First of all, if you haven't yet read John's post which compares Petr Sykora, David Clarkson, and Nick Palmieri, you should. It provoked me into thinking and ultimately made me curious enough to examine the ways in which Nick Palmieri scored his goals last year.

Luckily for us, NHL.com has a player page for everyone in the league. So if you navigate to their individual site you'll notice that videos of Nick Palmieri's recent goals are conveniently listed for your viewing pleasure.

(And by conveniently I mean if you don't mind watching the same exact commercials, over and over again after every single goal.)

Introduction

Nick Palmieri accumulated a total of 9 goals and 8 assists last year in a total of 43 games played. Keep in mind I will only be providing analysis on the goals however a future post about how his assists took place may be warranted later. 

Before commencing any research like this, it's always interesting to first write down your theory or hypothesis of what you anticipate happening. After all, there has to be a reason you are doing this to begin with. For me, it's either because I'm a massive loser with too much time on my hands, or someone who takes way too much time messing around at work. Nevertheless, here is a very general theory of what I expected to see.

When a player as offensively dominant and dynamic as Ilya Kovalchuk is on the ice, it's not far fetched to assume that the line mates that are out with him will inherit critical scoring opportunities based solely on the presence of Kovy and the chances that he generates.

How true is this for Nick Palmieri, and how many of his goals would not have happened without significant contributions from someone else?

So without further ado, here is a breakdown of each of the 9 goals scored and whether or not Palmieri is deserving of credit for them. I think the analysis is pretty interesting for anyone to read, but if you don't care and just want the summary then feel free to skip to the bottom. The link to Palmieri's NHL player page with the videos is also at the bottom.

All goals are in reverse chronological order.

Goal #1- Palmieri's first goal featured here was during a 0-0 game in the first period against our hated rivals at MSG, so he gets much credit for that. The goal was initially called as being Kovalchuk's by Sam Rosen, but it was eventually credited to Palmieri. If you watch the video the one thing that will stick out in your mind is how badly we are missing Travis Zajac right now. The effort and play that Zajac exhibits here is phenomenal and definitely worth viewing. The play starts by Zajac carrying the puck through the neutral zone down the center of the ice, Kovy and Palmieri are his linemates. Zajac gains the zone and fires a shot in on Henrik Lundqvist who shrugs the rebound off to the boards to the left of him. Zajac chases in after his own rebound with pressure on him, and does a very nifty move to get the puck away, and then an EVEN BETTER move to make a phenomenal pass to Kovalchuk who is in the slot above the left face-off dot. Despite being tightly covered, Kovy was able to take Zajac's perfectly threaded pass and work with it. Kovy initially needs to corral it, but quickly fires off a snap shot on Lundqvist. Palmieri is positioned in front of Lundqvist and despite initially not being credited with the goal, ends up getting one so it is obvious he tipped it.

Palmieri didn't do much to generate the chance but was in his position and that's all that matters. He's supposed to be in front of the net and if he wasn't there for the screen or tip then who knows if it would have gone in. With that in mind the goal would not have been possible without all three of these players. Even though the goal is the only thing that really matters in the end, I would rank the players deserving credit for this goal as follows: 1) Zajac, 2) Kovy, and 3) Palmieri. You might disagree with me here, but I gave Kovy the 2 over Palmieri even though he scored the goal because I don't think most players would have been able to get that shot off in the majority of situations.

Goal #2: At home against the Flyers (again good choice) during a 2-2 game in the third period (clutch). The Flyers are pressuring us in our own zone and Giroux ends up firing a shot on goal. The rebound kicks out in front and Travis Zajac is there to collect it. He darts up the ice and makes a quick pass to Kovy before leaving our zone. Kovy gets on his horse and rushes down the left side of the ice as Zajac does the same in the middle and Palmieri catches up on the right side. What Kovy does next is exactly why he is an elite player. He enters the zone and then suddenly cuts to the middle (all while doing his patented, ridiculous stick handling) and then fires a shot on goal. At this point Zajac has positioned himself directly to the left of the net and Palmieri to the right. Palmieri is there for the tip once again and it is 3-2 Devils. Another goal for Palmieri that comes from doing his job. Despite being the one who finished the play, once again his efforts were overshadowed by an insane performance from one of his line mates. Kovalchuk made this goal possible and deserves #1 credit for it. Palmieri gets #2 this time and Zajac only gets #3 despite positioning himself in such a manner that made collecting the Flyers rebound and the subsequent Devils rush up the ice possible.

Goal #3: 2-0 Devils are up in Columbus. The Blue Jackets are in our zone and Kovy is able to pick off a Blue Jacket's pass to his defenseman at the point. Kovy quickly sprints down the right side of the ice with a defender hot on his trail. He is denied a shot at the breakaway partly because he fans on his shooting attempt, and the puck goes softly behind the goal where the Columbus defender collects it. Many of you might remember what happens next because I certainly do. This was Nick Palmieri's first beautiful goal and one that he deserves credit for. As the Columbus defender brings the puck from behind his own net he does it slowly. This is because Kovy was gassed from his rush and isn't pursuing him. Palmieri has other plans. As the defender cuts in front of his own goal Palmieri swoops in and as if he was Pavel Datsyuk himself, takes away the puck and fires it home from directly in front of the goal. Once again Palmieri cannot be credited as being the one responsible for bringing the puck into the zone. Kovy both picked off the pass while playing D and carried it all the way up where he tried to score. Where Palmieri gets his due is because of the fact that this was not just a tip in. Our offensive play was dead and Kovy had given up. Palmieri's ability to take away the puck from the defender who was in front of his own net, and then quickly bury it, deserves much praise. So Palmieri gets first star for this goal, Kovy second. Amazingly, a nearly identical Palmieri goal would be scored later on in the season.

Goal #4: 0-0 game with 5 minutes left in the third against the Stars in Dallas. Devils are on the PP. The goal opportunity begins with Mattias Tedenby fishing out a loose puck along the side boards and battling through a defender to send a pass to the point where Mark Fayne is waiting. Fayne receives the pass and quickly sends it over to Kovy who is at the left point. Kovy fires a one timer on net and it is tipped home by Palmieri who is positioned to the left of the goal. It is registered as Palmieri's fourth of the season and he gets credited for it, however once again Kovalchuk was intimately involved in making this goal possible. It was his blistering shot from the point that accurately made its way on net. Tipping these things can't be easy though, which is why Palmieri deserves props for being in the right place and putting it home. #1) Palmieri, #2) Kovy, #3 tie with Tedenby and Fayne.

Goal #5: Devils are down 2-1 at home with less than 3 minutes left against the Carolina Hurricanes. Kovalchuk has the puck directly at center ice and proceeds to showcase both the brilliance and elusiveness that became his trademark throughout the second half of last year. Kovy makes his way into the zone and around pretty much every single Hurricane on the ice. When he reaches about 10 feet out and a little to the right of the net, he fires a wrist shot on Cam Ward. Ward can't control it and it bounces free to none other than Nick Palmieri who is right in Ward's face. Palmieri shoots it upstairs from in close to tie the game. Kovy once again makes this play possible by gaining the zone and firing the shot on net that Ward couldn't handle. Even though Kovy did a great job it didn't result in a goal on the board. Palmieri was there to put it home. #1) Kovy #2) Palmieri

Goal #6: 0-0 game at home against the Senators at the start of the 2nd period. Andy Greene has the puck at the right point and fires a slap shot on goal. Palmieri is providing a beautiful screen and the puck ends up right in front of him. He brings it to the left of goal with pressure from the defense on him and tries to put it home but it's blocked. Quickly he fires off another attempt and this time it goes in. Credit #1) Palmieri #2) Greene

Goal #7: Devils are up 1-0 at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins with 10 minutes left in the first period. Tedenby has the puck in the offensive zone and shows exactly why he has so much potential to be a lethal player in this league despite his size disadvantage. Seriously, watch this video. I guarantee you'll keep watching it over and over. Especially considering Palmieri doesn't let Tedenby's efforts go to waste after he eventually loses the puck. Tedenby starts with the biscuit in the Penguins zone by the right faceoff circle. After Tedenby spins around, toe drags, and kicks the puck to himself to get free of Paul Martin, he then does a dazzling move (that you'll recognize if you play NHL 12 because it is so pretty it's actually incorporated into video games.) Tedenby effectively evades Jordan Staal and Doc accurately refers to it as a "nice swagger move".

 Unfortunately, in the process of this move Paul Martin has regained his composure after nearly being turned into a pretzel and is able to collect the puck. Martin then goes behind his own net and Palmieri decides to pursue him from the other side of the goal. As Martin doubles back behind again he tries to dish off a very light pass to his defense partner who is less than 10 feet to his left. Palmieri, still in pursuit, picks off the pass, comes in front of the net, and makes Brent Johnson look like an idiot with a nice but easy looking backhand goal. I loved watching this unfold and it marks the second stolen puck from in close that Palmieri was able to convert into a goal. Despite Tedenby's gorgeous moves, he still gets #2 because even if he may have generated almost the entirety of the chance, Palmieri then created an opportunity for himself and put it home.

Goal #8: It is 0-0 in the fist period against the Panthers in Florida. Zajac has the puck to the right of the goal and sends a bad angle shot right at Vokoun. As is often the case with these awkward angle shots, Vokoun does a terrible job controlling the rebound and it bounces out cleanly right in front where of course, Nick Palmieri is situated to blast it home. #1) Palmieri for muscling his way into position for the rebound #2) Zajac

Goal #9: By far the easiest to analyze of all of these goals. 5-3 in the dying moments of the third period. Devils are at home against Tampa who has pulled their goalie. Even though this ends up being an empty net goal for Palmieri, the clip is still worth watching because it is Palmieri's first career NHL goal and Brodeur attempts to score on this play from his own crease. I remember jumping out of my seat at the couch and hoping it would go in. Alas it didn't but Kovy was able to come up with it at the Lightning blue-line and send Palmieri a pass for an easy first NHL goal.

Analyzing The Data: Nick Palmieri - NHL.com

Totals from 8 Goals and +1 empty net:

1st Stars: Palmieri x5 -- Kovalchuk x2 -- Zajac x1 

2nd Stars: Kovalchuk x4 -- Palmieri x2 -- Greene x1 -- Tedenby x1 -- Zajac x1

3rd Stars: Palmieri x1 -- Tedenby x1 -- Fayne x1 

The analysis shows that if you don't include the empty net, 3 of Palmieri's goals came from tip-ins, 3 more came from a team mates' rebound that Palmieri fired home from in front of the goal, and the final 2 came from Palmieri takeaways. 

You might find it odd or even completely absurd that I gave Palmieri lower than the 1st star for a goal that he put in the net. The reasoning behind this was I felt that during these instances another Devil contributed so significantly towards making the goal possible that the Palmieri demotion was warranted. Regardless, it's undeniable that Palmieri provided immeasurable contributions during a lot of his goals, and with that being said, keep in mind that no matter what anyone else did during the play, the puck didn't go in until Palmieri tapped it home. The truth is that we will never know how effective his screen was or if the puck would have went in without his tip, but no matter what it did go in and Palmieri deserves credit for doing his job. 

Before I rag on Palmieri for not scoring via other methods, it's important to again note that his responsibility is clearly to provide a presence in front of the net be it in the form of a screen, tip-in, or rebound goal. And it was only by successfully fulfilling his role that he was able to get any of those scoring chances. 

Conclusion

Allow us first to revisit our initial theory:

Initial Theory, re-visited:

When a player as offensively dominant and dynamic as Ilya Kovalchuk is on the ice, it's not far fetched to assume that the line mates that are out with him will inherit critical scoring opportunities based solely on the presence of Kovy and the chances that he generates.

How true is this for Nick Palmieri, and how many of his goals would not have happened without significant contributions from someone else?

Given the caliber of Kovalchuk, the first part of the theory was probably completely obvious. What I truly wanted to know was how much of Palmieri's success was a result of the efforts of Kovalchuk or someone else. In other words, how many of his goals did Palmieri really generate for himself?

After watching every goal from Nick Palmieri last year, it is my conclusion that initial part of this theory is true and that the second part is up for debate.

It's my opinion that in about every case, Palmieri was in perfect positioning, but was often only able to score after hard work was put in by another Devil. Supporting this greatly are the facts that not once did Palmieri carry the puck into the zone, deke the goalie out, or make passes that allowed him to get open for a give-and-go. Instead, all of Palmieri's goals came from in close to the goal, including both beautiful takeaways. 

It may just be because he is a big guy and his role is to be in front of the net immediately, but I still find it hard to believe that none of his opportunities came largely because of his own work. The two takeaways were undoubtedly magnificent, but in both instances it was another Devil who preceded the goal by exacerbating the defense.

Before I sound overly surprised I should admit that I've never viewed Palmieri as a play maker. But I don't know why this is because you can't give Nick too much sympathy because of his size. He's listed at 6'3 220lbs and Kovy is listed at 6'2 235. We see Kovy fly down the ice and weave in and out all the time, but then again he is Kovy. Palmieri did not look slow by any means during these clips, but I still don't understand how he didn't score any goals off of a sincere individual effort.

Maybe further research into his assists would be appropriate in figuring out the answer to that issue.

It's my conclusion that if a player can only score via tip-ins or rebounds, then they can be placed on any line and don't need to be with Kovalchuk. However, if Palmieri is the best on the team at what he does, then it would make sense to stick him on a line that generates a lot of these chances. If this is the case and Palmieri is the guy for the job, then Kovalchuk also needs a play maker to ensure that the burden is not all on him. He simply cannot be tasked with bringing the puck in, making the perfect pass, and firing the shot.