What time is it? The same time it always is: time for more fun Shayne Gostisbehere stats!
The latest edition? That Flyers/Red Wings game may have been closer than the first period indicated it would be, but ultimately, the Flyers pulled out a win – and Gostisbehere’s late second period goal was the game winner.
Say what you will for what game-winning goal statistics may mean – they’re more random than indicative of a clutch player, I would say – but Gostisbehere’s goal restored a pretty important two-goal lead for the Flyers, so it was certainly timely.
Via the Elias Sports Bureau, which has awesomely titled Gostisbehere’s paragraph with “Shayne is not a friendly ghost”:
Rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere scored the game-winning goal for the Flyers in their 4-3 victory over the Red Wings. It was Gostisbehere’s fifth game-winning goal this season, which is the second-highest single-season total by a rookie defenseman in NHL history, behind the seven game-winners that Dion Phaneuf scored for Calgary in 2005-06.
For the curious, Artemi Panarin – a forward – leads all rookies with game-winning goals this season with six. Tied for second place behind him are Gostisbehere and Dylan Larkin, who, as it turns out, was not locked in a bathroom yesterday after all.
When it comes to just defensemen overall, Oliver Ekman-Larsson leads the way with seven game-winning goals. Tied for second? Again, it’s Ghost, alongside Tyson Barrie.
And while Dion Phaneuf’s name is being mentioned here, I’d like to bring up this point once again: only four rookie defensemen have ever scored 20 goals, and Phaneuf is the only one to do so in recent history.
Gostisbehere is currently on pace for 20 goals this season.
Gostisbehere is fun.
