You just watched the game. Odds are you thought a certain player had a great night, and you're wondering if the numbers back up what your eyes told you. Even if that's completely false, "Battery Mates" is here to help.
We'll pick our own three stars based on Game Score, a comprehensive individual performance metric developed in the hockey analytics community. For more on how Game Score works, read this.
These are 1st Ohio Battery's three stars from the Blue Jackets' 4-1 loss at PPG Paints Arena:
WILLIAM KARLSSON [GAME SCORE: 1.29]
John Tortorella could not be more clear in his post-game press conference: the Blue Jackets are struggling offensively, particularly their top players, and they need to work out of this funk as they move along. In some cases, that means more offense from their depth players, and Karlsson is one of them; in a pretty "ok" 5-on-5 game for the Blue Jackets, Karlsson's line was among the standouts. Were there some big-ugly mistakes and turnovers in the game? Absolutely. But Karlsson was a whopping +20 (83% Corsi) in 5-on-5 shot attempts tonight.
SAM GAGNER [GAME SCORE: 1.18]
Gagner is another one of the players being looked to right now with the upper half of the lineup failing to produce. He didn't get rewarded on the scoresheet, but he played a solid game and drove play at even strength. Gagner over 14 minutes - 12 of those at 5-on-5 - and was also +20 in shot attempts...but again, nothing to show for it in the way of points, and that's where the Blue Jackets need some results right now.
SCOTT HARTNELL [GAME SCORE: 1.15]
The Blue Jackets always seem to get the best of Hartnell when they're playing the Penguins, and he was in the mix throughout this game. Like Karlsson and Gagner, he too was able to get some things going at 5-on-5, but execution on the business end of scoring chances has eluded the club recently. Hartnell finished with a shot attempts line identical to Karlsson (+20, 83% Corsi) but also did not register a point; the Blue Jackets' lone goal tonight was a third-period shorthanded goal from Brandon Dubinsky.
