The New Ulmerstandings
Monday, 31.10.2011 / 2:58 PM
/ Mike Ulmer's Blog
By Mike Ulmer
- Mapleleafs.com commentator
PrintHow can the Maple Leafs, 13th on the power play and 27th on the penalty kill, be fourth overall in the NHL?
How can the Edmonton Oilers, 25th in goals for sit second overall
For the answers to these and other questions, I have invented the Ulmerstanding Meter.
It turns out looking at individual team statistical rankings doesn’t get you very far. But when you combine five key stats, power play percentage, penalty kill percentage, five on five plus minus, goals for and goals against, you come up with something reasonably close to the actual standings.
To keep things simple, I used the top five and bottom five teams in the standings for the comparison. The higher the ranking , one point for first, two for second ect., the lower the total of the five categories.
Based on the Ulmerstanding number, the top team in the NHL is the fifth place Washington Capitals. Not surprisingly, the Columbus Blue Jackets sit last in both the actual standings and the Ulmerstanding Meter.
Top 5
| Team | Standings | Ulmerstanding |
| Pittsburgh | 1 | 2 |
| Edmonton | 2 | 4 |
| Dallas | 3 | 3 |
| Toronto | 4 | 5 |
| Washington | 5 | 1 |
Bottom 5
| Team | Standings | Ulmerstanding |
| New Jersey | 26 | 29 |
| New York Islanders | 27 | 26 |
| Winnipeg | 28 | 28 |
| Boston | 29 | 27 |
| Columbus | 30 | 30 |
