Why did 1975 LAK have such low GA?

[plusandminus]

For LAK, the 1974-75 stands out as a season where their GA was much lower than the seasons surrounding it.
This is true for both GA overall and ESGA. Also true when normalizing for league average GA (not illustrated in the table below).

Seas	Rnk	Team	GP	Pts	GF	GA	ESGF	ESGA	PPGA	SHGA
1973	11	LAK	78	73	232	245	176	204	10	31
1974	7	LAK	78	78	233	231	186	174	9	48
1975	4	LAK	80	105	269	185	207	130	7	48
1976	6	LAK	80	85	263	265	194	198	12	55
1977	6	LAK	80	83	271	241	197	184	5	52

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

It is also true for both home games, but especially away games. The GF though is fairly consistent.


Here are the GA vs opponent, for 1974, 1975 and 1976.
The GA for the 1974-75 season (bolded) shows much lower GA, especially on the road.
Look especially at the away games, which are the bottom half rows.

Spoiler

Team	HA	Opp	GF74	GF75	GF76	GA74	GA75	GA76	GP74	GP75	GP76
LAK	H	TOR	3	6	2.7	2.7	0	2.7	3	2	3
LAK	H	PIT	4.5	2.7	2.7	1	1	4	2	3	3
LAK	H	STL	3.5	2	3.5	3	1.5	1	2	2	2
LAK	H	BOS	3.3	3.3	1.5	3.3	1.7	4	3	3	2
LAK	H	BUF	4	4.5	4.3	3	2	3.7	2	2	3
LAK	H	VAN	6.3	4	6.5	1.7	2	2	3	2	2
LAK	H	ATF	4.3	4	4	2	2	2	3	2	2
LAK	H	NYR	2.5	3.5	3.5	3	2	2	2	2	2
LAK	H	CLF	3.7	4	3.5	1.7	2.3	3	3	3	2
LAK	H	MNS	3	5.5	3	1.3	2.5	1.5	3	2	2
LAK	H	NYI	3	2.5	2.5	2.3	2.5	2	3	2	2
LAK	H	DET	2	6	2.3	1.5	2.7	3	2	3	3
LAK	H	PHI	3.7	2	3.5	3	3	4.5	3	2	2
LAK	H	MTL	2	2.7	4	5.5	3.3	2.7	2	3	3
LAK	H	CBH	1	1	2	2.7	4	5	3	2	2
LAK	A	CBH	2.3	2.5	6	3.7	1	3.5	3	2	2
LAK	A	DET	3	3	4	5.3	1.3	2.7	3	3	3
LAK	A	CLF	4.5	1.5	3	3	1.5	3	2	2	3
LAK	A	PIT	1.7	2.3	2.7	1.3	1.7	5.7	3	3	3
LAK	A	TOR	3	4	3	4.5	2.3	4	2	3	2
LAK	A	STL	2	4.5	1.5	2	2.5	3.5	3	2	2
LAK	A	MNS	2	4.5	2.5	5.3	2.5	3	3	2	2
LAK	A	BUF	1.7	3	5	4	2.7	5.5	3	3	2
LAK	A	NYR	3	2.5	5	3.7	3	2.5	3	2	2
LAK	A	PHI	1.5	2.5	2.5	2	3	3.5	2	2	2
LAK	A	VAN	2.5	2	4	3.5	3	3.5	2	2	2
LAK	A	MTL	3	3.3	1.3	3.3	3.3	5	3	3	3
LAK	A	NYI	3.5	2.5	0	2.5	4	6	2	2	2
LAK	A	ATF	4.3	0.5	2	3.3	4	3.5	3	2	2
LAK	A	BOS	1.5	2.5	2	4	4.5	3.7	2	2	3

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Goalies were the same for 1975 as for the closest surrounding seasons. Rogie Vachon played most games, while Gary Edwards played the rest. For specific games, se this link.
1974-1975 Los Angeles Kings Goaltender Game-by-Game Performance

Same coach, Bob Pulford.

Skaters were about the same, with some differences.
After the 1975 season, veteran defenseman Terry Harper and forward Dan Maloney were traded for Marcel Dionne.
Terry Harper had won 5 Stanley Cups with MTL, and is being described (Pelletier, etc.) as a stay at home defenseman, defensively skilled, good at keeping opponents away from LAK's goal area.
I believe Dan Maloney was fairly good at checking?
Marcel Dionne is well known as one of the all-time best offensive players.
But... Scoring didn't increase with the arrival of Dionne. Rather, the GA increased dramatically, back to the "normal" GAs for LAK.

Looking at the votings for 1975.
1974-75 NHL Awards Voting | Hockey-Reference.com
Vachon 2nd in Hart, close to winner Clarke. 2nd in AST, clearly behind Parent.
Winger Bob Nevin, age 36, was one of 10 players to receive Hart votes.
Defensemen Terry Harper (9th, age 36) and Bob Murdoch (11th, age 28) got quite a few AST votes.
Wingers Bob Nevin, Dan Maloney and Mike Murphy too got an odd AST vote.
This was before the Selke Trophy existed.


Why was the 1975 LAK season so special regarding GA?
How come both Vachon and Edwards had their (at least statistically) "career year"?

Click to read more...

 

[Doctor No]

I need to pull the data again because I've got a lot more seasons on both sides of my prior data, but Vachon's streak without a statistically-significant below-average game (starting right before the 1974 playoffs and ended in mid-Januarey, 1975) is one of the longest streaks of its type.

One thing on Edwards - he was playing a pretty poor schedule, with an average opponent of 0.25 goals/game below average. 37% of his minutes were against the league's bottom quartile teams (California, Minnesota, Kansas City, Washington and (partly) Detroit).

 

[plusandminus]

I need to pull the data again because I've got a lot more seasons on both sides of my prior data, but Vachon's streak without a statistically-significant below-average game (starting right before the 1974 playoffs and ended in mid-Januarey, 1975) is one of the longest streaks of its type.

One thing on Edwards - he was playing a pretty poor schedule, with an average opponent of 0.25 goals/game below average. 37% of his minutes were against the league's bottom quartile teams (California, Minnesota, Kansas City, Washington and (partly) Detroit).

Thanks. I think we need to distinguish between home and away games. Everyone who does these things would benefit by understanding the huge difference between playing at home and playing on the road.
Almost all teams had a winning home record and a losing away record. GA at home vs on the road used to differ a lot.

Vachon played 30 home games, while Edwards played 10.
Vachon player 24 away games, while Edwards played 17.

So if possible, I would appreciate if you can distinguish between the opponents' "expected" GA at home vs away.
(Maybe I'll do it myself too, if I find time.)

Anyway, if your suggestion that Edwards had an - for him - unusually easy schedule is true... Then Vachon would have had an - for him - unusually hard schedule. And yet his stats were better than ever. Are we sure that the low GA of the 1975 LAK can be explained basically by Vachon having the streak of his lifetime?
Do we think there was something more, like playing style or performance by the skaters, that also contributed?

 

[Mandar]

Very interesting thread. I know that 74-75 was the year that they went to 4 divisions for the first time, although that shouldn't really make a difference. And I believe the Kings were in the same division as the beginning of the last Canadiens dynasty.

Who were the top 4 on D that year? Career years?

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Can't give an answer for why, but I did get to see this team play in Boston against the Bruins. Orr, Esposito and the gang.

Kings won 4-1. Bruins had won something like 10 in a row at home before this game.

Rogie was sensational.

 

[Doctor No]

Anyway, if your suggestion that Edwards had an - for him - unusually easy schedule is true... Then Vachon would have had an - for him - unusually hard schedule. And yet his stats were better than ever. Are we sure that the low GA of the 1975 LAK can be explained basically by Vachon having the streak of his lifetime?
Do we think there was something more, like playing style or performance by the skaters, that also contributed?

Vachon played functionally a league average schedule - 25% against top quartile, 22% against bottom quartile, 54% at home. Vachon's opponents' shooting percentage was actually 1.2% higher than league average, which is notable.

 

[plusandminus]

Very interesting thread. I know that 74-75 was the year that they went to 4 divisions for the first time, although that shouldn't really make a difference. And I believe the Kings were in the same division as the beginning of the last Canadiens dynasty.

You can see in the original post of the thread how many times LAK played each opponent. Just expand the spoiler. There were two new teams, including the very bad WSH. Those two teams aren't in the table, but each team played them either 2+2 or 3+3 games.

Who were the top 4 on D that year? Career years?

Basically the same lineup as the year before and after, with the exception being trading Harper and Malone for Dionne.

 

[plusandminus]

Vachon played functionally a league average schedule - 25% against top quartile, 22% against bottom quartile, 54% at home. Vachon's opponents' shooting percentage was actually 1.2% higher than league average, which is notable.

I still think we need to distinguish home games from away games. Playing a bad team on the road was often as hard as playing a good team at home.

Anyway, I've included four columns in the table that was in the OP, showing number of games played by Vachon and Edwards. If the columns are empty, Vachon played all games.
Edwards did better GA wise against some teams, especially at home. Vachon did better GA wise on the road. Bad for Edwards in the comparison is 8 GA against BOS away.

Team	HA	Opp	GA74	GA75	GA76	GP74	GP75	GP76	EdGP75	EdGA75	VaGA75	VaGP75
LAK	H	TOR	2.7	0	2.7	3	2	3
LAK	H	PIT	1	1	4	2	3	3
LAK	H	STL	3	1.5	1	2	2	2
LAK	H	BOS	3.3	1.7	4	3	3	2	1	0	2.5	2
LAK	H	BUF	3	2	3.7	2	2	3
LAK	H	VAN	1.7	2	2	3	2	2	1	1	3	1
LAK	H	ATF	2	2	2	3	2	2	1	2	2	1
LAK	H	NYR	3	2	2	2	2	2
LAK	H	CLF	1.7	2.3	3	3	3	2
LAK	H	MNS	1.3	2.5	1.5	3	2	2
LAK	H	NYI	2.3	2.5	2	3	2	2	1	2	3	1
LAK	H	DET	1.5	2.7	3	2	3	3	1	5	1.5	2
LAK	H	PHI	3	3	4.5	3	2	2	2	3		0
LAK	H	MTL	5.5	3.3	2.7	2	3	3
LAK	H	CBH	2.7	4	5	3	2	2
LAK	A	CBH	3.7	1	3.5	3	2	2	1	1	1	1
LAK	A	DET	5.3	1.3	2.7	3	3	3	2	1	2	1
LAK	A	CLF	3	1.5	3	2	2	3	1	2	1	1
LAK	A	PIT	1.3	1.7	5.7	3	3	3
LAK	A	TOR	4.5	2.3	4	2	3	2
LAK	A	STL	2	2.5	3.5	3	2	2	2	2.5		0
LAK	A	MNS	5.3	2.5	3	3	2	2	2	2.5		0
LAK	A	BUF	4	2.7	5.5	3	3	2
LAK	A	NYR	3.7	3	2.5	3	2	2
LAK	A	PHI	2	3	3.5	2	2	2	2	3		0
LAK	A	VAN	3.5	3	3.5	2	2	2	1	2	4	1
LAK	A	MTL	3.3	3.3	5	3	3	3	1	4	3	2
LAK	A	NYI	2.5	4	6	2	2	2	1	5	3	1
LAK	A	ATF	3.3	4	3.5	3	2	2
LAK	A	BOS	4	4.5	3.7	2	2	3	1	8	1	1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

But... No matter what conclusions we may draw from the workload. It still seems strange to me why this season was so good for both of them (or at least for Vachon).
I know randomness plays a big role, including on goalie stats. Otherwise the only suggestions so far is that Vachon was - for some reason - playing much better than any other season.

 

[Doctor No]

I still think we need to distinguish home games from away games. Playing a bad team on the road was often as hard as playing a good team at home.

Agreed (which is why I mentioned that Vachon played 54% of minutes at home).

I estimate home-ice advantage to be worth about 0.95 goals/game in 1974-75, which is roughly equal to the difference in strength between the Kings and Canadiens, between the Penguins and Flyers, or between Chicago and Detroit.

 

[Big Phil]

I think the simplest answer is Rogie Vachon. This was his best season and there is a reason he finished 2nd in Hart voting, even over Orr, but behind Clarke. Yes they had Vachon other years too, but sometimes things come together more.

 

[reckoning]

I've seen newspaper accounts of their play that year that compared it to the Flyers, just without the intimidation factor. Vachon would make big saves, but the defence were quick to grab any rebounds before their opponents could.

The estimated icetimes for their defence that year were:

Bob Murdoch - 27 min
Terry Harper - 24 min
Sheldon Kanniegiesser - 22 min
Larry Brown - 22 min
Neil Komadoski - 15 min
Dave Hutchinson - 12 min

Definitely a defence that was greater than the sum of its parts; helped out by forwards who were defensively responsible: Maloney, Goring, Nevin, Murphy.


The interesting thing about the Dionne signing was that Pulford had nothing to do with it. It was all Jack Kent Cooke's idea to bring an offensive star like Dionne to draw more fans to the game. Pulford was quite upset when he found out Cooke had agreed to give up Maloney as part of the deal.

 

[Czech Your Math]

I think the simplest answer is Rogie Vachon. This was his best season and there is a reason he finished 2nd in Hart voting, even over Orr, but behind Clarke. Yes they had Vachon other years too, but sometimes things come together more.

That's probably the main answer.

A few things I noticed:
* They were unusually healthy that season, with 15 skaters playing at least 74 games.
* Larry Brown went from +31 that season to -27 the next.
* While it didn't hurt to have 10 games against KC/WAS that season, they mainly saved ground against the O6 + BUF.

I wonder if they learned something in their '74 playoff series vs. Chicago. While they lost 4 games to 1, they only gave up 10 goals, including one in each of their final three games.
So maybe it was a combination of a hot goalie and a healthy team that had learned how to play a bit better defense and hold their own against the better offensive teams.

 

[blogofmike]

Some SI stories:

WAIFS WHO DARE TO DARKEN DOORS

A SELLER'S MARKET

I suppose, even if for a short time, trading draft picks for veterans had to pay off. A defense first team, with a Habs goalie and a pair of Habs regulars on the blue line, and a group of defensive forwards. Then the owner trades the captain for a superstar after a disappointing 3 game exit from the playoffs. Dionne probably changed the philosophy of Pulford's team somewhat after 1975.

 

[plusandminus]

Some SI stories:

WAIFS WHO DARE TO DARKEN DOORS

A SELLER'S MARKET

I suppose, even if for a short time, trading draft picks for veterans had to pay off. A defense first team, with a Habs goalie and a pair of Habs regulars on the blue line, and a group of defensive forwards. Then the owner trades the captain for a superstar after a disappointing 3 game exit from the playoffs. Dionne probably changed the philosophy of Pulford's team somewhat after 1975.

Thank you for great links.

I know Vachon was great, and that he and Edwards had their "career year", but I suspected there would be more to it than that. And the articles - especially the first one - explains that well. Things like team chemistry.
There was also a picture in the thread about Frank St.Marseille, were we could see Vachon and captain Harper.
The progress seems like natural... They have this experienced Harper, who probably plays an important role in organizing the defense, probably (like @reckoning wrote) making the sum greater than its parts.

Then they lose that leadership of Harper, and some of the chemistry, attitude and work ethic that Malone represented. The arrival of the "superstar". Very interesting.

LAK still takes as many shots, and receives as many shots, but the save percentage drops down to where it was before the 1974-75 season. I'm not saying it all has to do with the non-goalies, but would guess that the save percentages of Vachon and Edwards suffer at least partly. (Since I think save percentage is a strange way of looking at things, and prefer "allowance %" instead as it is much easier to relate to GA, I'd say Vachon dropped from a "allowance %" of 0.073% to 0.109%. That's like allowing 11 goals instead of 7+ goals, given the same amount of shots against. Or 3.27 GA per 30 shots faced instead of 2.19. That's 50 % more goals allowed. Similar with Edwards.)

Spoiler

(Again, English is very much not my native language, so sorry if I sometimes choose wrong words or terms.)

I also think the result of the trade might indicate that Dionne wasn't necessarily a superstar overall. I mean, offensively he was great, but his overall play might not have been superstar. That was actually also my impression when I watched him play (old youtube videos), for example internationally. But I've examined him too little to be able to have a strong opinion.

 

[plusandminus]

By the way...
The following season Harper led DET defensemen in +/- with +6, where all the others were minus. Maloney was among the very best forwards with +2.
The season after that, Maloney (though playing just 34 games) led DET in +/- with +3, as the only forward with a positive +/-.
And after that, in 1977-78, Harper (age 38!) led DET in +/- with +20, with 2nd best defenseman having +3. Maloney among the upper half forwards.

 

[vikash1987]

Bob Pulford’s defense-first system was critically important. In the Kings’ 25th anniversary video, Rogie mentions that Pulford would have four guys clog the middle of the ice, forcing opponents such as Montreal to dump and chase. Was this part of their system in the prior seasons, or was this a novelty in 1974-75?

 

[wetcoast]

Bob Pulford’s defense-first system was critically important. In the Kings’ 25th anniversary video, Rogie mentions that Pulford would have four guys clog the middle of the ice, forcing opponents such as Montreal to dump and chase. Was this part of their system in the prior seasons, or was this a novelty in 1974-75?

I was too young to remember but I think Big Phil in post 10 has a good point, in that sometimes everything just seems to come together.

We saw the recent habs run for example and sometimes a team or player can have a season like that then return back to "normal"

 

[MVP of West Hollywd]

The most likely situation is elite goaltending season. They were 5/16 in goals against in 74 so the jump isn't that crazy.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

It was Vachon.

Sometimes the answer is just the obvious one.