State of the league – Statistical analysis of the RHL and NHL 2024-25 regular seasons - Part 2

Fellow GMs,

We learned in part 1 of this statistical analysis of the past regular seasons that the RHL lacks a bit of scoring touch compared to its big brother NHL. 7041 to 7901 is your final score, meaning 860 less total occasions to rejoice. Let’s dive a bit deeper still to try to understand what causes this difference.

Goaltending

Shutouts :
RHL : 90
NHL : 154

Goals against average :
RHL : 2.68
NHL : 3.01

Save percentage :
RHL : 0.907
NHL : 0.893

Are RHL goalies just all-around better at stopping pucks ? Their GAA is lower, which is expected since we already highlighted the lower scoring level of the league. Higher save percentage is also coherent with the lower shot percentage we talked about earlier. In the end, that still doesn’t help us figure out a scapegoat. Better goaltending or weaker shots, only SimonT knows the answer and won’t let us know easily.

One surprising stat in the keepers domain is the number of shutouts recorded, significantly higher in the NHL at 154 shutouts versus RHL’s 90. Considering the overall lower scoring in the RHL, this can only point to more even performances in the crease that will generally at least include at least a pity goal.

Let’s look elsewhere for all of our missing goals.

Special teams

PowerPlay Goals :
RHL : 1068
NHL : 1537

Powerplay efficiency %
RHL : 20,47%
NHL : 21,64%

Powerplay opportunities :
RHL : 5217
NHL : 7102

The picture sharpens when we examine special teams and physicality, often-overlooked factors that quietly shape the game.

Start with the power play. NHL teams scored 1537 goals on the man advantage this season, compared to only 1068 in the RHL. Here’s 500 of those missing goals. 

What’s happening here ? Is it SimonT’s stubborn powerplay strategy of sticking with the 2-defensemen format that’s not clicking ? Actually, the RHL powerplays seem as efficient as the NHL ones : 20,47% to 21,64% efficiency on average. The difference lies more in frequency than efficiency, the NHL simply had 1885 more power play opportunities to pile up those 500 goals. What does this mean? Are all RHL skaters Lady-Bing worthy finesse players ?

Penalties and physicality

Penalty minutes :
RHL : 10624 min
NHL : 21443 min

Hits :
RHL : 54379 hits
NHL : 56097 hits

Major penalties :
RHL : 28
NHL : 619

NHL teams racked up a whopping 21443 penalty minutes last season, more than double the RHL’s 10624. This also reflects at the individual levels as only 2 NHL players with 40+ games played recorded 0 PIM (Jimmy Vesey and Cole Schwindt) while 28 RHL skaters with 40+ games played succeeded in completely avoiding the penalty box.

Let’s rule out one cause : it’s not for a lack of hitting, as RHL skaters laid out on their opponents 54379 times, compared to 56097 for the NHL. 

A common theory to explain all of this is that the NHL’s style invites more physical escalation and on-ice confrontations. The RHL seems to prize structure and restraint. The NHL, raw emotion and edge, scrums after the whistle… good old bare-hand fights.

When it comes to major penalties, the contrast is striking:

• NHL: 619

• RHL: just 28

Mathieu Olivier alone got involved into 15 of these NHL boxing rounds (and you can watch all of those here : https://www.hockeyfights.com/players/18905/fightcard/reg2025). Despite being the second highest rated in Fighting in the RHL and playing 81 games with the Devils, Olivier couldn’t find any dancing partner this season. In fact, only two players dropped the mitts more than once in the RHL all season : Owen Tippett and Liam O’Brian with two each. 

Conclusion

Remember our crucial initial question : To play or not to play with these almighty sliders.
I say penalties, fighting, should be cranked up to 11. The goals will follow.