Florida Panthers key statistics

NHL.com is providing in-depth analysis for each of its 31 teams from Nov. 16-Dec. 16. Today, three key statistics for the Florida Panthers.

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1. Shot attempts percentage

The Panthers had a shot attempt percentage (SAT%) of 49.8 percent that was 16th in the NHL last season, and their minus-29 SAT (3,079 shot attempts for; 3,108 shot attempts allowed) also was 16th. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad led the Panthers with a plus-164 SAT, which was impressive considering he led Florida in average 5-on-5 time on ice at 18:16 in 67 games. But three of the Panthers' top four forwards in SAT% (minimum 20 games) won't be back this season.
Denis Malgin
, who was first at 52.8 percent, was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 19. Vincent Trocheck, second at 52.6 percent, was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 24, and Evgenii Dadonov, fourth at 51.8 percent, signed a three-year contract with the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 15. The only remaining forward in the top four is Brett Connolly, who was third at 52.5 percent. With that big a change to their forwards, the Panthers could see a decline in SAT% this season.

2 . 5-on-5 save percentage

The Panthers were 29th last season with a 5-on-5 save percentage of .911. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky had a .903 even-strength save percentage, tied with Mike Smith of the Edmonton Oilers for 41st among the 45 goalies to play at least 30 games. The Panthers allowed 151 5-on-5 goals, seventh-most in the NHL last season, and they allowed five goals at 4-on-4, tied with the Philadelphia Flyers, Winnipeg Jets and Colorado Avalanche for third-most. One answer for improvement could be more playing time for goalie Chris Driedger. He had a .944 even-strength save percentage in 12 games, second in the NHL behind Anton Khudobin of the Dallas Stars (.945), among goalies to play at least 10 games.

3. Power-play percentage

Florida was 21.3 percent on the power play last season, tied with the Minnesota Wild for 10th in the NHL. Forward Jonathan Huberdeau led the Panthers and was fifth in the NHL with 29 power-play points, and forward
Mike Hoffman
and defenseman Keith Yandle were tied for second for Florida with 21. Hoffman and Dadonov tied for the Panthers lead with 11 power-play goals, but Dadonov left in free agency and Hoffman is an unrestricted free agent. Without two of their top power-play goal-scorers from last season, the Panthers could rely on forward Patric Hornqvist, who was acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sept. 24. Hornqvist has scored 84 power-play goals since 2009-10, 12th among NHL players.