A Closer Look at Patrik Elias' Playoff Performance

In 81 regular season games in 2011-2012, Patrik Elias put up 78 points, good enough for a tie with Erik Karlsson for 10th in the league for scoring. While the Devils have received contributions from everyone in the lineup, Elias hasn't exactly been the biggest factor offensively in the playoffs, with 5 points in 16 games, and none in his last six games. In fact, he's more or less been as much of a factor offensively as one of the 4th liners (Gionta, Bernier and Carter all have 4 points each). While guys like Travis Zajac, Adam Henrique, Bryce Salvador (not a typo) and David Clarkson have all stepped up their offensive games in the playoffs, Elias' lack of production is somewhat concerning.

Looking at some of his stats, I think it seems like he's suffering through a string of bad luck. In terms of puck possession, his CorsiON of 20.25 has him as the 2nd best possession player in the playoffs (behind Brad Richardson!) of any player who's played at least 10 playoff games. He's averaging 2.75 shots per game in the post season (in all situations), more than the 2.02 shots per game he averaged in the regular season. The effort is there, the problem is that the pucks aren't going in, as evidenced by his on ice shooting % of 6.48 and his 6.8% shooting in all situations.

Another factor that could also be attributed to Elias' poor performance in the postseason is Petr Sykora's poor performance in the playoffs. While there has been quite a bit of line juggling in the playoffs, Sykora has played with Elias this post season more often than not, but his struggles have been way worse (a pathetic 3.85 on ice shooting% with a corsiON of 18.61). It's not the biggest factor, but I have to throw this one into consideration.

The good news is that Elias isn't playing poorly in the playoffs. He's shooting more than he has been in the regular season, and he's been one of the best Devils (and players in the league) in terms of puck possession. He's just been unlucky, so it's not like it's he's "disappeared" from the playoffs. Considering that the team has managed to get this far despite the minimal production from Elias, it's not that much of a concern. However, if Elias manages to get out of this slump he's been in, it would be huge for the Devils.