Takes and trash talk from both ALL sides of the NHL's most obscure PATHETIC* rivalry

* Thanks, Kevin Lowe!

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Drinky Post--Ducks get hit by train wreck, Sleek rants

Nothing gets you drinking like giving up 7 goals to the Flyers (on 16 shots? Wow.). Random thoughts (warning: a long, directionless, Red Label-inspired post):

Anyone wanna trade for George Parros? That guy’s a human zamboni, using his jersey to slide-sweep the ice. Jeez, Burke. I’m not so sure. Todd Fedoruk was a great fighter and could even contribute in his minutes (the easy ice time, with Getzlaf and Perry). Shawn Thornton maybe wasn’t that great a fighter, but he did really well in the Fedoruk minutes. Parros? I dunno. He’s got the balance of a drunk infant giraffe. A real downgrade.

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Yeah, by the numbers it looks pretty stunning that bottomfeeders Ottawa and Philadelphia would shock world-beaters Buffalo and Anaheim, but really, these teams were due. Mudcrutch makes the point pretty well, and JavaGeek does a good job with the Senators specifically. Sucks to say, but the Sens and Flyers aren’t as bad as they were letting on, just as the Sabres and Ducks aren’t as good as they were letting on.
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Stats rant: John Kreisler, an NHL.com columnist (the “numbers” guy) had a note on the Flyers (emphasis mine)

The Flyers have a league-low 30 goals (including one in a shootout), though it’s not for a lack of trying. They’ve out-shot their opponents in 12 of their 15 games -- including the last eight, in which they are 2-6-0.

When I look at the NHL standings, why does a shootout win/loss count as a statistical goal? Isn’t that already reflected in the W or O column? I mean, I don’t care particularly about the counting method, but when you look at player stats, nobody gets credit for scoring a goal or a game-winning goal. A winning goalie does not get a save, nor a losing goalie a goal-against. It is, in fact, a phantom goal. If you want to put a shootout win in the goals column, then award a damn goal, dumbass league.
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While I’m on the topic of numbers, here’s another thought. I’m really into the mathy stuff being done around the blogosphere, ranging from ice time analysis to shot chart analysis (both on the ice and on the net). More and more, people like us are getting a better and better handle on gathering the data elements of hockey and learning how to read them (through no help of the NHL, mind you). There’s no perfect metric to this sport, of course, but I think the first strides made in data analysis won’t have to be perfect to be effective. It’s just that raw a game.
At any rate, I would humbly like to add one thing to JavaGeek’s excellent data wish list. For every goal scored, I think there should be some sort of data collected about why the goal was scored. Was there a screen? Was it a breakaway? Did the puck deflect? Was the goalie caught in a 2-on-1? Was it just a perfect shot? This it seems to me is just as important as where on the ice the puck was shot or where on the net it was aimed.
We know fundamentally that understanding winning means understanding scoring, both from a productive sense and a preventive sense. I am really in favor of data collection about shot modeling, but I think there should be better differentiation about which goals to model around. My two cents, any way.
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Um, I have slammed Hockey News in the past, but there’s two pieces in the issue I just picked up of some interest (I don't have a link). One is about shootouts, and really breaks down where on the net shooters aimed (hint: glove-side high). The other is about declines in attendance, and writer Ken Campbell, I think, kicks some real ass.

Saskin, on the other hand, tells me he isn't the least bit concerned, even though the players' pay checks are directly tied into how many fans they attract. Saskin reasons enough teams raised ticket prices to make up for the revenue shortfall and he has every confidence when final receipts are tallied, the league will exceed the $2.1 billion in revenue it made last year... wasn't the lockout and cost certainty supposed to be in large part about maintaining affordable ticket prices?... Remind me again exactly why it was we missed a full season of hockey if a significant number of teams can paper the house and still report enough in revenues to give the players well over a billion dollars in salary.
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As a conclusion to this directionless drinky post, I would like to throw one more idea out there. If the NHL is really serious about the 'watchability' of hockey (which I don't think is measured in goals, by the way), one area I think it might want to take a look at is at the blue line. So hard to penetrate, so easy to defend! Somehow if the offsides rule was more 'relaxed', I think, there would be better flow to games and more chances. Here's three ideas, going conservative-to-radical:

1) Fatten the blue line. Allow a forward to break in earlier when the puck touches blue.
2) Personal tag-up on-sides. Right now if one player is offsides, everyone has to tag up. In this version, only that one player needs to tag up while others can continue "offsides".
3) Allow one forward to be offside. This is really radical, but a whistle would only be blown if two players were offside.
The real idea, I think, is to make things harder to defend. To make scoring chances easier to come by (or at least, more frequent). To get tripped up a little bit less by the stickiness of the neutral zone. At the very least, changing the blueline would have to change the way the game was defended, which at this point is almost a game of "clear the zone".
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OK, I'm not even sure if this all makes sense, but Drinky Sleek is putting a stop to this (the typing, not the drinking). Good luck, everyone! Rational posts start tomorrow!

9 comments:

Tapeleg said...

The AHL tried the fattening the blue lines, going from 1 foot to 2 feet. The problem was that it was a good idea. The NHL doesn't do that.

Red Label? Haven;t you ever heard of the glory that is Bushmills? Glorious.

Sean Zandberg said...

"Sucks to say, but the Sens and Flyers aren’t as bad as they were letting on, just as the Sabres and Ducks aren’t as good as they were letting on."

Well, the Ducks and Sabres are close to what they were letting on, and the Sens and Flyers are NOWHERE CLOSE to what they were letting on.
Ah, Tapeleg still raves about Bushmills, huh?

It's ok, Sleek, this game was just a hiccup for the Ducks. It happens to every great team on occasion.

Red Label? I have never tried it before. Black Label, yes.

Anonymous said...

For a drinky post, this is pretty coherent to me. Out of curiosity, what would it take for a drinky post to be incoherent? Anyway, I like the idea of data on why the goal was scored. They should get some guys on that.

Anonymous said...

i'm guessing the NHL counts SO goals in the team total but not the player total for two reasons : Keeping down the individual scoring rates helps them keep salaries down, and adding extra goals to the team total lets them inflate the "goals per game" average that apparently shows how entertaining and wide open the game is.

Earl Sleek said...

For a drinky post, this is pretty coherent to me. Out of curiosity, what would it take for a drinky post to be incoherent?

True, I didn't really start the red label until the 6th goal.

This really was just a drink-ish post, or drink-inspired post, not a true drinky post. When I'm at a game, I can get pretty incoherent.

Mostly this is stuff I've been wanting to post but have been tongue-tied a bit. Put a few drinks in me, though, and the writer's block seems to go away.

i'm guessing the NHL counts SO goals in the team total but not the player total for two reasons

You're right, Julian. Am I mistaken or was this not the case last year? Seems to me this is a new counting method.

Red Label? I have never tried it before. Black Label, yes.

Red Label's what you drink when you're out of Black Label.

The AHL tried the fattening the blue lines, going from 1 foot to 2 feet. The problem was that it was a good idea. The NHL doesn't do that.

That's because they don't put Darryl Sutter on their rules committee. You want to make the NHL more offensive? Talk to the guys who are taking away scoring chances and figure out why they are so good at it.

Kent W. said...

Sorry Sleek...I think I cursed your team with my comment yesterday.

Tapeleg said...

More offensive? How many goals do you need scored against the Ducks? Isn't 7 enough?

Anonymous said...

For a drinky post, this is pretty coherent to me. Out of curiosity, what would it take for a drinky post to be incoherent?

Sleek, I think I just got a new mission for the Sharks game. Time for you to make an incoherent drinky post.

Doogie2K said...

It's odd. I think they count SO goals in the standings GF-GA area, but not the NHL Stats' GF-GA area. Very confusing.