4 Kings Playing Better than You Think

Christian Ehrhoff

When Sutter benched Ehrhoff in favor of Derek Forbort in the game against Florida, a lot of fans nodded in approval. Ehrhoff is supposed to be an offensive-minded, puck-moving defenseman, and his 0 goals on the year shows what a failure he’s been.

Except, of course, that’s totally misleading. The argument could be made that Ehrhoff been the Kings second best defenseman behind Jake Muzzin. Speaking of Muzzin, when the two of them have been paired together, they’ve been downright dominant.

What’s interesting with Ehrhoff is that while he ranks 1st and 2nd among Kings defensemen in Corsi% and Fenwick% respectfully, he’s only 4th and 5th (out of 6) in scoring chance % (SCF%) and high-danger scoring chance % (HSCF%). What’s even stranger is that when you look at the breakdown of the scoring chances, his problem is on the offensive side, as he’s 5th in SCF/60. He is 1st in SCA/60, so he’s been solid defensively.

So what’s going on? Part of it might just be a small sample size. The scoring chance numbers will likely match up with his overall possession numbers eventually. Part of it might be Jamie McBain. McBain is a fine 7th defenseman, but he’s not a possession driver. He has not been the ideal partner for Ehrhoff, who has performed much better when paired with Muzzin or even Forbort, as you can see above. McBain, also known for his offense, is actually the only regular defenseman below Ehrhoff in SCF/60.

It’s actually a miracle that Ehrhoff has 3 primary assists (t-3rd on the team) considering the Kings 5v5 shooting percentage when he’s on the ice is 1.19%, which is the lowest on the Kings. That number will come up, and so will his scoring totals… if he gets the playing time. Expecting Ehrhoff to fit in seamlessly on a new team right away was never a realistic expectation, and bouncing him around with different linemates and in and out of the lineup surely can’t be helping.

Final verdict: Sutter should cut him some a lot more slack and so should you. Give him minutes, pair him with Muzzin, profit.