An injury to any player at this time of the season can be devastating for a team. The Philadelphia Flyers will have to find out how to face the next two weeks without Michael Raffl. One option to replace Raffl is Taylor Leier.
There was no clear play to point out where Raffl sustained the injury, but he would not return for the third period. He would only play 6:40 in the game and did not take a shift following his last at 6:17 to 5:14 of the second period.
Michael Raffl will be out two weeks with upper-body injury.https://t.co/ld5vcRMlc5
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 19, 2018
Taylor Leier Should Replace Michael Raffl
While Michael Raffl only has 11 goals and eight assists on the season, one has to look beyond his point totals to find his true contributions to the team. When looking at even strength, his 50.0 CF% ranks 11th on the team, 10th among current Flyers. His 0.8 relative CF% ranks him 12th on the team, 11th when looking at current Flyers.
When ranking his numbers strictly with other forwards, his CF% ranks him seventh while his relative CF% also finds him ranked seventh.
Raffl has seen time on multiple lines this season. His most frequent line trio saw him with Valtteri Filppula and Jakub Voracek. For Raffl, he played with this trio 38% of the time at even strength. He also spent 25.4% of his season with Scott Laughton and Taylor Leier.
For the Flyers, finding a replacement for Raffl will not be an easy task. It will be hard to another player that elevates his teammates the way that Raffl did. They have three players that are not currently in the lineup to look towards when finding a replacement for Michael Raffl.
Leier is the player the team should look towards first.
Taylor Leier
Leier’s dream of making the NHL for good came true this season when he got the news that he made the team. But his ice time has not reflected that of someone who is a consistent NHL player. He has appeared in 39 of a possible 73 games for the Flyers. In those 39 games, Leier only has one goal and four points.
His total amount of time on ice equals 409 minutes. Comparing that to Raffl’s numbers, which have him with 970 minutes, that is a huge jump in play. Leier’s advanced numbers at even strength, however, are actually better when compared to Raffl’s.
Even Strength Numbers
Leier’s 51.7 CF% and 2.2 relative CF% are both higher than Raffl’s number. Leier is ranked sixth on the team overall and fourth among forwards in CF%. His relative CF% is seventh best on the team and fourth-best among forwards.
It can be hard to compare their numbers, however. There is a clear difference in the number of games and minutes played between the two. Raffl had appeared in all 73 games for the Flyers. That’s 34 more games that Leier. They both do have similar zone starts. Leier starts in the offensive zone 50.3% of the time while Raffl sees the offensive zone 51.3% of the time to start.
Another big difference between the two is the total number of shots that both have taken. Raffl has taken a total of 141 shots in all situations, with 61.7% of those shots going on net. Leier only has 66 shots, but 72.7% of those have gone on the net.
On average, Raffl spends about 11:57 on the ice per 60 minutes. Leier sees about 9:02 per 60 minutes. When breaking down those numbers and looking at power play versus penalty kill, those numbers remain similar.
Power Play Versus Penalty Kill
For Raffl, his average power play time is only about 13 seconds in total. Leier is similar in that regard, only averaging about 16 seconds on the man advantage. It’s the penalty kill where the two see more time.
Raffl averages 1:06 time on ice during the penalty kill. He has a -2.0 relative CF% during the time, giving up 6.2 goals per 60 minutes. Leier averages 1:10 time on ice, but his advanced metrics are much different. His 5.7 relative CF% ranks him fifth among current Flyers. Teams against the Flyers, however, score 14.1 goals when Leier is on the ice for the penalty kill.
Leier May Be The Best Option
The Flyers do have two other options when it comes to finding a replacement for Raffl. They can look towards one of Dale Weise or Jori Lehtera. The numbers don’t get better when looking at the two, however.
While Lehtera’s seven points and Weise’s eight points are higher than Leier’s point total, their overall contributions on the ice are much worse.
Lehtera sits with a 48.7 CF% and a -1.6 relative CF%. Weise is further down the list with a 44.1% CF% and a -4.9 relative CF%. They have both given up more chances against when on the ice than Leier.
If the team simply wants a player they can plug into the lineup for two weeks, Lehtera or Weise is the way to go. If the Flyers want a similar player to Raffl, however, Taylor Leier is the best choice.
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