Matt Niskanen
“The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the
non-obvious.”
-- Marcus Aurelius
If you watch Matt Niskanen in one game, you almost certainly
will not get an appreciation for the diverse talents he has. Coming into this season he was one of ten defensemen since he came into the league in the 2007-2008 season to play in 500
games, record at least 35 goals, post at least 150 points, and have a
plus-minus of plus-30 or better. He combined durability, an ability to contribute offensively, an ability to be
effective at both ends of the rink, and to log significant minutes (just under
20 minutes per game). He was 6-23-29,
plus-7 on a per-82 game basis over those eight seasons, and over a five-season
stretch ending with his first season in Washington last year, he saw his ice
time increase every year, from 16:32 in 2010-2011 to 22:21 last season with the
Caps.
In 2015-2016, Matt Niskanen had a year that might not have
been foreseen, given the profile of results he had with the Pittsburgh Penguins
in the year before he became an unrestricted free agent signed by the
Caps. In that last year with the
Penguins, Niskanen posted the best offensive numbers of his career (10-36-46,
plus-33, a plus-6.9 Corsi-for/Relative in all situations, PDO of 103.3 in all
situations). His first season with the
Caps was more modest, with four goals and 31 points, with a plus-7. In 2015-2016, Niskanen’s contributions were
more nuanced than perhaps at any other point in his career.
Niskanen’s offensive production in his second season with
the Caps did not look a lot different from his first season (5-27-32 this
season versus 4-27-31 last season). His
possession numbers were not a lot different, in fact down slightly (51.1
percent Corsi-for at five-on-five versus 52.0 last season), but his goal
differential at fives improved quite a bit, from plus-1 last season to plus-12
this season. His on-ice shot
differential showed even greater improvement, from plus-4 last season to
plus-65 this season.
Niskanen did pare back his penalty minutes (from 47 to 38),
but he seemed to play with a bit more of a physical edge. He was credited with 157 hits this season
versus 143 last season. He also upped
his blocked shots from 106 to 145, and he reduced his giveaways from 76 to 62.
Looping back to his offensive contributions, those of
Niskanen were timely. The Caps were
undefeated in the five games in which he scored a goal, 23-1-4 in games in
which he scored a point.
Fearless’ Take… It can be easy to take a player’s durability
for granted. For the second straight
season, Niskanen appeared in all 82 games.
He is one of just eight defensemen to appear in all of the season’s
games, and having missed just one game in his last three seasons; only five defensemen have appeared in more
contests. Then there is the ice time he
consumes. This past season, 128
defensemen logged 25 or more minutes in at least one game. Niskanen was 17th on that list
with 35 games of 25 minutes or more of ice time.
Cheerless’ Take… There isn’t a part of Niskanen’s game that
really sticks out in a good way this season, but it is even harder to find a
part of his game that stood out in a bad way.
His ten-game splits do have a little bit of odd in them, though. He was a minus-2 in each of his last ten
splits and a minus-4 in 5-on-5 goal differntial, even though he had solid
possession numbers. And those possession
numbers and scoring chance differential in the third and fourth set of ten
games were nothing to get excited about.
Odd Niskanen Fact… In nine NHL seasons with three different
teams (Dallas, Pittsburgh, Washington), Niskanen has never finished a season
below 50 percent in Corsi-for at five-on-five.
Neither has he ever finished in negative territory in Corsi-for/Relative
at 5-on-5 (numbers from war-on-ice.com).
Game to Remember… October 10th versus New Jersey
No point earned in the NHL is “easy,” but on Opening Night
at Verizon Center, Matt Niskanen’s 200th career NHL point was as
easy as it is ever likely to get. Having
already recorded a point on an assist on an Alex Ovechkin goal in the third
period against the New Jersey Devils, the Caps took a 4-2 lead into a power
play with 4:38 left in regulation. In
what has become something of a thing in the NHL, the Devils, down by two goals
and shorthanded, lifted goaltender Keith Kinkaid for an extra skater. With the clock ticking down past the
three-minute to go mark, Niskanen slid the puck from the right point to Dmitry
Orlov on the left side. Orlov moved the
puck down the wall to Justin Williams at the goal line extended to the right of
the cage. Williams circled out, fending
off defenseman John Merrill, and found Niskanen filling in from the point. With the net empty and Kyle Palmieri trying mightily
to assume the role of netminder, Niskanen ripped a slap shot into the net with
2:53 left for his 200th point in a 5-3 Caps win.
Game to Forget… February 20th versus New Jersey
On the same ice sheet four months later against the same
team, things did not go quite so memorably for Matt Niskanen. Three times the Devils took a one-goal lead,
three times Matt Niskanen was on the ice for them, including goals against on
consecutive shifts late in the first period.
The Capitals did tie the game a third time, and they went on to win,
4-3, on a Brooks Orpik goal of all things.
However, Niskanen suffered his only minus-3 of the season, and his 19:54
was one of only two games all season in which he did not finish with 20 minutes
of ice time. It does bear noting,
though, that holding a one-goal lead, he was out there for the last shift of
the game.
Postseason: 12 games, 0-3-3, plus-3, 50.9 percent Corsi-for
at 5-on-5; minus-1.6 CF%/Relative at 5-on-5
In the postseason, it’s not how you start but how you
finish. Matt Niskanen recorded a pair of
assists over the first four games of the first round series against the
Philadelphia Flyers, was plus-3, and his possession numbers were good (52.0
percent Corsi-for at 5-on-5). His
possession numbers only improved in the last two games; he finished the Flyer
series with a 57.7 percent Corsi-for.
The second round series against the Penguins was another matter. He had one point, an assist in a Game 3 loss,
and his possession numbers sagged – 45.1 percent Corsi-for at fives. And, having to make do without his regular
partner, Karl Alzner, for almost the entirety of the second and third periods
of Game 6, lost by the Caps in overtime to end their season, Niskanen’s
possession numbers took it in the teeth.
He was minus-20 in Corsi plus-minus, 32.8 percent for the game, his
worst of the postseason and seventh worse game result out of 94 regular and
postseason games this season.
In the end…
We have to admit to a quiet admiration for players like Matt
Niskanen, guys who perform at a consistently high level without generating a
lot of hoopla in doing it. He has had a
remarkably consistent career in his performance numbers (goals, points,
plus-minus) and his production numbers (possession). This year was no different. That the season ended as it did for him, with
an all too close view of the game-winning, series-clinching goal in overtime
against the Penguins, was not so much anything he did or did not do as
circumstance – the Caps unable to ice their best defensive pair with Karl
Alzner out with an injury. Nevertheless,
in the long arc of an NHL season, Niskanen had another good one, although
sometimes it was not quite obvious how good.
Grade: A-
Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America
