Stat breakdown: Murray Kings vs. Sutter Kings

Here’s a question that, for me, had a surprising answer. In the transition from Terry Murray to Darryl Sutter, have the Kings improved more on offense or on defense? The answer: defense. In Sutter’s 17 games, compared to Murray’s 29, the Kings are scoring almost exactly the same number of goals per game, but the goals-against average has dropped by more than a half-goal per game. Here’s some statistical breakdown, in seven major categories, in terms of how the Kings fared under Murray compared to how they’re faring under Sutter. Also, since the Kings have reached the 50-game mark, I’ll revisit the comparison of where they stand now in certain categories, compared to the full-season totals from 2010-11. First, here is the Kings comparison under Murray and Sutter.

Points earned/game — Murray 0.517; Sutter 0.706
Goals/game — Murray 2.24; Sutter 2.29
Goals against/game — Murray 2.31; Sutter 1.77
Power-play percentage — Murray 16.8; Sutter 17.7
Penalty-kill percentage — Murray 85.8; Sutter 86.4
Shots/game — Murray 29.7; Sutter 32.1
Shots against/game — Murray 29.9; Sutter 28.2

And here’s the statistical comparison, looking at where the Kings stand through 50 games compared to where they finished last season, with league rankings in parenthesis…

Points earned/game — .580 (12th) — .598 (12th)
Goals/game — 2.14 (30th) — 2.55 (25th)
Goals against/game — 2.10 (4th) — 2.39 (T-6th)
5-on-5 goals for/against ratio — 0.91 (19th) — 1.05 (13th)
Power-play percentage — 14.8 (T-21st) — 16.1 (21st)
Penalty-kill percentage — 86.5 (5th) — 85.5 (4th)
Shots/game — 31.2 (T-8th) — 28.8 (T-23rd)
Shots against/game — 29.1 (8th) — 27.9 (3rd)
Penalty minutes/game — 11.9 (17th) — 11.7 (T-14th)
Hits/game — 27.4 (2nd) — 25.9 (5th)
Blocked shots/game — 12.3 (22nd) — 12.6 (27th)
Faceoff percentage — 50.6 (11th) — 51.1 (10th)