[I'll update this post once the related video clip is online.]
A lot is made of Alexander Semin and his skill set. Gorgeous wrist shot, powerful slap shot, fantastic skater...when he tries.
Many of the same critiques are levied at Mike Green. Great shot, great vision, but the effort isn't always there.
One major difference between the two (other than position) that I've noticed lately, particularly in tonight's game against the Islanders, is how strong each player's fundamentals are. With apologies to Don Cherry, Green is by far the more unorthodox player while , despite all his dangling and fancy footwork, Semin is really fundamentally sound.
What prompted this was the observation that Semin always stands out on the ice, even away from the puck. He takes up more physical space than his lithe 6'2" frame would suggest, and the reason is simple: he always had two hands on his stick.
Semin succeeds in the most basic of fundamentals that youth hockey coaches spend untold hours impressing on their players- always keep both hands on your stick. That way you're always a split second away from catching a pass or taking a shot (especially after the follow-up lesson, 'always keep your stick on the ice).
On the other hand, Green's skating fundamentals are a little off. I won't critique him for the poor passes he made tonight, since Semin made some equally-poor decision, but sometimes it's surprising he stays upright while skating. On the play leading to Semin's second goal, Green carried the puck down the right wing and behind the net.
Notable about Green's skating was that he glided about 80 feet along the boards on just his outside foot. Sure, it looks pretty, but all it takes is a simple tap to knock you over in that situation. Green gave himself no opportunity to cut inside or otherwise make a move- he was stuck in that glide.
Food for thought, since Green gets positive attention for his smooth skating while Semin gets no credit for anything, basically, other than his shot.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
New-look Capitals power play
Watching the Capitals-Devils game and writing this as the Capitals are on their first power play of the game. With Alexander Ovechkin out the PP defense pairings are going to be Mike Green with Tom Poti and Brian Pothier (I have no idea who the second PP point is...were I a betting man, I'd say there isn't a second). Interesting that instead of setting up at his usual right defense spot, Green is lining up at the left point...Bruce Boudreau has not changed his power play scheme at all to reflect the change in personnel, but has simply inserted Green into Ovechkin's role as primary triggerman. Green will certainly make as much of his chances as Ovechkin did but it will be interesting to see whether Poti picks up Green's shooting tendency or looks down the right boards for Alexander Semin more.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Alex Ovechkin Post-game
Sunday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets Alexander Ovechkin suffered an 'upper body injury,' probably to his left shoulder and/or arm, and left the game in the second period.
Ovechkin came out to speak with media after the game, and was brief in his comments. From his words and demeanor it didn't seem as though he was too concerned with the injury, although that could certainly be illusory. Here's a transcript of his comments. MH is Michael Hoffman of Examiner.com, TED is Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post. I didn't catch the identity of the TV guy.
Edit 8:56 pm: Video is on Capitals Outsider (Thanks to Philip Van der Vossen for taking/posting the clip!).
TEB: What happened there along the boards? It seemed to me that Chimera was angry from the hit in the first period and he kind of bumped you.
AO: Yeah, it was just a moment in the game, so nothing happened, he hit me and I hit him. It was a battle there, but nothing happened.
TEB: Did someone grab you? How did you get hurt?
I can’t tell you how I get hurt. But it’s day-to-day, but you know just in case I can go back on the ice.
TEB: So you don’t think it’s very serious?
I don’t know.
TV: What is it?
[laughing] You think I’m going to tell you?
Can you tell us kind of where it is?
No. Can’t.
Left, right, top, bottom?
Upper body.
MH: Before you left, what did you tell the team?
I just said to a couple guys ‘good luck'...[Edit 8:56 pm: According to Michael, Ovechkin said he was with Greg Smith (the trainer) and then came to the locker room]...you know it’s a tough game…
TEB: Are you made at all with the way Chimera bumped you and then Boll came over…?
No, it’s just a game. It’s just a game. Hits happen, if it wasn’t hurt, if it wasn’t injured, like I’m just playing then no one would think about it, but it is what it is.
TEB: So no practice tomorrow, but will you try to skate on your own?
They’re off, so no skating.
Ovechkin came out to speak with media after the game, and was brief in his comments. From his words and demeanor it didn't seem as though he was too concerned with the injury, although that could certainly be illusory. Here's a transcript of his comments. MH is Michael Hoffman of Examiner.com, TED is Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post. I didn't catch the identity of the TV guy.
Edit 8:56 pm: Video is on Capitals Outsider (Thanks to Philip Van der Vossen for taking/posting the clip!).
TEB: What happened there along the boards? It seemed to me that Chimera was angry from the hit in the first period and he kind of bumped you.
AO: Yeah, it was just a moment in the game, so nothing happened, he hit me and I hit him. It was a battle there, but nothing happened.
TEB: Did someone grab you? How did you get hurt?
I can’t tell you how I get hurt. But it’s day-to-day, but you know just in case I can go back on the ice.
TEB: So you don’t think it’s very serious?
I don’t know.
TV: What is it?
[laughing] You think I’m going to tell you?
Can you tell us kind of where it is?
No. Can’t.
Left, right, top, bottom?
Upper body.
MH: Before you left, what did you tell the team?
I just said to a couple guys ‘good luck'...[Edit 8:56 pm: According to Michael, Ovechkin said he was with Greg Smith (the trainer) and then came to the locker room]...you know it’s a tough game…
TEB: Are you made at all with the way Chimera bumped you and then Boll came over…?
No, it’s just a game. It’s just a game. Hits happen, if it wasn’t hurt, if it wasn’t injured, like I’m just playing then no one would think about it, but it is what it is.
TEB: So no practice tomorrow, but will you try to skate on your own?
They’re off, so no skating.
Some Praise for Rick Nash
If Rick Nash played for Toronto, Montreal, Boston, or at least a dozen other NHL franchises, we would be talking about him in the same breath as Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, and the other young superstars that have reinvigorated the post-lockout NHL.
Instead, Nash is a gem of a player who thrills those who see him but is largely unknown to the casual fan. He’s not a nobody, by any stretch of the imagination, but he certainly does not get the respect and acknowledgement of a player of his caliber. That makes him all the more thrilling for those who do know about him.
Nash has a couple of strikes against him. First, obviously, he plays in Columbus, which is a newer franchise, in the Western Conference, playing in a division that has been dominated by the Detroit Red Wings for a decade. He played two seasons in the NHL before the lockout, thereby completely stripping him of that new player smell from those who joined the league in the 2005-06 season or afterwards.
Furthermore, Nash has been a one man show for much of his career in Columbus. Not until Steve Mason asserted himself as a rookie last season has Columbus had another player really worth paying attention to, talent-wise. Since his rookie season Nash had led the Blue Jackets in goals five of six seasons and points in three of six seasons, and has worn the captain’s C since 2008. He’s been their only All-Star representative since the 2003 game and was one of three players from the roster to take part in the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Few players have scored at the consistency of Nash in the past four seasons. He has 202 goals in 453 games (coming into today’s game). Twice he’s been in the top 5 in goal-scoring, sharing the Rocket Richard trophy in 2003-04.
Unlike Ovechkin, however, scoring stats aren’t the only place Nash excels. A much more apt comparison to Nash isn’t Ovechkin, but fellow Russian Pavel Datsyuk. There’s a reason Nash averages over two minutes a game on the penalty kill, and it’s not because Columbus Coach Ken Hitchcock likes having a scoring threat on the PK (though Nash has 11 shorties since 2007-08 including 2! on 3-on-5 situations.
No, Nash kills penalties because he’s a damned good penalty killer. He’s not just offensively gifted, he’s defensively responsible and hustles over all 200 feet of the ice (unlike some first line skaters in Washington). That is a learned skill for Nash…in his first three seasons he played 1:02, 3:36, and 7:18 over the course of each season, or just under 11 minutes total through 208 games before demonstrating that his special teams talent extended to both ends of the rink.
When he does score, though, man does Nash score pretty goals. He is very similar to Ovechkin in that both are what commentators love to call “big rigs.” Nash is listed at 6’4” and 218 pounds, and if you’ve ever seen his promos for the NHL Network you know he’s carrying at least 230 on that frame.
If you watch any of his highlight-reel goals (and what is it about Phoenix and giving up impressive goals? They're on that list three times), though, it’s clear Nash skates more like a Mike Green than a Matt Bradley. I’ve never seen a player of his size as quick on his feet and pull such nasty moves. His slap shot and wrist shot velocity isn’t up to Ovechkin’s level, but then again whose is? He’s more of an analog to Brett Hull, using a quick release and pinpoint accuracy rather than brute force to beat the goalie.
Team captain, leading scorer, primary weapon on the power play, solid penalty killer, floats like a butterfly and hits like a freight train…Nash might be the closest thing to the mythical ‘complete player’ in the NHL today. A lot of that is out of necessity: as his team’s best player he had to fill in every role.
That, of course, doesn’t detract at all from the talent and poise of Nash, who is still just 25 years old. He had the option, as an impending UFA after last season season, to jump to a bigger market (like Toronto) or better team (unlike Toronto) but chose to remain in Columbus, recognizing the talent finally accumulating there (he’s one of only six players to have spent more than two seasons in a Columbus uniform) and the fact that he has not yet reached his pinnacle as an NHL player.
So while as a Capitals fan and reporter covering the team, I’ll never tire of watching Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Backstrom and Green in action, this afternoon if given the choice my eyes will be on one 61 for Columbus, to see the magic he can work.
Instead, Nash is a gem of a player who thrills those who see him but is largely unknown to the casual fan. He’s not a nobody, by any stretch of the imagination, but he certainly does not get the respect and acknowledgement of a player of his caliber. That makes him all the more thrilling for those who do know about him.
Nash has a couple of strikes against him. First, obviously, he plays in Columbus, which is a newer franchise, in the Western Conference, playing in a division that has been dominated by the Detroit Red Wings for a decade. He played two seasons in the NHL before the lockout, thereby completely stripping him of that new player smell from those who joined the league in the 2005-06 season or afterwards.
Furthermore, Nash has been a one man show for much of his career in Columbus. Not until Steve Mason asserted himself as a rookie last season has Columbus had another player really worth paying attention to, talent-wise. Since his rookie season Nash had led the Blue Jackets in goals five of six seasons and points in three of six seasons, and has worn the captain’s C since 2008. He’s been their only All-Star representative since the 2003 game and was one of three players from the roster to take part in the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Few players have scored at the consistency of Nash in the past four seasons. He has 202 goals in 453 games (coming into today’s game). Twice he’s been in the top 5 in goal-scoring, sharing the Rocket Richard trophy in 2003-04.
Unlike Ovechkin, however, scoring stats aren’t the only place Nash excels. A much more apt comparison to Nash isn’t Ovechkin, but fellow Russian Pavel Datsyuk. There’s a reason Nash averages over two minutes a game on the penalty kill, and it’s not because Columbus Coach Ken Hitchcock likes having a scoring threat on the PK (though Nash has 11 shorties since 2007-08 including 2! on 3-on-5 situations.
No, Nash kills penalties because he’s a damned good penalty killer. He’s not just offensively gifted, he’s defensively responsible and hustles over all 200 feet of the ice (unlike some first line skaters in Washington). That is a learned skill for Nash…in his first three seasons he played 1:02, 3:36, and 7:18 over the course of each season, or just under 11 minutes total through 208 games before demonstrating that his special teams talent extended to both ends of the rink.
When he does score, though, man does Nash score pretty goals. He is very similar to Ovechkin in that both are what commentators love to call “big rigs.” Nash is listed at 6’4” and 218 pounds, and if you’ve ever seen his promos for the NHL Network you know he’s carrying at least 230 on that frame.
If you watch any of his highlight-reel goals (and what is it about Phoenix and giving up impressive goals? They're on that list three times), though, it’s clear Nash skates more like a Mike Green than a Matt Bradley. I’ve never seen a player of his size as quick on his feet and pull such nasty moves. His slap shot and wrist shot velocity isn’t up to Ovechkin’s level, but then again whose is? He’s more of an analog to Brett Hull, using a quick release and pinpoint accuracy rather than brute force to beat the goalie.
Team captain, leading scorer, primary weapon on the power play, solid penalty killer, floats like a butterfly and hits like a freight train…Nash might be the closest thing to the mythical ‘complete player’ in the NHL today. A lot of that is out of necessity: as his team’s best player he had to fill in every role.
That, of course, doesn’t detract at all from the talent and poise of Nash, who is still just 25 years old. He had the option, as an impending UFA after last season season, to jump to a bigger market (like Toronto) or better team (unlike Toronto) but chose to remain in Columbus, recognizing the talent finally accumulating there (he’s one of only six players to have spent more than two seasons in a Columbus uniform) and the fact that he has not yet reached his pinnacle as an NHL player.
So while as a Capitals fan and reporter covering the team, I’ll never tire of watching Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Backstrom and Green in action, this afternoon if given the choice my eyes will be on one 61 for Columbus, to see the magic he can work.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Nicklas Backstrom is a monster
This month a popular topic of conversation among hockey types, as it is every October, was whether or not statistical leaders through the first few games of the season and reach otherwise-unattainable records or benchmarks.
With 5 goals in his first three games and then 9 through his first eight, Alexander Ovechkin was one of the primary focuses. Could he score 50 in 50? Could he be the first to break 70 goals since Alexander Mogilny and Teemu Selanne did it in 1992-93? Two goalless games has seen him cede the buzz to LA's Anze Kopitar, but it was (and perhaps still is) a valid question.
Also garnering critical attention in the early goings, though not as much as that of the goal-scorers, was Nicklas Backstrom. Backie-Star had an impressive 8 assists through the first three games of the year. Since then he only earned one assist in the succeeding seven games, though his nine helpers still has him tied for 8th in the NHL and his 11 points is tied for 22nd best.
Even with a seven-game slump, Backstrom is on track for 74 assists this season if he plays all 82 games, which he did in each of his previous two seasons.
In 2008-09 Backstrom finished with 66 assists, which tied him with Ryan Getzlaf for 3rd in the NHL behind Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin (78) and Sidney Crosby (70). At age 21, in only his third full NHL season, there's no reason to believe Backstrom couldn't improve on his numbers once again (his 66 assists and 88 points were a fair increase over his rookie season of 55 assists and 69 points).
What is a reasonable highwater expectation for Backstrom this year? 74 assists on the year works out to .903 assists/game, which is around the rate the NHL leader has kept the past two seasons: Malkin was working at a .951 pace last season and Joe Thornton had 67 assists in 82 games in 2007-08, or a .817 rate. It would require racking up assists at a high rate, but not an unreasonable one.
Number 19, despite owning a pretty nice shot (skip ahead to :35 on this video, for example) and putting 23 shots on net already this year, has always been more comfortable as a traditional pass-first centerman. He gets primo time on the first power play unit with Ovechkin (56 goals in 08-09), Brooks Laich (23), Alexander Semin (34) or Mike Knuble (27), and Mike Green (31). With the way Bruce Boudreau juggles lines, Backstrom could find himself taking a regular shift with any combination of two of the first four players, or Eric Fehr (12 goals in 61 games), Chris Clark (30 goals in 06-07, the last time he played more than 32 games in a season), or Tomas Fleischmann (19 goals in 73 games) once the Czech winger gets healthy.
60 assists in a year has been a pretty good benchmark since the lockout for a first-tier center in the NHL. Fourteen players have earned or surpassed 60 assists 29 times in the four seasons since the lockout. None of the players are flukes, although chances are good some of them won't get near the number again (looking at you, Daniel Alfredsson).
Even another 60+ assists season would puck Backstrom in impressive company. The other players with multiple post-lockout 60+ assist years are Joe Thornton (four), Marc Savard (four), Sidney Crosby (three), Henrik Sedin (three), Pavel Datsyuk (three), and Nicklas Lidstrom (two).
Earning 70 assists would put Backstrom in an even more prestigious club. The only players to equal or surpass that mark since the lockout have been Thornton (twice), Crosby (twice), Malkin, Savard, Sedin and Jason Spezza. Only Thornton and Crosby have topped 80, and Thornton is the only to best 90, putting up back-to-back, spite-filled 96- and 92-assist seasons in 05-06 and 06-07.
A healthy Joe Thornton, more than any specific number, has been the best benchmark of success in the past six seasons. Since 2002-03 Jumbo Joe has finished no worse than 8th in the league in assists, and has led the league in three of those years.
One of the few disappointing things about hockey, if you can even call it disappointing, is that so many of its all-time records are out of reach. Thornton's 96-assist season in 05-06 was the best by any player in over a decade. Wayne Gretzky had eleven straight 100+ assist seasons- the only other players to hit that mark are Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr, once each. Last season Malkin won the scoring race with 113 points; Gretzky had eight season in which his assist total would have won the 08-09 scoring race. His 163-assist season in 85-86 would have tied for or won outright the NHL scoring title in every season since 89-90. It is simply a different era.
Adjusted stats, which are certainly not recognized by the NHL but provide much better context for players' statistics, and still show that Gretzky's numbers were relatively way beyond how contemporary players are producing. He no longer owns 11 of the top 13 seasons of all time, but 11 of the top 40 still isn't shabby, considering the worst of those season (80-81) still adjusts to 84 assists (by comparison, Thornton's 96 assists in 05-06 adjust down to 92 and Backstrom's 66 assists last year adjust up to 67).
What conclusions can we draw about Nicklas Backstrom? First, with seasons of 55 and 66 assists under his belt he is already one of the NHL's elite set-up men, with similar production as Savard, Sedin, Datsyuk, and Malkin but without the lengthy track record since he's early in his third season.
Chances are no one will hit 100 assists in a season over the course of Backstrom's career. If anyone does, Backstrom probably has the best chance. Assuming he re-ups with the Capitals for a significant amount of time, he'll have Ovechkin on his wing and Green on his point. If the Caps are serious about a Stanley Cup run Backstrom will have to play a starring role.
90 assists is out of the question this year as well, as is 80 realistically. Mid-70s would give him one of the top 5 post-lockout assist totals. That aforementioned 74 assists certainly seems possible, especially given Backstrom's propensity for multi-assist games (30 in 174 career games, including three 4-assist nights). At age 21 Backstrom's best years are still ahead of him, and while a large part of his maturation will come in terms of defensive responsibilities, there's no reason to think that he's already capped out in terms of assists or points.
With 5 goals in his first three games and then 9 through his first eight, Alexander Ovechkin was one of the primary focuses. Could he score 50 in 50? Could he be the first to break 70 goals since Alexander Mogilny and Teemu Selanne did it in 1992-93? Two goalless games has seen him cede the buzz to LA's Anze Kopitar, but it was (and perhaps still is) a valid question.
Also garnering critical attention in the early goings, though not as much as that of the goal-scorers, was Nicklas Backstrom. Backie-Star had an impressive 8 assists through the first three games of the year. Since then he only earned one assist in the succeeding seven games, though his nine helpers still has him tied for 8th in the NHL and his 11 points is tied for 22nd best.
Even with a seven-game slump, Backstrom is on track for 74 assists this season if he plays all 82 games, which he did in each of his previous two seasons.
In 2008-09 Backstrom finished with 66 assists, which tied him with Ryan Getzlaf for 3rd in the NHL behind Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin (78) and Sidney Crosby (70). At age 21, in only his third full NHL season, there's no reason to believe Backstrom couldn't improve on his numbers once again (his 66 assists and 88 points were a fair increase over his rookie season of 55 assists and 69 points).
What is a reasonable highwater expectation for Backstrom this year? 74 assists on the year works out to .903 assists/game, which is around the rate the NHL leader has kept the past two seasons: Malkin was working at a .951 pace last season and Joe Thornton had 67 assists in 82 games in 2007-08, or a .817 rate. It would require racking up assists at a high rate, but not an unreasonable one.
Number 19, despite owning a pretty nice shot (skip ahead to :35 on this video, for example) and putting 23 shots on net already this year, has always been more comfortable as a traditional pass-first centerman. He gets primo time on the first power play unit with Ovechkin (56 goals in 08-09), Brooks Laich (23), Alexander Semin (34) or Mike Knuble (27), and Mike Green (31). With the way Bruce Boudreau juggles lines, Backstrom could find himself taking a regular shift with any combination of two of the first four players, or Eric Fehr (12 goals in 61 games), Chris Clark (30 goals in 06-07, the last time he played more than 32 games in a season), or Tomas Fleischmann (19 goals in 73 games) once the Czech winger gets healthy.
60 assists in a year has been a pretty good benchmark since the lockout for a first-tier center in the NHL. Fourteen players have earned or surpassed 60 assists 29 times in the four seasons since the lockout. None of the players are flukes, although chances are good some of them won't get near the number again (looking at you, Daniel Alfredsson).
Even another 60+ assists season would puck Backstrom in impressive company. The other players with multiple post-lockout 60+ assist years are Joe Thornton (four), Marc Savard (four), Sidney Crosby (three), Henrik Sedin (three), Pavel Datsyuk (three), and Nicklas Lidstrom (two).
Earning 70 assists would put Backstrom in an even more prestigious club. The only players to equal or surpass that mark since the lockout have been Thornton (twice), Crosby (twice), Malkin, Savard, Sedin and Jason Spezza. Only Thornton and Crosby have topped 80, and Thornton is the only to best 90, putting up back-to-back, spite-filled 96- and 92-assist seasons in 05-06 and 06-07.
A healthy Joe Thornton, more than any specific number, has been the best benchmark of success in the past six seasons. Since 2002-03 Jumbo Joe has finished no worse than 8th in the league in assists, and has led the league in three of those years.
One of the few disappointing things about hockey, if you can even call it disappointing, is that so many of its all-time records are out of reach. Thornton's 96-assist season in 05-06 was the best by any player in over a decade. Wayne Gretzky had eleven straight 100+ assist seasons- the only other players to hit that mark are Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr, once each. Last season Malkin won the scoring race with 113 points; Gretzky had eight season in which his assist total would have won the 08-09 scoring race. His 163-assist season in 85-86 would have tied for or won outright the NHL scoring title in every season since 89-90. It is simply a different era.
Adjusted stats, which are certainly not recognized by the NHL but provide much better context for players' statistics, and still show that Gretzky's numbers were relatively way beyond how contemporary players are producing. He no longer owns 11 of the top 13 seasons of all time, but 11 of the top 40 still isn't shabby, considering the worst of those season (80-81) still adjusts to 84 assists (by comparison, Thornton's 96 assists in 05-06 adjust down to 92 and Backstrom's 66 assists last year adjust up to 67).
What conclusions can we draw about Nicklas Backstrom? First, with seasons of 55 and 66 assists under his belt he is already one of the NHL's elite set-up men, with similar production as Savard, Sedin, Datsyuk, and Malkin but without the lengthy track record since he's early in his third season.
Chances are no one will hit 100 assists in a season over the course of Backstrom's career. If anyone does, Backstrom probably has the best chance. Assuming he re-ups with the Capitals for a significant amount of time, he'll have Ovechkin on his wing and Green on his point. If the Caps are serious about a Stanley Cup run Backstrom will have to play a starring role.
90 assists is out of the question this year as well, as is 80 realistically. Mid-70s would give him one of the top 5 post-lockout assist totals. That aforementioned 74 assists certainly seems possible, especially given Backstrom's propensity for multi-assist games (30 in 174 career games, including three 4-assist nights). At age 21 Backstrom's best years are still ahead of him, and while a large part of his maturation will come in terms of defensive responsibilities, there's no reason to think that he's already capped out in terms of assists or points.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Hockey Lexicon 2 - Hat-Flipper, Pearly Gates
Last night my hockey vocabulary expanded quite a bit again. First Mike Knuble introduced me to a new term, and then I picked another one up from the Detroit announcing crew, via NHL on the Fly on the NHL Network.
First up, Hat-flipper: a high clearing attempt or pass launched at a severe angle. Used by Mike Knuble to describe the pass from Brendan Morrison that set up Alexander Ovechkin's second goal.
Usage: Describing his assists, Knuble credited his second one of the night to "a hat-flipper by Brendan, you know, you just got to throw it to that side of the ice, just something good is gonna happen a lot of the time."
The second was pearly gates, used by play-by-play announcer Ken Daniels of FSN Detroit to describe the five-hole. Usage: "Right through the pearly gates!" on a shot that slipped between Chris Osgood's legs.
First up, Hat-flipper: a high clearing attempt or pass launched at a severe angle. Used by Mike Knuble to describe the pass from Brendan Morrison that set up Alexander Ovechkin's second goal.
Usage: Describing his assists, Knuble credited his second one of the night to "a hat-flipper by Brendan, you know, you just got to throw it to that side of the ice, just something good is gonna happen a lot of the time."
The second was pearly gates, used by play-by-play announcer Ken Daniels of FSN Detroit to describe the five-hole. Usage: "Right through the pearly gates!" on a shot that slipped between Chris Osgood's legs.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Statistics Lie to You
At Verizon Center for tonight's game between the Caps and the Devils, while flipping through the Game Notes, I saw a couple numbers that reminded me not to put undue stock in the team's special teams performance through the first five games of the season.
At the moment, Washington is 6 for 24 on the power play, an even 25%. That would have been good enough for 3rd place overall in the NHL last year, right behind the Red Wings (25.5%) and the 08-09 Caps (25.2%). Through 1 1/2 weeks of the 09-10 season, it's only good for T-12th. Last season's 12th place team was Chicago, converting at 19.3%.
Conversely, the Caps have allowed 6 goals on 27 penalty kills, giving them a 77.8% success rate, tied for 13th in the NHL. That same percentage in 2008-09 would have placed them at 27th in the league, right behind Tampa Bay (78%) and just ahead of Edmonton (77.5%). [As an aside, Detroit was only 25th with a 78.3% kill rate] Again, on the flip side, the 13th best penalty kill last season was Columbus at 82.1%...a full 1.5 percentage points ahead of where the Caps finished, in 17th at 80.6%.
At the moment, Washington is 6 for 24 on the power play, an even 25%. That would have been good enough for 3rd place overall in the NHL last year, right behind the Red Wings (25.5%) and the 08-09 Caps (25.2%). Through 1 1/2 weeks of the 09-10 season, it's only good for T-12th. Last season's 12th place team was Chicago, converting at 19.3%.
Conversely, the Caps have allowed 6 goals on 27 penalty kills, giving them a 77.8% success rate, tied for 13th in the NHL. That same percentage in 2008-09 would have placed them at 27th in the league, right behind Tampa Bay (78%) and just ahead of Edmonton (77.5%). [As an aside, Detroit was only 25th with a 78.3% kill rate] Again, on the flip side, the 13th best penalty kill last season was Columbus at 82.1%...a full 1.5 percentage points ahead of where the Caps finished, in 17th at 80.6%.
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