tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72782283606399161872024-02-19T08:10:53.598-08:00Two Minutes for TypingStick 2 hockey fans in a room together and you'll get 5 opinions on the same topicDeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-29326621194173976562015-04-03T14:15:00.002-07:002015-04-03T14:16:00.763-07:00Alex Ovechkin and the 50-Goal SeasonThe first player to score 50 goals in a single season was Maurice "Rocket" Richard in 1944-45. Just a few years prior the NHL had been reduced to a six-team league and increased its number of games in a season from 48 to 50. Richard picked up goals in bunches, including a five-goal effort against the Detroit Red Wings on December 28, 1944, and while those who defended him employed every manner of obstruction to slow his scoring rate down, he carried 49 goals into the last game of the regular season. With 2:15 remaining in a tilt at the old Boston Garden, Richard managed to notch number 50 and cement his legacy in the history of the league.<br />
<br />
Gordie Howe would be the next to flirt with the 50-goal mark, compiling 49 in the 70 games of 1952-53, and Richard's 50 would remain unmatched until 1960-61 when Bernie Geoffrion reached that achievement in 64 games. The following year Bobby Hull hit 50 in 70 games and continued a roll in 1965-66 to be the first to amass at least 50 in multiple seasons, finally settling at 5 seasons of the accolade in 1971-72.<br />
<br />
Phil Esposito joined Hull in 1974-75 after surviving 6 seasons as the league's top scorer with 5 50+ goal efforts. Guy Lafleur became the first to achieve it for 6 seasons in 1979-80. This so happened to be the same year some rookie named Wayne Gretzky managed his first 50+ goal season en route to 9 campaigns doing the same, an honour he shares with Mike Bossy who played only 10 seasons in the NHL.<br />
<br />
Marcel Dionne and Mario Lemieux join the 6-seasons-or-more club and, with names like Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, and Pavel Bure alongside Esposito and Bobby Hull, the 5-season crew is even pretty darn special company to be in.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
So it has been a hell of a week for Alex Ovechkin. On Tuesday night, The Great 8 notched number 50 on the year in front of his home crowd at Verizon Center. Just last night in Montreal, he continued to make history as he surpassed Peter Bondra as the Washington Capitals all-time leading goal-scorer with 473 career tallies during the second period. And he didn't stop there as he pushed another past Canadien goaltender Carey Price in the third.<br />
<br />
The thing about his 50th goal, though, is he has now scored 50+ in six seasons, and it should be seven if he had 82 games to rack up the 55 he was on pace for in 2012-13.<br />
<br />
This is a special thing considering how <a href="http://www.quanthockey.com/TS/TS_GoalsPerGame.php" target="_blank">scoring in the league</a> has changed in the past decades. In the 1980s offence was coming in spades, with games averaging anywhere from 7- to 8-goals-per-game. Then in the '90s and early 2000s, aided by clutch-and-grab hockey and the prominence of the neutral zone trap, goals-per-game declined to rates we haven't since since the mid '50s and bottomed out at just over 5 right before the 2004-05 lockout.<br />
<br />
The post-lockout world looked promising at the outset, but as goalie pads got larger and the butterfly method became more popular, we've seen goal-scoring take a dive once more. Because of the games' evolution and refinement of defencive styles, we may never see a player reach the 50-in-50 mountaintop again - which only Richard, Bossy, Gretzky (3 times), Lemieux, and Brett Hull (2 times) have done (Jari Kurri, Alexander Mogilny, Lemieux twice more, and Cam Neely receive technical honours but <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_goals_in_50_games" target="_blank">aren't officially recognised</a>). Still, the caliber at which Ovechkin scores is something to celebrate for how purely unique he is.<br />
<br />
Sure, we have finishers today - your Sidney Crosbys, Steven Stamkoses, Corey Perrys, and Evgeni Malkins - but none are on Ovi's level when it comes to putting the puck in the net. Part of that has to do with the roles these players are entrusted with. While the other four guys are relied on in offencive and defencive situations, Ovechkin's sole purpose is to score, and he has certainly taken heat for his play in his own end in the past.<br />
<br />
It's easy to attack him as a player because he's not a "good ol', team-first Canadian boy" but when your team needs to score, you're putting #8 out on the ice and he's going to do it for you more often than not. He <a href="http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=106314&catid=35" target="_blank">gets excited</a> when he does, too, and we need players like that in the game.<br />
<br />
We've now had 10 years of Alex Ovechkin, since we had to wait for a lockout to end before he could join as a rookie, and he has been the most consistent goal-scorer in that time by far. In fact, he has <a href="http://www.hockey-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=combined&year_min=1997&year_max=&season_start=1&season_end=-1&rookie=N&age_min=0&age_max=99&birth_country=&franch_id=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos=S&handed=&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=goals" target="_blank">scored the 5th-most goals</a> in the NHL since Lemieux reached 6 seasons of 50-or-more back in 1996-97, and it is worth making it abundantly clear that he didn't touch NHL ice until 2005.<br />
<br />
Ovi will be 30 years old when the puck drops next season and history tells us that scoring declines on the wrong side of 30. Heck, even Gretzky netted 50 in a year for the last time when he was 28. We'll have to wait and see if he challenges the Great One and Bossy for a share on the 9-season mantel, but what we do know is that we are witnessing a truly historic career.DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-38425891899979446132015-03-26T13:06:00.001-07:002015-03-26T13:06:28.142-07:00So Long, Nassau Veteran's Memorial ColiseumWhen it was announced that the New York Islanders would be packing up operations at Nassau Veteran's Memorial Coliseum to move to Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, I felt it would be a great opportunity for me to participate in a part of history as it were. I never experienced the Chicago Stadium, the Montreal Forum, Maple Leaf Gardens, the Spectrum in Philadelphia, or the Hartford Civic Center (RIP "Brass Bonanza").<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So after a couple months of planning, I made the trip out to Long Island to see the Islanders host the Montreal Canadiens for what would prove to be a tilt that could possibly determine the top-seed in the East at the time.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVGyW4Kn4vRgHm0XIn8Wuc4FWFTkTJFg7_1OmACBTJnjLuyubhbV3WvWVLLvP2XlCg-dbREkgTeAC6H-Pv6EQsREnuWrL7IpZ4ErCsLxW5Of2nJ4AuU1eWHv6YpuAlD8jJhWNxPFIjbw/s1600/20150314_181210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVGyW4Kn4vRgHm0XIn8Wuc4FWFTkTJFg7_1OmACBTJnjLuyubhbV3WvWVLLvP2XlCg-dbREkgTeAC6H-Pv6EQsREnuWrL7IpZ4ErCsLxW5Of2nJ4AuU1eWHv6YpuAlD8jJhWNxPFIjbw/s1600/20150314_181210.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div>
<br />
Nassau Coliseum isn't like your Madison Square Gardens, your Verizon Centers, or your Pepsi Centers - resting in the midst of urban locales. Nor is it akin to the Wells Fargo Centers or United Centers - a couple stops on a bus or train from a city's focal center. The Coliseum resides in Uniondale, NY, about a 45 minute drive from the sprawl of New York City proper. Uniondale is not a casual vacation destination, it's a suburb.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Much has been made of the decrepit condition of the barn, and no one would call it glamorous. Unlike the two- or three-tiered stadiums we are quite used to now, Nassau sports a single-level concourse with access to the 100-, 200-, and 300-level seats from this hall. Navigating around can be quite the ordeal with 16,000 fans circling the rink while standing in criss-crossed lines for snacks, beer, bathrooms, and merchandise. The main entrance offers a way down to a main food court, the only place aside from your seat or a couple outdoor picnic benches to sit and eat. Much like rush hour 30 miles west, traffic is nothing but cramped.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi50Zzf5XgAaJqTh1ieB9W6gTelWToIWQRcniyDMAUW36OqaJNBxF-5doMyetQ4rjCmmvKjHEkU7oSa0P-31By3CYLxLdtzk3ekbpjHXKjAwyDSyXZS4wtzGexRIR-oSvkRx63RG5xbuso/s1600/20150314_181829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi50Zzf5XgAaJqTh1ieB9W6gTelWToIWQRcniyDMAUW36OqaJNBxF-5doMyetQ4rjCmmvKjHEkU7oSa0P-31By3CYLxLdtzk3ekbpjHXKjAwyDSyXZS4wtzGexRIR-oSvkRx63RG5xbuso/s1600/20150314_181829.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Inside the arena, the banners hang from the ceiling to pay tribute to the Islanders' glory days in the late '70s and early '80s. Not only did the stadium see the Isles win four consecutive Stanley Cups (1980-1983) but it housed the New York Nets' (now Brooklyn Nets) only 2 championships (1974, 1976) in their history from their days in the ABA. They also sport probably the most unique banner I've ever seen, commemorating Billy Joel's 9 sold out shows from his 1998 world tour.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-xrWZlZi_IJeBdhrbBa9gG7uUOYzXvQNNoPuu6r2IqWnqI10lZJ-K8NRXeoJ4z3vrXN74Txxa76MRJxwf0xmLm2dOj85AK-tQOUTOLXyJU16bxUfsvwApMhsSuAIArDCOe8WeA6GdcY/s1600/20150314_181837.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-xrWZlZi_IJeBdhrbBa9gG7uUOYzXvQNNoPuu6r2IqWnqI10lZJ-K8NRXeoJ4z3vrXN74Txxa76MRJxwf0xmLm2dOj85AK-tQOUTOLXyJU16bxUfsvwApMhsSuAIArDCOe8WeA6GdcY/s1600/20150314_181837.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPxPcZ_DdsNqVG-_YSxd5Dl8NpPkYTIQzhMiCPD6arbrykV0ltlKrLCcK25iffYTTzffpLom-ZUzNFVoxphbN3BnWl_kiMyhMoTcgb6gBw7hisaVDs2RrYDCibkLh-iMcbUusFPjsofI/s1600/20150314_181843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPxPcZ_DdsNqVG-_YSxd5Dl8NpPkYTIQzhMiCPD6arbrykV0ltlKrLCcK25iffYTTzffpLom-ZUzNFVoxphbN3BnWl_kiMyhMoTcgb6gBw7hisaVDs2RrYDCibkLh-iMcbUusFPjsofI/s1600/20150314_181843.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSNFfNC5Nu5NzCTcSv27FYGg4c-YHGtcGSUFEm7hYDzDrkD8l9ew1GkLbEBosFEI9XqWGHVWUJYx3yAehLQxA8lNMpqN5_x8nYT_ucypcjdykS1MPT5g_PImSDPyVZj5h1ZgfoWOuM7zg/s1600/20150314_185858.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSNFfNC5Nu5NzCTcSv27FYGg4c-YHGtcGSUFEm7hYDzDrkD8l9ew1GkLbEBosFEI9XqWGHVWUJYx3yAehLQxA8lNMpqN5_x8nYT_ucypcjdykS1MPT5g_PImSDPyVZj5h1ZgfoWOuM7zg/s1600/20150314_185858.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM7JEy-_5eMIaqTDspHiEqYFUtQN8-Hy_0aVvM6AisO4KvWd8rJx68ngcm9iJBJm46Cb9pEocaL48oGEbGMrxIp8rBxzQuL_WajP8OmDr0EMnIsAxkWG-xcwT2DCXkw8DogEleULzE-b4/s1600/20150314_185937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM7JEy-_5eMIaqTDspHiEqYFUtQN8-Hy_0aVvM6AisO4KvWd8rJx68ngcm9iJBJm46Cb9pEocaL48oGEbGMrxIp8rBxzQuL_WajP8OmDr0EMnIsAxkWG-xcwT2DCXkw8DogEleULzE-b4/s1600/20150314_185937.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Please excuse poor photo quality, my phone's camera isn't that great)</div>
</div>
<div>
<br />
The video signage and jumbo-tron were laughably outdated, the sound system seemed like it could've used new boxes a decade ago, and there was no 3-D projection pregame entertainment. Junior teams in smaller Canadian arenas are keeping more current in tech (<a href="https://youtu.be/pL04INIzAWk" target="_blank">seriously</a>). While Nassau is quite the anomaly compared to modern sports arenas, the real charm comes from the immersive fan experience.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOVNV6cJ33JINkzbzdsX0l1iKYSPaV28LbIuyTvluhGNPCZ0AdXQs1Y2OTimSenjhL6FUQYcCG7eIs7QgaFFmFOHX8l5UHSnOVddu7pHxbtCO0pnxX14gk_BzYGFMUuuaWI80W4wD8EWY/s1600/20150314_191527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOVNV6cJ33JINkzbzdsX0l1iKYSPaV28LbIuyTvluhGNPCZ0AdXQs1Y2OTimSenjhL6FUQYcCG7eIs7QgaFFmFOHX8l5UHSnOVddu7pHxbtCO0pnxX14gk_BzYGFMUuuaWI80W4wD8EWY/s1600/20150314_191527.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Maybe the homegrown turnout has increased in recent years due to the increased success of the club but the blue and orange faithful we're loud and involved. Canadiens fans came out in full force to be sure (myself included), and it created a competitive atmosphere in the stands. While many fans around the league fall slave to the almighty jumbo-tron - making noise when the stylized "Make Noise!" flashes up on the screen accompanied with the "loudmeter" or what have you - Isles fans keep it going throughout gameplay. Every couple of minutes a "Let's Go Islanders" would erupt from one corner or the other, prompting hundreds of like-minded individuals to join the vocal charge. When Bleu-Blanc-et-Rouge fans would begin their own "Go, Habs, Go" chants, they would quickly be drowned out by "U-S-A" piling on top, keeping in rhythm.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The fans were great and very friendly, aside from some d-bag practically trying to fight a teenager after the game. Canadiens fans and Islanders fans were comfortably intermingling and, much to my surprise, a couple Rangers logos popped up without any harassment from the peanut gallery. I spoke to some older guys briefly during intermission who were eager to talk about their visits to Montreal for games and, upon realising I don't hail from La Belle Province, regale me of stories from the old Chicago Stadium.<br />
<br />
Nassau Coliseum is slated to undergo a massive renovation beginning in August and, while <a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/nassau-coliseum-will-keep-its-name-after-renovation-1.9748889" target="_blank">it is reported</a> that the name will continue on, the Islanders presence will be gone from the building. It still hopes to house professional sports teams but nothing within the pedigree of an NBA or NHL franchise as it knew. The Islanders move on, but the memories of Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin, and Clark Gillies will remain. We shall see if Barclays Center in the heart of Brooklyn can build upon the New York Islanders legacy.</div>
DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-16613749078828412902014-04-30T09:31:00.001-07:002014-04-30T09:31:31.139-07:00Thoughts on the Goaltending Situation in San JoseThis season, I made a conscious decision not to write about the San Jose Sharks. I live in Chicago and I've witnessed the Blackhawks win two Stanley Cups as an Illinois resident so I've developed a soft spot for the club, I always root for the Montreal Canadiens as my Eastern Conference preference, and I've taken an interest in the emergence of the Blue Jackets, Ducks (blasphemy, I know), Stars, Blues, and Wild. I am a capital-H Hockey fan before any allegiance I may have but when the puck drops on any of the 1230 games in the NHL season, I Bleed Teal when the boys from my hometown are on the ice, without question. Me keeping hushed about the Sharks this year was just a show of some unfounded superstition I had relating to their success.<br />
<br />
Well, I'm breaking the silence. We're all allowed to knock our favourite teams when they deserve it and, over the years, my general thought about the Sharks is that they play the most spirited 40 minutes of hockey you will ever see. They've put out a different look every season since I really started following the sport in 2007 but the story has remained the same: they come out strong, they sit back on a lead, they choke. I won't make excuses. It's like that girl that builds up your confidence for a year of cautious optimism and, when you finally ask her out, she just wants to be friends. They show so much promise and, just when you really start to believe that this could truly be the team, they're hitting the links and Pierre McGuire is spouting off about other players' junior teams for a few more weeks.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
If anything embodied what I just described, it would be the San Jose Sharks against the Los Angeles Kings in Round 1 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They entered the postseason in spectacular fashion, going up 3-0 in the series and scoring 17 goals to LA's 8, feasting on an uncoordinated Kings defence and a Jonathan Quick that didn't look like the Jonathan Quick we have all come to begrudgingly acknowledge as an all-world talent.<br />
<br />
Then Game 4 happened: Niemi gets pulled, the Kings win by 3. Then Game 5 happened: Niemi gets pulled, the Kings win by 3. Then Game 6 happened: Stalock starts, McLellan can't keep his shit together after a debatable Kings go-ahead-goal sneaks in with under 10 minutes left, the Kings win by 3. The goal-differential is all evened up at 21 a side so we can throw that out the window.<br />
<br />
Now the Sharks are sitting on attempt #4 of eliminating their SoCal rivals with now the prospect of themselves hanging up the skates for the summer. But it also leaves that counter-productive identity crisis of a goaltending controversy that shouldn't be there in the first place.<br />
<br />
I'll say it now: There is absolutely no reason that you do not start Niemi for Game 7.<br />
<br />
We had to hear about it <a href="http://www.fearthefin.com/2014/1/23/5340590/stalocks-second-straight-shutout-powers-sharks-to-fifth-straight-win" target="_blank">in January</a>, <a href="http://blog.sfgate.com/sportsevents/2014/02/26/is-there-a-goalie-controversy-in-san-jose/" target="_blank">at the end of the Olympic break</a>, and <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/sharks/ci_25566505/sharks-notebook-mclellan-not-ready-announce-starting-goalie" target="_blank">right before the playoffs</a> that Stalock was gunning for the number one job in the San Jose crease. He had a good year, posting a .932 SV% and a 1.87 GAA, but that also came in a 24-game body of work. What's more, he only has a total of 27 games of regular season NHL experience. That's a small sample size if I've ever seen one. I'm all for unproven talent coming in and stealing the show in the playoffs, but San Jose had the flexibility to see if Stalock could breakout in Game 6. It didn't work, we all had a good time, and the most important thing is that we can admit that goaltending is not the issue.<br />
<br />
How you don't turn to the guy who has appeared in 80% of the team's regular season games since you acquired him is beyond me. Sure, Niemi has experienced rough patches in his tenure - what elite netminder hasn't? - but as head coach, it's Todd McLellan's job to sit him down and convey that Niemi is and will be the guy that gets them through this test. Enough with the mind games and playing coy, this is an assignment that has to be earned and from where I'm standing, Niemi is the only goaltender currently in the Sharks organisation that has earned a gosh darn thing.<br />
<br />
Last season, Chicago backup Ray Emery played to the tune of a 17-1-0 record and <a href="http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?season=20122013&gameType=2&team=CHI&position=G&country=&status=&viewName=summary#" target="_blank">posted similar numbers</a> as starter Corey Crawford. Yet, come the playoffs, Emery didn't see a minute of ice time. There was no question as to who would man the crease. Teams that hit the panic button when every game matters don't win the Cup. Justin Bourne wrote a <a href="http://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/491696" target="_blank">spot-on piece</a> about how Kings head coach Darryl Sutter stuck to the plan despite early-series lapses while McLellan just caused more anxiety and uncertainty for his team with how he handled the situation. Composure is a commodity and, now that the Sharks have tipped their hand, the Kings are poised to call a bluff one more time.<br />
<br />
There are two ways to manage a goaltending situation entering the playoffs: you either play to the hot hand, often characteristic of bubble teams that just slip in by starting whoever isn't losing, or you put your best lineup from the past 82 games together and let them carry you. San Jose didn't have to fight for a playoff spot and a lot of that had to do with Antti Niemi going 9-1-2 with a .924 SV% and 1.72 GAA in the month of October (if you aren't familiar with the column, Elliotte Friedman has <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/sports-content/hockey/opinion/2013/10/30-thoughts-playoff-chase-begins-early-in-nhl.html" target="_blank">done some great work</a> on teams outside the playoff picture as early as November 1 and he is a must-read when "30 Thoughts" comes out each week). Sure, the 18 skaters in front of him carried their share of the load in that stretch but now the call comes back around to them to stave off an early off-season.<br />
<br />
The 2013-14 version of the San Jose Sharks is probably the deepest team they have iced in their history. It's the only way to explain how a player of Joe Pavelski's caliber is skating on the third line at 5-on-5. Their defence is capable and their goaltending is solid. That said, it all falls apart when they don't stay the course and play as a team. This isn't the time to bench a guy who makes $3.8 million against the cap because the kid on the two-way contract had a good couple of games after a <a href="http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/s/staloal01.html#stats_basic_other::none" target="_blank">sub-mediocre AHL career</a>. Whatever decision McLellan makes he will have to answer for and, after failing to coach this team to the next step in six seasons, his position is at least worth looking into should they not progress after tonight. If Stalock gets the start and falls short, Sharks fans ask themselves "What if?" all summer. If Niemi gets the nod and falls short, we know exactly what the team is made of.<br />
<br />
This is the matchup the Sharks needed to fully round themselves into playoff form. If they come out victorious tonight, there is no limit to what they can achieve.DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-40939710287513850602014-04-22T11:15:00.002-07:002014-04-22T11:16:05.410-07:00Sophomore Slumps: 2013-14, Part 1Every year, the Professional Hockey Writers Association votes for the Calder Memorial Trophy, the award bestowed upon "the player selected as most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League." A handful of previous winners went on to have stellar careers and, like Teemu Selanne (1992-93), Martin Brodeur (1993-94), and Daniel Alfredsson (1995-96), some are still having productive twilight years. Others, such as Alex Ovechkin (2005-06), Evgeni Malkin (2006-07), and Patrick Kane (2007-08), remain in a class of their own in the league.<br />
<br />
Yet for every Brodeur or Malkin, you have your Andrew Raycrofts (2003-04) and Dany Heatleys (2001-02). Over a long enough timeline, a promising prospect may turn into a significant bust. This might manifest as a young player enters his scoring prime or he might just hit a brick wall after a strong debut.<br />
<br />
While the jury may still be out on many of the following individuals, each one didn't live up to the promise of their rookie years in 2012-13. 2013-14 was almost business as usual with a full 82 games played for each team so a rough year may be chalked up to growing pains. Let's take inventory of who to look for next season to either bounce back or fade further away.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Jonathan Huberdeau - Florida Panthers</span><br />
<br />
Opening the list is last year's Calder Memorial Trophy winner. Huberdeau entered the league like a bat out of hell, scoring the first goal on his first NHL shot in his debut game on January 19, 2013 just 3:37 into the tilt. He would add two assists to his resume as the Panthers would blow past the Carolina Hurricanes 5-1 on Day 1 and would finish the season with 14 goals and 17 assists and tied in points with the next entry on the list.<br />
<br />
Last year, Huberdeau collected his 31 points in the full 48 games. This go-around, he has reached 9 goals and 19 assists through 67 games. To add to his woes, the 20-year-old didn't play between March 16 after sustaining a concussion in 5:13 of ice time and April 8.<br />
<br />
Part of what could be hampering Huberdeau's production is the increased responsibility on defence. In his rookie campaign, Huberdeau started 39.4% of his even-strength shifts in the offencive zone while only 22.7% of his even-strength shifts originated in his team's zone. Those numbers have seen a shift to 34.5% and 30.1%, respectively, which is a significant difference. His average time-on-ice has also taken a hit, dropping from 16.7 minutes per 60 minutes of team play to 15.5 minutes per 60 minutes of team play.<br />
<br />
This has all lead to a significant drop in overall offence from the kid. He has been shooting less, down to 1.58 shots-per-game from 2.33 the previous year and his shooting percentage dipped to 8.5% from 12.5% while <a href="http://www.quanthockey.com/TS/TS_ShotPercentage.php" target="_blank">league-average for forwards</a> has hovered around 10.5% over the two seasons.<br />
<br />
Suffice it to say, the Florida Panthers haven't been a good team in either of Huberdeau's seasons. They pulled up the rear in 2012-13 and are in a heated battle with Edmonton for second-to-last this season. With a new owner, Florida is definitely shooting to ice a competitive team in the coming years and if Huberdeau's setbacks progress, they might be further away than they initially hoped<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Nail Yakupov - Edmonton Oilers</span><br />
<br />
As alluded to in the previous section, Nail Yakupov accrued the same amount of points, 31, in 2012-13 as Jonathan Huberdeau. Yakupov also led all rookies in goals with 17 and Power Play goals with 6. He accomplished all this with only 81 shots fired on net, drawing his save-percentage to a highly unsustainable 21.0%. And of course, being Russian, Don Cherry <a href="http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/01/26/don-cherry-rips-oilers-nail-yakupov-for-goal-celebration" target="_blank">had some words</a> about the kid for a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfysDNnuX64" target="_blank">certain celebration after a goal he scored</a> against the LA Kings (tying the game at home with just under 5 seconds left, I should add).<br />
<br />
It was no surprise that Yakupov's star came crashing back to earth this year but it sure didn't fall easy. For starters, his shooting percentage settled at 9.0%, leaving him with 11 goals on 122 shots. Part of this performance is that he isn't getting ice time with quality linemates, but the reason behind that is first-year head coach Dallas Eakins hasn't liked what the young forward has given him this year.<br />
<br />
Yakupov started the season getting anywhere from 13 minutes all the way up to 21 minutes per night. Once the calendar flipped to November, however, 13 minutes more often than not was the most he would see. He started making regular appearances on the fourth line and struggled to find any scoring consistency despite starting 40.9% of his shifts in the offencive zone, up from 32.0% the previous year. By mid-November, the <a href="http://o.canada.com/sports/things-get-heated-with-yak-oilers/" target="_blank">fingers were already being pointed</a> with even Yakupov's agent, Igor Larionov, getting involved. Eakins has been very clear this year that ice time would have to be earned, but Yakupov's diminishing role as well as <a href="http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/12/30/edmonton-oiler-nail-yakupov-sitting-as-a-healthy-scratch-in-game-against-the-phoenix-coyotes" target="_blank">instances of being a healthy scratch</a> have certainly rubbed him the wrong way.<br />
<br />
Nail Yakupov is the third consecutive first-overall draft pick the Oilers have iced and not a single one of the three have spent time in junior or on the AHL team for the starts to their careers. Not every young prospect can make the immediate jump to the NHL and find success so it is not far off to think that maybe the team is rushing some of their talent into roles they aren't yet cut out for. The Oilers have some difficult decisions to make heading into the off-season so we shall see what sort of help they bring in and who that comes at the expense of.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Matt Irwin - San Jose Sharks</span><br />
<br />
Matt Irwin's rookie season didn't come until 2012-13 when the defenceman was 25 years of age. The Sharks defencive core consisted of a generous mix of seasoned veterans along with up-and-coming mid-twenty-year-olds who had spent a few years maturing in the system. With the emergence of Marc-Edouard Vlasic and his reliable two-way game, taking over anchor duties of the second pairing, the Sharks slotted Irwin into Dan Boyle's line.<br />
<br />
While Matt Irwin's duties didn't hinge upon producing offence, the left-handed shooter seemed to fit in like a glove when he needed to. In his 38 games on the 2012-13 campaign with an average ice time of 18:42, Irwin tallied 6 goals, 4 of which came on the man-advantage, and 6 assists. He has seen a mild drop in production this season with only 2 goals and 17 assists in 62 games, sliding back from .316 points-per-game to .306. His 7.6% shooting percentage was bound to take a drop but it cratered all the way back to a dismal 1.4%.<br />
<br />
The signs point to the Sharks employing Irwin in an exclusively defencive role. While his offencive zone starts have remained in the same neighborhood as they did last year, just north of 34%, his defencive zone starts jumped from 29.5% to 32.1%. Similarly, his 5v5 Corsi-For% took a sizeable tumble from 54.4% to 50.2%. This strategy might be paying off as Irwin's on-ice save percentage has seen a slight increase from 92.5% to 93.3%.<br />
<br />
It's tough to call this a slump if he has been a more successful shutdown guy but what has taken a noticeable dip is partner Dan Boyle's even-strength production. In 81 games during 2011-12, Boyle's last season firmly alongside Vlasic, Boyle managed 6 goals and 24 assists at even strength (5v5 and otherwise). Since then, in 121 total regular season games, Boyle has only put up 7 goals and 13 assists. His average time on ice at even strength has fallen as well, seeing around 2.0-2.5 fewer minutes per game but he has still been lined up behind the Sharks' top-producing forwards.<br />
<br />
After two playoff games for the Sharks this season, Irwin has yet to make an appearance as the team has gone with veteran Scott Hannan. An undrafted blue-liner will always have a tough task sticking in the NHL so it remains to be seen what the Sharks do with Irwin moving forward.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Robin Lehner - Ottawa Senators</span><br />
<br />
The Ottawa Senators had an excellent season in 2012-13 largely in part to the goaltending they received. Starter Craig Anderson jumped out of the gate as a leading candidate for the Vezina Trophy before an ankle injury sidelined him just a month into the season.<br />
<br />
Backup Ben Bishop was on hand to take over starting duties, leaving 21-year-old Robin Lehner, he of 13 games NHL experience, to slot into the number 2 role. Lehner was having a stellar year with the Binghamton Senators, Ottawa's AHL affiliate, posting an 18-10-2 record on the back of a .938 SV% and 2.12 GAA in 31 games played.<br />
<br />
While Bishop would accumulate the better record in Anderson's absence at 7-3-0 to 3-3-4, Lehner's .934 SV% and 2.34 GAA would prove enough to make Bishop expendable. With Anderson's return on the horizon, Ottawa shipped Bishop to Tampa Bay at the April 3 trade deadline and have been rolling with Anderson and Lehner ever since.<br />
<br />
While Lehner would finish the season with a .936, 2.20 stat line, Ottawa would not have the same luck in net or in the standings in 2013-14. While Anderson was certainly due for a regression, Lehner's breakout performance was set to be put to the test. When the year was all said and done, Lehner only managed a 12-15-6 record with a .913 SV%, a fraction of a percentage point below league-average, and 3.06 GAA, half of a goal more per 60 minutes than league-average.<br />
<br />
The interesting thing about these numbers is the difference between the two Ottawa Senators teams. The 2013-14 Sens were only 1-2% worse in Corsi-For than the year prior in just about every situation. Their PDO hovered within a couple single digits of that golden 100.0 (or 1000 or 1.000, whichever you prefer) mark both years so they weren't successful purely on overall "luck".<br />
<br />
However if you split their PDO into its two elements, save percentage and shooting percentage, the team had significant differences over the two seasons. In all situations, their shooting percentage climbed 1.5% this season while their save percentage dived 2.4%. At 5v5, shooting percentage saw an increase by the exact same margin while their save percentage dropped 1.4%. They were expectedly better at scoring this season with 2.88 goals-per-game compared to 2.42 last season while shooting just around 32.5 shots-for-per-game in both years. Their play at the other end saw a notable decline, allowing 3.3 more shots-against-per-game which resulted in 1.06 more goals-against-per-game. This all goes to show that what appears to be a marginal improvement on defence can be the difference between a 7th seed playoff bid and five points outside the postseason picture.<br />
<br />
Back to the matter at hand, Robin Lehner makes a strong case for someone to watch in the coming years. He has proven he has the ability to keep the puck out of the net but he has also struggled to grab a winning record for his team. It should also be noted that Lehner, in 30 starts and 36 games he saw ice time in, saw more rubber than any of the 11 goaltenders within 13 more starts and/or 9 more games played in save for one. He's young so he will need stronger defence in front of him, but if he doesn't his development could certainly suffer.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>All stats compiled from <a href="http://nhl.com/">NHL.com</a> and <a href="http://extraskater.com/">extraskater.com</a></i></div>
DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-58073755360563365402014-04-15T10:04:00.001-07:002014-04-15T10:07:01.932-07:002-4-T At Frozen Four 2014: Day 2Saturday at the Frozen Four began with an afternoon open skate at the Wells Fargo Center. They opened the arena from 12:30pm to 2:30pm for fans to come down Broad Street, rent skates provided by Bauer, and traverse around the rink in standard counter-clockwise fashion.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHOkY9eFs0wYrr7B8kOr0W4aJ30qIkmIGyMSOHvnE2nzPzTSRY45cwoBmfdd1ECV9ujAspHR-3AFASCSzPBiXbKL6WvSGJ-ORp7nXG-BOXvuMZIAoA17JGef2Gb2cAH5VQQzFmh0ZHtQ/s1600/20140412_135853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHOkY9eFs0wYrr7B8kOr0W4aJ30qIkmIGyMSOHvnE2nzPzTSRY45cwoBmfdd1ECV9ujAspHR-3AFASCSzPBiXbKL6WvSGJ-ORp7nXG-BOXvuMZIAoA17JGef2Gb2cAH5VQQzFmh0ZHtQ/s1600/20140412_135853.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
The night of the event, there was heavy excitement from all walks of the tournament. While Minnesota seemed to hold a slight advantage as far as fans went, there was definitely an anticipation from the locals over 2012 3rd round draft pick Shayne Gostisbehere, Union defenceman and Philadelphia Flyers prospect. I heard a handful of whispers about the soon-to-be 21-year-old on Thursday but I suspect many of the Flyers faithful who had had their college teams knocked out in earlier rounds were at the game just to watch the kid play.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqA5iZhdpZvhDVR2gDFVQjj-Wkg8J3Ob2uKklmLzwYGNbspN0FS_zaWYBvWoI2EDlt_o963jtxR7ymGrNO19hcC9JK-_Mu2k9SgYnn-Ol8jgA5ZvEPwDGGwN8AP_E1sLk5LFGJg0dw-1o/s1600/20140412_193621.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqA5iZhdpZvhDVR2gDFVQjj-Wkg8J3Ob2uKklmLzwYGNbspN0FS_zaWYBvWoI2EDlt_o963jtxR7ymGrNO19hcC9JK-_Mu2k9SgYnn-Ol8jgA5ZvEPwDGGwN8AP_E1sLk5LFGJg0dw-1o/s1600/20140412_193621.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Shortly after 7:30 ET, the puck was in play and Union had possession. It didn't take long, but 19 seconds into the game, Brady Skeji of Minnesota committed the first infraction of the game and Union would go to the power play. The teams would trade blocked shots to open things up before the Dutchmen entered the zone to try to get on the board early. The Gophers killed the penalty and found themselves on an offencive zone faceoff. Right off the draw, Nate Condon of Minnesota took the puck and fired a quick shot from the circle which was stopped by Union goaltender Colin Stevens and quickly bounced right in front of the crease. Stevens thought he had it but by the time he realised the puck was free, Minnesota forward Justin Kloos crashed in and scored on his second swipe at the loose change just over 2 1/2 minutes after the opening puck drop.<br />
<br />
Minnesota would keep the press up but go back on the penalty kill in short order. Union would create more chances, driven largely by Gostisbehere, but would fail to convert on the second man-advantage. Minnesota would get their own chance on the power play and were unable to capitalise as well. On a reset of the breakout at even strength, Gostisbehere threaded through center ice, generate some space in the high slot, and slip a rocket of a wrister past Minnesota goaltender Adam Wilcox. And just like that the game was knotted up at 1-per-side.<br />
<br />
The Dutchmen would not keep the momentum rolling in their favour, however. On their next shot on net, the Gophers would retake the lead midway through the frame with a Sam Warning rebound on a Kyle Rau shot. The teams would trade chances for the next few minutes with nothing to show for it before an extended bout of pressure by Union with around 5 minutes remaining in the first period. Wilcox would have seven shots to face and stop before Mike Vecchione would slip number eight past him and the game was tied again.<br />
<br />
It was at this point that Union would gain the advantage of momentum in the game. Just a minute after the Vecchione tally, Eli Lichtenwald would score just under Wilcox's glove on a bouncing second attempt after a centering feed by Gostisbehere from the low corner. In the minute after that, the Dutchmen were back on the attack. Defenceman Jeff Taylor would fire a shot wide of the net that would bounce around to Wilcox's right side. Matt Hatch would whiff on the first attempt, Max Novak fired the second which was stopped by Wilcox, and Daniel Ciampini would make the third attempt on the bouncing puck count while facing a yawning net. The Dutchmen erased a one-goal deficit and built a two-goal lead all in a two-minute frame of time, cushioned by a four-minute stretch without a single shot on net by the Gophers.<br />
<br />
The teams would attract a pair of offsetting minor penalties towards the close of the period and, by the time the horn sounded, they would combine for 35 total shots on goal with Union holding the 20-15 advantage. By now, the Union fans were starting to drown out Minnesota even though the sound guy didn't seem to like the Union band, failing to turn their mics live when they would play on several occasions.<br />
<br />
Minnesota would come out swinging for the second period again. Following the conclusion of the previous penalties, the Gophers would get a pair of shots on net before firing a third in to cut the Dutchmen's lead to one.<br />
<br />
The first period was definitely characterised by the abundance of scoring so things were definitely bound to settle down in that regard during the second. And while the Minnesota goal to bring things to 4-3 would prove to be the only marker, both teams would spend a decent amount of time in the second period either a man up or man down. Power plays would even out at two apiece for the period and, while both teams would maintain a relatively high scoring pace, neither goaltender would allow the score to budge.<br />
<br />
Union would finally break the scoreboard out of the doldrums in the third period. At the 5 1/2 minute mark, Max Novak would tip one past Wilcox on the rush from a well-placed Kevin Sullivan shot-pass. The teams would trade more penalty chances as the minutes ticked off the clock and Minnesota would start to feel the squeeze facing yet another two-goal mountain to climb.<br />
<br />
With Charlie Vasaturo of Union in the box on a roughing call and only 4 1/2 minutes left in the game, Minnesota needed to start chipping away at Union's lead. It took them almost a minute on the man-advantage, but the main theme of second chances from crashing the net upheld for another opportunity as Stevens would make a stop on a Travis Boyd point shot and Hudson Fasching would chip the rebound past Stevens's outstretched leg. With 3:40 on the clock, the Gophers had some life yet to push themselves back into the game.<br />
<br />
Well the spark would be short-lived. Union kept Minnesota from generating any meaningful chances by suffocating them in transition. Two minutes after Minnesota scored the lone power play goal of the game, Gostisbehere stretched out to stifle Taylor Cammarata on the rush, Matt Bodie collected and chipped the puck up to a streaking Sullivan just past centre who settled the puck, deked to the outside, and fired a shot through Wilcox's five-hole. By this time, practically the entire arena was decidedly pro-Union.<br />
<br />
Minnesota was left with only 1:22 to score two goals and extend the game into extra frames. They finally got Wilcox out for the extra attacker at 1:06 remaining but only managed one shot on net before Bodie sent a puck the distance into the open goal and would ice the game at 7-4 for the Union Dutchmen, their first ever national title.<br />
<br />
During the awards ceremony, it was announced that Boston College Johnny Gaudreau would win the Hobey Baker Award as the top NCAA men's ice hockey player. However, this was overshadowed by Shayne Gostisbehere taking home honours of the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, much to the delight of Flyers fans.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjjQ_s-Yc4bREptnJYMEHtO8MeJFDY5f4IgO3O3tKMghGuyOOtIY_ZfYjeglba4-K-GI4y5tE7GafHaaaxhBTuH24rnEUYaGljnM_dci28SjzTJ-W96cjDwXD0dqzSXo0XIUAVhGB05A/s1600/20140412_223035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjjQ_s-Yc4bREptnJYMEHtO8MeJFDY5f4IgO3O3tKMghGuyOOtIY_ZfYjeglba4-K-GI4y5tE7GafHaaaxhBTuH24rnEUYaGljnM_dci28SjzTJ-W96cjDwXD0dqzSXo0XIUAVhGB05A/s1600/20140412_223035.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I had to take the group photo from the jumbotron since I was seated behind the team, but here you are, 2014 NCAA Division 1 Men's Hockey Champions, the Union Dutchmen from Schenectady, New York. Thank you to the city of Philadelphia for hosting this wonderful event, congratulations Union, and we will see everyone next year at TD Garden in Boston for the 2015 tournament!DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-76273322229854590362014-04-14T21:46:00.000-07:002014-04-15T10:06:09.247-07:002-4-T At Frozen Four 2014: Day 1I admittedly don't have a whole lot of college hockey chops, my only real exposure to it being the Hockey City Classic in 2013 at Soldier Field in Chicago. That day featured two outdoor contests, one between Miami (Ohio) and Notre Dame, the other Minnesota versus Wisconsin, on a February day that got more and more frigid as the sun crept below the western edge of the stadium. While I can speak most fluently about NHL action, I'll never turn down an opportunity to take in some puck.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
So here I am in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the NCAA's Frozen Four.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjE8xI1aroflqOTXticaoYtLBFlS3-64i4vX03LIshB-2q6969WIjHPMGO-3sVQTy2QK4i4kF9BT_L8gbJv_ipaKo8uc-5RJmzufGGX3BpwZXiZGMTdyIKdy6e2yoYcXfdcUVyjW5Kt8/s1600/20140410_162249.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjE8xI1aroflqOTXticaoYtLBFlS3-64i4vX03LIshB-2q6969WIjHPMGO-3sVQTy2QK4i4kF9BT_L8gbJv_ipaKo8uc-5RJmzufGGX3BpwZXiZGMTdyIKdy6e2yoYcXfdcUVyjW5Kt8/s1600/20140410_162249.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Just know I'm not an encyclopedia of knowledge on this event, I didn't even get to catch much of the playoffs leading up to the games, but I have a pair of eyes and a love of hockey so I got that going for me.<br />
<br />
This is definitely a celebration of all college hockey. While the overwhelming majority of fans are here for Union, Boston College, North Dakota, or Minnesota, many other teams are represented. Penn State, Wisconsin, Maine, University of New Hampshire, Providence, Notre Dame, and Denver all made appearances on sweaters and other forms of apparel on the floor. And of course various other teams popped up, mainly the Flyers, but I also spotted some Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, Chicago Steel (USHL), some high school program I didn't catch the name of, and, of course, the San Jose Sharks courtesy of a hat belonging to yours truly.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9DA85xmmy1ZJOvXNVeABydJO3cVbbVJl_4Aj-CKrE0NyaVc3TvzFnkm9yjmu7nHwsgk_-12TKsBnzUrKy0oWbXGmfXd3eo84cHD53pNyXOIRpC2qXSqJ3Y4aVnq5sokTSneiFkfmf918/s1600/20140410_164146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9DA85xmmy1ZJOvXNVeABydJO3cVbbVJl_4Aj-CKrE0NyaVc3TvzFnkm9yjmu7nHwsgk_-12TKsBnzUrKy0oWbXGmfXd3eo84cHD53pNyXOIRpC2qXSqJ3Y4aVnq5sokTSneiFkfmf918/s1600/20140410_164146.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I was parked up in the nosebleeds one row ahead of last with an excellent view of all of the action and pretty close to the Union and Minnesota bands, which is always a good time.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Union (N.Y.) Dutchmen <b>5</b> v Boston College <b>4</b></span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
This game was a lot of fun. BC came out of the gate on fire with a
goal from Mr. Johnny Hockey himself (Johnny Gaudreau) a touch over 2 minutes
into the contest on the team's first shot. Boy, is that kid fast. BC was
basically taking it to Union for the entire first period despite what the shot
total (11-9 in favour of Union) and score (1-0 BC) told you. BC was all over
the ice, out-skated Union by a country mile, and the score could have easily
been 3-0 were it not for a couple of shots rung off the iron. Union, on the
other hand, was struggling with their transition game, couldn't generate much
offence because of poor puck support, and were allowing BC to walk all over
them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
I don't know what Union head coach Rick Bennett said in the locker
room during the first intermission but whatever it was must have lit a fire
under the squad. The Dutchmen tied the game early in the second off of a beauty
of a slapper by defenceman Matt Bodie and took the lead midway through the
frame with Daniel Ciampini's first of three on the night. Union was gaining
composure and cutting opportunities short for BC. With just over 4 minutes left
in the second, the Eagles pulled even and we had a game.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
One thing you will probably notice at any level of hockey with
teams struggling to score is the tendency to over-pass. Boston College was very
creative with the puck all game but fell into the trap of getting too cute with
cross-crease passes in tight and behind the back drops on the rush. Around 6:30
of the third, BC fell behind once more but, seconds later, were handed quite
the gift. Matt Hatch of Union committed a check from behind which cost the team
5 minutes with a man down.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
While this is always a nice opportunity for any hockey team, the
Eagles couldn't capitalise on the power play. In fact they only managed three
shots on net but otherwise couldn't get away from their over-passing modus
operandi. And to add salt to the wound, Union would score just 4 seconds after
the expiry of their major infraction, pushing the score to 4-2 with 8 minutes
remaining.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
BC couldn't get anything going in the following minutes, and with
2 1/2 minutes to go, they pulled goaltender Thatcher Demko for the extra
attacker. 45 seconds later through some heavy press, the Eagles pulled within
one. With Union winning the ensuing faceoff, Demko couldn't exit the net for
another 25 seconds but Ciampini capped off his 3-goal night with a shot into
the empty net. It seemed like BC was done for the night before Ciampini would
put the Eagles back to power play on a slashing call with 34 seconds left. To
add to how ridiculous the final two minutes were, BC scored another tally on
somewhat of a softie with 5 seconds remaining. Gaudreau would manage one final
shot with the remaining ticks of the clock but time would finally run out and
the Union Dutchmen would advance to the championship round.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Minnesota Golden Gophers <b>2</b> v North Dakota Team Formerly Known as
Fighting Sioux <b>1</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
You know those 1-0 games, usually involving teams like the St.
Louis Blues and the Los Angeles Kings in the playoffs, where the goalies stand
on their heads, bodies are flying all over the place, and the entire arena
hangs on every shot directed on net? How about those 1-0 games, more likely
between teams like the Nashville Predators and the Florida Panthers on a
Tuesday night, where the teams don't seem to care about each other, no one
except the plucky rookie call-up is shooting the puck, and NOTHING happens all
game? Split the difference and you have Gophers versus Sioux.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
It was a decent game to be sure, it was fast-paced and went back
and forth with regularity, it just lacked the explosiveness of the matinee. I
could be wrong though, from the groans of the child sitting next to me, because
the score was so low, this was the worst game of hockey that ever hockeyed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
There wasn't much that stood out here. The teams traded chances,
going 12-9 in shots for North Dakota in the first and even at 12 a side in the
second. Both teams had a chance on the power play in the second as well but
neither could capitalise.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
Minnesota finally broke the tie with just over 9 minutes remaining
in the third. Sam Warning put one past UND goaltender Zane Gothberg on a second
attempt after a Kyle Rau shot. But before the Gophers faithful could get too
excited, Connor Gaarder returned the favour on a Sioux rush up the ice.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
It was a short outburst but the following 8 1/2 minutes were
business as usual. Gothberg and Minnesota goaltender Adam Wilcox had the answer
for everything coming at them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
With 10 seconds left, and a Minnesota zone faceoff, the game
seemed all but certain to be heading to overtime. The Gophers won the puck and
started a rush up the ice. Kyle Rau attempted a shot on UND from the left side,
which was blocked. Justin Holl picked up the change and, through a screen,
threw the puck on net which snuck just inside the far post and in. After video
review, the goal was confirmed with 0.6 seconds left on the clock and the
Minnesota Golden Gophers would wind up victorious and the Gophers fans would
have a new chant for the next two days.</div>
DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-82980732746889163762014-03-19T15:23:00.000-07:002014-03-19T15:38:48.121-07:00Jaroslav Halak: A Brief HistoryThe date is March 4th, 2010. The Montreal Canadiens are squared off against the San Jose Sharks in a road game at the then HP Pavilion. The score is 2-1 Montreal entering the third period and while they are being outshot 29-19, 22 year-old goaltender Carey Price is holding the Habs in the game. At the 11:18 mark of the final frame, Canadien defenceman Roman Hamrlik commits a hooking penalty against winger Ryane Clowe, sending the Sharks to the power play. A minute and fourteen seconds later, Dany Heatley tips a Dan Boyle shot past Price, tying the game at 2 per side. The Sharks don't relent and just over two and a half minutes after the man-advantage marker, they score again to take the lead and, after the final 4:55 ticks off the clock, the game.<br />
<br />
Waking up the following morning, Montreal found themselves sitting in 10th in the East. On the previous night, 7th seed Boston bested conference-worst Toronto in a shootout and 8th seed Atlanta rolled over the New York Islanders in a 6-3 decision. While Atlanta, as well as the 9th place New York Rangers, all had matched Montreal with 66 points, the Thrashers held three games in hand over the Canadiens with the Rangers' one game providing the buffer. As is usual in the NHL, the playoff bubble was a crowded place, but the odds were slowly starting to turn against the team from Quebec.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Head Coach Jacques Martin had, for the most part, been splitting time in the crease, but with time running out he knew he had to pick a horse in the race and stick with him to make it to the postseason. While the young Carey Price had built up a respectable resume in the two years prior, he wasn't living up to his expectations in 2009-10.<br />
<br />
On March 6th, Martin turned to 2003 9th-round draft pick Jaroslav Halak for the start in Southern California against the Los Angeles Kings on the first night of back-to-back games. Halak faced 25 shots that night and turned aside 23 en route to a 4-2 victory. Carey Price would start the next night in Anaheim and, despite only seeing 11 shots while the Canadiens sent 15 in the opposite direction, Price would allow 3 goals in the first period while Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller shut the door completely.<br />
<br />
Enter Jaroslav Halak who, facing 15 shots through the next two periods, would blank the Ducks as the Canadiens mounted a comeback by scoring one in the second and tying the game with two goals in the final minute and fifty seconds. The contest would reach the shootout and while Halak would be the first to flinch in the second round, Montreal would score in the third and fourth rounds to collect the win. With just two wins in four days, Montreal crept up to 7th in the playoff picture and Martin knew which of his netminders would be his ticket into the playoffs.<br />
<br />
Including the March 6th and 7th games, Halak would close out the season 9-3-3, bringing a .926 SV% and 2.07 GAA to the table. Price would only see action in two more games during the regular season and while his .942 SV% and 1.94 GAA were good marks for those games, his 0-1-1 record wouldn't inspire much confidence. Montreal would hold on to the 7th seed, collecting only two points in their final three games, until the final day of the season when Philadelphia would win their final matchup and slide ahead in the standings.<br />
<br />
Montreal's playoff run in 2010 was nothing short of dramatic. In facing the 1st place and President's Trophy-winning Washington Capitals, the Canadiens went 1-3 in the first four games with Halak starting the first three, being pulled half-way through the third game, and Price starting Game 4. After allowing 11 goals in those first two and a half, Halak stopped all but 3 through Games 5, 6, and 7 to backstop the Habs to an upset of the Caps and into the next round. Halak would get pulled in Game 1 of the Semifinals against the 4th seed Pittsburgh Penguins, allowing 5 goals on 20 shots, and would alternate losses and wins throughout the series before breaking the trend and winning Game 7, progressing the Cinderella story even further.<br />
<br />
While Halak would manage to outplay both the Washington and Pittsburgh powerhouses, he could not find an answer to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Final. He would allow 13 goals in 5 games, winning only once, and the Flyers would go on to face the Chicago Blackhawks and the Canadiens would hit the links.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * * *</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
In the 2010 offseason, Montreal traded Restricted Free Agent Halak's contract rights to the St. Louis Blues. He played well for the team, accruing a .916 SV%, a 2.23 GAA, a 83-47-19 regular season record, and a franchise record 20 shutouts in his tenure. If there is one blemish to his career with the Blues however, it would have to be his playoff performance.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It wasn't that he was bad, in fact he had only played 100 minutes and 23 seconds for the Blues in the playoffs. In 2012, he had just entered the second period of Game 2 of the Quarterfinals before suffering an ankle injury from a collision with teammate Barret Jackman. In 2013, he aggravated a prior groin ingury in early April and missed the playoffs all together. With back-to-back dismissals at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings, granted with backup Brian Elliot manning the crease, the uncertainty surrounding Halak's health (and likely questions regarding his consistency) seemed to be enough to send him packing.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Jaroslav Halak became the key piece bringing coveted rental Ryan Miller to St. Louis from the clearly rebuilding Buffalo Sabres this year. Instead of dressing Halak for action, Buffalo sent Halak to, guess who, the Washington Capitals at the trade deadline.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It's no secret that the Eastern Conference is a very top-heavy collection of teams. The Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins are the only ones to have separated themselves from the pack through 68-70 games but, from 3rd to a conservative 10th, the field is wide open to anyone capable of a streak in either direction. The specifics may be unique from season to season, but the narrative itself never ceases to reappear.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * * *</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The Washington Capitals already provided a crowded crease with 2011-12 playoff darling Braden Holtby holding starting duties, a discontent Michal Neuvirth kind of sometimes serving the backup beat, and call-up Philipp Grubauer performing well as far as numbers go but not putting up the wins necessary to push the Caps over the edge. Neuvirth found an out, heading to Buffalo as Halak came in, and now the team had some true competition in net.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Halak was officially in the organisation on the afternoon of March 5th but didn't join the team until the following day. The night past the trade deadline, Holtby would spot the Flyers a 4-0 lead before getting pulled and Grubauer would be unable to hold strong in the comeback and the team would wind up with a 6-4 loss. Holtby would get the nod on the 6th, allowing 2 goals on 42 shots, which would turn out to be the only stellar Capitals performance in a 3-0 shutout at the hands of the Boston Bruins. The loses kept the Capitals 2 spots outside of a Wild Card position for the playoffs which sets the stage for a play we've seen before.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
With about 9 days off, Jaroslav Halak was back on the job on March 8th and Head Coach Adam Oates hasn't started anyone else since. Halak is 4-2-0 in his 6 games with the Capitals, including wins in each of his last 3, posting a .931 SV% and a 2.35 GAA. The climb up the standings has been slower, having only crept one spot back of a Wild Card bid, but at present they only sit 3 points back of 2nd in the Metropolitan Division and are tied in points with the final playoff qualifier though have played 2 more games. The odds aren't great but in the course of 12 games, anything is possible.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Washington has a lot to overcome but as we have seen in the past, a goaltender turning hot at just the right time can propel a team into the postseason. They play 7 of their final 12 against teams all but mathematically locked into a playoff spot and only 3 against teams firmly outside of the race while 6 of their games come against conference rivals. They will need some slumps by teams ahead of them in the bubble race but as long as they continue to win they have a fighting chance.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Jaroslav Halak has proven that he can take your team from potential also-ran to playoff shocker. The St. Louis Blues wanted to solidify their crease at the expense of Halak but the relocation placed him squarely in a position he has been in before in his career. If the Capitals elbow their way ahead in the standings, don't be surprised. History has a funny way of repeating itself.</div>
DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-46319416165227892112014-03-06T12:17:00.002-08:002014-03-06T12:28:23.651-08:00Recent Skid, Heritage Classic Loss Exposes Lack of Depth for the Vancouver CanucksDuring this season's Preseason Prognosis, I commented on the Vancouver Canucks that while the Henrik and Daniel Sedin have historically carried the team to success in the past, their ability to do so has been fading over the past few seasons. Despite some man-games lost this season, it appears that things are as ugly as they initially seemed in British Columbia.<br />
<br />
Since the calendar flipped to 2014, the Canucks have been caught up in a freefall down the standings. They have gone 5-15-3 in the new year and are currently in the midst of an 11-game stretch with a 1-9-1 record, beginning on January 27. Through that date they have been overwhelmed by opponents, being outscored 32-15. They lost by a single goal twice in that stretch and the lone overtime loss came in a shootout against Minnesota on Friday following a 1-0 win, their only one, over St. Louis.<br />
<a name='more'></a>To be fair, the Canucks have had some key pieces face injuries in the recent days and months. Second-liner Mike Santorelli hasn't seen the ice since January 16, top-line centre Henrik Sedin sat out for eight out of ten games leading up to the Olympics as well as the Olympics itself, and brother Daniel left Sunday's game after only 10 shifts. It's not like these players have been difference-makers leading up to being sidelined, however. Santorelli has only two goals in his past 12 games, spanning back to December 20, before which he had five assists in 4 games and three goals and nine assists in 11 games. Henrik hasn't registered a point since January 10, a stretch of 11 games for the pivot, and Daniel's last point came 13 games ago on January 21. Still, injuries affect every team in the league and can't be the go-to excuse for poor play.<br />
<br />
The team's woes have mainly come from a complete lack of consistency. First line winger Alexandre Burrows has been rendered completely ineffective having only been healthy for 32 games and registering a deplorable 5 assists. The second line clicked earlier in the season but have only accounted for 12 goals and 13 assists through 23 games in 2014 between the trio of Santorelli, Ryan Kesler, and Chris Higgins. In 41 games prior to that, they had racked up 35 goals and 41 assists, a point-per-game average of 1.85 versus 1.14. The defence and bottom-six has only made the occasional appearance on the scoresheet during the skid.<br />
<br />
All this has resulted in a struggle to remain relevant among their peers in the Pacific Division. On December 31, they sat in the first Western Conference Wild Card slot at 4th in the Pacific, 8 points back of 1st place Anaheim, 3 points behind San Jose in 2nd, and 6 points ahead of 5th place Phoenix. The gap has widened significantly approaching today, where they have stumbled back to 5th in the division and have slid 10 points behind Los Angeles in 3rd place and 1 point behind Phoenix in 2 more games played. With Minnesota showing some strength in the Central while Dallas and Winnipeg mount playoff pushes, Vancouver now lies on the outside looking in.<br />
<br />
This brings us to the Heritage Classic. Vancouver looked good out of the gate, scoring two goals in the first eleven and a half minutes of the game. At 15:15 of the first period, Ottawa started to crawl back when Clarke MacArthur deflected a shot past Eddie Lack while the five Canucks looked confused about their coverage. Less than two minutes later, Erik Karlsson buried one on the power play to tie things up. The Senators would take the lead in the second and cap things off with an empty-netter in the final minute and a half.<br />
<br />
This isn't to say Ottawa had a spectacular game either, but they stuck with their system and overcame the early deficit. Vancouver practically disappeared once they notched the early lead. When the most memorable player from the game was Tom Sestito, and only because of his engagement in verbal jousting with Chris Neil, there must be something going on.<br />
<br />
I questioned Vancouver's standing entering the trade deadline and now that it has come and gone, I couldn't tell you if the team is posturing for a playoff run or just waiting for the final games to fade off the schedule. They sent Roberto Luongo back to Florida in exchange for goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who could never lock down the Panthers' starting job in the past 3 seasons, and Shawn Matthias, who has only managed single season career bests of 14 goals (2012-13) and 24 points (2011-12). The only other move of consequence they pursued was sending recently acquired Raphael Diaz to New York for a late pick in the 2015 draft.<br />
<br />
They did nothing to bolster themselves and are placing a lot of weight upon two netminders with 69 games of experience between them. The only indication that they aren't completely mailing it in this year is they didn't move Kesler like was highly speculated. Still it seems like the team is sitting back and waiting for their fortunes to turn and time is slowly starting to tick out of their favour.<br />
<br />
If I were to make a guess, I would say that Vancouver is waiting for this year to play out and hoping to move up a couple spots in the draft. They signed the Sedin twins to matching 4-year, $28 million contracts set to kick in next season so I expect them to recommit to a winning culture over the summer. I would not be surprised if they kick the tires on Kesler in the offseason and, now that Luongo is off the books save for $800,000 per year in retained salary, they have a compliance buyout to work with to free up some cap space and address their needs. This is the only way I see them salvaging their situation because they took a huge step back over the course of 2013-14.DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-7734570602936410382014-03-03T16:33:00.000-08:002014-03-04T12:01:22.756-08:00Thoughts Following the Conclusion of This Year's Outdoor GamesThe outdoor portion of the NHL season has finally come to a close. Chicago embarrassed Pittsburgh on Saturday at Soldier Field and Vancouver hosted Ottawa for the Heritage Classic on Sunday for what turned out to be...an indoor game.<br />
<br />
Yes, you read that right. The Heritage Classic was held at BC Place right across the street from the Canucks' Rogers Arena. The venue mostly accommodates Major League Soccer and Canadian Football League events but opened its doors to over 50,000 hockey fans for the all-Canada stick-and-puck spectacle. The period (no, not exclamation point) to the relatively underwhelming play on the ice, however, was the fact that the retractable roof remained closed through the duration thanks to continuous rain.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Despite the fact that the outdoor thing was knowingly overdone this year with a total of 6 games, I would mark it overall as a success. Each game sold out, the warm weather location experiment worked out well, we discovered that two games in the span of a few days is at least feasible in a large enough market, and the NHL knows to never do this to the 2013-14 extent ever again. What's more, each game seemed to have its own unique identity and energy. All wins in my opinion.<br />
<br />
But the Heritage Classic seemed to just be a reminder of how strange this season kind of is if you think about it. We are recovering from the lockout-shortened season the year prior, the diving of the salary cap as well as realignment is making the approach to the trade deadline an awkward thing to watch, and we're still readjusting from two weeks of games at 6:00 A.M in a summer resort on the Black Sea.<br />
<br />
And then the HC rolls around where the players are decked out in their gorgeous throwback uniforms and eye black for what essentially was just a run-of-the-mill game with terrible sight-lines for almost twice the price and almost three times the livers to feed beer to. It kind of felt like wearing a tuxedo to a mediocre night club.<br />
<br />
To be clear, I can't stand how every. single. game. was underscored by the whole "reminds these players of being young, skating from dawn 'til dusk out on the pond with all their friends and woodland creatures before having to be dragged home kicking and screaming by their parents for dinner" angle. It was tolerable once a year but the novelty of the "nostalgia" concept doesn't exist anymore (I'm looking at YOU, Doc Emrick).<br />
<br />
But the whole point is to have these games outside. Eyebrows were raised at the Vancouver concept when it was introduced (not at a true outdoor venue, early March puck drop, seasonally rainy region) which made yesterday's execution a total misfire by the NHL from the start. I certainly hope that lessons were learned moving forward because this isn't the most ideal final impression to leave for the concept.<br />
<br />
Looking ahead, the sky's the limit for the outdoor series. The NHL has confirmed that the Stadium Series will live on and the Heritage Classic will most likely return in two-years time, almost certainly to Winnipeg (YAY!!!) but we won't see as many matchups in a single calendar year as we did this time around.<br />
<br />
The Washington Capitals have already been picked to host the 2015 Winter Classic even though the details around the venue and opponent haven't quite been hashed out yet. It is fully expected that either the Boston Bruins (will be their second) or the Philadelphia Flyers (will be their third) are likely visitors. If this wasn't the marquee event of the year for the outdoor game, my vote would be for the Carolina Hurricanes because it would be nice to not rehash the same six or seven teams and Hartford Whalers throwbacks would be ohh so awesome. The Columbus Blue Jackets would also be an interesting consideration if they can power out a strong finish to this year. I'm full aware none of these scenarios will come to fruition, just placing some less-thought of options out into the muck of the interwebs.<br />
<br />
As for the Stadium Series, spit into the air and it will land on a team vying for a bid. Judging by the success of this season, everyone wants one and now now now, it seems. The more that I think about it, the more I like the idea of popping two of these games in mid- to late-January every year. It's a great way for some of the growing franchises to showcase their teams and, most importantly, their fans to the rest of the country without the pressure of Winter Classic coverage. I'm sure if Florida or Dallas phoned the league demanding a WC, they would get laughed off the hook. The SS just provides another outlet for the team to get the national attention. Los Angeles worked out this year so, even though it was held in a large metropolitan centre the has won a recent Stanley Cup (I feel like this last factor is important), we know that the ice conditions hold up and the fans can create an excellent atmosphere.<br />
<br />
All signs point west for the near future of the Stadium Series. Colorado, with their Coors money, seem to be pressing hard for a future outdoor game. Minnesota is another attractive choice but I think the self-proclaimed "State of Hockey" would be better suited to put their money where their mouths are on a Winter Classic and try to challenge the attendance of the Detroit-Toronto game at the Big House. San Jose and Phoenix are the likely next step to follow up on the momentum from LA. Phoenix is the probable front-runner between the two but the question is "who would they play?". The South California teams should be out of that conversation so that leaves either San Jose or Dallas, I would think, and these two teams want games of their own.<br />
<br />
Juggling who gets these games will be interesting in the coming years. The Northeast USA teams have been done to death so that just creates more teams that want games elsewhere. The dynamic is an interesting one as I think even the jerseys used symbolise the outlook on these events: the Winter Classic is a great way to celebrate the history of the sport, the league, and the teams involved. The Stadium Series displays how far we have come and reminds us of what is possible for the future. You might hate the oversaturation of these games after the six we just had but, as is per usual in the NHL, as soon as something works once, it will get played out until we are all sick of it. The outdoor games are a home-run for the league, let's sit back and see what they do with it.DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-14471698658179672762014-02-12T17:17:00.002-08:002014-02-13T14:37:19.940-08:00Men's Olympic Ice Hockey Jersey Review: Group C<i>With Men's Ice Hockey starting this morning in Sochi, Two Minutes for Typing will be passing out judgement on the aesthetics of the uniforms. Who wears their colours the best and who will we be hoping to see early exits solely due to sporting world-class eyesores? Let's take a look at what we'll be looking at for the next two-and-a-half weeks and apply our patented rating system.</i><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Switzerland</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/3877217/SwitzerlandFullSet.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/3877217/SwitzerlandFullSet.png" height="314" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;">Stanley Cup of Chowder</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Nike went with incorporating the main element of the Swiss flag, the white cross, and also went for a lot of...oh. Yea, that's all. Switzerland has never been a heavily decorated team when it comes to <a href="http://www.goironpigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/1ab15.jpg" target="_blank">the outfit</a> but this is just a practice jersey to boot. It actually looks like a sweater for a Nike+ beer league team. The only other element is the country name, Suisse in French, across either bicep. Well then. Moving along. Nothing to see here.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict</b>: Plus gets a big Minus</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Sweden</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://content.sportslogos.net/news/2013/10/Sweden-Olympic-Hockey-Jerseys-2014-Nike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://content.sportslogos.net/news/2013/10/Sweden-Olympic-Hockey-Jerseys-2014-Nike.jpg" height="210" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;">Chris Creamer</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Sweden kept things pretty classic here, going with the Tre Kroner as they are want to do. The sweater also features two blue stripes (yellow on their blue jersey) around the waist. However, Nike thought it was appropriate to remove the stripes they normally wear around the biceps as well as the highlight around the neck. This jersey isn't thoroughly terrible but once again we see something blinding us with its glare on the shoulders, viking ships in this case. That definitely knocks this one down a few notches and is just an unforgivable decision as a whole. I really hope this thing doesn't catch on because Sweden used to be <a href="http://blogimages.thescore.com/nhl/files/2014/02/Swedish-national-team.jpg" target="_blank">among the best dressed</a> on the international stage.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict</b>: Way to ruin a good thing, Nike</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Latvia</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.talkhockey.ca/LatviaJerseys90905683.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.talkhockey.ca/LatviaJerseys90905683.jpg" height="189" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;">Talk Hockey</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Latvia's old sweater used to be pretty awesome, <a href="http://thewayeyeseeit.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/iihf-latvia-replica-jersey.jpeg" target="_blank">a little convoluted</a>, but awesome nonetheless. For Sochi they kept a lot of the main elements - the arm stripes and "Latvija" across the waist - but scaled everything else back to just make it clean and uncluttered. The national crest in a monochromatic incarnation also makes an appearance on the chest, as it usually does. The white jersey, though I haven't seen an official look, runs a maroon shoulder cap as well. Chalk this up as a success because I'm afraid Latvia won't be seeing much on the ice.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict</b>: Introducing the business-casual hockey sweater</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Czech Republic</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/3877073/CzechFullSet.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/3877073/CzechFullSet.png" height="320" width="272" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;">Stanley Cup of Chowder</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It takes a second, and awareness of international flag designs, to realise that the one on top isn't a dreaded franken-jersey but is in fact the Czech Repulic's flag. I've made it apparent that I support this look because of its uniqueness and some of the countries involved have cool schemes to work with. The thing that makes this a success is that the red wraps around from the left half of the front to the right armpit instead of landing symmetrically in the centre. Seems like a small detail to get excited about but it looks absolutely horrendous when <a href="http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/p/sp/editorial_image/0a/0acd5c71887f62b8938fb40a050a8ad9/jersey_fouls_red_wings_beer_maiden_winnipeg_tribute_and_the_habsleafs_frankenjersey_from_hell.jpg" target="_blank">done the wrong way</a>. Their white jersey is nice and simple but does some creative work with the shoulder cap/striping along the upper chest. The coat of arms on both adds some great flavour on top of being a solid crest to begin with. I like how the Czech white is similar yet distinguishable to the Slovakian one since the two countries used to go out or something. Good work all around for the Czech team.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict</b>: Czech men are alllllll shoulders, ladies</span></div>
DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-4646365051687225902014-02-12T17:04:00.000-08:002014-02-13T14:37:11.595-08:00Men's Olympic Ice Hockey Jersey Review: Group B<i>With Men's Ice Hockey starting this morning in Sochi, Two Minutes for Typing will be passing out judgement on the aesthetics of the uniforms. Who wears their colours the best and who will we be hoping to see early exits solely due to sporting world-class eyesores? Let's take a look at what we'll be looking at for the next two-and-a-half weeks and apply our patented rating system.</i><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Canada</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn.agilitycms.com/hockey-canada/Corporate/About/Images/Jerseys/2014-Olympics/2014_olympics_three_jerseys_640original_127301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.agilitycms.com/hockey-canada/Corporate/About/Images/Jerseys/2014-Olympics/2014_olympics_three_jerseys_640original_127301.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;">Hockey Canada</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I don't know who gave the thumbs-up on these but I can only assume they were blind. <a href="http://i.cbc.ca/1.866355.1382502352!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/image.jpg" target="_blank">No one</a> seems to be <a href="http://vipmedia.globalnews.ca/2013/10/canada-jersey-2.jpg%3Fw%3D672%26h%3D448%26crop%3D1" target="_blank">excited</a> to wear <a href="http://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/sports/hockey/2013/10/08/sochi_olympics_updates_team_canada_unveils_hockey_jersey_at_10_am/jerseys.jpg.size.xxlarge.letterbox.jpg" target="_blank">these</a>, either. Canada used to look great because of the simple nature of their <a href="http://content.sportslogos.net/news/2013/09/Team-Canada-2010-Olympic-Hockey-Jersey.jpg" target="_blank">jerseys from 2010</a>. This here is a case, like San Jose's recent update, where going too minimalist just ruins the whole concept. Like the USA jersey, Canada fell prey to glossy decorations on the shoulders where Canada features maple leaves flanking the neck on all three options. The red jersey is an exact inverse of the white jersey while the black third (why do they even have one of those??) just says "Canada" across the chest. All three also sport a single armband around the left bicep, which hasn't really been a <a href="http://global3.memecdn.com/really-hitler_o_1082060.jpg" target="_blank">popular design choice</a> in about 70 years. All in all, this is just a bland concept with nothing in the way of a redeeming quality.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict</b>: Your jerseys are bad and you should feel bad!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Norway</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/3837503/NorwaySet.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/3837503/NorwaySet.png" height="181" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;">Stanley Cup of Chowder</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Here we have another team going with a simple set, except Norway opts for a more classic design rather than assaulting our sense of vision with a gamble gone bad. I should mention that this image isn't fully confirmed, but the folks at <a href="http://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/2014/1/9/5289662/sochi-2014-news-on-norway-austria-and-where-to-get-your-jerseys" target="_blank">Stanley Cup of Chowder</a> were tipped off to this design on a British Nike site. All other sources seem to confirm that this is the gist of it. The word "Norge" - Norwegian for "Norway" - crosses diagonally across the front and the striping stays simple and in line with their flag. The only improvement I would suggest is to incorporate their flag a little more (similar to what we will see with an eastern neighbor of theirs in a little bit) but otherwise this just works because it has for decades. Norway won't turn heads at the games with their play or their appearance but judging from some of the other entries that might not be a bad thing.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict</b>: Not earth-shattering but easy on the eyes</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Austria</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/assets/3877057/AustriaFullSet.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/assets/3877057/AustriaFullSet.png" height="184" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;">Stanley Cup of Chowder</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This is a pretty clean design, once again very simple, but I give it the edge over Norway because they included the Austrian coat of arms. Austria did a great job incorporating their colours and the bands around the upper arms line up which is always a cool effect. The only thing that distracts from this look is the word "Austria" all glossed out across the chest. If you haven't noticed, I pretty much hate all of the stupid glossing Nike did for these jerseys. It would have been a nice touch if they went with "Osterreich", which translates to "Austria" in the country's native German. All things considered, still a solid submission from the Austrian team.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict</b>: That crest will strike fear into the hearts of men</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Finland</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/sptusnhlexperts/1763911-max994x592.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/sptusnhlexperts/1763911-max994x592.jpg" height="257" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;">Greg Wyshynski</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This may not be everyone's cup of tea but I'm a big fan of this pair. The white jersey is essentially a wearable Finnish flag, a trend that these Olympics has embraced rather prominently. The concept is unique and, in Finland's case, gives some life to a fairly neutral-coloured flag. The blue jersey is a good look for their colour option and finds a way to fly the flag, though in a more subtle way on the upper arm. While navy blue probably wouldn't be the first thing I would think of for the shoulder caps, making them a wash of the lighter blue would have been more boring, white would have been awkward, and apparently neon green was taken. "Suomi" - "Finland" in the native language - features in a different location on either sweater as does the country's coat of arms. If you're pale and blonde, you will look smashing in this outfit.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict</b>: Great flag integration Finnish-es this round up</span></div>
DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-54320654538811008432014-02-12T16:57:00.000-08:002014-02-13T14:37:02.823-08:00Men's Olympic Ice Hockey Jersey Review: Group A<i>With Men's Ice Hockey starting this morning in Sochi, Two Minutes for Typing will be passing out judgement on the aesthetics of the uniforms. Who wears their colours the best and who will we be hoping to see early exits solely due to sporting world-class eyesores? Let's take a look at what we'll be looking at for the next two-and-a-half weeks and apply our patented rating system.</i><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Slovenia</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Slovenia_national_hockey_team_jerseys_-_2014_Winter_Olympics.png/220px-Slovenia_national_hockey_team_jerseys_-_2014_Winter_Olympics.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Slovenia_national_hockey_team_jerseys_-_2014_Winter_Olympics.png/220px-Slovenia_national_hockey_team_jerseys_-_2014_Winter_Olympics.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;">Realismadder, Wikimedia Commons User</span></div>
<br />
Red, white, and blue are featured to an almost nauseating degree in this year's Olympics, as we will soon find out, so Slovenia decided upon a departure from those, which are also their national colours. The substitution? Neon green a la the Seattle Seahawks. Both their home and away looks boast the jagged mountain cliffs and inverted triangle of stars featured on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Slovenia" target="_blank">crest of their flag</a>, but the nontraditional shade of green is a little jarring. Hockey is not usually the type of sport to be risky with colour schemes so I applaud the attempt here. However, I can't for the life of me formulate an answer to the question "why THAT colour?" Aside from that, it's a fairly simple design with the angles around the waist being a nice touch. I would give the edge to the white home jersey as being my favourite, but I can't see myself paying more attention to their play on the ice because of how mind-boggling the look is.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict</b>: Explain what I'm looking at please?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>United States of America</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1773453/nike_usa_jersey_2-up_large_large_medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1773453/nike_usa_jersey_2-up_large_large_medium.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;">sbnation.com</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I don't even think I have to explain why this jersey was ruined. It's those stupid f***ing stars on the shoulder yokes. Everyone has the insufferable fake laces that you can clearly see so I'll just ignore that atrocious design decision as much as possible but seriously why did you put those stars on there, Nike? Either home or away are perfectly mediocre to begin with but the cute decals around the neckline are making me embarrassed to see my home country take the ice. The crest is pretty slick, despite looking a little like the <a href="http://macmeat.com/images/usda_prime.jpg" target="_blank">USDA Prime Beef logo</a>, but the overall result is thoroughly underwhelming. You took a big step back, US of A, and it will be a while before anyone is <a href="http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1438526.1377635765!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/95659033mh073-ice-hockey-qu.jpg" target="_blank">this excited</a> about suiting up for the stars and stripes.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict</b>: Only a Gold Medal will forgive this abomination</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Slovakia</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://content.sportslogos.net/news/2013/11/Slovakia-2014-Winter-Olympic-Hockey-Jerseys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://content.sportslogos.net/news/2013/11/Slovakia-2014-Winter-Olympic-Hockey-Jerseys.jpg" height="210" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;">Chris Creamer</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This here is nice and simple. The designers at Nike clearly didn't want to work too hard, which would explain why the white for Slovakia and the USA are essentially carbon copies of each other. The pinstriping is a cool effect and, if you <a href="http://content.sportslogos.net/news/2013/11/Slovakia-Jerseys-Olympics-National-Anthem.jpg" target="_blank">take a closer look</a>, is actually the Slovakian national anthem. The crest was taken straight from their flag and there is no superfluous accents around the shoulders so they didn't do anything to make this design any worse. Again, pretty underwhelming but there really isn't anything to hate about the look aside from Nike's complete lack of an attempt at originality and identity.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict</b>: Unmemorable, but it could be worse</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Russia</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn.nikeblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/New-Russia-Hockey-Jerseys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.nikeblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/New-Russia-Hockey-Jerseys.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;">Sir Lucas Leftfoot</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
You would have to think that, as the host-country, Russia would come out looking spiffy and they sure delivered. I will be crapping all over Nike for appearing to derive all of the twelve teams' appearances from what seems to be the same two or three templates, but what they did create for the home club was purely unique. Both looks feature the word "Russia" in the native tongue as well as the nation's coat of arms - the crowned two-headed eagle - but the white jersey seen on the left takes a bolder approach by integrating it into the negative space. The white also sports a set of wings on top of the shoulders which makes for a neat addition. To cap things off, they placed four gold stars on either shoulder of the red jersey as well as eight gold crowns on the right forearm of the white jersey to signify Russia's success in the history of Olympic competition. I give both looks a SuperPass.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict</b>: Everyone go home, these jerseys beat your team</span></div>
DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-24912801327356481842014-01-30T13:27:00.001-08:002014-01-30T13:28:29.169-08:00Martin Brodeur: Sit Down, ManAs many of you likely know, career New Jersey Devil Martin Brodeur has already joined the pantheon of great goaltenders in NHL history. He first made his debut in the 1991-92 season, playing 4 games while going 2-1-0 (0 is ties, remember this was long before the Bettman point was introduced) and by 1995-96 became the uncontested starter in the Devils crease after backstopping the team to a sweep of Detroit in the Stanley Cup Finals the season prior. Through his career, Brodeur would visit the Finals four more times, most recently and forgettably in 2011-12, and would come out with the big prize twice, in 1999-2000 against Dallas and 2002-03 against Anaheim.<br />
<br />
Martin Brodeur owns records mostly due to his inhuman body of work. During the peak of his career between '95-96 through 2009-10, a span of 14 seasons, he logged time in 985 games which comes out to an average workload of 70.36 games per season. If you take out the two seasons he played fewer than 70 games (67 in '96-97 and 31 in '08-09) in that span, his average leaps up to 73.92 games per season. Long story short, that is absolutely insane.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Prior to the start of this season, his records included most combined regular season and playoff wins (782), combined games played (1,425), combined shutouts (145) as well as shutouts in a single playoff run (7), most consecutive 20- and 30-or-more win seasons (12 for each) and most 40-or-more win seasons overall (8). He has also been the youngest goaltender of all time to win 300, 400, 500, and 600 games for each of those milestones. As a guy who has played almost every single New Jersey Devils game for the better part of two decades, Brodeur has definitely shown that he is up to take on any task.<br />
<br />
So when the the Devils were slated to play at Yankee Stadium against the New York Rangers, Brodeur seemed like the logical choice. When the assignment had been revealed, head coach <a href="http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/01/25/devils-head-coach-pete-deboer-calls-on-brodeur-to-start-in-stadium-series/" target="_blank">Peter DeBoer was quoted</a> as saying, "It really is an easy decision from a right thing to do perspective. His career, 20 years with the Devils, what he's done, and he's played some excellent hockey for us this year." Both Brodeur and colleague Cory Schneider did equal legwork in <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/cory-schneider-fine-stadium-series-start-going-martin-143907201--nhl.html" target="_blank">diffusing any implied controversy</a> as well. Brodeur: "I want to deserve to play because of the way I play now, not what I did in the past." Schneider, on not starting: "He always seems to play his best against the Rangers and in these big games. I'm fine with it."<br />
<br />
Except this is all a bunch of PR crap. If you look at where the tandem was at entering Sunday, it was almost a no-brainer as to who should have gotten the nod for the outdoor matchup.<br />
<br />
The thing about Brodeur is that he has historically played for the clutch showing in the playoffs. In his career, he has been average at best during the regular season and has even been less-so since his ice time was reduced in the 2010-11 season. Even moreso, this is truly the first time in his career that his standing with the team is legitimately in jeopardy.<br />
<br />
Entering play on Sunday, Brodeur boasted a 13-10-4 record while dragging a .905 SV% and 2.36 GAA along with him. Schneider appeared somewhat less spectacular with a 9-9-7 record, but his .928 SV% and 1.84 GAA is really starting to separate him from the incumbent, especially on a team that struggles to score goals.<br />
<br />
On to the actual game, the Devils jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first period and things were going back and forth at a decent pace. But with about three minutes left in the period, the first snowflake would fall that would cause the avalanche. Marc Staal would score to bring the Rangers within one and they would score 4 more in a row during the second period to put things away. Schneider entered the game in relief for the third and would play flawlessly save for a score on a penalty shot by Derek Stepan, bringing the final total to 7-3.<br />
<br />
Brodeur has been bad this year no doubt, not surprising given his existence through 41 cycles of the annual calendar. The thing that is quickly starting to sour me to the future Hall-of-Fame-er is how he's acting like a child now that his game is going south and he's being replaced.<br />
<br />
Understandably, Brodeur didn't have anything nice to say about the Stadium Series. The catch is he said nothing to come down on his own play. How was the rink, Marty? "It was the worst ice I ever played hockey on." What do you think about how your team played? "I'm sure [all the odd-man rushes] would have never happened in a regular game." How did it feel to get pulled on a national stage like this? "I told DeBoer to 'give Schneider the experience of a period in this environment?'" Are there any positives to draw from this game? "The whole thing was unbelievable, besides the hockey game."<br />
<br />
These outdoor games are supposed to be a celebration of hockey, opening it up to fans around the world who may not be avid consumers of the sport, and all our most storied goaltender of the modern era could do is complain about having a bad game. What kind of message do you think that sends to those on the outskirts of the fandom? Sure, the game still counted towards the standings for the season so I doubt he imagined that he would get embarrassed like he did, but don't sh*t all over the fans and the overall experience because you had a no good, very bad day.<br />
<br />
(On a lighter note, here's Yelp user "Marty B." <a href="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/3919009/Screen_Shot_2014-01-27_at_9.59.09_AM.png" target="_blank">posting a review</a> of Yankee Stadium.)<br />
<br />
I'll give Brodeur some benefit of the doubt here: He suffered due to some bad bounces that found their way past him, the ice might have prevented him from making otherwise smart positional plays and habits are hard to adjust for in an environment he will only play in once in his life, and the defence hung him out to dry in some crucial moments, a factor which has been plaguing the team for most of the season to begin with.<br />
<br />
That said, the saga that unfolded - at least how it has been spun in the media - between the second and third periods with the goaltender change just serves to prove the extent that Marty is driving the ship in the crease. Any coach worth his salt would have pulled the goalie by the time New York scored 3 or, at most, 4 unanswered with 26 minutes left to turn things around. In Brodeur's words, "in a regular game" you would certainly hope so. Keeping up appearances doesn't win you hockey games, or at least there's no fancy stat to determine whether it does or not.<br />
<br />
With the understanding that Brodeur is not long for this league, the Devils organisation made the big move at the draft by bringing Cory Schneider over from Vancouver to hopefully take over full-time by season's end. After 54 games, New Jersey sits in 7th in the Metro Division with 55 points, 4 points behind the 2nd place Rangers but with a lot of other teams to leapfrog. He started the season very well despite playing behind a poor offence, but as time has marched forward he has started to slip. When he wins, he wins in excellent fashion, but when he falls short, he falls hard. For a team that, I would assume, wants to push for the playoffs down the stretch, you would think that playtime would be over and you would defer not to nostalgia but to the netminder giving you the best chance to pick up points. It should be pointed out that, despite his record, Schneider has allowed 3 or fewer goals in all of his 27 appearances this year except for one.<br />
<br />
Martin Brodeur has done a phenomenal job for the New Jersey Devils over the course of his career and deserves all the respect in the world for it. But there comes a time when the old guard needs to gracefully relinquish the reigns to the next generation. He has stated that he will <a href="http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/24423056/nhl-rumors-martin-brodeur-wouldnt-be-surprised-if-devils-traded-him" target="_blank">accept a trade</a> if it will benefit the team but recent events haven't exactly backed up his acceptance of a limited role.<br />
<br />
My sincerest congratulations to you for everything you have accomplished in your legendary career, Marty Brodeur. It's just time to pass the torch.DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-42617407496090106882014-01-22T11:46:00.000-08:002014-01-22T11:46:12.607-08:00Love Is A Battlefield, and So Is The Metropolitan<div class="MsoNormal">
Remember back in October and early November when the
Metropolitan Division was kind of like that carton of eggs you bought at the
store, brought home, and realised that just about all of the eggs were busted
open already? We all had a good, hearty laugh (or cry, depends on where you
live I guess) over it early on, but it appears that we are finally starting to
make an omelet.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While the Atlantic Division was chugging along to start the
season, their neighbors in the Metro were struggling to even stay relevant. If
we look at the standings on December 1, the second place Washington Capitals,
with 30 points, would not even qualify for a Wild Card spot in the Atlantic.
Whether the Atlantic is starting to falter or the Metropolitan is starting to
catch up, things are starting to get interesting out in the East.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
After the games on Monday, January 20, 23 points separate
the Pittsburgh Penguins at the top and the New York Islanders at the division’s
basement. If you take Pittsburgh out of the equation however, the two New York teams
sit at the extremes divided by 10 points and each of the seven teams having
played anywhere between 48 and 51 games.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The jostling for position gets even more segmented and
certainly a streak of two games or more in either direction could alter the balance
in short order. The Rangers and Flyers are separated by a single point and are shoving each other around to take a solid hold over the number two spot.
Columbus, Washington, New Jersey, and Carolina all sit within 3 points of each
other, the Blue Jackets having won each of their previous six games to bump the
Capitals and the Red Wings out of the East’s final Wild Card spot, and the
Islanders are just fighting to keep up. Nothing like a points logjam to make a
playoff race truly interesting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the big things at play here is the interdivision
record. Overall, the Metro Division is 74-58-16 against itself. If you take out
Pittsburgh’s 16-5-0 record as well as the Islanders’ 4-11-3, the other six teams
have combined for 54-42-13 which makes them a hair under .500 overall in terms
of winning percentage against themselves.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By virtue of how the schedule works in the NHL
post-realignment, teams play interdivision for roughly 35% of 82 games. It
stands to reason that most teams that are postured for a postseason berth tend
to find a good deal of success when facing division foes, and history will
support this. When you consider that the 35% of games are played against 20-23%
of the teams, it becomes apparent how big of a mountain one has to climb should
a team find themselves on the wrong end of a four- or five-game season series.
The points system in its current format affords the chance to salvage some
positive opportunity, but this reliance quickly separates these teams from the
ranks that determine their own fates.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It should also be noted that the Metropolitan Division is
made up of teams that have jumped out to slow starts, at least as of last year.
The Capitals, Rangers, and Islanders all mounted late-season pushes to reach
the playoffs while the Blue Jackets missed out to the Wild for the 8-seed in the West by
virtue of the ROW tie-breaker. I guess it still is too soon to really be able
to weed out the good teams from the bad teams, or at least the ones shooting to
gain some dominance, now that the NHL has gone through its recent makeover.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
This division is
sometimes referred to as the Meh-tropolitan Division and I can’t say that the
nickname hasn’t been earned. This grouping is shaping out to be so overall average
that vanilla ice-cream doesn’t even want to be seen at the games. Yet, while
the actual hockey isn’t the most compelling thing in the world, the playoff
race will certainly be something to keep an eye on. All it takes is for a team
to get hot at just the right time to turn heads come the postseason.</div>
DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-37510922500642926202014-01-21T11:25:00.000-08:002014-07-27T10:29:51.658-07:00An Open Letter to NHL BroadcastersDear NHL Television or Radio Personality,<br />
<br />
I appreciate your service in bringing professional hockey to fans across North America and around the world. Your knowledge and insight is a valuable source of commentary to the consumption of the sport. That said, could you please please PLEASE stop with all the incessant Olympic talk.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
I was watching Sunday's early broadcast between the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks, a highly desirable matchup to view, when I noticed something. Play-by-play man Doc Emrick felt the need to spend the entire pregame as well as the beginning seconds of the actual game to mention every single player involved that would be heading to Russia in February. I was so fed up hearing about it that I had to mute my TV through the entire first period and try again in the second. This isn't the only broadcast in which this has been done either.<br />
<br />
I get it: the rosters for Sochi have just been released earlier this month, we're all excited, NHL players make up the majority of the players on those teams (Hey! Who would've thunk it!), and it presents a fun angle to spin any particular game. The problem is that it has absolutely nothing to do with what goes down on the ice until we hit the Olympic break.<br />
<br />
I don't mind a passing reference here or there but trying to make the Olympic selections relevant at every turn is obnoxious to no end. No more "David Backes and Ryan Kesler will be suiting up for Team USA in 20 days, but no love lost between these two tonight!"; no "Tuukka Rask faces off against Jonathan Quick, a battle we will be eager to see in Sochi next month"; stop the "Paul Bissonnette certainly showed he's fired up about his snub by Hockey Canada en route to 3 minutes of ice time and 27 minutes in penalties". Whatever you think is happening isn't happening. It doesn't. Effing. Matter.<br />
<br />
Those of us who pay more attention to hockey than our wives, husbands, kids, fatally ill fathers-in-law, and dogs we strangely haven't seen in a month or so know very well who will be fighting for gold come February 12th. Those of us who can't pick Jonathan Toes, Zidayno Chara, or Teamoo Salami out of a lineup probably don't care anyways as long as the homeland brings home the bacon (no pun intended). We won't remember Phil Esposito inaudibly grumbling anything about these guys on 970 WFLA anyways.<br />
<br />
Anyone who plays or has ever played the sport is taught very early on to leave everything on the ice because, for 60 minutes, only one thing is important: the win. As professionals, the players in the NHL know this all too well. Anze Kopitar isn't going to take a run at Semyon Varlamov's noggin so that he hopefully won't have to face him in the prelims. Tomas Plekanec isn't going to have an identity crisis because fellow countryman Jaromir Jagr throws a Czech (pun absolutely intended!) on him during a Tuesday night matchup. These guys are professional athletes at the most elite level and have the wherewithall to understand the difference between league-play and a two-week international competition. Hows about you step up to the faceoff dot and act like professionals too?<br />
<br />
We live in an era with this thing called the internet which means if I, say, wanted to explore Olympic rosters, all I would have to do is go <a href="http://www.sochi2014.com/en/ice-hockey-teams" target="_blank">here</a>. Or <a href="http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2014/01/07/here-are-all-12-olympic-hockey-rosters-for-sochi/" target="_blank">here</a> or <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2014/1/8/5288498/winter-olympics-hockey-rosters-sochi-2014" target="_blank">here</a> or <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nhl/news/20140109/sochi-olympics-hockey-rosters/" target="_blank">here</a> or <a href="http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/recap/8367.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=187&cHash=b6fa7baf2e" target="_blank">here</a> or <a href="http://www.nhl.com/ice/olympicroster.htm" target="_blank">here</a>. You could seriously talk on the air about anything else, aside from Slurpees since <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR5j9fbnnw4" target="_blank">that's been done to death</a>, and it would be more interesting and informative. Better yet, talk about the game that is happening right in front of you. I know, what a concept! I don't watch hockey to dive head-first into a journalist dung-heap; I have Fox News for that.<br />
<br />
Let's stay focused here, boys.<br />
<br />
Respectfully yours,<br />
<br />
DeaconDangleDeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-8497911120177027822014-01-16T10:36:00.001-08:002014-01-16T10:36:08.317-08:00Yes, The Anaheim Ducks Are THAT Good<div class="MsoNormal">
For those of you unfamiliar, NHL.com has a weekly column
called “Super 16”. It’s a piece written by Corey Masisak every Friday that
takes a pulse on 16 different teams and ranks them in whichever order he
believes they are trending. It has been labeled “Power Rankings” in the past
but they changed the format and the name coincidentally when they decided to start using fancy
stats. At the end of the day it’s just an arbitrary list but it makes for an
interesting read if you like hearing where NHL staff writers see the league
heading week to week.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was perusing <a href="http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=699751" target="_blank">last week’s rankings</a> and I was a little
struck by what he said about Anaheim, most notably this: “<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Anaheim has the highest PDO (shooting
percentage plus save percentage) at even strength in the League. There's a very
good chance that number (103.7) will regress. The Ducks are also well behind
the Blackhawks and Blues in goal differential, meaning they are winning more
close games but that's not typically a sustainable ‘skill’ in larger sample
sizes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">It’s really cute
to see the journalists on NHL.com jumping on the advanced stats wagon. Sure, I
did as well in the past year and I probably don’t use all the numbers
correctly, but I do this for fun and not for a paycheque. When I read those
sentences, I just get the feeling that Masisak is putting a lot of big words on
the page without fully understanding how to <i>use</i>
the information he’s giving us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">My question is:
Why can’t we just accept that the Anaheim Ducks are legitimately good?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">The PDO argument
has been beaten into the ground against the Ducks since <a href="http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/21779972/are-the-anaheim-ducks-for-real" target="_blank">last</a> <a href="http://www.fearthefin.com/2013/3/18/4119114/sharks-vs-ducks-is-anaheim-the-best-bad-team-in-hockey" target="_blank">season</a>, <a href="http://blogs.thescore.com/nhl/2013/09/03/2013-14-nhl-previews-choose-your-own-opinion-anaheim-ducks-edition/" target="_blank">in thepreseason</a>, and into <a href="http://www.sportingnews.com/nhl/story/2013-12-10/anaheim-ducks-pdo-ryan-getzlaf-corey-perry-goal-nhl-playoff-predictions" target="_blank">this</a> <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1906767-is-it-too-early-to-call-the-anaheim-ducks-stanley-cup-favorites" target="_blank">season</a> as our buddy Corey has so kindly rehashed.
These folks aren’t wrong about the numbers – 102.5 in all 5v5 situations as
well as 103.8 in close 5v5 situations – but when is the sample size going to be
large enough?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since it’s been so in vogue to make this argument against
Anaheim for the past calendar year, I decided to put the team up to it now that
they have reached the 48-game mark of 2013-14.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last season, in all 5v5 situations, Anaheim ranked 5<sup>th</sup>
in the league in PDO with 101.6. This year so far sees them at an improved
102.5, ranking them 2<sup>nd</sup> behind only St. Louis (but Masisak isn’t
going to mention that, just drool over Vladimir Tarasenko for 200 words). Over
that 96-game span, their 5v5 shooting percentage sits at 9.31% while their save
percentage reaches 92.78%, making their PDO a high but respectable 102.1.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At 5v5 in close situations, the Ducks ranked 3<sup>rd</sup>
last season with a PDO of 102.1. This year, they weigh in at 103.8 which puts
them 1<sup>st</sup> overall. In the 96-game sample size, they’re shooting at a
rate of 10.16% and saving at a 92.79% clip, putting their 5v5 close PDO at
103.0.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
PDO is generally referred to as the “luck stat” where the
expectation is that any given team will hover around 100.0 over a large enough
– you guessed it – sample size. You can preach regression until the world comes
to an end but I think this attitude completely ignores what a team is actually
doing once they pop the skates on.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Advanced stats are nice and all when it comes to
understanding the game and they have come a long way in a short time period
relative to the storied history of capital “H” Hockey. The thing is that the
numbers and the good ol’ eye-test aren’t mutually exclusive.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And what can we gather from the Ducks this season that tells
us about their success just by watching? First, they don’t quit as a team. Even
when they go down early in a game they stick it out and put forth a full
60+-minute effort. Second, they are getting
contributions from up and down their line-up. Coach Bruce Boudreau has a deep
understanding of the weapons at his disposal and not only employs them in smart
situations but has developed chemistry in a wide variety of line combinations.
Finally, their goaltenders are playing out of their minds when called upon. And
yes, you can back these observations up with statistics.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To explore the first point, the Ducks sport a whopping 15-5-1
record when allowing the first goal of the game, putting their win percentage
at .714% when being the first to see a deficit. Not only does this place them first in this stat category, the three teams tied for second – Pittsburgh,
Boston, and San Jose – have only put forth a .450% win percentage with 9-10-1
records all around. They also rank first in the league when trailing after a
full 20 minutes with an 8-4-1 record, good for .615% as their win percentage.
Their chances drop off when trailing after 40 minutes, tied for sixth with a
.250% and 2-5-1, but those eight games are the fewest in the league ahead of
the Blues with a .273% success rate in eleven incidences.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As far as my second point goes, it only takes looking at a
boxscore to see that other teams are having trouble defending whoever Boudreau
puts over the boards on any given shift. In 48 games, they have 15 skaters with
12 points or more while only ranking 3<span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span> in total goals for. As far
as the rest of the top-five go, Pittsburgh has 11 skaters in 48 games, while
San Jose, St. Louis, and Chicago all have 13 skaters in 47, 45, and 49 games, respectively, with 12 points or more. (UPDATE: After their matchup with
Vancouver, Anaheim reached 16 skaters with 12 points or more in 49 games.) A
big part of this success is that Boudreau is not afraid to cycle different
players alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, who combine for 102 points on
their own, on the top line. Even on nights when the pair isn't putting pucks in the net, some of the other guys seem willing and able to pick up the tab.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The goaltending has been a great help to the Ducks’
league-leading dominance, and the big factor in this lies on the shoulders on
Jonas Hiller. Hiller has appeared 32 times this season, accumulating a record
of 23-4-4. During that workload, he has only allowed more than 3 goals a mere 5
times, the last of which occurred in a loss to the Dallas Stars on November 26.
After that date, Hiller earned 2 of his 4 overtime losses before charging out
to 14 straight victories which is a streak that continues to this day. Due to
injuries to backup Viktor Fasth, Frederik Anderson earned some ice time and
earned the confidence of the team by going the first 7 games of his NHL debut
with trips to the win-column. These two secondary options have gone for a
12-4-1 record in their limited starts, all while the fans eagerly await highly-regarded
prospect John Gibson to take the ice for his first start.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The other big knock on the Ducks is that they have played a
West-leading 24 games against the Eastern Conference because we’re realising how
bad the East is. The Ducks are 16-5-3 against the East, but this completely
ignores the fact that they also have gone 19-3-2 against the Western Conference
and still haven’t lost a game in regulation in 21 games in their own barn. Say
what you want about this team but it's all just excuses at this point.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Are the Ducks due for a regression moving forward? I wouldn’t
doubt it for a moment but I would be hard-pressed to believe that it will drive
their fortunes down all that much either. Need I remind you that the 2013
Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, in 48 games, amassed a 36-7-5 record
so the start Anaheim is having isn’t all that far-fetched. I should also
mention that I am, by birth, a San Jose Sharks fan. I <i>HATE </i>the Anaheim Ducks and that stupid duck-foot/"D" logo. All that said, they grabbed my attention in
the lockout-shortened season last year and as much as I hate to say it, they
haven’t given me a reason to place doubt in them this year. And I feel like
they should be given the credit they deserve, fancy stats be damned.</div>
DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-8253744353879499972014-01-14T11:10:00.000-08:002014-01-14T11:18:32.766-08:00Let's All Get Excited About the Winnipeg Jets!<div class="MsoNormal">
As you may have heard, the Winnipeg Jets recently fired head
coach Claude Noel, the first bench boss of the revamped franchise. In 177 games
with the club, Noel lead the team to an 80-79-18 record which adds up to a .503
points percentage and no playoff appearances. I’m sure you can imagine that
this wouldn’t make the grade for many organisations and, with little turnover
as far as the roster goes since the move from Atlanta, a change was bound to be
made.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I do believe that
the Winnipeg roster has the pieces to be competitive in this league. Mind you I
wouldn’t place them in the elite class of Chicagos, Bostons, or Pittsburghs,
but they are built well enough to contend for a low seed with the guys they
have now.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Their top-four on defence is balanced and serviceable, Mark
Scheifele is growing into the centreman that they desperately needed to improve
down the middle, and they don’t ice any elite wingers but who they do have are
more than capable of spotting enough goals to put up a W.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ondrej Pavelec is the Achilles heel-arguably the worst
starting goaltender in the league-and is signed through 2016-17 for reasons
someone will need to explain in great detail to me. Pavelec entered the action
on Monday 11-19-4 on the year with a .898 SV% and a 3.14 GAA. Al Montoya has
been faring significantly better but hasn’t seemed to have proven his worth as
more than a career backup. To put things plainly, the goaltending is more of a
liability than an asset.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back to the matter at hand, the Jets wasted no time in
naming the next man in charge: veteran bench boss Paul Maurice. While Maurice
has never coached a team to a Cup win, he has had experience in the Cup Final
as well as another trip to a Conference Final, both in his two stints with the
Carolina organisation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, the early returns look promising. Maurice coached his
first game for Winnipeg on Monday night against the Phoenix Coyotes and boy did
the atmosphere turn electric.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maurice shuffled his deck on right wing, continuing Michael
Frolik’s movement up to the first line, shifting Blake Wheeler alongside Scheifele
on the second, and bumping the forward-turned-defenceman-turned-forward Dustin
Byfuglien down with Olli Jokinen and Devin Setoguchi on the third. (That is the
most expensive third line I think I have ever seen: $12.7 million in cap space,
NBD. Top line is $11.4 million, just so you know.) Eric O’Dell flip-flopped
with Chris Thorburn from the second line to the fourth and Anthony Peluso
rejoined the team while Eric Tangradi sat out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Coyotes jumped up to the early lead, scoring on the
Power Play at 12:16 of the first. The Jets responded just 36 seconds later and
didn’t take the foot off the gas until all was said and done. Winnipeg outshot
Phoenix by a factor of two, seeing the totals rest at 39-18 through 60 minutes
of play and that doesn’t even come close to telling the whole story.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Phoenix started letting their frustrations come to a head in
the third, accumulating multiple penalties and allowing Winnipeg free-reign in the
zone. During a tripping call on Lauri Korpikoski, seconds after Setoguchi
netted the 5<sup>th</sup> and final Winnipeg tally, the Jets went on a tear,
amassing 5 shots and 11 Corsi events in two long offencive-zone presences.
While this didn’t result in a score, the 15,004 fans at the MTS Centre signaled
their approval with a long standing ovation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Winnipeg was also controlling the play for the majority of
the game. Their 5v5 Fewick-For% totaled out to 63.2% while their Corsi-For%
reached 55.3%. Their 4 even-strength goals boosted their 5v5 shooting% for the game
to 17.4% and they managed to stop all 14 of the 5v5 shots against. Phoenix has
never been heralded as having much offencive prowess but Winnipeg did well to
stifle any opportunities and drive play to their advantage.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you’ll allow me to take a tangent, I did a little
data-mining experiment. I tallied Winnipeg’s records when their Corsi-For%,
Fenwick-For%, as well as when both were greater than 50%, in all 5v5
situations, for all games this season prior to Monday’s matchup with Phoenix. I
also subtracted those records from their overall record (19-23-5) to see how
they did when equal to or less than 50% in all those parameters. My intent was
to determine what their success rate was when they drive possession at even
strength.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Their Corsi-For record is 3-12-1 plus a 3-3 split when
reaching the shootout. When only considering Fenwick they posted a 9-10-1
record with a 3-4 shootout record. When they have favourable numbers for Corsi
and Fenwick, their record is 3-10-1, as well as going 2-3 when reaching the
shootout. (I made sure to note the shootouts separately because advanced
metrics are no longer relevant to the outcome of the game once the contest reaches
the skills competition.)*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To present the inverse of these findings: An unfavourable
Corsi-For sees them at 12-11-0 and 2-1 in the shootout. An unfavourable Fenwick
produces 6-13-0 and 2-0 in the shootout. Unfavourable numbers in both
categories results in 12-13-0 and 3-1 in the shootout.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are quite a few things that I think this says about
the Winnipeg Jets. First of all, it appears that they are a relatively strong
possession team but they tend to take low-percentage shots. I would even go so
far as to suggest (without looking at a shot-chart) they depend a little too
much on shots from the point with traffic in front to generate offence. I
mentioned earlier that they don’t have any elite scorers on their roster so,
looking at the discrepancy between their over-50% Corsi-For and Fenwick-For
records, they manage success when they allow plays to develop instead of throwing pucks on net for the sake of throwing pucks on net.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Looking at their inverse records, a large part of any
success they do have relies on keeping pucks away from Pavelec i.e. blocking
shots. The Jets can actually perform in a defencive shell but it is no secret
that Pavelec is not a goaltender that, when the team needs him to, can steal
games. Winnipeg ranks 9<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> in the league in blocked shot with 722, tied for 10<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> in goals scored with 128, but are a dismal 26th in 5v5 Save% with 91.2%. I think this signals that
the skaters are working hard to pull their weight and Pavelec isn’t up to the
task of reciprocating.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a lot of work to be done for the Jets to turn
things around and odds are it is too late in the season for them to take
significant strides this campaign. During the Coyotes game, the Jets players
spoke about the “fresh start” that Maurice’s hire brings to the organisation and
they certainly played with newfound energy and life. The jury is still out as
to whether this is them turning over a new leaf and they struck a new sense of
chemistry or if they are setting themselves up for a massive fall. The
franchise has done very little to alter the roster since coming over from
Atlanta and the firing of Noel suggests that we haven’t seen the last of
changes to come in Manitoba’s capital city.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
*<i>As somewhat of a
control, I also tallied these numbers for the Vancouver Canucks. I felt they
were a suitable team for comparison because their Corsi-For and Fenwick-For
percentages were highly similar, Vancouver is close in blocked shots (700), and
they have played Winnipeg only once which means the records have a low
incidence of crossover. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Positive Corsi-For%:
12-5-2 + 0-4 in the shootout<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Positive Fenwick-For%:
13-7-2 + 0-5 in the shootout</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Positive Corsi-For%
and Fenwick-For%: 12-5-2 + 0-4 in the shootout<o:p></o:p></i></div>
DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-59510136979745240672014-01-10T17:02:00.002-08:002014-01-10T17:02:35.391-08:00Is Toronto's Luck Starting to Run Out?<div class="MsoNormal">
One thing I love about sports, and part of the reason you
watch whether you realise it or not, is seeing a team defy all odds. It’s why
you pull for the underdog during the Superbowl, or you cheer on any team
playing the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees, or pop in your “Mighty Ducks” VHS
tapes every once in a while. If every game went to the best team on paper then
there would be no point in playing, would there?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But while this is an easy attitude to have during any
isolated event, the statistics tend to catch up over a big enough sample size. Every
sports team in the history of forever has preached the “just focus on every
play/shift/possession at a time” but those, good or bad, add up as a season
progresses and more often than not we can start to weed out the pretenders from the contenders given a decently-sized body of work.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
So this naturally brings us to the Toronto Maple Leafs. We
knew something was up last year, when the team shimmied into a 5<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> seed after posting a 21-10-5 record while being outshot and only managing a
5-7-0 when outshooting the other team. That’s 36 games over a 48-game season in
which they saw more rubber than they presented, in case you need me to spell that one out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Only two other teams last year managed a playoff bid while
being outshot for over half of last season’s games. Washington chased the play
for 34 games and Vancouver did the same for 27 games. Both, mind you, feasted
off of their weaker division opponents (Washington 15-3-0 over the Southeast,
Vancouver 11-6-1 against the Northwest), and both, like Toronto, saw
first-round exits.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toronto saw success early on in this season, entering
November 10-4-0 as 1<span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span> place in the Eastern Conference. After watching the calendar flip to December, they sat 5th in the Atlantic Division on top of a 14-10-3 record, comfortably in a playoff Wild Card spot thanks to the
rocky start of their neighbors in the Metropolitan.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After the Winter Classic on January 1<span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span>, Toronto
leapfrogged over Detroit for 4<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> in the Atlantic by virtue of a
shootout win in the outdoor contest.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On January 9<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>, however, Toronto was bumped to the
bubble for the first time of the season. Detroit rebounded in their next game
to retake the 4-spot and remain there despite a 4-1 loss to San Jose. In the
Metropolitan, Philadelphia has seen a recent surge up to the 2<span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span> spot, Washington gained some traction with a late goal by Eric Fehr over Tampa
last night, Carolina is riding a 5-game winning streak, and the Rangers, tied
in points with the Leafs, are waiting in the wings to steal any thunder should
anyone fall off in the race. All the while, Toronto hasn’t won since their
messy win at the Big House in Michigan.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While we sit with just under 40 games to go before we hit
the postseason, this all points to a leveling-off in stat-world</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To date, the Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t seen the same stroke
of luck as far as shooting ratios go. When outshot, they sport a 17-14-5 record
to date, a .472 win percentage. In games in which they outshoot the opposition,
they have only maintained a 4-4-0 record, which easily calculates to .500. With
only one game in which they have equaled the shots of their opponent, a loss no
less, they outshoot the other team only 17.8% of the time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Leafs average 27.2 shots per contest, weighing in at 5<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>-worst
in the league. What they do manage to do worst in the league is allow shots on
net, a 36.4 clip. This bleeds into their scoring rates as well, where they bury
the puck at a rate of 2.28 per game and flip to the other side of the coin at 2.58 against per game.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Switching the conversation from pure shot to possession
metrics, they fare in the realm of terrible. On all 5v5 situations, the Leafs
sit at a -13.7 Corsi rating and -10.1 Fenwick per 60 minutes. Things shift
slightly worse when the score is close 5v5, where they see a -15.1 Corsi and a -10.6
Fenwick per 60 minutes. These results all place them worst in the league in
these categories. What’s more, if you shave their all 5v5 situations numbers in
half, you still haven’t reached the first playoff team at the low-end of the
spectrum (which is Tampa Bay, who have been missing their top shooter in Steven Stamkos since
early November).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Ed. Note: I am experimenting with different statistic
sources to familiarise myself with new ways of notation on advanced statistics
as well as attempting to bring in different information to my analyses so you are most certainly seeing me present things differently. Since
this is the case, expect a full discourse-a tutorial for those unfamiliar and
the rationale for those who wish to delve further down the rabbit hole-on the
advanced stats that I use in the week ahead.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Part of the reason they are even in the conversation to
begin with is that they are receiving pretty excellent goaltending from the
tandem of Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer. Bernier, who appears to have
stolen the starting job outright, is bringing a .926 SV% and 2.58 GAA to the
table while Reimer, in his 20 appearances, has a .918 SV% and 3.08 GAA. These
save percentages place the pair 7<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span> and 12<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>,
respectively, among netminders with 19 or more starts.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To put things another way, as a team the Maple Leafs score
7.98% of the shots that reach the net at 5v5 in close situations. They get
scored on at a rate of 6.25% of the shots that hit their own net under the same
parameter. This might look favourable on the surface but take a moment to think
about how this applies to their output: for every 100 shots they put on net in close situations
they score almost 8 goals but for every 100 shots they face, over 6 pucks hit
the twine. On average, it takes them almost 4 whole games to reach the 100-shot
mark, but they see 100 shots before a third game is all said and done. 1.995
goals for to 2.083 goals against is a little too close for comfort when the
games become more and more important if you ask me. This might be manageable in
the short term but over an 82-game season, asking a pair of unproven
25-year-olds to bail out a punchless offence is an ill-advised gamble to be
taking.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Something has to give here heading down towards the end of
the season and statistical confidence is most certainly not in their favour.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been driving the advanced stat community
absolutely nuts for the greater part of 2013 but regression is not a kind
mistress when she comes a-knockin’. In their last three games, they have been
outscored 18-5 and while this may be a small sample size in and of itself, they
can’t afford to take a blow such as they did in the standings as the playoff
races heat up for those low seeds.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toronto plays 15 more games prior to the Olympic break,
including tonight’s contest in the United States’ capital city, so we may not
have reached panic mode yet but this squad is going to have to back up their
past fortunes with some tangible effort and skill in order to continue their
course.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>All statistics compiled
from NHL.com, extraskater.com, and stats.hockeyanalysis.com<o:p></o:p></i></div>
DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-77871462949530607272014-01-06T10:50:00.002-08:002014-01-06T10:51:23.472-08:00Live Blog: WJC Gold Medal Round, Sweden v Finland00:00 - Arbitrary Prediction: Sweden 1, Finland 3<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
00:00 - Sweden skates right to left, Oscar Dansk in net. Finland skates left to right, Juuse Saros in net</div>
<div>
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div>
<br />
00:28 - Saku Maenalanen chips out to Esa Lindell from Finland who puts a low point shot past Dansk on the first shot of the game</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
01:28 - Andre Burakowsky from Sweden drives into the zone and puts a try on net, goes wide. This is already very fast-paced and going end to end</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
02:07 - Filip Sandberg receives a pass from Erik Karlsson in the neutral zone and puts a shot up right past the line, Saros makes the stop and the defence clears the rebound from the slot</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
02:26 - Maenalanen gets a break in Swedish territory but fires wide</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
03:32 - Sweden is working hard to utilise their opportunities created by space behind the net. Nothing manifests but I'll be watching to see if this turns in their favour</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
05:22 - Seems to be a pretty solid forecheck by Finland. 1 leads the initial press, 2 sit wide close to the centre line, the 2 defencemen linger towards the middle lane. It's going to take a lot of quick passing to break through</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
06:20 - Aleksi Mustonen down the middle to Jusso Ikonen on his right and across to Joni Nikko but Nikko misses the connection on the pass. Great movement, just no...-shakes head-...finish</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
06:00 - Robert Hagg on Sweden collects the first penalty of the game on a hook. Finland has had some good possession but very little sustained. We shall see if the man-advantage gives them more room to work</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
08:27 - "Let's go Sweden" chants commence</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
09:00 - Jacob de la Rose give and go with Elias Lindholm and gets a dangerous shot off driving down the left wing. Saros is up for the task</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
09:29 - Lindell goes off for a hold in the defencive zone. Sweden now up on the Power Play</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
10:24 - Saros makes a stop on a point shot from Gustav Olofsson after some cycling around the zone. He seems to be seeing everything</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
10:38 - Andreas Johnson from Sweden right in front. Finland's defence is not playing too hot but Saros is out of his mind already</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
11:30 - Total of 5 shots from Sweden on the man-advantage but score remains the same</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
13:21 - Two good drives from Sweden in the slot but nothin' doin'. The home crowd really does call attention and adrenaline to their shots</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
14:10 - Rasmus Ristolainen dances into the centre of the zone and gets a backhand shot through, Dansk rejects the chance</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
16:47 - Alexander Wennberg to Johnson in the Finland zone, just looking for a quick chip in front, Saros continuing to stand tall</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
17:24 - Christian Djoos trips Maenalanen on Finland behind the Swedish net, second chance for Finland on the Power Play</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
19:13 - very aggressive from Sweden's forecheck on the kill. I haven't seen too much speed from Finland so it looks like Sweden is capitalising</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
20:00 - Sweden 0, Finland 1. Shots: Sweden 12, Finland 11</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
20:00 - Sweden skates left to right, Finland skates right to left</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
20:25 - Sweden attacks hard, Wennberg shoots but it goes high and out of play</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
21:59 - Sweden is looking for feeds from the low side to centre, can't connect on any passes</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
23:12 - Erik Karlsson to Oskar Sudqvist just outside the slot, still nothing for Sweden but they are maintaining possession to start</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
23:57 - Johnson steals on a clear, can't convert but Sweden generates two chances in the drive</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
25:22 - Maenalanen gets Finland's first shot in the period from the point, Dansk wakes up to make the stop</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
26:21 - Sebastian Collberg goes down in the Finnish zone off an elbow from Mikko Vainonen, struggles to get back on his feet</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
26:28 - Play is called but no penalty, which incites the crowd. Maybe this will light a fire for Sweden</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
26:56 - Big drive for Mikko Lehtonen from Mustonen on a 3-on-2 for Finland, Dansk denies the pleasure</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
27:40 - Sandberg gets held up in the offencive zone by Julius Honka and Sweden goes a man up. If ever there was an opportunity, this is it</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
27:53 - Lucas Wallmark evens things up from a high triangle passing play between himself, Djoos at the point, and the crossing pass from Lucas Bengsston. The crowd is really driving their team here</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
28:38 - Maenalanen brings Finland back on top from a backhand pass below the goal line to the front of the net by Teuvo Teravainen after receiving a feed from the boards by Artturi Lehkonen</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
29:37 - Lindholm receives a pass and has a lot of room after cutting to the right post on a rush by Sweden, just doesn't convert on the chance</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
31:16 - Finland is collapsing well on plays inside lately. Just as with any other team, if you keep the offence to the outside on balanced pressure, the chances diminish</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
32:41 - Filip Forsberg steals and makes a quick move to the net, Saros takes the shot in the bread basket and holds. A lot of action from Sweden but Finland is holding them back on the scoreboard</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
33:10 - Teravainen is insane with the puck. Takes a shot just outside the left faceoff dot and Dansk recoils all the way back into the net with his sudden shot</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
34:32 - Finland is absolutely outmatched as far as ability goes. So why are they ahead? First of all Saros is outplaying Dansk by a nautical mile. Second, they are picking their chances and making them count. Not to say Sweden is slacking but they seem to be taking the first chance, not necessarily the smart chance</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
36:07 - Ristolainen heads to the box on a trip. He was falling himself on the play but it seemed to be enough to draw a call</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
37:30 - Wallmark receives a weak side pass but can't bury it. Sweden can't even convert the back-door plays because Saros is just square to everything that comes his way</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
39:47 - Hagg tries a wraparound shot, Lindell stops him before he can come across for the attempt</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
40:00 Sweden 1, Finland 2. Shots: Sweden 14 (26), Finland 7 (18)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
40:00 I did the math on a hunch I had in the past 40 minutes. Sweden's skaters average 72.25" (6' 0.25") and 184.45 pounds. Finland's skaters hit the 71.6" (5' 11.6") and 183.55 pound mark. While it looks marginal, the sample size is on a range of 20 players. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
40:00 Sweden skates right to left, Finland skates left to right</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
41:48 - Ville Pokka comes down the ice on a 3-on-2 for Finland. Doesn't convert, but the best chance in a back-and-forth third period</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
42:06 - The Proclaimers played in the stadium!! Sorry, I have a thing for "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
42:50 - Forsberg cannot get a shot off. It seems like every chance he takes hits off a stick or deflects otherwise</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
43:18 - Tripping call on Saku Kinnunen for a hipcheck on Wallmark. Shouldn't really be a penalty but no one ever said officials were perfect. Sweden back on the Power Play</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
44:03 - Finland reading the play excellently with their 2-2 penalty kill formation. Sweden has been shifting around very liberally but Finland is holding strong</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
47:52 - Wennberg spins off what could have been a shot, Honestly one of the smartest things I have seen all period. Yes, I do agree that you should fire off all shots possible when you are struggling to find the back of the net but sometimes it pays to settle things down and really work your options as opposed to taking the first one</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
47:58 - Holding on Mustonen of Finland. Yet another questionable call</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
48:49 - Puck goes out of play in the Finnish end. Sweden wants a Delay of Game call but won't get one</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
49:53 - Wallmark wants a deflection with his pass through the slot but won't get one</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
50:11 - Ristolainen gets a holding call on Johnson just as Finland's penalty expires. Back to the kill for Finland</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
50:32 - Wallmark is so hungry for a goal from the right faceoff dot, it's ridiculous</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
50:53 - Collberg across to Wallmark to Djoos for a one-time slapper at the point. Sweden works the triangle play (a function of an "Umbrella" formation for the Power Play) again and come up big with under 10:00 left in the game. I should mention the heavy traffic all the way through to Saros. I think that shot defied physics or the space-time continuum or something to get through all that mess</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
53:36 - Great scramble by Finland, a wide open net is offered after Dansk is down behind the net but great support by Sweden's defence to keep things out</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
57:10 - Finland can't generate sustained pressure but are shutting Sweden down in their zone. Best offence is a good defence and one or the other will have to lead to an opportunity</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
59:40 - This is one of those "They will beat you 9 out of 10 games. But NOT THIS GAME" moments for Finland. They haven't sustained any offence recently, are completely outmatched overall when it comes to basic skills, but they are showing they have the drive and vision to hang here.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
60:00 Sweden 2, Finland 2. Shots: Sweden 6 (32), Finland 7 (25)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
60:00 Going to overtime for the first time in any of the final rounds this year. Yay Hockey!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
60:00 Sweden goes left to right, Finland goes right to left</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
60:35 - Teravainen gets the first shot of overtime from the point, Dansk makes an easy grab</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
61:21 - Very late offside call at the Finnish blue line</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
61:36 - Hagg gives Saros a tough stop, Saros leaves the puck for his defence</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
62:11 - Play moves back and forth, Saros settles things when the action comes his way again</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
63:08 - Linus Arnesson walks around behind the Finnish net, can't get a wrap-around through and no one home to stuff it in from the front</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
64:25 - Ristolainen has been a pain in the side of any team he has faced during this tournament. He played the puck alone for about 30 seconds in the Sweden zone with one or two scoring chances</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
66:04 - Saros makes a great save after not seeing the puck but just barely squeezes the puck from a shot in front of the net after a pass comes from behind him</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
67:30 - Dansk goes spread-eagle on a sequence that saw some shots and rebounds coming from right in front of him. Finland's offence has been activating in the 4-on-4 scenario, Sweden's defence has just been responding in kind</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
69:41 - Rasmus Ristolainen has just ended the game! He receives the pass high on the right wing from Teravainen, jumps into the play, comes across the crease, and just barely gets it under the right pad of Dansk. He completely shakes his cover and no one else from Sweden has the awareness to pick him up driving hard to the front of the net<br />
<br />
69:41 - Sweden 2, Finland 3 (Overtime). Shots: Sweden 5 (37), Finland 6 (31)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
69:41 - Alexander Wennberg from Sweden and Jusse Saros from Finland named Players of the game</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
69:41 - Top Goalie of the tournament awarded to Oscar Dansk. Top Defenceman of the tournament awarded to Rasmus Ristolainen. Top Forward of the tournament awarded to Filip Forsberg</div>
DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-39131124143135688392014-01-06T10:47:00.000-08:002014-01-06T10:51:14.489-08:00Live Blog: WJC Bronze Medal Round, Russia v Canada00:00 - Arbitrary Prediction: Russia 3 Canada 4<br />
<br />
00:00 - Russia moves right to left, Andrei Vasilevski in net. Canada moves left to right, Zachary Fucale in net.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
00:26 - Russia has had the puck twice, so far are struggling in transition through the neutral zone<br />
<br />
01:20 - Canada employing speed early on as their weapon for possession, looking to see them utilise this for most of the game<br />
<br />
02:01 - Scott Laughton breaks up an offencive try by Russia, just by not quitting on the backcheck<br />
<br />
02:20 - Bo Horvat with a hook behind the net before a stuff attempt by Russia, Canada the first to see the box. They will have to be more disciplined if they are going to go home with some hardware<br />
<br />
03:17 - Fucale stops a Mikhail Grigorenko attempt in close. So far seems confident<br />
<br />
03:35 - Grigorenko looking for Pavel Buchnevich in the slot, puck goes off of Matt Dumba's skate right in front of the net and past Fucale. If Canada shows frustration early, they won't get back into this game<br />
<br />
04:29 - Russia doing a great job of taking away the middle of the ice. Canada has some quick skaters and skilled stickhandlers but that won't matter if they can't get into legitimate scoring positions<br />
<br />
05:12 - Fucale finally smothers a try by Ivan Barabashyov from the side of the net, Josh Anderson pins Vadim Khlopotov to the ice right in the crease. I would not assume these two teams like each other<br />
<br />
07:03 - Canada seems a little timid. They had about 3 consecutive solid chances but there's a disconnect in puck support. Two players down low, two up at the point, one actually exits to the neutral zone just in case they lose it or need to come back to reset. I have not seen this configuration before<br />
<br />
09:44 - Alexei Bereglazov going for a break off of a blocked shot, Dumba quickly squashes that<br />
<br />
10:07 - Georgi Busarov all alone in front Fucale, Fucale stands tall to make the stop<br />
<br />
11:22 - Derrick Pouliot is a big part of Canada's offence. They put up a flurry of shots in the zone and many of them originated from the centre point from Pouliot's stick<br />
<br />
13:55 - Jonathan Drouin is good but he's hurting his team by doing too much. He seems to be making a lot of offensive zone turnovers because he holds on to the puck too long. Tampa Bay should be at least a little concerned<br />
<br />
14:38 - Neutral zone turnover by Canada, Eduard Gimatov collects and rushes up. Uses Josh Morrissey as a screen and rips a wrister past Fucale<br />
<br />
16:09 - Alexander Barabanov has a great rush up off of a defencive miscue by Dumba. Doesn't connect on the shot but boy was that close<br />
<br />
17:10 - I would not have played a 2-on-1 like Pouliot did, personally, but great way to take away the pass and then the puck with a combination slide and stick-check<br />
<br />
18:08 - Too many men on the ice by Russia. If Canada wants to get back in business they could absolutely use one here<br />
<br />
18:53 - Decent puck movement by Canada but Russia is shutting off lanes to the middle of the ice again. They have only allowed 4 goals on the kill during the tournament and I'm guessing their efficient 1-2-1 formation has a lot to do with it<br />
<br />
19:22 - Drouin across the slot to Mantha but stopped by Vasilevski. If Mantha managed to wire a one-timer instead of holding for a quick stick-handle this could have been a different game entering intermission<br />
<br />
20:00 - Russia 2, Canada 0. Shots: Russia 14, Canada 13<br />
<br />
20:00 - Russia moves left to right, Canada moves right to left<br />
<br />
20:59 - Mantha a shot in close, Vasilevski won't let that one in<br />
<br />
21:27 - Ilya Lyubushkin trips Curtis Lazar coming down on the boards, Canada back on the man-advantage<br />
<br />
22:29 - Mantha and Pouliot really want those drives from the point but can't get the puck on net. Canada is having a lot of trouble getting tip plays to connect<br />
<br />
23:24 - Sam Reinhart tries a quick shot from the slot but hits off Vyacheslav Osnovin. Canada is having trouble finding space for the puck to go through<br />
<br />
23:45 - Griffin Reinhart goes off on a hold/interference call during a Russia drive to the net. Russia back on the Power Play<br />
<br />
23:57 - Laughton gets a great shorthanded chance rushing up the wing but can't put it through<br />
<br />
24:27 - Russia gets another Too many men call, negates the man-advantage. This might open things up for one of the teams<br />
<br />
26:04 - Pouliot goes coast to coast, gets a solid drive off from the slot but just can't solve Vasilevski<br />
<br />
26:39 - Aaron Ekblad gets called on a trip with Pavel Buchnevich driving in alone. Canada has the speed to generate shorthanded chances but something has to give if they keep making trips to the box<br />
<br />
27:07 - Grigorenko comes in close and gets a quick shot off, Fucale is quick to react and squeezes on the save<br />
<br />
27:37 - Alexander Barabanov tries a centreing feed with some room, gets quickly batted away by Canada<br />
<br />
28:49 - Barabanov tries to toe-drag around two Canadian defenders, good thing he couldn't get a handle on it. Canada seems to be trying very hard to keep pucks from reaching Fucale. Is this a trust issue or are they being coached to be this aggressive on the backcheck?<br />
<br />
29:18 - Ekblad pinching on a drive after Anderson controls from behind the net, Vasilevski gets a pad on it<br />
<br />
30:13 - Another wide shot from in close by Dumba. Canada really needs to put these on the mark<br />
<br />
31:32 - Ekblad off the pipe from the right faceoff circle. This is the closest they have gotten to beating Vasilevski<br />
<br />
32:14 - Laughton a feed across the crease, Horvat can't get his stick on it. Canada keeps testing here<br />
<br />
33:28 - Charles Hudon gets the gate for a cross-check along the boards on Anton Slepyshev. What did you think was going to happen?<br />
<br />
33:46 - Canada is getting very aggressive on the forecheck with a man down. They are sending both of their forwards deep into Russia's zone for the press<br />
<br />
34:55 - Two dangerous chances by Russia with the man up. Fucale comes through but these odd-man rushes can be killers<br />
<br />
35:55 - Fucale manages to cover with a lot of traffic and scrambling right in the crease. Seriously, all 10 skaters are up in close to the net<br />
<br />
36:07 - Mantha drives up the right wing with Hudon supporting at the far post. Not sure why these guys are going shot when they have numbers on Russia and could actually put Vasilevski in motion with more passing<br />
<br />
37:51 - Ekblad walking in again but just can't put the one-timer on target<br />
<br />
37:59 - Sam Reinhart to Griffin Reinhart driving in but can't get good wood on the one-timer. I would love to get my hands on the Corsi information for this game (and if I had capabilities to pause and rewind, I would do it myself)<br />
<br />
39:35 - Huge miscue by Hudon and Dumba in the neutral zone gives Buchnevich a good chance with an odd-man rush before a trip by Pelech, the last man back. Canada is getting very risky with all these penalty calls<br />
<br />
40:00 Russia 2, Canada 0. Shots: Russia 8 (22), Canada 7 (20)<br />
<br />
40:00 Russia goes right to left, Canada goes left to right<br />
<br />
40:27 - Grigorenko gets an early period scare for Canada, Fucale seems to be at least a little less confident about his tracking<br />
<br />
41:12 - Lazar with a shot from far out. They had no traffic in front so a little removed from Canada's M.O., but they will probably need to get a little more creative than that to beat Vasilevski<br />
<br />
42:31 - Bogdan Yakimov commits a hook on Drouin. Canada back on the Power Play, still with nothing to show for it<br />
<br />
43:24 - Griffin Reinhart throws a point shot on net, Horvat can't convert on the rebound. Russia is working really hard to get bodies in front of pucks and have been immensely successful<br />
<br />
46:22 - Puck bounces around in front of the Canada net, getting some air under it mind you. Not sure how, but Fucale bats it out of his business<br />
<br />
47:10 - Josh Morrissey rushes into the slot and tips the puck in off a feed from Hudon along the wall. Hits off of Morrissey's foot but seems to be a legitimate tally. Canada draws within one<br />
<br />
47:28 - Canada gets a quick drive after their score, Mantha rushing in close but can't put it on net. I know you don't make 100% of the shots you don't take but, statistically, the shots you take that miss don't count as shots. Just saying...<br />
<br />
49:20 - I love how the Sweden fans boo Andrei Mironov whenever he touches the puck.For those unaware, Jesper Pettersson of the Swedish team is suspended for the Gold Medal game because of an altercation after the final whistle with Mironov yesterday<br />
<br />
49:26 - Yet a third Too many men on the ice call from Russia. They seem to be a little excited coming off of the bench. This is absolutely a gift for Canada<br />
<br />
49:54 - A shot and a scramble in front of the Russian net before Vasilevski turns it away. I don't know what he's on, but I'll take two<br />
<br />
52:39 - Horvat to Griffin Reinhart alone on the side of the net. Great idea, the execution isn't there<br />
<br />
53:06 - Wow, a blistering shot from Slepyshev at the faceoff circle, rebound bounces up into the air and almost trickles in past Fucale. Play continues on<br />
<br />
55:24 - Vasilevski sees a Laughton shot the whole way through traffic. His vision and positioning is astounding and Tampa Bay should be proud for this one<br />
<br />
56:55 - Icing call on Russia after Hudon tries a feed to Mantha rushing up the centre and it gets tipped upon entry<br />
<br />
57:32 - Zhafyarov has two chances on the rush in Canada's zone. Not sure how many chances Fucale has had to stop back-to-back but he stands tall here<br />
<br />
58:49 - Barabanov pulls a turn-around shot after almost Fucale almost chases an attempt to clear the slot. Good thing for the Canada team that Fucale has not yet been pulled<br />
<br />
58:59 - Fucale is off the ice<br />
<br />
59:31 - Buchnevich goes for an empty net attempt, bouncing puck misses just wide<br />
<br />
60:00 - Russia holds on and wins their second consecutive Bronze. Canada goes home without a medal for the second consecutive year<br />
<br />
60:00 - Russia 2, Canada 1. Shots: Russia 10 (32), Canada 11 (31)<br />
<br />
60:00 - Andrei Vasilevski from Russia and Aaron Ekblad from Canada are awarded Player of the Game honoursDeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-84626419015464333192014-01-04T16:52:00.002-08:002014-01-04T16:54:05.920-08:00Live Blog: WJC Semifinals, Canada v Finland00:00 - Arbitrary Prediction Canada 3, Finland 2 (Overtime)<br />
<br />
00:00 - Canada goes left to right, Zachary Fucale in net. Finland goes right to left, Jusse Saros in net<br />
<a name='more'></a>01:03 - Canada then Finland exchange rushes, Canada sees more sustained pressure<br />
<br />
01:24 - First shot on net registered by Finland<br />
<br />
02:08 - Long shot from Nic Petan, Saros gloves it easy<br />
<br />
02:23 - Canada playing aggressive on the forecheck, looks like a high 2-3 or a 2-1-2. Finland is getting some good rushes with patience<br />
<br />
03:35 - Teuvo Teravainen (Chicago draft pick, 9 assists in 5 WJC games) is showing how dangerous he is<br />
<br />
04:07 - Big hit by Josh Anderson of Canada on Ville Pokka of Finland in the corner. We will see if Canada's physical play wears on Finland later on<br />
<br />
06:08 - This is much more wide open than the last game, much more room to skate with more passing and cycling<br />
<br />
07:48 - Good chance from Scott Laughton on a cross-ice feed, Saros up for challenge<br />
<br />
08:18 - Matt Dumba takes a tripping call in the corner of his own zone. No one ever said Canada didn't play aggressively<br />
<br />
10:07 - Finland very timid with the puck on the Power Play. They are going to need to test Fucale and the defence more<br />
<br />
10:47 - Saros comes way out of the crease to swat the puck away from a breaking Anthony Mantha<br />
<br />
11:26 - Otto Rauhala puts a shot on Fucale, play is called dead before the puck trickles through the squeezing netminder<br />
<br />
14:32 - Griffin Reinhart gets a good rush up the left side, can't get the feed to Kerby Rychel open in the slot<br />
<br />
17:07 - One thing Finland is doing very well here is they aren't afraid to make the short pass to generate space<br />
<br />
17:50 - Saku Kinnunen all alone in front of Fucale, pulls the trigger but can't find twine<br />
<br />
18:27 - Petan to Derrick Pouliot in the slot, dances around but can't get footing for solid drive on net and winds up behind the net. Chance averted<br />
<br />
18:59 - Pouliot cross-ice to Frederick Gauthier but can't corral it. If the puck didn;t skip, that was a dangerous one-timer<br />
<br />
19:55 - Puck bounces around in front of Saros with heavy traffic but no one from Canada can get a stick on it through the confusion<br />
<br />
20:00 - Canada 0, Finland 0. Shots: Canada 7, Finland 7<br />
<br />
20:00 - Canada skates right to left, Finland skates left to right<br />
<br />
20:42 - Rasmus Kulmala creates a turnover in Canada's zone, can't convert on a spin-o-rama<br />
<br />
21:17 - Joni Nikko drives the net from the goal line, Fucale makes the stop<br />
<br />
21:37 - Rasmus Ristolainen high-sticking on Mantha in front of the Finland net, Canada on the Power Play<br />
<br />
22:57 - Great walk-in by Jonathan Drouin, spin-o-rama and to Pouliot who misses on the shot from the high slot<br />
<br />
24:19 - Julius Honka quickly rushes up the ice and dumps the puck in, puck jumps out in front of the net and Nikko converts while the Canadian defence searches for the puck. Finland draws first blood<br />
<br />
25:03 - Finland draws an interference call on a coast-to-coast rush, committed by Gauthier. Finland is starting to activate hard here<br />
<br />
26:10 - Teravainen has a lot of time on the side wall, throws a shot in, Artturi Lehkonen sweeps around the net, collects his own rebound off the tip and buries it backhand style<br />
<br />
27:16 - Connor McDavid to Curtis Lazar for a shot on net, the rebound bounces out but Saros makes the save on the rebound shot after the scramble<br />
<br />
27:17 - Alexei Mustonen gets the gate for a hold in front of the net, sending Canada on a Power Play, but Nic Petan must sit for 10 minutes for "Abuse of an Official" in which he argues profusely with a referee after the whistle<br />
<br />
29:07 - Canada can't hold possession on the Power Play, Teravainen goes for a breakaway off a flip-pass, Fucale trips him when Teravainen moves across the crease. Finland will now be on the Power Play in ten seconds<br />
<br />
29:38 - Dangerous shot by Esa Lindell that almost gets tipped<br />
<br />
29:51 - Fucale grabs a shot from Nikko and gives a push to Mustonen while looking for a loose puck. Things are getting heated from the team in red<br />
<br />
30:50 - Finland is swarming on the Power Play, lots of puck movement and smart passing, Canada is having trouble clearing the zone<br />
<br />
31:24 - Pokka turns over in his zone, Lazar goes for a wraparound, Drouin collects the puck bouncing out in the slot with Mantha providing a screen and finds a wide open net to backhand into<br />
<br />
32:03 - Drouin scored and now goes off for 2 plus a 10 minute misconduct because of a boarding call that slams his opponent's head into the boards<br />
<br />
32:40 - Teravainen chips a centreing feed looking for a tip-in, Fucale covers and the net is dislodged by Lehkonen of Finland. Pushing and shoving ensues<br />
<br />
33:43 - Bo Horvat puts some pressure on shorthanded, tries to find Sam Reinhart coming up in front of the net but can't connect. Canada is starting to utilise some creativity to get back in this<br />
<br />
35:29 - Rauhala receives a feed at the right side of the net from Henri Ikonen, Fucale reaches all the way across the crease to make the stop. Just impressive<br />
<br />
35:36 - Hold your horses. Rasmus Ristolainen pinches low and fires a shot over the shoulder of Fucale from low in the faceoff circle which hits the exact centre of the net. Fucale is holding court on the post but is crouching too low to even impede the progress of the puck<br />
<br />
36:23 - Canada is having trouble entering the zone. Earlier in the game, Finland was shutting them down at the boards. Now Finland is squashing their attempts through the middle<br />
<br />
37:24 - Nikko gets called on a very late high-stick during some pushing around in the Finnish crease. Can Canada turn it around?<br />
<br />
38:23 - Finland is having an excellent penalty kill. Why? because they are challenging crucial areas of the ice. They give Canada the extreme edges of the zone as well as some leeway behind the net, but quickly cut off space everywhere in between. This removes potential passing lanes and also leaves little room for shots. Compare this to Finland's second tally and you can see why Finland converts on the Power Play while Canada is visibly struggling<br />
<br />
39:20 - Mustonen tries to stop Dumba's entry to the zone, but swings his stick up too high and clips Dumba in the ear. Canada gets about three seconds of 5-on-3 but will remain on the Power Play<br />
<br />
40:00 - Canada 1, Finland 3. Shots: Canada 7 (14), Finland 12 (19)<br />
<br />
40:00 - Canada skates left to right, Finland skates right to left<br />
<br />
41:40 - Suffice it to say Canada couldn't generate anything on the remaining time on their power play. They are looking slow, uninterested, and a little frustrated<br />
<br />
43:46 - I will give it to Nic Petan. He is skating and trying to make a difference all over the ice. Hopefully the rest of the team can take a page<br />
<br />
44:08 - Mikko Lehtonen takes a holding call and the Canada team is back on the Power Play. Hopefully this can be the spark they need<br />
<br />
44:40 - Lazar with two chances in close, just can't put it in the back of the net. At least they can get the Saros moving<br />
<br />
45:36 - Mustonen with a shorthanded chance against Fucale. This would be the last thing Canada needs<br />
<br />
45:52 - Petan makes a try to Horvat standing in front of the net. Too much trying to tip it in, when you are down by this much maybe try to simplify things instead of going for the low-percentage plays<br />
<br />
49:58 - Canada just can't set things up on offence. They have the puck but they keep getting rejected, sometimes down low but mainly upon entry over the blue line<br />
<br />
51:25 - Finland has not been trying to score all period and Canada only has 2 shots on goal I think. Finland has shut down into penalty kill mode and Canada is just letting their own mistakes handcuff them out of scoring chances<br />
<br />
55:29 - Mad scramble in front of the net, Canada gets a couple people in position for solid chances but can't get anything through. Josh Morrissey gets a tripping call when the puck finally bounces out<br />
<br />
55:59 - Canada is going to press hard here. Already a rush up ice with three red jerseys pinching in to the zone<br />
<br />
56:47 - Penalty Shot for Finland. Drouin takes it all alone in the zone before setting up a shot on goal. Finland finds a break and Pouliot comes back and bear-hugs Henrik Haapala on the shot attempt<br />
<br />
56:48 - "Apparently" Haapala was injured on the play, looks like something minor to the hand. Teravainen comes in to take the shot. I'm not convinced but I'm several thousand miles away so what am I going to do?<br />
<br />
56:49 - Teravainen comes down the left side of the ice, dekes to the centre, Fucale seems a little slow to react, and Teuvo places it backhand to the top right side of the net<br />
<br />
57:07 - Cue a futile collection of individual plays from Canada<br />
<br />
57:49 - Fucale vacates the net<br />
<br />
58:10 - Drive to the net creates a scramble, Dumba comes up with it but nothing manifests<br />
<br />
58:56 - Finland makes second consecutive drive for the empty net that results in an icing<br />
<br />
59:12 - Teravainen slaps one from his own blue line and in. No word on whether he peed on someone's grave as well<br />
<br />
59:42 - Josh Anderson rushes a drive up, throws a high shot on net, Saros bats it down and covers. Might as well though, right?<br />
<br />
60:00 - Finland beats Canada for the first time since 2001 on an impressive effort. No line brawl this time. Sorry.<br />
<br />
60:00 - Finland to face host Sweden for all-Scandanavian WJC Final tomorrow at 12:00 PM CST. Canada will face Russia at 8:00 AM CST for the Bronze Medal game<br />
<br />
60:00 - Canada 1, Finland 5. Shots: Canada 10 (24), Finland 4 (23)<br />
<br />
60:00 - Derrick Pouliot from Canada, Joni Nikko from Finland are named Players of the Game from their respective teams<br />
<br />
60:00 - Pouliot, Curtis Lazar, and Anthony Mantha are awarded watches as the best players of the tournament from Canada<br />
<br />
60:00 - Ville Pokka, Teuvo Teravainen, and Jusse Saros are awarded watches as the best players of the tournament from FinlandDeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-19984870611358755332014-01-04T13:00:00.001-08:002014-01-04T13:02:47.141-08:00Live Blog: WJC Semifinals, Russia v Sweden00:00 - Arbitrary Prediction: Sweden 5, Russia 2<br />
<br />
00:00 - Sweden moves right to left, Oscar Dansk in net. Russia moves left to right, Andrei Vasilevski<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
00:09 - Russia controls off the puck drop, don't do much with it<br />
<br />
00:45 - great cross-crease pass from Anton Slepyshev to Nikita Zadorov of Russia, Dansk makes the stop<br />
<br />
00:56 - Russia on the power play, Jesper Pettersson gets a Roughing call<br />
<br />
01:41 - Puck out of play, Russia getting decent movement with the man advantage but being kept to the outside<br />
<br />
02:32 - Russia chases the puck into their own zone off a great shot block and clear. Again nothing much meaningful, just perimeter passing<br />
<br />
02:55 - Sweden wins a defencive zone faceoff with :01 left in the PK, working their way up the ice<br />
<br />
03:31 - Really liking Zadorov on Russia, plays defence but he's a speedy little bugger<br />
<br />
03:48 - Don't believe Sweden even has a shot yet, a lot of dump-and-chase so far. Still a lot of hockey left though<br />
<br />
04:03 - Forsberg gets a break at the Russia blue line off a broken play, doesn't do anything spectacular and doesn't convert<br />
<br />
Some Russia fan messes with a pane of glass in the corner, long stoppage in play. Good work, dude<br />
<br />
04:15 - Puck out of play in Russia zone. Sweden trying to swarm in the offencive zone, Russia is playing ridiculously tight man-on-man<br />
<br />
06:25 - Russia has had only one chance in past two minutes, Sweden none. Play is wide open with a 6-1 shot advantage to Russia<br />
<br />
07:13 - Pavel Buchnevich has a great coast-to-coast chance, misses on the last move before the shot<br />
<br />
08:37 - Sweden gets first shot in a few minutes, a point shot that went high and wide anyways. Russia has been converging immediately whenever the Swedes have the puck low in the zone and are finding ways to get in shooting lanes<br />
<br />
09:58 - Sweden really struggling with transition game, doing a really bad job with zone entries and relying too much on individual effort when they attempt<br />
<br />
11:00 - Erik Karlsson (not the defenceman from Ottawa, just so we're clear) gets a break, can't control the puck with his half-step lead on the D<br />
<br />
11:54 - Nice hands and speed from Andre Burakowsky of Sweden, didn't get a shooting chance or his pass off but still a good effort<br />
<br />
12:53 - Best chance from Sweden, Jacob de la Rose wide open up close in the slot but can't convert<br />
<br />
12:58 - Great chance off the faceoff, Filip Forsberg gets a shot off through a screen in the faceoff dot, still can't break the seal<br />
<br />
14:13 - Do my eyes deceive me or is that the neutral zone trap from Russia? We engaged in the Cold War over this! (or maybe just cancelled a full season, one of the two)<br />
<br />
15:23 - Great way to break-up a play by Gustav Olofsson of Sweden in the defencive zone<br />
<br />
16:41 - We would have some nice chances if the players would stop sliding all over the ice<br />
<br />
16:59 - REALLY quick flash of the leg pad from Dansk. That will be a tough nut to crack<br />
<br />
17:06 - Nikita Tryamkin from Russia commits a hold on a rush from Sweden, first Power Play for the host country<br />
<br />
17:40 - Mikhail Grigorenko gets a start on a shorthanded chance, needs four Swedes to break up his rush<br />
<br />
18:38 - More man-advantage perimeter passing. The difference here? Sweden's shots are getting through instead of seeing blocks<br />
<br />
18:39 - Alexander Barabanov takes a puck-over-glass penalty, 2-man advantage for :27 for Sweden<br />
<br />
19:11 - First penalty expires, Forsberg wires a slapper from the left faceoff dot after Elias Lindholm does some great work to draw coverage to the right side of the ice after a blocked shot. In close, mind you. Even though on the PK, Russia isn't as aggressive on their defencive zone coverage<br />
<br />
20:00 - Sweden 1, Russia 0. Shots: Sweden 10, Russia 10<br />
<br />
20:00 - Sweden moves left to right, Russia moves right to left<br />
<br />
20:38 - Rush up from Bogdan Yakimov of Russia, gets broken up in close<br />
<br />
21:20 - Fancy stickwork from Forsberg, loses the handle<br />
<br />
21:38 - Turnover from Robin Norell on Sweden right in front of the net on a suspect trip, Grigorenko can't convert on the wide-angle chance<br />
<br />
21:49 - More dump-and-chase from Sweden. Just can't crack the neutral zone code<br />
<br />
22:39 - Olofsson interference on Georgi Busarov from Russia in the neutral zone, coach from Sweden is not pleased and is calling a dive from the bench<br />
<br />
23:55 - Sweden breaking up rushes well in the slot, Russia is trying too much to get chances in that area of the ice<br />
<br />
25:00 - Wrap-around backhand from Valentin Zykov of Russia, things getting a little chippy in front of the net<br />
<br />
25:01 - Russia is looking to have the advantage on faceoffs so far in the game<br />
<br />
26:39 - Tryamkin has a dangerous shot. Not the first time he has wound up for a blistering one, just didn't have the angle here<br />
<br />
29:01 - Vadim Khlopotov from Russia gets a goaltender interference call after wrecking Dansk on a near-2-on-1 with Yakimov<br />
<br />
29:54 - Sweden can't find any zone time on the man-advantage after getting some solid pressure off the initial faceoff<br />
<br />
31:08 - Dangerous chance from E. Karlsson all alone after a stretch pass from Sweden's zone to the Russia blue line and a feed to centre, Vasilevski manages to collect<br />
<br />
31:35 - Erik Karlsson gives Vasilevski a snow-shower and the official isn't too happy about it. No penalty but I really hope we see a fight by the end of this<br />
<br />
32:34 - Sweden is really good at breaking up plays low in their zone and in the slot. Russia will need to get creative if they wan't to get on the board<br />
<br />
34:41 - There goes Tryamkin of Russia again. Just can't get a shot off after pulling into the slot<br />
<br />
35:59 - Dansk covers after a scramble in front of the net. Tryamkin gets a point shot off, Vyacheslav Osnovin provides net-front pressure and Damir Zhafyarov almost gets a scoring chance off a rebound<br />
<br />
36:37 - Crowd chants "Let's Go Sweden". In English. I'm confused<br />
<br />
37:29 - de la Rose plays with the puck deep in the corner, executes a give in go with Forsberg at the boards, not a bad play and a pretty good shot too<br />
<br />
39:55 - de la Rose chips in deep, Forsberg tries for a quick spin to the front of the net, Lindholm gets a double minor on a slash that gets high on Valeri Vasilav when the rebound skitters to the slot. Russia back on the Power Play<br />
<br />
40:00 - Sweden 1, Russia 0. Shots: Sweden 8 (18), Russia 7 (17)<br />
<br />
40:00 - Sweden moves right to left, Russia moves left to right<br />
<br />
40:27 - Another faceoff win leads to some sustained pressure from Russia, Zadorov has some good chances before Sweden clears the zone<br />
<br />
41:10 - Russia back chasing the puck again, still 2:45 left in the PP<br />
<br />
43:00 - I am having trouble believing Russia is actually setting anything up, I don't see a system here with a man up. Bold move Cotton, just doesn't seem to be paying off<br />
<br />
43:55 - Sweden kills the penalty, at very little personal expense I might add<br />
<br />
44:55 - Stretch pass to Oskar Sundqvist from Linus Arnesson waiting at the blue line for a breakaway. Fakes to the middle and pulls to the backhand for the goal. Funny thing is, Sundqvist was not the intended target on that pass. Great improvisation<br />
<br />
45:29 - Lindholm tests Vasilevski through a screen. Sweden looks to have momentum for pretty much the first time in the game<br />
<br />
46:12 - Sweden is getting some zone time but they seem to hold on to the puck too long. I am really bad at hockey, but I feel like there are usually two passes I could make a second or two before they commit to making an ill-advised one. Then again I guess I shouldn't argue with results<br />
<br />
46:37 - Russia gains control off an offencive zone face off. Barabanov chips to Zhafyarov who takes a very wide angle shot but it squeaks through Dansk after flipping up into the air. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a game<br />
<br />
47:51 - Russia plays the points very wide. This might be a good system if they didn't go point-to-point so slow<br />
<br />
48:19 - Grigorenko gets in close off of a rebound, can't convert. Momentum, she swings<br />
<br />
49:49 - Andreas Johnson and Sebastian Collberg almost break for a 2-on-1, but Collberg is apparently terrible at reading the rush. Crash the net, man, don't pull up at the slot, where your teammate is going<br />
<br />
51:47 - That was fancy. Zhafyarov looks like he is making a short feed to his linemate on the way up to the point but his target lets the puck go and he gets a turnaround look from the top of the circle. It really is the little things<br />
<br />
53:30 - So much back and forth. Sweden tries a dump play that doesn't work, Barabanov gets a wrap-around chance at the other end, Sweden charges back up. This isn't the only part of the sequence, but it was probably the best scoring chance<br />
<br />
54:20 - Great rush by Andre Burakowsky of Sweden, circles the zone, Olofsson gets a solid chance after receiving the pass and pinching in<br />
<br />
56:49 - Dansk is pretty beastly. Chance close in by Yakimov from Eduard Gimatov in the slot with a third rushing to the far-side<br />
<br />
57:51 - Nick Sorensen to Filip Sandberg on a pass across the slot for Sweden. Very good chance but no dice on the play<br />
<br />
58:41 - Vasilevsky is pulled with a Swedish-zone faceoff after an icing play. Hold on to your hats<br />
<br />
59:20 - Not a lot of space for the Russians<br />
<br />
59:41 - Slashing call on Pettersson after checking his man down low and aggressively turning to go for the puck, brings his stick down right on an opponent's<br />
<br />
59:54 - Dansk smothers another close chance, this time by Vyacheslav Osnovin, and knocks the net off its moorings<br />
<br />
60:00 - And Sweden advances to the final to face the winner of Finland v Canada<br />
<br />
60:00 - LINE BRAWL!!!<br />
<br />
60:00 - Swedes were tying the Russians up on the near boards after an own-zone faceoff, Russians are taking offence, probably to losing, the Sweden team is coming off the bench to celebrate (including Pettersson from the penalty box), and all hell breaks loose. Sorensen from Sweden gets buried under the pile-up, and things will probably be awkward in Handshake Alley<br />
<br />
60:00 - Damir Zhafyarov from Russia, Oscar Dansk from Sweden awarded "Best Player of the Game" for their respective teams<br />
<br />
60:00 - Andreas Johnson, Alexander Wennberg, and Filip Forsberg of Sweden awarded watches as best performers of the tournament<br />
<br />
60:00 - #20 (who doesn't exist, everyone is confused for a moment), Andrei Vasilevski, Anton Slepyshev, and Mikhail Grigorenko of Russia awarded watches as best performers of the tournamentDeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-64411209244972509792013-12-31T14:10:00.000-08:002013-12-31T14:11:54.970-08:00The Year of the Outdoor Game: A Look at 11 Teams and Their Jerseys Part 1Since us fans were deprived of the annual Winter Classic in 2012-13 (and the league was deprived of the astronomical profits), the NHL decided to build six outdoor games into this season's schedule. Seems like a little bit of an overcompensation, oversaturation maybe, but the league is venturing into uncharted markets.<br />
<br />
We can argue day and night over whether bringing the outdoor festivities to more fans is a positive move or if it cheapens the novelty and spectacle of the idea but I think one thing we can all agree on is the excitement over the new swag rolled out by each team involved.<br />
<br />
While most teams employ forward-thinking third jerseys for a handful of home games each year, the Winter Classic and Heritage Classic typically gives us the opportunity to honour tradition. In the past, the combatants have dug deep into their respective histories, crafting memorable pieces as unique as the event itself.<br />
<br />
With the Stadium Series set for its inaugural year, the NHL has sought for a different take to the outdoor sweater. Well, the results are in (except you, New Jersey) so let's put each team's work up against each other for each event, bust out our patented rating system, and find out who would win if the teams played 60 minutes of fabulous.<br />
<a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Winter Classic - Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings January 1, 2014</b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://news.sportslogos.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Leafs-RedWings-Clark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://news.sportslogos.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Leafs-RedWings-Clark.jpg" height="210" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666;">Paul Sancya, AP</span></div>
<br />
Toronto has been an NHL organisation since 1917 but it wasn't until Conn Smythe purchased the the team in the middle of the 1926-27 season when the team took the name we all recognise today. The logo in their Winter Classic uniform is the original, which was adopted after they abandoned the "St. Pats" moniker. The striping on the arms and waist also made their debut in 1927-28 but the shoulder caps suggest that this design is officially based on the uniforms won from 1930 to 1934.<br />
<br />
The only discrepancy from the jersey this is based off of is the style of the numbers. The Maple Leafs didn't stitch numbers on the sleeves until 1962 but then again this is the convention we see today so this isn't too jarring. However, the numbers themselves are the blocky incarnation of their current jerseys. The 1930 variation featured blue numbers with white outlines. This was a missed opportunity for the team since the classic detail would have been more complimentary to the striping but, on the flip side, it could have made the look a little too busy.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict:</b> Classic but a little hectic</span><br />
<br />
The Detroit uniform is a fun one because, while it isn't a direct replica of an older sweater, the designers took some liberties with classic elements. The lettering and the numbering on this piece are in the style of the 1982-83 version, which is when the Red Wings included the vertical arch that we see with 'Detroit' here as well as the nameplates ever since. The logo itself is the original Winged Wheel design which was adopted when James Norris purchased the Detroit Falcons franchise in 1932 and dubbed the team the Red Wings. This crest, which was worn from 1932 through 1948, is similar to the current incarnation except it lacks the sleeker, "in-motion" appearance that followed.<br />
<br />
As for the striping, this is where the designers decided to play with things a little instead of outright borrowing. Since 1932, the Red Wings haven't done much on their sweaters instead of a single wide stripe around each arm and a single wide stripe around the waist. The design we see here is more reminiscent of the 1927-28 Detroit Cougars jersey. The double striping across the chest and lower torso, while not exact, mirrors that of the original Cougars. The Cougars also employed three stripes of varying width on the arms but this feature has been pared down to one thick and one thin in the Winter Classic version with the numbers on the shoulders.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict:</b> Detroit - Bankrupt in Business but not in Style</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Winner:</b> Detroit</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Stadium Series Game 1 - Anaheim Ducks vs. Los Angeles Kings January 25th, 2014</b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.cdn.nhle.com/ducks/images/upload/gallery/2013/12/sweater_055_slide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.cdn.nhle.com/ducks/images/upload/gallery/2013/12/sweater_055_slide.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666;">ducks.nhl.com</span></div>
<br />
Just...wow. The Anaheim Ducks have had an interesting history with jerseys, centering around the colours eggplant and jade from their inception in 1993 through mid-2006, when they dropped the "Mighty" from their name, and also bringing us <a href="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b154/spyboy1/TSG%20Blog/SelanneWildWing-1.png" target="_blank">this delight</a> in 1995-96. One would think in their 20th anniversary, even though the old jerseys have made an appearance on home ice, they would work some sort of throwback magic. Instead, they decided to go full orange. Even the Philadelphia Flyers know you never go full orange.<br />
<br />
The most jarring aspect about this sweater is that the Anaheim Ducks feature orange the least out of any other colour on their normal jersey. It's actually just a thin stripe that wouldn't show up on screen unless you have a 110' plasma television that pumps out 4K resolution.<br />
<br />
Lost in this carrot costume are gold, white, and black stripes around the elbows but that's pretty much the only decoration we see here. Seriously if the Ducks weren't good at playing hockey, attendants to Dodger's Stadium might think they were watching a Kings' outdoor practice, complete with full-size cones.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict: </b>I never thought my eyes could vomit until now</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.cdn.nhle.com/kings/images/upload/2013/12/JerseyDL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.cdn.nhle.com/kings/images/upload/2013/12/JerseyDL.jpg" height="196" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666;">kings.nhl.com</span></div>
<br />
I'm not head-over-heels in love with this sweater since nothing really grabs my attention about it, but at least it is moving in the right direction. The Los Angeles Kings worked gray into their colour scheme in 1988 and haven't looked back since. While that has been the case, gray has never been featured so prominently and yet it ain't too shabby a look.<br />
<br />
To start, I hope you are starting notice the glossy chrome look with the logo on the chest because you are going to be seeing a lot of it for the Stadium Series. The crown itself is the iteration the organisation hinted at in the 1998-99 crest as well as the one unveiled in full detail on their third jerseys of the time in 1999-2000 and still utilised today.<br />
<br />
Another thing you can expect to see almost normalised for the Series is the pointed shoulder caps. Each team that actually uses them will have their different colours and logo but the design itself seems to have won the NHL over. One feature that I think the Kings hit out of the park here is the striping on the arms and around the waist. The design itself isn't extremely complicated but if Mr. Dustin Brown had his arms at his side you would see that the stripes transition seamlessly from one body part to the next. It's a nice touch for a jersey that will be worn once and something you don't see many teams doing.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict: </b>Interesting Idea, Boring Execution</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Winner:</b> Los Angeles, by a mile of heavy traffic on the 405.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Stadium Series Game 3 - New York Islanders vs. New York Rangers - January 29, 2014</b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/sptusnhlexperts/FDSAFAFFDFSA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/sptusnhlexperts/FDSAFAFFDFSA.jpg" height="320" width="283" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666;">islanders.nhl.com</span></div>
<br />
Holy Christ is that a clean look. The Islanders have had the same logo since they debuted in the NHL in 1972 (*cough* <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKQy967ybPW6vsIjCiHq562Sm6_tIQU6XZPkzoe3vOTPOEdjDWiqt3zZGMEF1XI3zB0MXZKvcUuIafFDUJEP9jMC-lzh9cI7asu1v6zbWZgT7ugDvt9pgc2GEAdb1MsSGxeOGJCsmaGQ/s1600/12.fish-stick-uniform.jpg" target="_blank">ahem</a> *cough*) but here we see it stripped down to its most basic, recogniseable element with the chrome slapped on to accent.<br />
<br />
The nice thing about this sweater is that they didn't do much to alter the classic appearance of the uniform but what they did do made it sharper. The shoulder caps, which are essentially the same as the caps on the Kings uniform, make a rare showing for the Isles and the white integrates well here. They ditched the orange stripe around the waist but thinned the white stripe out, a subtle yet effective change. Last but not least, they angled the stripes around the elbows down but kept the orange and white scheme used today. All in all, this is just a great example of less is more in a one-time-use jersey.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict: </b>The Isles CAN do something right every once in a while</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://content.sportslogos.net/news/2013/12/New-York-Rangers-2014-Stadium-Series-Uniform.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://content.sportslogos.net/news/2013/12/New-York-Rangers-2014-Stadium-Series-Uniform.jpg" height="178" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666;">New York Rangers via news.sportslogos.net</span></div>
<br />
Work it, Dan Girardi!<br />
<br />
The New York Rangers are a team that has done very little to change their uniform since they entered the league in 1926, which is why they are one of the few to aptly maintain a classic look. For 50 seasons, the team has featured the word "Rangers" running diagonally from the right shoulder to the left hip on the front of their sweater, save for the 1946-47 season in which they adapted an arched format. For the following two seasons, the team sported the crest that, today, we acknowledge as their official logo yet hasn't been featured as prominently on their sweater since. Between the years of 1978 through 1987, the Rangers would alter things a bit, running the city name across the front in the same manner as "Rangers" except only on their away jersey which, at the time, was the blue as opposed to white.<br />
<br />
The numbers here are inspired by the white alternate jersey worn during the 1998-99 season. The main colour is navy blue (the standard alternate jersey hue of blue for the team between 1996 through 2007) but instead of a thin white outline between the number and a red drop shadow, they chose to flip the roles of those colours by making a red outline around a white drop shadow. The stripes around the elbows, alternating blue, white, red, white, and blue, has been a standard of the team since they introduced a white sweater in 1951. The main subtraction to this jersey is the striping around the waist as well as at the bottom of the shoulder caps, which are all but certain to be the same on the majority of Stadium Series looks by now. As far as additions go, the big thing that we haven't seen the Rangers do is run a swath of blue up the sides of the torso and down the arms.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Verdict: </b>Decent take on a Historically Consistent Sweater</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Winner:</b> New York Islanders</span>DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-62907137464356791362013-12-16T15:15:00.005-08:002013-12-16T15:30:09.762-08:00How's Your Rebuild Hanging?: An Early Look at Colorado and EdmontonIf you take a look, the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers have a good amount in common. They have had several high draft picks in the past few years, both saw recent changes in the front office and behind the bench, they both ice a majority of younger players on any given night, and both are now facing new opponents after the dissolution of the Northwest Division.<br />
<br />
After finishing the 2012-13 season 29th and 24th, respectively to Colorado and Edmonton, it could be agreed that both teams are in the midst of rebuilding. We knew very well that Edmonton was seeing some growing pains as they have had three consecutive number 1 draft picks while struggling to gain competitive relevance in the league, but nothing formal had been assumed for the Colorado organisation until 4-year head coach Joe Sacco was relieved of his duties this summer.<br />
<br />
The early season results for both teams aren't quite what we may expect, however. The Oilers Watch is a yearly occurrence as we await the maturation point for the promising young talent in the Copper and Blue, and yet they sit at the basement of the Pacific. The Colorado Avalanche, on the other hand, jumped out to a 10-1-0 record through the month of October and remain in the conversation to this day with 43 points in a league-low 31 games played.<br />
<br />
So what is contributing to Colorado's success that Edmonton is missing? Let's take a look and see what we can find out.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Basics</span></b><br />
<br />
The Avalanche currently sit with a 21-9-1 record, splitting to 10-5-1 at home and 11-4-0 away. In total, they have scored a total of 88 goals with 73 against and, while ranking 24th and 22nd, respectively, in Power Play and Penalty Kill effectiveness, they are 7th-best in the league at even strength with 1.33 goals scored for every 1 goal against. Also of note, Colorado has won every game in which they have scored first instead of one, their lone overtime loss, and have won 86.7% of the games in which they have been out-shot, good for 2nd in that category.<br />
<br />
The Oilers have not seen similar success, sporting a worst-in-the-West 11-21-3 record between 5-10-1 at Rexall Place and 6-11-2 on the road. They have scored 93 goals overall, which is 12th-best in the league, but are haunted by their last-overall 120 goals allowed. The team is fairly average on special teams, 14th on the PP at 18.1% and 17th on the PK at 81.7% but the red flag flies with their numbers in even strength. At 5v5, the Oilers score 1.57 goals/game but allow 2.31 goals/game. Edmonton also struggles to finish games, winning 42.9% of their games when scoring first which joins the Islanders and Sabres as the only teams below 50% in that statistic.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Goaltending</b></span><br />
<br />
It's tough to find a pair that is holding their own in net as much as Semyon Varlamov and Jean-Sebastien Giguere. In 22 starts, Varlamov has placed a 14-8-1 record on his resume while Giguere has been succeeding in his backup duty while going 7-1-0 in 9 starts. Each have been pulled only once and both occurred on November 14 in the same 7-3 loss to St. Louis. Holding up those records are the 2.40 and 1.84 GAA's, .923 and .940 SV%'s to Varlamov and Giguere, respectively. In his 22 starts, Varly has allowed more than 3 goals in four occurrences and has allowed exactly 3 in only four more of those starts while Giggy boasts 1 and 1 in both situations. It isn't an even tandem, but so far you can bet that either goaltender will give the Avs a chance to win on any given night.<br />
<br />
Things have been a little more interesting in Edmonton this year. In the offseason, the team allowed aging veteran Nikolai Khabibulin to hit free agency while acquiring backups Jason Labarbera and Richard Bachman. While Devan Dubnyk was assumed to take the lion's share of starts, going 9-14-2 in 24 starts to date, neither relief netminder has proven their effectiveness with a combined 1-5-1 in 7 starts. I'd bore you with numbers but they're just, well, not very good. (Well, I could easily argue that Bachman wasn't given much of a chance but he was on a two-way deal to begin with and Edmonton doesn't seem to be looking for a future solution to an immediate need.) This lead to the Oilers sending Bachman to AHL purgatory and also waiving-and recently trading-Labarbera to set the stage for...<br />
<br />
Ilya Bryzgalov! Oh yes, he's back folks. After being bought out following last season and starting this season without a deal, the Oilers signed the polarising Russian to a deal at the start of November. He received a conditioning stint with the Oklahoma City Barons, playing two games and splitting to a 1-1 record with a 3.03 GAA and a .880 SV% before receiving the call-up. He relieved Dubnyk on November 25 in a losing effort to the Chicago Blackhawks and started his first game three days later, shutting out the Nashville Predators while facing 33 shots. But before anyone could get too excited, he turned around and allowed 4 goals in 2 periods the following night to Columbus and suffered an upper-body injury in his third start on December 1 despite only allowing 1 goal on 29 shots. The jury is still out on whether Bryz can be the cure for what ails them in the crease, but the goaltending sure isn't holding up its end of the bargain.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Skating</span></b><br />
<br />
Goaltending can keep a team in a game and even steal one, but what about the players navigating the 200 feet of ice? To start, neither team out-shoots their opponent very frequently. Colorado averages 29.3 shots/game and 31.3 shots-against/game while Edmonton has reached 28.4 and 30.9 for the same metrics. Not shockingly telling, but Colorado does tend to run a marginally tighter ship. Still, let's take a look at what the possession stats have to tell us about the disparity between the two teams.<br />
<br />
The Avalanche generate 53.2 Corsi events while facing 57.4 Corsi events, all within 60 minutes of all 5v5 situations. But at 5v5 situations with the score close (tied or within a goal in the first two periods, tied in the third), Colorado generates 56.2 Corsi events while facing 56.4 Corsi events per 60 minutes. When the Avalanche are trailing on the scoreboard, they manage 63.8 Corsi events while allowing 48.4 Corsi events, again in 5v5 situations. Only four teams in the league put up more Corsi events than they allow while leading, Colorado isn't one of them, but this is not surprising since teams tend to sit back on offence when holding the lead. What should be noted, however, is that Colorado has the second-highest PDO with the lead in the league at 104.2. Colorado isn't a strong possession team at the outset but they are making the most of their opportunities because they work to generate them.<br />
<br />
To start off, Edmonton is looking at 49.3 Corsi for versus 56.7 Corsi against at 60 minutes of all 5v5 situations. Things don't get better with a manageable score, where they present 50.5 Corsi events for while seeing 60.3 Corsi events against per 60 minutes. When trailing, the Oilers activate a little better with 52.1 Corsi for and 51.0 Corsi against per 60 minutes. Edmonton's best PDO comes in at 979 but that covers the wide swath of all 5v5 situations and doesn't tell us much other than proving their poor performance. Edmonton is having trouble maintaining possession no matter where they are in the game and struggle to hold leads or even keep things within reach on a regular basis.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Accountability</span></b><br />
<br />
This part is purely speculative-I'm not in the respective locker rooms so who am I anyways?-but I think some performances are indicative of what brings these teams to where we see them now.<br />
<br />
Last season when Colorado was floundering at the league's basement, Jean-Sebastien Giguere <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2013/4/9/4204568/jean-sebastien-giguere-comments-avalanche-flames" target="_blank">called his younger team members out</a> for focusing on their offseason vacation plans instead of the season's final games, however meaningless they may have been. And then in May, the organisation hired Hall-of-Famer and ex-Av Patrick Roy to man the bench and boy, did he go viral in his debut by pushing over the bench divider between himself and Bruce Boudreau of Anaheim. In a game Colorado absolutely owned, mind you. While it can be argued that this is a horrible example of in-game composure, the passionate outburst certainly helped spark the Avs to their hot start.<br />
<br />
Gabriel Landeskog has also been a reflection on the success of his team. In 2012, he was the youngest player in NHL history to be named captain. During the 2012-13 season, he dressed for only 36 of 48 games and his stat-line struggled at 9 goals, 8 assists, and a -4 rating. This year he seems to be growing into the role, scoring 9 goals with 13 helpers in 30 games and a +7. Despite his age, Landeskog is proving he is up for the role of leading his team while maintaining his duties as an offencive contributor in critical moments.<br />
<br />
The hiring of Dallas Eakins to head coach of the Oilers was lauded across the hockey world. He saw success in the Toronto Marlies organisation and was seen as a highly viable option to corral the young squad into the win column. I won't call Eakins accountable just yet but I do have to wonder if there are issues in the dressing room hanging over the team's heads.<br />
<br />
Andrew Ference was brought in from Boston during the offseason and was handed the captaincy just prior to the start of the season. In his early tenure, Ference is poised to see a career-low point-per-game pace while finding the penalty box with a greater frequency, including 3 fights in the past month. Fighting is seen as one way to light a fire under a roster that is underperforming but, given the culture of losing that has surrounded the franchise over the past few years, this isn't what the team needs, especially from a leader. Ference has been in the league since the 1999-2000 season, seeing 3 Stanley Cup Finals and winning once, but isn't translating his past success well to this point.<br />
<br />
I point this out because a similar thing happened in Chicago during last year's playoffs. Captain Jonathan Toews entered Game 4 in the second round against Detroit with no goals and only 3 assists. Toews boiled over in the second period, committing three consecutive infractions in a span of 5:34. When he received his third penalty, defenceman Brent Seabrook <a href="http://sports.nationalpost.com/2013/05/25/blackhawks-jonathan-toews-the-poster-boy-for-teams-troubles/" target="_blank">paid a visit to the box</a> to offer some calming words the captain. Toews would collect his first postseason goal and two more assists in the final 3 games of the series as the Blackhawks would propel themselves ahead of the Red Wings to the next round and an eventual Stanley Cup victory.<br />
<br />
Looking at the Oilers, I can't say who could fill a similar leadership role but they are clearly suffering from a lack of it. The team named six alternate captains for opening night, and while the names on the list mainly encompass who is seen as the future of the organisation, I'm starting to think the young squad isn't seeing eye-to-eye on how to turn their fortunes around.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Conclusion</span></b><br />
<br />
When I look at Colorado and Edmonton, I have to point at different levels of discipline and maturity propping up one team while plaguing the other. I won't go so far as to suggest that either squad boasts the completeness of a contender-both need help on the blue line and Colorado has things more figured out in the crease-but the numbers tell us that Colorado is finding ways to do more with less. We'll keep an eye on both teams as things progress but at this point in the season there is enough evidence to deduce the direction each team is facing.DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7278228360639916187.post-32366794267836110412013-12-04T13:52:00.000-08:002013-12-04T14:00:36.649-08:00Alternative NHL Standings: Chasing the Almighty WinNew York Times reporter Jeff Z. Klein (<a href="https://twitter.com/jzedklein" target="_blank">@jzedklein</a>) recently put together an alternate version of the league standings (More simply laid out on Puck Daddy <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/nhl-alternative-standings-2013-14-regulation-wins-counted-214041821--nhl.html" target="_blank">here</a>). Instead of the <a href="http://www.nhl.com/ice/standings.htm?navid=nav-stn-main#" target="_blank">current system</a>-where two points are awarded for any win, one point awarded in a shootout or overtime loss, and zero points in a regulation loss-he implemented the three point system. In case you aren't familiar, this proposed format would award three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime or shootout win, one point for an overtime or shootout loss, and zero points for a regulation loss.<br />
<br />
As you can see, the results were, well, fairly underwhelming. While there was a small amount of jockeying for position in the Eastern Conference, the Western Conference was exactly the same, save for flip-flopping Anaheim for San Jose at the top of the Pacific.<br />
<br />
The whole purpose of this exercise is to see how things would look if more value was placed on winning in the first 60 minutes of the game as opposed to dragging things out, and the league is expressly in favour of shorter games. Granted, things may have actually been different if teams played with the knowledge of three points on the line rather than two but we do get an idea as to whether this would bring with it a noticeable change.<br />
<br />
While this scenario is an improvement on the system we have now, it still places points at the forefront and not necessarily, you know, wins. So for those of you who think that we should just call a win a win and a loss a loss, here's a set of the current standings where wins are presented as a percentage, not a point total.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Atlantic</span></b><br />
<br />
<b>Boston</b> - 27-18-9 - .667 (Currently 1st)<br />
<b>Tampa Bay</b> - 27-16-11 - .593 (Currently 4th)<br />
<b>Montreal</b> - 28-16-12 - .571 (Currently 2nd)<br />
<b>Detroit</b> - 28-14-14 - .500 (Currently 3rd)<br />
<b>Toronto</b> - 28-14-14 - .500 (Currently 5th)<br />
<b>Ottawa</b> - 28-11-17 - .393 (Currently 6th)<br />
<b>Florida</b> - 28-7-21 - .250 (Currently 7th)<br />
<b>Buffalo</b> - 28-6-22 - .214 (Currently 8th)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Metropolitan</b></span><br />
<br />
<b>Pittsburgh</b> - 29-19-10 - .655 (Currently 1st)<br />
<b>Washington</b> - 28-14-14 - .500 (Currently 2nd)<br />
<b>N.Y. Rangers</b> - 28-14-14 - .500 (Currently 3rd)<br />
<b>Philadelphia</b> - 27-12-15 - .444 (Currently 6th)<br />
<b>New Jersey</b> - 28-11-17 - .393 (Currently 4th)<br />
<b>Columbus</b> - 28-11-17 - .393 (Currently 7th)<br />
<b>Carolina</b> - 28-11-17 - .393 (Currently 5th)<br />
<b>N.Y. Islanders</b> - 28-8-20 - .286 (Currently 8th)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Central</b></span><br />
<br />
<b>Colorado</b> - 25-19-6 - .760 (Currently 3rd)<br />
<b>St. Louis</b> - 26-18-8 - .692 (Currently 2nd)<br />
<b>Chicago</b> - 29-20-9 - .690 (Currently 1st)<br />
<b>Minnesota</b> - 29-16-13 - .552 (Currently 4th)<br />
<b>Dallas</b> - 26-13-13 - .500 (Currently 5th)<br />
<b>Nashville</b> - 28-13-15 - .464 (Currently 7th)<br />
<b>Winnipeg</b> - 29-13-16 - .448 (Currently 6th)<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Pacific</span></b><br />
<br />
<b>San Jose</b> - 27-19-8 - .704 (Currently 1st)<br />
<b>Los Angeles</b> - 29-18-11 - .621 (Currently 3rd)<br />
<b>Anaheim</b> - 30-18-12 - .600 (Currently 2nd)<br />
<b>Phoenix</b> - 27-16-11 - .593 (Currently 4th)<br />
<b>Vancouver</b> - 30-15-15 - .500 (Currently 5th)<br />
<b>Calgary</b> - 27-9-17 - .333 (Currently 6th)<br />
<b>Edmonton</b> - 29-9-20 - .310 (Currently 7th)<br />
<br />
[Just a note, in order to keep things simple, I decided any tie-breaker by total goal differential. I'm sure the league would have a more convoluted procedure, such as the record between the tied teams, but not all these teams have played each other so I couldn't use any variation of that method.]<br />
<br />
As you can see, the league is slightly more turned on its head with this system. Most notably, Colorado of all teams is the class of the league, mostly by virtue of playing fewer games. Chicago, on the other hand, slips below St. Louis to 3rd in the Central and 4th in the league overall. The East doesn't change in any drastic fashion aside from some minor shuffling, but that seems to be due to how bad the Metropolitan division is. Seriously, 2 of their 3 teams that actually make the playoffs are .500 teams. That only earns you a wild card spot in the Atlantic and 5th in the West.<br />
<br />
Now that we can actually see what the league would look like in all scenarios, how do you think we should tally the standings? Does the current system work for you, should we expand to a 3-point format, or should we use just move to wins and losses regardless of the means?DeaconDanglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09695557590907617527noreply@blogger.com0