EDGE stats: 5 surprises in 2nd round of Stanley Cup Playoffs

NHL.com's fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we take a look at five surprises of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round.

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Frederik Andersen, G, CAR

The Carolina Hurricanes goalie has stopped all 24 high-danger shots faced through four games in the second round and ranks first in high-danger saves during that span, ahead of Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers (23 in four games; .767 high-danger save percentage) and Joseph Woll of the Toronto Maple Leafs (22 in four games; .759 HD SV%). Andersen leads the NHL in save percentage (.935 in seven games) this postseason and has stopped 40 of 42 shots against over back-to-back wins as the Hurricanes moved to within one victory of the Eastern Conference Final. Andersen has a .916 save percentage in 80 career postseason games for the Anaheim Ducks, Maple Leafs and Hurricanes. This postseason, Andersen leads all goalies in goal differential (plus-13) and those from remaining teams in percent of games started with greater than a .900 save percentage (75.0 percent; six of eight games).

Aaron Ekblad, D, FLA

The Florida Panthers defenseman has been limited to five of their nine postseason games because of two suspensions but has been productive with four points (one goal, three assists) and has had assists in each of his two games against the Maple Leafs in the second round. Ekblad leads the NHL in offensive zone time percentage at even strength (50.2 percent) this postseason and ranks highly among defensemen in high-danger shots on goal (two; 90th percentile) and high-danger goals (one; 92nd percentile). The Panthers are 3-2 when Ekblad is in the lineup during this postseason; he scored the game-tying goal in the third period of their eventual win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 of the first round.

William Karlsson, F, VGK

The Vegas Golden Knights forward has moved around the lineup this postseason and been covering key advanced stats categories along the way. During the second round, Karlsson had at least one point in each of the first three games of the series (two goals, two assists) and is among the NHL leaders in high-danger goals (two; tied for second behind Dallas Stars wing Mikko Rantanen’s three) and 20-plus mile per hour speed bursts (18; ranks third behind Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid’s 38, teammate Jack Eichel's 24). Karlsson had a multipoint performance in Game 3 (one goal, one assist), including the primary assist on Reilly Smith’s game-winning, buzzer-beating goal in the third period to defeat the Oilers. For the entire playoffs, Karlsson is tied for sixth in the NHL in high-danger goals (three) and ranks highly among forwards in 20-plus mph speed bursts (34; 96th percentile), total skating distance (29.67 miles; 93rd percentile) and top skating speed (22.64 mph; 88th percentile).

Corey Perry, F, EDM

The Edmonton wing is tied for second in high-danger goals (four), tied for eighth in high-danger shots on goal (11), ranks ninth among forwards in offensive zone time percentage (48.4 percent) and in the 90th percentile at his position in top shot speed (88.02 mph) this postseason. Perry was elevated to the top line with elite forwards McDavid and Leon Draisaitl earlier in the playoffs and also frequently is playing on the first power play; Perry is tied with Draisaitl for Edmonton’s goal lead (five) and tied with Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard for the team lead in power-play goals (two each). Perry has four points (three goals, one assist), including a power-play goal and two high-danger goals, and seven shots on goal in four second-round games against the Golden Knights.

Sam Steel, F, DAL

The Dallas Stars forward has played a pivotal role in terms of underlying stats, leading forwards and ranking second in the among all NHL players in skating distance on the penalty kill (4.52 miles) this postseason, trailing only teammate defenseman Esa Lindell (4.87 miles). The Stars’ penalty kill is 12-for-13 during the series against the Jets to lead all teams in the second round (92.3 percent); Winnipeg led the NHL in power-play percentage (28.9 percent) and ranked third in power-play goals (63) during the regular season. Steel also has contributed five assists to four different goal scorers this postseason, including three against the Jets (had two assists in Game 3). Steel also leads the NHL in 5-on-5 points per 60 minutes (6.69; minimum three games) during the second round, ahead of even McDavid (5.04) and Draisaitl (4.41).

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