The start to Connor McMichael's season has been very encouraging

The Caps rookie center ranks among the league leaders in multiple categories.

The injury to Nick Backstrom gave Connor McMichael an opportunity to make the Caps opening night roster and play meaningful minutes. McMichael has played four of the Caps first six games and he’s made the most of the opportunity. With McMichael on the ice, the Caps have dominated puck possession and McMichael has shot the puck at a rate that is very encouraging.

You’re reading a Caps newsletter called Pokechecked By Murphy. It’s free. Subscribe here:

Tilting the ice

During McMichael’s shifts, the ice has been titled heavily in the Caps’ favor. Per Natural Stat Trick, McMichael’s shot attempt percentage leads the team at 67.5 percent, as does his expected goals percentage of 72.0 percent. Among the 660 skaters who have played at least 10 minutes this season, McMichael ranks 7th and 15th in these categories respectively. Uh, that’s pretty good.

While the Caps have scored a relatively low 60 percent of the goals with McMichael on the ice, this will likely correct itself, as so far Caps goalies have a save percentage of just 86.7 percent during his shifts, a number that is almost certain to rise.

As the visual below from HockeyViz shows us, the Caps have suppressed shots really well when McMichael’s been on the ice, giving us further confidence that the on-ice save percentage is due for some positive regression.

Firing the puck

The early returns on McMichael as a shooter are really encouraging. McMichael has fired 19.6 shot attempts per 60 at 5-on-5, second on the team to only Alex Ovechkin’s nice 20.69. It’s unlikely McMichael will sustain this pace, but if he maintains anything even near his current shot rate, it bodes well for his future as a goal scorer. And his first NHL goal is coming any game now.

---

McMichael’s early season performance has been better than anyone could have realistically hoped for. While the numbers noted above are likely to come back down to earth a bit, and four games aren’t enough to make any sweeping conclusions, McMichael’s start to the season has been encouraging.

If you enjoyed this article and don’t already subscribe to this newsletter, please subscribe below: