I still wouldnt call him the Norris favourite. Hes making noise but if the season ended right now I think Gio would still win it. He'll make it interesting if he can keep this current hot streak going and get a noticeable points lead though. 7 points doesnt make up the difference in defensive play between the 2 in my opinion
7 points isn’t an accurate measurement of the gap in offensive talent.
Burns ranks 1st on his team in scoring, with a 12 point edge on 2nd place. When he is on the ice at even strength, he factors into 55.38% of the goals his team scores. The Sharks have scored 29 goals without him adding a point in 1080:30 of ice time. Call that metric GFMP (goals for minus points), Burns has a GFMP of 29 and a GFMP/60 of 1.61.
Giordano ranks 5th on his own team in scoring, 20 points behind 1st place. When he is on the ice at even strength, he factors into 50% of the goals his team scores. The Flames have scored 31 goals without him adding a point in 960:37 of ice time. Giordano has 31 GFMP or a GFMP/60 of 1.94.
In other words, if Giordano just lies down and does nothing, his team is going to score a lot more frequently than Burns’ team is. Because of that, it’s going to be a lot easier for Giordano to score points. That’s probably part of why Giordano has 15 secondary assists at even strength, compared to Burns’ 12. Meanwhile, Burns has 24 even strength primary points; Giordano has 16.
To lend some credence to this idea, Giordano’s 2 most common ES forward linemates are Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Burns’ 2 most common ES forward linemates are Evander Kane and Joe Pavelski. I would gladly dive into numbers for each player if somebody really wants me to, but I think everybody can agree that Giordano plays with better forward linemates. That isn’t a slight to Kane/Pavelski, but rather a compliment to Gaudreau/Monahan.
Now, I’m not saying Burns deserves to win the Norris. Giordano has been better defensively in a tougher defensive role - he deserves it if the season ends today. But the idea that their offense is as close as the 7 point gap between them is wrong. Burns is in his 3rd straight season of being the best offensive player on a comfortable playoff team. There is one other defenseman in the NHL who is capable of playing that role and he also plays for San Jose. If Giordano were put into that role, he would fail and his team would miss the playoffs. The same goes for Morgan Rielly.
With EK in the fold they should just convert Burns to a winger. I mean it's pretty well what he plays now. It will just be official.
Yeah, lot of wingers play 51 combined minutes in two games against Calgary/Winnipeg and allow one goal.