 516 | .899% | 57 | 3.17 |
| Dallas | 13 | 346 | 379 | .913% | 37 | 2.85 |
| Detroit | 21 | 556 | 617 | .901% | 66 | 3.14 |
Central Division Save Percentage: .908% Goals Allowed/Game: 2.96
West Division Goaltending and Goals Allowed/Game:
| Team | Games | Saves | Save Attempts | Save Percentage | Goals Allowed | Goals Allowed Per Game |
| Vegas | 16 | 398 | 430 | .926% | 34 | 2.13 |
| St. Louis | 19 | 506 | 559 | .905% | 59 | 3.11 |
| Colorado | 15 | 368 | 398 | .925% | 32 | 2.13 |
| Los Angeles | 17 | 484 | 529 | .915% | 48 | 2.82 |
| Arizona | 18 | 480 | 526 | .913% | 52 | 2.89 |
| Minnesota | 15 | 396 | 432 | .917% | 38 | 2.53 |
| San Jose | 17 | 487 | 547 | .890% | 64 | 3.76 |
| Anaheim | 19 | 498 | 550 | .905% | 54 | 2.84 |
West Division Save Percentage: .911% West Division Goals Allowed/Game: 2.80
Recap of the Stats + McDavid vs Matthews
Well, I certainly knew the North Division would be the worst in both save percentage and goals allowed, but I did not expect it to be as close. (I am fully aware that the advanced stats would give much more conclusive answers, but today I just wanted to play around with the basic stats.) The West Division having the best save percentage was most shocking, I fully expected the east or central to easily win.
Now, does being in the division with the worst goaltending and defending help you offensively?
Of course, we know McDavid is the best, most electrifying player in this league, as he just tied Crosby for least amount of games to reach 500 points (369 games). Auston Matthews is an interesting case. Matthews is without a doubt an electrifying goal scorer.
With his stellar play so far, some fans were beginning to say that Matthews is a superior player than McDavid. This is just flat out not correct. Connor McDavid has more career assists (332) than Auston Matthews has career points (314). Their defensive stats are close enough where it doesn’t make Matthews one up McDavid as an overall player.
I would like to see Auston Matthews have a full season scoring at this clip before we declare Matthews to be a better goal scorer than Ovechkin, Pastrnak, etc., and the better overall player over McDavid.
What do you think, is Matthews starting to overtake McDavid for best player?
-Bradley Whitesell (@bradiey98)
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