tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6485564578745729492024-03-05T14:16:02.964-07:00Oil DroppingsBrucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-29613244806389424992009-06-25T20:17:00.012-06:002009-09-12T10:57:31.390-06:00Transactions<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMcFhMVvYRyz0FmSGn5oC9OqPpQ-PRrhUpz23Q_baPjkFAVnALMX5iiHXTXLXBIMB0Evw3urXH1bXUGci0ZJ03jRi15oax__Sgq9xGyACq_S0DMXs2g0UqxBOTxon_7oUIluX8zAXc_H6/s1600-h/salute.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 235px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351466131297962466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMcFhMVvYRyz0FmSGn5oC9OqPpQ-PRrhUpz23Q_baPjkFAVnALMX5iiHXTXLXBIMB0Evw3urXH1bXUGci0ZJ03jRi15oax__Sgq9xGyACq_S0DMXs2g0UqxBOTxon_7oUIluX8zAXc_H6/s400/salute.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I promised myself I'd give this one full season and see where it went. From the </span><a href="http://oildroppings.blogspot.com/2008/09/oiler-wannabes-3-u-of-golden-bears-2.html"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Oilers Wannabes at Golden Bears</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> game on September 17 to </span><a href="http://oildroppings.blogspot.com/2009/06/whoever-wins-wins.html"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> on June 12, Oil Droppings was a going concern. Now it's going, going, gone.<br /><br />But that's good news. After serving my year's apprenticeship in the minors, I've been called up to The Bigs. I have accepted an offer from "the hardest working man in the Oilogosphere", Jonathan Willis, to join forces at his fine blog </span><a href="http://www.coppernblue.com/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The Copper & Blue</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. At the same time, Derek Zona a.k.a. Coach pb9617 is closing the doors of his promising new blog, the Church of Kurri, to make it a threesome over at C & B.<br /><br />Should be interesting, and fun. We three bring different, complementary strengths which should keep C & B both busy and varied. Jon's done a great job all on his own there, but we're confident the addition of a couple UFAs will strengthen the team's performance. </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> <br /><br />Oil Droppings will remain "up" but inactive for the foreseeable future. The archives will eventually be folded in with Jonathan's and Derek's over at C&B while the blogroll will remain intact for now. That blogroll has continued to swell throughout the season as more worthy sites have come on-line, so this is a small step to consolidate three of them into one site which we hope will (continue to) be a regular visit for many of you.<br /><br />My thanks to all the readers and especially commenters who have added content and context to Oil Droppings over the past 9 months. I look forward to continued interaction with you at Copper & Blue, not to mention in the comments sections of your own and other blogs.<br /></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Lw9pr2eHRZMHzKeM48SgxRXttaWyJYHn020teOKt7phGrKeDRZZlNtqhQVJ-cmZwOfW2JpkC7gYKTvFCRf6GzGKPOME9YcwPgdDodVkxsfIQH9RzGvHucOgAk3mqmGiA7pjDYCnYVaya/s1600-h/messiersemenkocup.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Lw9pr2eHRZMHzKeM48SgxRXttaWyJYHn020teOKt7phGrKeDRZZlNtqhQVJ-cmZwOfW2JpkC7gYKTvFCRf6GzGKPOME9YcwPgdDodVkxsfIQH9RzGvHucOgAk3mqmGiA7pjDYCnYVaya/s400/messiersemenkocup.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351489386856579570" /></a>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-27752350004501148462009-06-21T19:47:00.009-06:002009-06-22T11:39:44.056-06:00Father's Day presence<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOR_dseOWeAGwpBSvowZioSrFX8CzEpK_e1tC09_Kg9uZ0t8YGMspg9cxkfDPoNT_8CtPe9cctaDt9LJ-HglvnQjJ3_U_Hz5QXcLE_yktRGnapieOWJKVP8n1uBdQU8K604C5sOsWLCoCi/s1600-h/pujols.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 317px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349963086955026290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOR_dseOWeAGwpBSvowZioSrFX8CzEpK_e1tC09_Kg9uZ0t8YGMspg9cxkfDPoNT_8CtPe9cctaDt9LJ-HglvnQjJ3_U_Hz5QXcLE_yktRGnapieOWJKVP8n1uBdQU8K604C5sOsWLCoCi/s400/pujols.jpg" /></a><br />I think I must have inherited that part of my Dad's genetic code that loved the St. Louis Cardinals. It was something we shared from my earliest awareness of the sporting world in the <a href="http://oildroppings.blogspot.com/2008/11/remembering-man.html">summer of 1962</a>, 'til the day he died just after the 2007 season. For both of us it was a passion that stretched from Stan (The Man) Musial to Albert (El Hombre) Pujols.<br /><br />I saw only the tail end of the wonderful career of Stan the Man; similarly Dad saw only the first portion of El Hombre's dazzling career. Dad often regaled me with tales of Musial's legendary hitting exploits, such as the season he hit .625 in Ebbetts Field against the arch-rival Brooklyn Dodgers; today I can only reciprocate by thinking of my Dad and sharing vicariously Phat Albert's modern hitting exploits and ever-growing legend.<br /><br />Fitting that Pujols came through with yet another huge game this Father's Day, with a 2 homer, 4 hit, 6 RBI performance, leading the Redbirds to a convincing 12-5 victory in Kansas City. The highlight was a fourth inning grand slam that broke open a 4-4 game. It was El Hombre's 9th career grand slam, tying the all-time Cardinals' record held by, you guessed it, Stan Musial. Through the magic of the Internet, a photo of today's slam appears up top, and video can be seen <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=5173861">here</a>.<br /><br />If only I could, I'd be picking up the phone tonight and sharing a gloat with Dad. I'd no doubt tell him that Albert now leads the major leagues in runs, RBIs, homers, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and of course OPS (by a spectacular 140 points). Dad would note that the Cards have extended their lead in the tight NL Central to 1½ games. And the man who got a masters degree in history would likely make some comparison across the eras, between dominant hitters past and present. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY93hRNWZKo0ZTZETTdO9a870nVV7udteohx8neMr-1eAePqfyrifUdaVfxeVNCvveDThCWdOliNcI59yYp-l7Zng24VPFnhwRcM7rZAxrUFln2Vdq0WeQYCekKBe-SFOjvANLpZmDAozc/s1600-h/albertaandtheman2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 303px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350002308570922290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY93hRNWZKo0ZTZETTdO9a870nVV7udteohx8neMr-1eAePqfyrifUdaVfxeVNCvveDThCWdOliNcI59yYp-l7Zng24VPFnhwRcM7rZAxrUFln2Vdq0WeQYCekKBe-SFOjvANLpZmDAozc/s400/albertaandtheman2.jpg" /></a><br />In researching this piece I came across this wonderful picture (and this <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/pictures/pictures/2009/04/the-man-and-el-hombre/"> photo essay</a>) of Musial and Pujols, taken on Opening Day 2009. The Man is a frail 88, but still has a ready smile and, it would appear, the utmost respect of those who follow his path. Which is as it should be.<br /><br />The old #6 and the current #5 have lots in common, both starting their careers in left field before finding a permanent home at first base in Busch Stadium. Yet they come from backgrounds as different as their eras. Musial is from Donora (Pennsylvania), Pujols from the Dominican Republic. Due to his skin colour, El Hombre wouldn't have been welcome in the major leagues when The Man started his career; how far we've come. And how lucky I was, having a dad who cheered equally and whole-heartedly for Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith, and Albert Pujols as he did Stan Musial, Red Schoendienst and Enos Slaughter. Or who cried equally for Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. Not everyone was so enlightened in the days of my youth, nor even today.<br /><br />I was incredibly fortunate to have such a dad, and especially to have him right into my 50s. Today I remember him with great warmth, and miss him with all my heart.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99ZUXl5swkQspmf_1NFryShPKHXpMVYVMMIbGeYx4az6fY_9pjholm69TD56gXiC_aysukeRhqV-6TG8hE8OMnLcP4Mx28NoQje1QOBC96bJx2Xr0CwuNYkd7nDFoiwmp0WHNUfHwtfk8/s1600-h/pujolspoint.bmp"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349981526071487218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99ZUXl5swkQspmf_1NFryShPKHXpMVYVMMIbGeYx4az6fY_9pjholm69TD56gXiC_aysukeRhqV-6TG8hE8OMnLcP4Mx28NoQje1QOBC96bJx2Xr0CwuNYkd7nDFoiwmp0WHNUfHwtfk8/s400/pujolspoint.bmp" /></a>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-25181805305720356132009-06-12T12:58:00.026-06:002009-06-16T08:41:18.152-06:00“Whoever wins, Wins”<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7KSzlJ8e3s4TLr-tv31YLxtBftS7BNwwZ5_ZlVYJ4mSRdNxGrzmM64bloa58qx7YkY7uCmrqeiro2oUHlUaapalxUPZuIfaVPMLxeiAS8YZTm3kX-aMA81kvvJLWu8mgEnMM1UYg8bQBB/s1600-h/Howe.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 234px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346520004949831682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7KSzlJ8e3s4TLr-tv31YLxtBftS7BNwwZ5_ZlVYJ4mSRdNxGrzmM64bloa58qx7YkY7uCmrqeiro2oUHlUaapalxUPZuIfaVPMLxeiAS8YZTm3kX-aMA81kvvJLWu8mgEnMM1UYg8bQBB/s400/Howe.jpg" /></a><br /><div><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I was 8 years old that spring of 1964 when I coined that phrase. It was my second Stanley Cup playoffs, and a memorable one. After the Leafs had rolled to the Cup in just 10 games in ’63 -- have I mentioned I'm old? I can recall the Leafs actually winning -- the next year things were a lot tighter. All three series (TOR-MTL, DET-CHI and then TOR-DET) were rematches, all three had the same result, but this time all three went 7 games. After the Leafs and Habs had split the first six games, my emerging mathematical mind realized that whoever won the next game, won the series. My uncharacteristically concise observation became synonymous with “Game 7” in our household for many years. </span></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiujqqE81Xz1oqKc2n8ejhINx0Tby1-CS2NU6ChTe6vhmTqPt6zNWdJZnxKvlVKVGa7pH6OeVUwZBgHaxpw3Ai3D9Tz1NBDZ-MG8imYKIwpfkaLAzikVU_JHfRhqo4aqOuscMZ3MBmWcDAm/s1600-h/stanleycup.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 180px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346530282411950434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiujqqE81Xz1oqKc2n8ejhINx0Tby1-CS2NU6ChTe6vhmTqPt6zNWdJZnxKvlVKVGa7pH6OeVUwZBgHaxpw3Ai3D9Tz1NBDZ-MG8imYKIwpfkaLAzikVU_JHfRhqo4aqOuscMZ3MBmWcDAm/s400/stanleycup.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It’s particularly true when the Game 7 in question is in the Stanley Cup Finals. One for all the marbles. It’s an exciting time to be a hockey fan; even if you don’t care about the two teams involved, you care about that silver mug and you want to see whose history will be engraved on it.<br /><br />This is my 46th Stanley Cup final series (an official majority of the 91 that have been played since the NHL was formed in 1917, and yes, I do feel old, thanks for asking). It is just the tenth in my time to reach Game 7. They might seem commonplace to newer, younger fans of Gary Bettman’s House of Parity, but there has been an odd distribution over the years:<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">1960s - 2<br />1970s - 1<br />1980s - 1<br />1990s - 1<br />2000s – 5<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It’s a rare enough thing, which was especially true during dynastic times as the true powerhouses tend to end things in 6 or less. Sweeps were grossly more common than seven-gamers. The five-in-a-row Habs lost just 5 Finals games over those 5 years with only one series making it to Game 6. The four-in-a-row Habs of the late 70s lost just 3 games, and the four-in-a-row Islanders that directly followed also lost just 3 games, with each team playing (and winning) a single Game 6. The Oilers of 1983-90 got swept in their first series, then won 5 Cups with only a 7-game classic with the Flyers in 1987 requiring more than 5 games to mop up. Those Oilers lost just 3 games total in their other 4 Cup triumphs. Similarly, today’s long-standing dynasty in the Motor City got swept in a first visit to the Finals back in ’95, but have quickly disposed of subsequent opponents, losing just 3 games over their 4 successful Cup Finals. Until this year ... and tonight.<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Rarer still is a 7th game overtime, which has occurred only twice, 1950 and 1954, with the Red Wings prevailing both times. The unlikely heroes were Pete Babando and Tony Leswick, both of whom are famous for no other reason. The pestiferous Leswick’s fluke goal off the glove of the great Doug Harvey could only be duplicated if Matt Cooke bounced one in off of Nick Lidstrom in OT tonight. Ugh. That one had to be tough for Habs fans to swallow ... sorry I missed it!<br /><br />But since I tuned in a decade later, I watch the Stanley Cup Finals intently, every year, whether my team is in or out. In this era of many Games 7, I usually have a mild rooting interest but (2006 aside) don’t <i>really</i> care who wins, but am keen to see how things turn out. The Game is the thing, and by now I’ve watched well over 200 SCF games, 15 of them in person. The funny thing is how after all these years the memories of those games, especially Games 7, remain sharp. The garburetor that passes for my brain retains a torrent of game scores, goal scorers, goal times, situations, stats, factoids, mental replays ... This walk down memory lane doesn’t require hockey-reference.com – but if you find an error, please let me know. :D<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">1964: Detroit 0 @ Toronto 4</span></strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The first Game 7 in 9 years provided a somewhat anticlimactic end to a great series which featured 6 close games, including 2 overtimes and 2 others decided in the last minute of regulation. The <i>coup de grace</i> was delivered by Bob Baun, whose shock overtime goal in Game 6 had silenced an Olympia crowd expecting the Cup. That Baun was playing on a broken leg at the time is now the stuff of legend. Baun, broken leg and all, went on to play Game 7; when asked if he would get an Xray, he replied “no, if it's bad news I don't want to hear it; I have a game to play”. (Bob Baun was Lee Fogolin, Craig Muni, and Jason Smith all rolled into one.) His leg held up, and so did the Leaf defence in smothering the Wings. Andy Bathgate, acquired from the Rangers in a blockbuster trade earlier that season, scored on an early breakaway and Johnny Bower made it stand up against Gordie Howe and Co. The Leafs scored three in the third to finally break it open. </span></div><div><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">1965: Chicago 0 @ Montreal 4</span></strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This was a homer series and an extreme one at that. Montreal outscored Chicago 15-2 in the Forum, with the Hawks failing to score again after a 3-2 loss in Game 1. In Chicago Stadium it was the Habs with popgun offence, scoring just 3 goals to Chicago’s 10. So when Jean Beliveau scored something like 14 seconds into Game 7, it was over early. The Habs built their early advantage to 4-0 by the end of the first and cruised home from there. The only boring Game 7 I’ve ever seen. Gump Worsley got the shutout, and Beliveau was awarded the first Conn Smythe Trophy. </span></div><div><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">1971: Montreal 3 @ Chicago 2</span></strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The homer series that wasn’t. Chicago was the higher seed but blinked in the final game, blowing a 2-0 lead in the process. The turning point came in the second period when Bobby Hull hit the crossbar and soon after Jacques Lemaire beat Tony Esposito on an 80-foot slapper that got the Habs back in the game while draining the confidence right out of the Hawks and their fans. From that moment the outcome seemed inevitable. Henri Richard scored the tying and winning goals, and Ken Dryden made them stand up with some remarkable netminding. The pre-rookie Dryden won the Smythe, the Pocket Rocket got his revenge for being benched earlier in the series, and winning coach Al MacNeil got demoted to the AHL. The only thing the Canadiens did better than infighting, was winning. </span></div><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">1987: Philadelphia 1 @ Edmonton 3</span></strong></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguXdIWtuTDxBjsniUIVogYCDQb1ori0sQUjIq1YDk9rKisa9RA5eow5wA0iqlZlCNOgtDoEgsv1mCrSntElWk8mDHAChw431ipai3B023RtR52XJ4SBM5My8bxQFkP5IufiZzq6a7ZonMi/s1600-h/Gretzky-Hextall.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguXdIWtuTDxBjsniUIVogYCDQb1ori0sQUjIq1YDk9rKisa9RA5eow5wA0iqlZlCNOgtDoEgsv1mCrSntElWk8mDHAChw431ipai3B023RtR52XJ4SBM5My8bxQFkP5IufiZzq6a7ZonMi/s200/Gretzky-Hextall.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346853540935127538" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The first SCFG7 in sixteen long years, and my personal favourite, because I got to attend this game live. The ultimate experience for a hockey fan, knowing that the Stanley Cup is not only in the building but is certain to be given out. Whoever wins, Wins. I attended all four home games of that series, and it was the best live hockey I’ve ever seen. Philly had a great, gritty club that pushed the most talented of all Oiler squads right to the wall. In the ultimate game Flyers scored on an early 5-on-3, but the Oil tied it on a dazzling three-way passing play from Glenn Anderson to Kent Nilsson to Mark Messier before Jari Kurri put the Oil ahead to stay late in the second on a pass from Wayne Gretzky. After a series of goalposts, near misses, and great stops by Ron Hextall, Anderson finally put it away late in the third. Oilers outshot Philly 43-20 and were full value for the win. The rookie Hextall was a standout in defeat, receiving first star honours in Game 7 as well as the Smythe. Gretzky received the Cup from John Ziegler and immediately passed it to Steve Smith in an unforgettably classy gesture.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">1994 Vancouver 2 @ New York Rangers 3</span></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The Rangers were known as Edmonton East, and it stood them in good stead when the President’s Trophy winners blew two chances to win the Cup in Games 5 and 6, just as had happened to the Oil in ’87. The Rangers still had home ice for Game 7 and weren’t about to let it get away on them. Messier, Anderson, Kevin Lowe, Craig MacTavish, and Esa Tikkanen were teammates in both games; Jeff Beukeboom and Adam Graves had won Cups for Edmonton after ’87, and were key figures on those ’94 Rangers. Messier scored the Cup-winning goal, and Mike Richter and his posts made it stand up against a hard-battling Canucks squad. Brian Leetch scored the critical opening goal and ultimately received the Conn Smythe.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">2001 New Jersey 1 @ Colorado 3</span></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">For the third year in a row the Finals featured a battle of superstar goalies, but after the previous two were decided in long overtimes in Game 6, this one went the limit. Patrick Roy was the story, shutting down the Devils’ league-leading offence (it’s true! and it wasn’t close), allowing just 11 goals in the 7 games including just 2 in the 4 Colorado victories. The Devils had a chance to clinch at home in Game 6 but laid a 4-0 egg at the Swamp. Back in the Mile High City, the Avalanche jumped out to a 3-0 lead on 2 goals and a helper from Alex Tanguay, then rode Roy and fierce checking to the finish line. Roy was a clear choice for his third Conn Smythe, while an aging Ray Bourque was both inspiration and a major contributor.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">2003 Anaheim 0 @ New Jersey 3</span></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Another battle between hot goalies, as Brodeur and the Devils returned for their third SCF in four years to face J.-S. Giguere and the upstart Ducks. This was a homer series similar to 1965, in which neither team could score in the other’s building. The Ducks outscored the Devils 9-4 on the Pond, including 2-0 in overtime, but the Devils dominated at the Swamp by a 15-3 margin, including three 3-0 shutouts. Mike Rupp was the unlikeliest of heroes, subbing in for an injured Joe Nieuwendyk, contributing the Cup-winning goal and setting up both insurance markers. Strong goaltending and defence did the rest. Smythe voters looked past Brodeur’s 7 shutouts and clearly superior performance in the SCF to award Giguere the Smythe, based on his utterly brilliant work in the Western Conference playdowns.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">2004 Calgary 1 @ Tampa Bay 2</span></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The upstart Flames had a golden opportunity to wrap this one up at home, but fell 3-2 to ex-Flame Marty St.Louis’ goal in double overtime. Back in Tampa the teams played a very tight game which erupted into electrifying end-to-end action after Calgary cut the lead to 2-1 in the late stages. Lightning rode a pair of goals from Ruslan Fedotenko, fierce checking, and outstanding goaltending from Nikolai Khabibulin to seal the win. Brad Richards was awarded the Conn Smythe for a spectacular playoff run which included 7 game winners among his 12 goals.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">2006 Edmonton 1 @ Carolina 3</span></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The Oilers were in the same boat as the ’87 Flyers and ’94 Canucks, coming back from a 3-1 series deficit to force a one-game showdown, unfortunately in the other guys’ rink. The Hurricanes bounced back from a 4-0 drubbing in Game 6 to score the all-important first goal on the game’s first sequence. Frank Kaberle extended the lead with the eventual Cup winning goal on a deflection off Jason Smith's butt before Fernando Pisani made it close early in the third, but the tying goal was not to be. An empty netter by Justin Williams provided the final margin in what was essentially a one-goal game. Cam Ward outdueled a game but rusty Jussi Markkanen over the 7 games, becoming the fourth rookie goalie to win the Smythe after Dryden, Roy and Hextall. The Carolina fans reportedly never sat down for the entire game.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">2009 Pittsburgh ? @ Detroit ??</span></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Well, who knows. If past experience means anything it will be a low-scoring affair favouring the home team. In the 9 SCFG7’s over the past half century, the hosts (and, by definition, the pre-series favourites) have outscored the visitors by an aggregate of 27-9, or exactly 3-1. Oiler fans have been on both sides of that exact scoreline. 8 of the 9 times the home team carried the day, 8 times the hosts scored first, 7 times the visitors were held to 0 or 1 goal. It’s a daunting task the Penguins face. Moreover, the series is following the pattern of those previous “homer” series, where each team has had trouble producing on the road. The Pens have handled the Wings 10-5 in the Igloo, but have been blitzed 11-2 in the Joe. 2 goals in 3 games, all too reminiscent of Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and the high-powered Hawks wimpy production of 2 goals in 4 games at the Forum in ’65, or the Ducks meagre 3 at the Swamp in ’03. Malkin, Crosby, and the high-powered Pens aren’t only battling Osgood, Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Datsyuk and the boys, they’re fighting history.<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMpFxQd87NyMYj5OjqPLozvRDEkYce5aDuQMaYB9DmhdtxMSzEVL3IRSYgPMFo1p8kYieHVo4pDVHDG0nCTk922p7OuHIq3UR4EtUK34h70ULRxLE38oV0GZHpMt_VyBQrAZ0gkIzs49oJ/s1600-h/howelindsay.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346532034620374658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMpFxQd87NyMYj5OjqPLozvRDEkYce5aDuQMaYB9DmhdtxMSzEVL3IRSYgPMFo1p8kYieHVo4pDVHDG0nCTk922p7OuHIq3UR4EtUK34h70ULRxLE38oV0GZHpMt_VyBQrAZ0gkIzs49oJ/s320/howelindsay.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Ah, history. Let’s go back just a little further. Like 2009, the 1955 Stanley Cup Finals featured a rare rematch of the previous year’s combatants, Montreal and Detroit, with the defending champion Wings again holding the all-important home ice advantage. Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay, who dropped the ceremonial first pucks before this year's Game 1 in a memorable gathering of hockey greats, were formidable forces leading a powerhouse Red Wings squad the last time a Game 7 was played in the Motor City, 54 long years ago. It was a homer series all the way, with the rising powerhouse Habs scoring 15 goals in 3 games at the Forum, but just 5 in 4 games at the Olympia. (OK, I admit I had to look that one up. Don’t remember it well, having been a foetus at the time ... and my Mum was the only non-hockey fan in the whole famdamily, so I couldn’t even listen in.) Anyway, the Wings successfully defended their title with a convincing two-way effort in the showdown game, with Mister Hockey himself contributing the Stanley Cup-winning goal. The final score?<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Montreal 1 @ Detroit 3</span> </strong><br /></span><strong><br /></strong><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Hmmm. I’m not one for predictions, fearless or otherwise, but this is as good as I’ve got:<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Pittsburgh 1 @ Detroit 3</span></strong></span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-47715621921287675862009-05-27T15:19:00.032-06:002009-06-03T09:33:46.202-06:00The Old Boys Club is Dead. Long Live the Program of Excellence!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh4gZqCXVFXONQ9wEc8Rj0SRnDDpixxYn3vA2r9d5ALLjHGLLdTrPkA2p1xscJ6TrrzEX-aADZKaXz3P4BMWdX4VSor9rfe1kc9tu2_0D0ScDoRunFFDJSKManW41zvkpsJpFGBT0-Pswf/s1600-h/tambo.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 250px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340630966548915266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh4gZqCXVFXONQ9wEc8Rj0SRnDDpixxYn3vA2r9d5ALLjHGLLdTrPkA2p1xscJ6TrrzEX-aADZKaXz3P4BMWdX4VSor9rfe1kc9tu2_0D0ScDoRunFFDJSKManW41zvkpsJpFGBT0-Pswf/s400/tambo.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Steve Tambellini has returned to his roots, which seem to be as deeply entangled in Hockey Canada as in Vancouver. Yesterday's double-hiring of Pat Quinn and Tom Renney provides the Oilers with a fabulous wealth of coaching experience at both the NHL level and across the international spectrum.<br /><br />Ever the optimist, I would have found a reason to support, at least on a 60/40 basis, the hiring of either Quinn or Renney to the job. The creativity and flexibility shown by all sides to add both, has my 120% support. Coaching will not be a weakness for the Edmonton Oilers.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0jCtcjFu67tzvg8w6Izh_YNB-M319PtI8IQBq0B5tbYFt-db8LYj7685IYy1kQhQ6lLO2ZP5qzr_GVaJfLwOJcc8Iv3P7RezwzotArQ_SYHSM8ybg_mSUOHqtaNrQq4xWw2TO_Hbt2vM/s1600-h/quinn3.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 173px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340640945264487154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0jCtcjFu67tzvg8w6Izh_YNB-M319PtI8IQBq0B5tbYFt-db8LYj7685IYy1kQhQ6lLO2ZP5qzr_GVaJfLwOJcc8Iv3P7RezwzotArQ_SYHSM8ybg_mSUOHqtaNrQq4xWw2TO_Hbt2vM/s200/quinn3.jpg" /></a>Pat Quinn may never have won a Stanley Cup, but in the current decade he has captured Gold Medals at the Olympic Games, the World Cup of Hockey, the Spengler Cup, the World Under-18 Championships and the World Junior Championships, a collection of goldware that almost certainly will never be duplicated.<br /><br />Particularly encouraging is Quinn's recent success connecting with youngsters, including Oilers prospect Jordan Eberle who has already won two championships under Quinn's guidance. Not sure how those experiences will colour the Irishman's known preference for veterans, established in other times under other circumstances, primarily in big-budget markets in the pre-cap era, and mostly with Quinn acting as his own GM. That whole landscape has changed. Quinn -- who has posted an above-.500 record in 13 of his 14 complete seasons and made the playoffs in all but two of those seasons, winning 17 series -- wouldn't have survived this long if he wasn't adaptable.<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_n5dwtEouuwXylicZ1xVcILASN_jg1WjCC5olZolnz8jPv2kZ1mosISogmV6ZE0Vv4PDdBWqVBx10BCV1uVuKnukbo1adoyUxb1onl1YHWiQ8z_ur9vrWKSbtmwqzlFoWp_UHZ9pyZ2H2/s1600-h/renney2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 126px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343124591928384962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_n5dwtEouuwXylicZ1xVcILASN_jg1WjCC5olZolnz8jPv2kZ1mosISogmV6ZE0Vv4PDdBWqVBx10BCV1uVuKnukbo1adoyUxb1onl1YHWiQ8z_ur9vrWKSbtmwqzlFoWp_UHZ9pyZ2H2/s200/renney2.jpg" /></a>I very much like the idea of a strong associate coach, especially given the established weaknesses of the new head man on the technical side of the game. Such an arrangement worked fine with Glen Sather and John Muckler. Renney has strong credentials as a head man -- post lockout his Rangers won 42+ games and made the playoffs every year, while he compiled an less-impressive-than-it-looks-but-still-pretty-darn-good 159-106-42 mark with what always seemed to me middling talent. He has experienced the constraints of the cap era including a few millstone contracts, and has consistently delivered competitive teams.<br /><br />Critical to all this is what appears at this distance to be a complete absence of ego on Renney's part. After two years as a head coach in Kamloops, where he posted the best career Pts% (.714) in WHL history, Renney became head coach for the Canadian national men's team, a group he guided within a Peter Forsberg/Tommy Salo highlight reel of the gold medal in Lillehamer 1994. A couple of months later, Renney agreed to serve as assistant coach to George Kingston at the World Championships, and the pair successfully oversaw Canada's first gold medal in 33 years. A lesser man might have seen it as a demotion, a slap in the face even, but Tom Renney put that aside, answered the call, and delivered the goods.<br /><br />Renney has continued to serve his country in a variety of roles at no fewer than 10 (ten) World Championships, compiling 3 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze. He also won silver at the 1999 World Juniors, losing the gold medal game in overtime. On the senior level he has appeared to transition seamlessly from head man (1995, 1996, 2000) to assistant, and has in fact achieved his greatest team successes (the golds) in the latter role. With a track record like this I have no problem envisioning Renney stepping up to -- but not overstepping -- a strong associate coach role.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDH1AVXQj3o-vh21o0EhUzNStzECcvqjMo9sUUk085wmelh_mC9NbfJdrXvV26U5kyUZ_Du0B5GQXsA1yQG2kvI-0qdqHVkM8VjtVwlYWXqbJnZTZrcrXm-wR77fUSCrQoDBBMdj2AM1F/s1600-h/quinn2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 83px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 110px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340637583850742002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDH1AVXQj3o-vh21o0EhUzNStzECcvqjMo9sUUk085wmelh_mC9NbfJdrXvV26U5kyUZ_Du0B5GQXsA1yQG2kvI-0qdqHVkM8VjtVwlYWXqbJnZTZrcrXm-wR77fUSCrQoDBBMdj2AM1F/s400/quinn2.jpg" /></a>Certainly between them Quinn and Renney have won everything worth winning on the international level. Quinn won the Memorial Cup as a player, Renney as a coach. Both are proven winners, yet share the same gaping hole on the resume, the Stanley Cup. If that fact -- more an historical oversight than a blemish -- serves to drive them through the gruelling days and nights of the long seasons ahead, so much the better.<br /><br />The whole thing hinges on teamwork among the triumvirate that unquestionably now runs the Oilers. As Renney must support, advise and ultimately defer to Quinn, so must the Irishman himself defer to Steve Tambellini. It's his former protégé's job to have the overarching vision, and the coaches' to implement it. That said, I suspect Tambellini's and Quinn's Idealized Roster Manuals already share many of the same pages.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRB77xZXJ3S-1PZpEl7GWgyak3nZ3lkXERGM8V87moBH6U332ziavNhxfhhSMCIsh0mCsh0OlkzGwRPdkVG3hFCp57rB5eSNtda_F9mmgtW8EIupVComdwolS-Fjz2qZ_10QaLjtr-yX_B/s1600-h/tambo-cup.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 144px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340635645676860146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRB77xZXJ3S-1PZpEl7GWgyak3nZ3lkXERGM8V87moBH6U332ziavNhxfhhSMCIsh0mCsh0OlkzGwRPdkVG3hFCp57rB5eSNtda_F9mmgtW8EIupVComdwolS-Fjz2qZ_10QaLjtr-yX_B/s200/tambo-cup.jpg" /></a>Steve Tambellini has won the Stanley Cup as a player (see picture), but his roots are also firmly established in the international game. He represented Canada on the ice at the World Juniors, World Seniors, and Olympic Games, and has since served Hockey Canada at the management level for those same competitions. As a player he was a participant (one bronze); as a manager, a winner. As Quinn's best success occurred when he was head coach with strong assistants (just say no to Ricky Ley), and Renney's occurred when he was an assistant on a strong staff, Steve Tambellini has had his best success as a manager with a strong coaching staff. Lo and behold, that is the position that each now occupies with the Oilers.<br /><br />Speaking of roots, some of them can get pretty tangled. Check out this Hockey Canada news release from March 2005:<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>CALGARY –<strong>Tom Renney</strong>, Head Coach and Vice President of Player Development of the New York Rangers, and <strong>Craig MacTavish</strong>, Head Coach of the Edmonton Oilers, have been named Team Canada’s assistant coaches for the 2005 IIHF Men’s World Hockey Championship, Team Canada’s General Manager <strong>Steve Tambellini</strong> announced on Thursday.</em></span><br /><br />***<br /><br />It's hard to put Kevin Lowe's fingerprints on the departures of Craig MacTavish and Charlie Huddy, in fact so little has been seen of K-Lowe that it seems safe to conclude that he too is now at arm's length and the Old Boys Club is officially <i>histoire</i>. All that remains of the old guard is Kelly Buchberger, who spent more time as MacT's winger than he did his assistant coach. As I (ever the optimist) wrote in defence of Bucky yesterday over at Lowetide's place:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOnTYXTBsd0OHQPULoEDWBpXHYEK9kVaDRq9gc4hse2OG2D5Tos8T0tYhLSUS0U_tPsdq4sZ9HF8-M6QRKykKIQeps2D-wco5tPxLJLI4pAbLgLXHVbZJvjb_NXYjwk71OaAZQFPA5Z6CV/s1600-h/bucky.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 210px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 210px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340635187972938882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOnTYXTBsd0OHQPULoEDWBpXHYEK9kVaDRq9gc4hse2OG2D5Tos8T0tYhLSUS0U_tPsdq4sZ9HF8-M6QRKykKIQeps2D-wco5tPxLJLI4pAbLgLXHVbZJvjb_NXYjwk71OaAZQFPA5Z6CV/s320/bucky.jpg" /></a><em>As for Buchberger, I understand the frustration but as was the case when he was a young player, patience is key. When he broke in he was like Zack Stortini was two years ago, all warts and rough edges. The object of no little derision especially at first, Bucky worked harder than anybody, soaked up information like a sponge, and drove the twin engines of heart and desire to capacity on a daily basis. He was, and presumably remains, the ultimate team player. As a coach he perhaps achieved better results in Springfield than it seemed at the time, and who knows what he did or didn't accomplish last year. He's clearly the #3 man on the new totem pole, which is fine by me. If he had somehow been given the head job, that wouldn't have been fine at all, but the current situation calls for a little mortar between the bricks which is a role Kelly understands well. It's a hell of a learning opportunity for a young coach to put it mildly.</em> I wish him well.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDcUvbfwnMQaq7yJhxJrxY0jk4pUWFmF801C3yp6mOrhdjcl9TA1DiyDAuZCWUNGzqLsHq9EMV6P2GsWnWB8rFcOi1siz4aQx4EyiKO2kkW6dx74OcPjApVmSPzpgC-Fc7j-ZWO0ose-WB/s1600-h/huddy.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340632290924869970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDcUvbfwnMQaq7yJhxJrxY0jk4pUWFmF801C3yp6mOrhdjcl9TA1DiyDAuZCWUNGzqLsHq9EMV6P2GsWnWB8rFcOi1siz4aQx4EyiKO2kkW6dx74OcPjApVmSPzpgC-Fc7j-ZWO0ose-WB/s400/huddy.jpg" /></a>Finally, I also wish nothing but the best to outgoing coaches Charlie Huddy and Billy Moores as well as Craig MacTavish. While MacT's time had come, I'm less sure about Huddy and Moores who were caught in the crossfire of change. Both have been fixtures on the Edmonton hockey scene for three decades, with Huddy winning 5 Stanley Cups as a player for the Oilers, Moores 5 national titles as a head and assistant coach with the Golden Bears. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSDvRDeZ1Bfc3ggM1lGiv8Xe5KB6-BIeQo9PKC2hoyolgNTsXGicLZpn1A4RW24lvQJXfwJNOiBwnkT8IOz_WCmPWASnn6Bp2SWuAaj5p7WI7zxb75SsHT61wWgMmjK1tpNEKdqlTn4EoN/s1600-h/moores.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340632549650068930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSDvRDeZ1Bfc3ggM1lGiv8Xe5KB6-BIeQo9PKC2hoyolgNTsXGicLZpn1A4RW24lvQJXfwJNOiBwnkT8IOz_WCmPWASnn6Bp2SWuAaj5p7WI7zxb75SsHT61wWgMmjK1tpNEKdqlTn4EoN/s400/moores.jpg" /></a>Both came within a hair (pardon the pun) of adding a Stanley Cup as a coach in 2006. That near miss notwithstanding, both men are winners, and both men are class acts. Like MacT, they will be both missed and remembered fondly. For what it's worth, one Edmonton-area hockey fan of long standing says Thank You.<br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-44021714043215792192009-05-17T20:54:00.002-06:002009-05-17T23:06:51.606-06:00Myths of the Northwest<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFVfFVHWEma-QZR2t9LJjgy1pUIgI4HtTdO3MfMc_jA2VUSXzsCt_SCvPZJ-POniYXRUMa14EEupwrcvfRtIo_QF1IdyViTWyFK6j5N6d70pUNSJ7bNy6_lo9sIccyJempJl9JOZGe-aYq/s1600-h/luongo.bmp"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 355px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336985346151153186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFVfFVHWEma-QZR2t9LJjgy1pUIgI4HtTdO3MfMc_jA2VUSXzsCt_SCvPZJ-POniYXRUMa14EEupwrcvfRtIo_QF1IdyViTWyFK6j5N6d70pUNSJ7bNy6_lo9sIccyJempJl9JOZGe-aYq/s400/luongo.bmp" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">A popular myth maintains it's difficult for a dominant team to emerge in the Northwest Division cuz it's such a tough group top-to-bottom. There's no way to fatten up on the dregs the way Detroit has done for years in the weak Central, or San Jose did this year in the suddenly-soft Pacific. Every team in the poor old Northwest faces a "tough schedule". </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />But in 2008-09, not so much. Here are the combined records of the NHL's six divisions:<br /></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>Division .... GP * W - L - OT * Pts * Pts% </strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>------------------------------------------<br />Central .... 410 * 219-141-50 * 488 * .595<br />Northeast .. 410 * 205-151-54 * 464 * .566<br />Atlantic ... 410 * 209-159-42 * 460 * .561<br />Pacific .... 410 * 201-162-47 * 449 * .548<br /><em>Northwest .. 410 * 201-170-39 * 441 * .538<br /></em>Southeast .. 410 * 195-165-50 * 440 * .537</strong></span><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">In recent years this method has been complicated by the infernal Bettman Point, whose effect can be clearly seen above in that the worst division in hockey collected 53.7% of the available points. The Pts% of the league as a whole is a fluctuating value which seems to have found its level at ~.557 in each of the last three seasons, as about 23% of games reach overtime and generate the "free lunch" point. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">The former laughing-stock Central is now the league's best division: first in Wins, Points, GF, GA, and by extension Win%, Pts%, goal differential.</span><br /><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Meanwhile the Northwest fares poorly by almost any standard: 5th in points (1 measly point ahead of the perennially poor SouthLeast), tied for 4th in Wins, 4th in goal differential, 6th and last in GF. Vancouver had the lowest points total of any division champion.<br /></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The local picture hardly improves for the post season: </span><p><strong><span style="font-family:courier new;">Division .. Playoff Teams .. Series Wins<br />----------------------------------------<br />Central ........ 4 .............. 4++<br />Southeast ...... 2 .............. 3+<br />Atlantic ....... 4 .............. 2+<br />Northeast ...... 2 .............. 1<br />Pacific ........ 2 .............. 1<br /><em>Northwest ...... 2 .............. 1</em></span> </strong></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">That's just through two rounds of course, but three divisions including the Northwest will be doing no further damage in 2009. <br /><br />The Central continues to dominate in the post-season, having produced both conference finalists and a guaranteed pennant winner. In the process the Central's second-best club, Chicago Blackhawks, handily dispatched both NW representatives.<br /><br />Given that Southeast teams have won 3 series with Carolina still hanging around, it seems that division has surpassed the Northwest for overall performance in 2008-09. The inescapable conclusion is that the local group has been the worst division in the NHL this season.<br /><br /></p></span></span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-38340267609394021622009-05-10T08:39:00.020-06:002009-05-10T16:20:26.387-06:00Live blog: Canada v. Russia<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuj4kKhXi5IVwwDeTSucHZgsZpvOqDhJQMGubVNwpVwz61VEG5np7zC49dLzI8QerYePqP2mwlLjF-VUr8OOtyk3yLy2YEwUkYKUEiV1ePP_YI2c-COqEOsjSLnWhswQF4IEp52lco2-JJ/s1600-h/roli1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334205142926273074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuj4kKhXi5IVwwDeTSucHZgsZpvOqDhJQMGubVNwpVwz61VEG5np7zC49dLzI8QerYePqP2mwlLjF-VUr8OOtyk3yLy2YEwUkYKUEiV1ePP_YI2c-COqEOsjSLnWhswQF4IEp52lco2-JJ/s400/roli1.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">Pregame -- Canada 0, Russia 0</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I love international hockey.<br /><br />Maybe one has to be a certain age to care as much as I do, but I'll make no apologies for that. I've followed the game at the national level since Father David Bauer's valiant squad of amateurs lost a 3-2 heartbreaker to the Soviets in the final game of the Innsbruck Olympics, then got </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey_at_the_1964_Winter_Olympics"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">cheated</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> of their bronze medals by a crooked judging decision. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I've watched (mostly on TV, very occasionally live) pretty much every significant international game available to me since then: World Seniors, World Juniors, NHL tours, Canada/World Cups, Olympics. Most but hardly all of these involved Canadian teams; memorable games that didn't include the "Miracle on Ice" in Lake Placid and especially the epic 1969 battle between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union in Stockholm in the first meeting of the Iron Curtain rivals after the Prague Spring. I still rank that 3-2 Czechoslovak victory over a Soviet team at the peak of its powers on the very short list of the greatest hockey games I've ever seen.<br /><br />I suffered through the "shamateur" debates that resulted in Canada's withdrawal from the 1970 Worlds that were to be hosted in Winnipeg and the 7-year hiatus that followed which included two Olympiads. I watched, intently and intensely, every game of the '72 Summit Series, and still haven't forgiven Mr. Sprisak, my Physics 30 teacher, for scheduling an exam during the first period of the decisive Game 8.<br /><br />Canada finally returned to the world stage in the 1976-77 season, hosting the first Canada Cup before sending a team that included a number of out-of-playoff NHL players to the Worlds that spring. The team was competitive but never victorious, capturing 3 silvers and 4 bronzes from '77 to '93, before finally breaking through in a Gold Medal Game with a memorable shootout win against the Finns in 1994. That was the first of 5 world titles over the last 15 years.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Bill Ranford backstopped that '94 squad. Today, another Edmonton Oiler, Dwayne Roloson (pictured), gets the opportunity for some gold medal heroics. Roli, the only player on either team who was alive during the '72 Summit Series, gets the start for Canada in what is arguably the biggest game of his career. His fellow Oiler Shawn Horcoff, meanwhile, plays a sudden death game for all the marbles for the 4th time in 7 years.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Despite an impressive 24 gold medals apiece, the historic rivals have met just twice in the final since the format was changed from round robin to single elimination games. The Soviet Union won the first such encounter in 1989, while Russia stole the gold in overtime last year on Canadian ice.<br /><br />It's payback time.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:130%;">Backgrounder: Program of Excellence</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Russia returns 14 players from last year's Gold Medal showdown, Canada just 6 (Hamhuis, Spezza, Heatley, Doan, Roy, St.Louis). This might be seen as a disadvantage, however I'm not worried due to the wealth of international experience representing the red-and-white today:</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><strong><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">30.Dwayne Roloson -- 2nd WC (1 gold + ?)<br /></span></strong><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><em>50.Chris Mason -- 3rd WC (twice as reserve)<br />37.Josh Harding (res.) -- 1st WC, 1 WJC<br /></em><br /></span><strong><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">2. Dan Hamhuis -- 4th WC (1 gold), 2 WJC<br />3. Drew Doughty -- 1st WC, 1 WJC (1 gold)<br />4. Chris Phillips -- 3rd WC, 2 WJC (2 gold)<br /></span></strong><em><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">5. Luke Schenn -- 1st WC, 1 WJC (1 gold)<br /></span></em><strong><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">6. Shea Weber -- 2nd WC (1 gold), 1 WJC (1 gold)<br /></span></strong><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><em>7. Ian White (inj.) -- 1st WC, 1 WJC<br />29.Joel Kwiatkowski -- 1st WC</em><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>44.Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- 1st WC<br />55.Braydon Coburn -- 1st WC, 2 WJC (1 gold)<br /><br />8. Scottie Upshall -- 1st WC, 2 WJC<br />9. Derek Roy --2nd WC, 1 WJC<br />10.Shawn Horcoff -- 3rd WC (2 gold)<br />12.Mike Fisher -- 2nd WC<br />15.Dany Heatley -- 6th WC (2 gold), 1 World Cup (1 gold), 1 Olympics, 2 WJC<br />16.Travis Zajac -- 1st WC<br />17.Steve Stamkos -- 1st WC, 1 WJC (1 gold)<br />18.Matthew Lombardi -- 2nd WC (1 gold)<br />19.Shane Doan -- 6th WC (2 gold), 1 World Cup (1 gold), 1 Olympics<br />20.Colby Armstrong -- 2nd WC (1 gold)<br />26.Marty St.Louis -- 2nd WC, 1 World Cup (1 gold), 1 Olympics<br /></strong><em>28.James Neal (inj.) -- 1st WC, 1 WJC (1 gold)</em><br /></span><strong><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">91.Jason Spezza -- 2nd WC, 3 WJC</span><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Of 19 players apt to the see the ice today (shown in bold, reserves in italics), 17 have previous international experience at 46 major tournaments, 14 have won gold (20 gold medals total) including 9 at the senior level (14 gold medals total). I didn't even track previous exposure at events such as the U-17 and U-18 tourneys. Suffice to say the Program of Excellence is actually delivering on its blueprinted promise. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">First intermission -- Canada 1, Russia 1</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">A frenetic period with a running time of just 33 minutes. Russians appear to be getting the better of it to my eye, although Roloson was the great equalizer with a number of fine stops, including two on a game-opening powerplay. Canada responded with a nice goal on a great backhand pass from Doan to Spezza, and things stabilized for awhile. However, I thought Canada was guilty of losing its composure at times, especially in the second half of the period. A few too many "hero plays" for my liking, guys running around out of position or leaving their feet to (try to) make defensive plays. If the Russians exhibit a little patience with the puck they will find plenty of holes to exploit. The speed of the game was exceptional, though I would like to see a little more old-fashioned physical play from the red-and-white. More guys need to follow the example of Dan Hamhuis who stopped a couple of Russian attacks with textbook body checks. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:130%;">Second intermission -- Canada 1, Russia 2</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">A better period for Canada, but a worse result. Canada dominated play territorially, outshooting the Russians 16-5, but failed to capitalize. Couldn't beat Bryzgalov, couldn't get a bounce, and at times gripped the sticks a little too tight and whiffed on a good opportunity. Russian defenders also made a couple of emergency defensive plays by keeping their heads and their feet. Unfortunately the same can't be said for Chris Phillips on the goal, an odd-man rush against the flow of play. Mike Fisher hustled back to eliminate the passing option but Phillips overplayed Radulov, going down and sliding out of the play as the Peripatetic Predator stepped around him and hammered a perfect finishing nail past Roli. Exactly the kind of play I was concerned about after the first. I expect Canada to keep pressing in the third, but they need to keep their heads; the Russians are deadly on the counter attack. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Postgame -- Canada 1, Russia 2</span><br /></span><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">What a heartbreaker. Canada continued to carry, at times dominate, the play, but never could find a way to beat Bryzgalov a second time. Shots on net were 27-9 Canada over the final 40 minutes, with many more chances thwarted by a stick check, a bad bounce, a blocked shot, a fumbled pass. All 18 Canadian skaters generated at least 1 shot over the course of the game as the red-and-white really pushed the play. The Russians played Hang On Harvey hockey in the third especially, but it worked. I even saw Ilya Kovalchuk playing dump-and-not-even-chase a couple times. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br />Another classic moment in the bizarre world of European television coverage occurred in the dying seconds, when after two long delays to put a second back on the clock, they finally did get around to dropping the puck for the crucial faceoff with the camera focussed on Russia`s back-up goalie looking on from the bench. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Kovalchuk played 30:33, over 12 minutes more than any teammate. The defence-by-committee played a solid game, with all 8 guys playing between 12:31 and 16:30, not a typical recipe for success. Canada relied heavily on the Nashville pair of Shea Weber (31:58) and Dan Hamhuis (28:39) who did a solid job mostly matched against Kovalchuk. Up front Derek Roy led the way with 22:31, including a head-scratching 10:40 in the third after he had banged up his wrist crashing the net late in the second. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">For the first time, Canada`s tournament-leading powerplay didn`t get a sniff, getting only 2 opportunities as the refs decided to put their whistles away after enforcing Kitchen Sink rules for most of the tourney. The battle on special teams -- and ultimately the game -- was lost when the Russians converted on a puck-over-glass penalty in the first. The cheapest of all penalties has cost Canada a goal in each of the last two gold medal games ... both one-goal losses to the Russians. That`s pretty harsh medicine for what is generally an innocent play. Proving yet again that hockey, like life, isn`t always fair. </span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-84373333184830703732009-05-08T08:44:00.042-06:002009-05-09T11:43:11.786-06:00Live blog: Canada v. Sweden<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeDvtzstkl4ApDi-tdBO0IpQCq5woXtEyZhsqwMGq87RD_cwo3rlGOYrjsGIo_g0l5kwNfbcYMQHlaFNXQZoVojlyOZnI6tRe9RRwnHNTJJw67LDyo5SxZcgzd1gc0OinDdXrNW_jKQvLh/s1600-h/omark1.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 358px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 243px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333477194706277922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeDvtzstkl4ApDi-tdBO0IpQCq5woXtEyZhsqwMGq87RD_cwo3rlGOYrjsGIo_g0l5kwNfbcYMQHlaFNXQZoVojlyOZnI6tRe9RRwnHNTJJw67LDyo5SxZcgzd1gc0OinDdXrNW_jKQvLh/s400/omark1.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Semi-final day at the World Championships, and what's not to like? Russia-USA on now, followed by Canada-Sweden (noon MDT on TSN, not rebroadcast on tape delay until 1:30 a.m. -- believe it or not TSN is showing a rebroadcast of something called the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 during late prime time, an event which will have already just been shown on TSN2 for all those NASCAR buffs in their audience. Meanwhile people with day jobs will be left in the lurch for the IIHF World Championship semi-final. Sheesh.)<br /><br />I'll be watching both games live, and doing updates on the Canada game here during the intermissions, with briefer entries in the comments section during the action. Do drop in and join me there. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">Quarterfinal review -- Canada 4, Latvia 2</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">TSN just showed a weird stat that the four quarterfinals collectively produced 0 goals in the first period and 17 in the second. Say what? I watched much of the Canada-Latvia contest on tape delay, and while it was far from Canada's best game they got the job done against a Latvian group that hung in admirably. The 48-23 margin in shots -- including 22-4 in the decisive seond period -- suggests Canada was fully deserving of their 4-2 edge on the scoreboard. The Latvians twice cut a two-goal deficit in half, and had golden opportunities to do so again late in the third when Canada ran into penalty problems for the second straight game. Of particular interest was a rare 6-on-3 advantage the Latvians enjoyed with about 4 minutes left, but Chris Mason and the Canadian penalty-killers held the fort. Major contributors were Shea Weber (26:13 TOI, 6½ minutes more than any other defenceman) and Marty St.Louis (22:09, 5 minutes more than any other forward). </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">Pregame -- Canada 0, Sweden 0</span></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrLRu2P7478frQCYCwopbHts0vyjvR__pFoT_lW_3BY1eDZn7SJ_3n1POcSjPNjMkzWsu4dsWEkjAHLeYuKUNmK3EqvxizJSL5IBCdyzg4XvCBoMAfbpKHrmvIpaKgIaeqAmYgLVsL3pY/s1600-h/omark2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333500151213608546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrLRu2P7478frQCYCwopbHts0vyjvR__pFoT_lW_3BY1eDZn7SJ_3n1POcSjPNjMkzWsu4dsWEkjAHLeYuKUNmK3EqvxizJSL5IBCdyzg4XvCBoMAfbpKHrmvIpaKgIaeqAmYgLVsL3pY/s200/omark2.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Unlike the other three combatants today, the Swedes have no current Oilers, but do feature Oilers past (Dick Tarnstrom) and future (Linus Omark, pictured above and at right). I caught some of Omark's flashy skills at that Millennium Place prospects camp, but nothing that foreshadowed the big splash he made this year in the SEL not to mention Youtube. Young Lee-nus has also done himself at the proud at the Worlds, where he leads the Swedes in scoring with 2-8-10. </span></span><div></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />A key player for the Swedes on the back end is the old war horse Kenny Jonsson, who logs major minutes, contributes on the scoreboard (3-3-6) and leads the tourney by a wide margin in plus/minus (+12). </span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Canada will continue to rely on excellent special teams, including an awesome powerplay that has been clicking at 43.9% on 18-for-41. The PK unit has been solid allowing just 4 goals on 39 opportunities (89.7%), including a couple of extended 3-on-5s and even that 3-on-6. Only Austria of all countries has a better PK rate, while Canada's PP is far ahead of the pack. Of particular interest today is Sweden, who rank middle of the pack in both categories at +8/-8. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Thanks largely to special teams and goaltending (combined .948 Sv%), Canada leads the tourney in both GF (39) and GA (12). </span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />To paraphrase the old saw about statistics, all of the above and $7.75 will buy you a beer at Rexall Place. Or it would, if Rexall were (ahem) open for business. </span></div><br />***<br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><div><br />Update: Lindy Ruff has shuffled his top two lines, moving Shane Doan on to the Spezza line and bumping Heatley to the port side. Derek Roy assumes Doan's former spot with Stamkos and St.Louis, with MSL presumably lining up on the starboard side. The explanation was that the Ottawa duo needed to be shored up defensively. That's what Doan already Was doing with the Tampa tandem. Speaks volumes about the wonderful two-way game that Marty St. Louis brings to the table, but is less complimentary of Spezza and Heatley. The one constant in all this is that whatever line Shane Doan winds up on, he will help.<br /><br />Game ON. </div><div></div><div></div><div><br />*** </div><div></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />First intermission -- Canada 1, Sweden 0</span></div><div></div><div><br />Terrific first period. Both teams are flying, Canada a little higher and full value for the lead. What a beautiful goal it was, with tournament scoring leader Marty St.Louis burning Mattias Weinhandl along the end wall with a quick inside move, darting behind the net and drawing Weinhandl, the front-of-net defenceman, and the goalie to their right before slipping a back feed to Derek Roy lurking at the nearside post. With no defenders in sight, Roy merely had to make a high-skill play of taking the pass off the back of the cage, pull the puck just in front of the goal line, and roof one over a lunging Gustavsson from a very sharp angle. A sweet goal, especially for me. (I have "owned" both St.Louis and Roy long-term in my keeper league hockey pool, and am a big fan of both.)</div><div></div><div><br />Roy was flying all period, later making a superb play to receive a wayward pass outside the blueline, cut sharply to beat his man, drive wide and slip a seeing-eye pass through to Spezza for a dangerous deflection that Gustavsson did well to stop. </div><div></div><div><br />At the other end Roli was suctioning up pucks, wrapping himself around them and waiting for the whistle, secure in the knowledge that Canada has 3 guys in the top 20 in faceoffs, Sweden none. A couple of nervous moments in the late going though, especially when he failed to hold a muffin with a couple of seconds left in the frame. </div><div></div><div><br />On the blue, the impressive Drew Doughty has been paired with another fine youngster, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, with both getting Top Four minutes while Chris Phillips has been placed with Braydon Coburn on what seems to be the third pairing. The studly Shea Weber and Dan Hamhuis are clearly the top pair.<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">***</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Second intermission -- Canada 3, Sweden 0<br /><br /></span></div><div></div><div></div><div>The comments section is rolling now so I'll keep this brief. Things continue to go well, with rapid fire goals by Horcoff at evens followed by Roy on the PP. Roli playing well. Swedes were bringing it at the end of the period, and will have a partial PP to start the third. Huge kill required ... I don't get the sense the Swedes are done, 3-0 or no 3-0. </span></div><br />***<br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">Postgame - Canada 3, Sweden 1<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Objects in the mirror were much closer than they appeared, as the Swedes carried their momentum into the third, dominating play in the Canadian end for shifts at a time. The Canadians seemed a step slow to loose pucks and had a terrible time clearing the zone. Inevitably the Swedes capaitalized with a goal 6 minutes in, as the Spezza-Heatley combination got burned yet again. As PDO mentioned, that pair has been on the ice for every ES goal against but one in the tournament, as well as the 1 shortie against Latvia. Great on the powerplay but ... </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The Swedes continued to bring it as my knuckles whitened. The turning point was a penalty to Roy around 9 minutes in, which the Canadians killed far more effectively than they had been killing the clock at evens. The game stabilized at that point as the Candians raised their effort to match the Swedes, winning more puck battles and earning a far better distribution of zone time. Heatley and Spezza languished on the bench for the most part, as can be seen in Lindy Ruff's distribution of ice time:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>20:41 Fisher </strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>19:22 Horcoff</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>16:01 Zajac</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>15:44 Roy</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>15:39 St.Louis</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>13:28 Lombardi, </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>Stamkos</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>12:33 Doan</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>12:00 Upshall</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>10:53 Heatley</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>10:49 Spezza</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>10:36 Armstrong</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">While we're at it, let's look at the blue, where the new pairings achieved a clear hierarchy:</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><strong><span style="font-family:courier new;">24:12 Hamhuis</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Courier New;">23:28 Weber</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Courier New;">22:10 Doughty</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Courier New;">21:58 Vlasic</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Courier New;">13:39 Coburn</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Courier New;">12:13 Phillips</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Courier New;">00:00 Schenn, Kwiatkowski</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Any thoughts that Drew Doughty was being protected by Phillips can safely be dispelled. He has a poised all-ice game that is reminiscent of a young Raymond Bourque in that both looked completely at home in the NHL from Day One. Doughty has responded to his first World Championships by posting a creditable 8 GP, 1-6-7, +5 at age 19. Clearly Lindy Ruff likes what he sees; it's interesting to compare ice time for Doughty and fellow high draft pick (and fellow stud) Luke Schenn. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">To finish the ice time review, Roloson played all 60 minutes between the pipes and delivered a strong performance with 25 stops. While Mason still has the statistical edge, Roli (2.20, .936) has faced the stronger opponents. Lindy Ruff has an interesting decision to make Sunday.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Speaking of Sunday, Oil Droppings will once against host a Game Day Thread. After an early-morning appetizer of Omark and O'Sullivan, the Gold Medal Game gets underway at half past Noon MDT. Canada-Russia, the classic rivalry, the rematch of last year's overtime thriller. The winner will be the first country to win 25 World Championships.</span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com66tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-59107220037070650852009-05-04T12:00:00.029-06:002009-05-05T19:14:50.548-06:00Canada v. Finland<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjciM72ogn6XSm4WXp8gdLIbobKj-5M_yiC6PEO0Y41UGxsWhZ-aQZk6kIZh7GkJok_daFWEniZfeWCQ84-mkpBbrL4bNb05ogWTNnzO3FV43wrtRpbhDMt4og88KGoqF9Co_SHvhno095I/s1600-h/doan.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332037375358192514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 237px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjciM72ogn6XSm4WXp8gdLIbobKj-5M_yiC6PEO0Y41UGxsWhZ-aQZk6kIZh7GkJok_daFWEniZfeWCQ84-mkpBbrL4bNb05ogWTNnzO3FV43wrtRpbhDMt4og88KGoqF9Co_SHvhno095I/s400/doan.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:180%;">***</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><strong>SPOILER ALERT --<br /></strong>If you are planning to watch today's World Championship game on tape delay and don't want to know what happened, don't read on ... (until later please!). Thus for now I am not recording the score in the subject header, but it will be revealed in the text that follows. All I'll say about the game up top is that it was a fun game to watch. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:180%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:180%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:180%;"><br />***</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;"><br />Pregame -- Canada 0, Finland 0</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It's been clear sailing for Canada so far at the Worlds, with an unbroken run of convincing victories. Have watched all or part of every game until yesterday's date with overmatched Norway, who did themselves proud by holding red-and-white to a modest 5-1 result. Norway scored the first meaningful goal allowed by Canada at the tourney, as it briefly tied the score midway through the first. The other 5 goals allowed by the good guys have all occurred with the team enjoying at least a 5-goal lead! This "home and cooled out" effect has resulted in some sloppy third periods, while both halves of the former Czechoslovakia significantly outshot Canada over 60 minutes. A great powerplay hides a lot of sins, but it's not all sweetness and light with Team Canada 2009. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Today's match-up with always-tough Finland is perfectly timed to give the squad a harder tune-up just before they play for keeps in the medal round. First place in Group F is on the line, as the Finns can overtake Canada by taking all 3 (!) points with a regulation win. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">With the recent additions of splendid young blueliners Braydon Coburn and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Canada now has a wealth of riches on the back end. However just Travis Zajac was added up front. With the departure of James Neal due to an unfortunate eye injury, the forward ranks is down to exactly 12 players, with Ian White pencilled in as a swing man. Not sure why the team used yet a 9th defender, Joel Kwiatkowski, in a couple of preliminary games that they easily could have won shorthanded. Because they did, the club has now used the maximum 25 players and needs to stay healthy up front from here out. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Dwayne Roloson starts in goal for the biggest game of the tourney so far; the break in the rotation that saw Mason play the Norwegians yesterday appears to have been done to accommodate Roli in the #1 role. Nashville's Pekka Rinne, who this Oilers fan has seen far too much of this season already, starts for Finland. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Game on. More to come at the intermission.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><br />***</span></span><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:130%;"><br /><br />First intermission -- Canada 1, Finland 2</span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br />Finns came out like gangbusters, more or less exactly as I had expected and hoped, and Canada was no match for them early on, as I half-expected and feared. The first 10 minutes were a fire drill and Canada had no idea of the escape routes, constantly pinning themselves in outmatched situations. The Roy-Spezza-Heatley line had a dreadful time of it, conceding both Finnish goals and a couple more chances of the Golden variety. The Finns were harder on the puck, more physical, more opportunistic, more everything. Exactly what the doctor ordered, frankly. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br />The red-and-white finally began to respond in the last third of the period, led by a dominant grinding shift by the Upshall-Lombardi-Armstrong trio. Upshall had a great shift, nearly scoring, decking Rinne in the crease while somehow <em>drawing</em> a penalty, and a scrum ensued which dispatched one more from each team to the box. The puck even wound up in the net, just after the whsitle unfortunately.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br />Still, that set the stage for the deadly Canadian powerplay, which clicked quickly to cut the lead in half. Spezza PP (St.Louis, Weber) has been a pretty typical outcome of a Canadian man-advantage, and it couldn't have come at a better time. The game is now stabilized with lots of time left. The Finns are continuing to bring it, but Canada is starting to match their speed and intensity. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br />Late in the period the Helicopter Line of Horcoff-Zajac-Fisher had an outstanding shift, with Horc making a great play to win a puck battle, slip the disc through to Zajac, and back up into perfect position for a booming one-timer which just missed the post. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br />So the grinders are doing their jobs, and the snipers are starting to do theirs. The defence needs to calm down a bit and stop pinching, as the Finns are clearly attacking the holes they leave behind. Roli needs to settle down a tad too, he's fighting the puck. Fortunately, he fought a few pucks to successful outcomes, by no means is the 2-1 deficit on the goaltending. </span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><br />***<br /></div></span></span><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:130%;"><br />Second intermission -- Canada 2, Finland 3</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br />The Finns continue to bring it, and the Canadians more than has their hands full today. TSN had the shots on net at 37-20 Finland just before the end of the period. A significant contributor that period was a series of 5 minor penalties to Canada in not much more than 10 minutes. After killing consecutive 4v5 situations, Canada got a brief powerplay that got cancelled by Doan's infraction which was apparently "two minutes for whacking at the rebound". Then Hamhuis got "two minutes for being strong on the puck", and Canada was facing an extended 3v5. A great sequence ensued with Horcoff, Weber and Vlasic playing the triangle with textbook precision. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br />But when Doan took yet another minor (his third, Canada's fifth of the period) the goal seemed ineveitable, and Niko Kapanen quickly made it so. That made it 3-1 late in the second. Fortunately Canada was quickly given a consolation powerplay and just as quickly converted, this time a snipe by all-time scoring leader Dany Heatley on a sweet deflection of Roy's bullet pass. That's 2-for-3 against a Finnish PK unit that entered he game at 96%.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br />Two incidents involving the ever-entertaining Jerkko Ruutu, both with happy outcomes. First of all Shea Weber just hammered him hard into the end boards. Ruutu went down and stayed down, apparently dead or quadriplegic, for about 1.5 seconds when he realized that Mr. Stripes wasn't buying, so he hopped to his feet and got into the play. I'm certain it hurt at least a little -- Weber really crushed him. :) Then in the dying seconds Jerkko got into it with Steven Stamkos, drawing two retaliatory shots from the youngster. Again Ruutu went down and, with the whistle already safely blown, stayed down, milking it for everything it was worth. Which turned out to be two minutes to each player. Ruutu's was for diving, a gutsy but correct call. It would seem European zebras have seen Jerkko's act before. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br />On to the third. Canada needs one point from this game ... tying it up and getting to overtime is all that really matters at this point. Still, would be nice to come all the way back and win it. It's a tall order, today. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:180%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:180%;"><br /><br />***<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;"><br />Third intermission -- Canada 3, Finland 3</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><em><strong>Tie</strong></em> is of the essence. Canada has wrapped up first in the group and a quarter final match-up with Latvia, courtesy a third powerplay goal. The Ottawa teammates who each scored earlier in the game, this time teamed up on a fine rush and pass by Spezza and solid finish by Heatley with his second goal in a row. Nervous moments at the end as Finland pulled the goalie to go for the regulation win, and even got a PP with 8 seconds to go. The PP will carry over into the immediately impending OT, but the outcome of the game is already in. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:180%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:180%;"><br />***<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:130%;"><br />Postgame -- Canada 3, Finland 4 (SO)</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br />An uptempo overtime and an entertaining shootout later, the Finns emerge the "winners" even as Canada wraps up first place. Under quirky international rules, the shootout briefly became a one-on-one between St.Louis and Ruutu. Both went 2-for-3, with each connecting on a pair of backhands before missing on the forehand. St.Louis is the only shootout specialist I'm aware of who goes to the backhand the whole way, not just at the end of a deke but carrying the puck towards the net. Finland finally put it away in the 7th round on a nifty move by Hannes Hyvönen, the 4th puck to elude Roli in the showdown. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br />Back to the real hockey game which preceded it, where Roli certainly did deliver the goods, stopping 47 of 50 shots. A couple of bad rebounds, and a poor puckhandling play which led to the 3-1 goal, but a whole lot of solid stops and general hanging in there under pressure. Roli's confidence grew as the game went on, as he increasingly got into the faces if not the heads of the Finnish shooters. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:180%;"></span></div><div></div><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Canada has a wealth of riches on the blueline with several guys making their case for an Olympic spot. I expect 7 of these guys to be at Olympic camp this summer. Shea Weber is the clear #1 on this club, playing 24:31 including nearly 11 minutes in the third and 5-minute OT. His partner and Nashville teammate Dan Hamhuis also soaked up the ice time again today. Given their ongoing solid play Stevie Y & Co. will have to seriously consider them as a pair. The new additions Vlasic and Coburn formed a second effective pairing, while Chris Phillips and Drew Doughty show an effective mix of experience and exuberance. Doughty and seventh man Luke Schenn are both on the radar for 2014, but the other guys have a legitimate shot at Vancouver 2010.<br /><br />Same can be said up front, where only Doan and Heatley are likely comfortable with their spot in Vancouver, but St.Louis and Spezza are proving their worth on a nightly basis in Kloten. Meanwhile, guys like Horcoff, Roy, Fisher, and Lombardi may all be vying for the same spot of 13th forward in February.<br /><br />Of more immediate concern is the current tournament, where all of the above are comfortably in the top 12 and contributing to Canada's greatest strength in the international scene -- depth of talent. We got at least two teams worth of wannabe Olympians, thus can always ice a competitive team even when the European season is over and half of our teams are still involved in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It's the healthiest form of competition, where each guy makes his personal case by being a good team player.<br /><br />On to the quarterfinals, where Canada faces Latvia on Thursday morning, 08:15 MDT. Not quite a bye, but by (barely) passing today's test Canada has earned an easier route in the medal round, and acquired some badly-needed battle scars in the process. An excellent dual result. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I like our chances entering the sudden death round. Then again, I say that every year. :) </span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-73607553197388982902009-04-27T15:30:00.009-06:002009-04-27T16:56:00.045-06:00Introducing: The Erstwhile Oilers<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KOa0HDsHhRcNSz5_KzhRC2zk7XIjip3KznI-XLnFyzAEkIyxdosOC2L4ZjtnrJk-JWjYebScB4rO6OX0dxL4sNPHPAnXH5qel6McGCl6XpTVXJVy1eflaFGCupK19BsyV_rVv6GlPix5/s1600-h/ray-whitney.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329487517977886370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 283px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KOa0HDsHhRcNSz5_KzhRC2zk7XIjip3KznI-XLnFyzAEkIyxdosOC2L4ZjtnrJk-JWjYebScB4rO6OX0dxL4sNPHPAnXH5qel6McGCl6XpTVXJVy1eflaFGCupK19BsyV_rVv6GlPix5/s400/ray-whitney.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFioEKiU5nNQI4s2aTB1hLRzeCAeWay0eGeCUm_1EIpyMts7-2EiSOtvRbPHlME21B7Mg33PQt1PGESNLh2tAtsa8FReWnddxvJyRtVQq7HHdpFoG1lVo53olEKz3FKMIaUalHa1r5l9ND/s1600-h/whitneycup.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329487792396352370" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 161px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFioEKiU5nNQI4s2aTB1hLRzeCAeWay0eGeCUm_1EIpyMts7-2EiSOtvRbPHlME21B7Mg33PQt1PGESNLh2tAtsa8FReWnddxvJyRtVQq7HHdpFoG1lVo53olEKz3FKMIaUalHa1r5l9ND/s200/whitneycup.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Given the absence of the Edmonton Oilers from the playoffs for a third consecutive year, I have once again taken up the bittersweet pursuit of following the Erstwhile Oilers, that group of former home-town heroes who, like Ray Whitney (pictured twice here), are contributing elsewhere. There are a few dozen Erstwhile Oilers scattered around the NHL, but come playoff time there usually seems to be just enough to fill a regulation NHL roster. So it is in 2009, where I have identified a "roster" of 25 active players with historical ties to the Oilers organization. </span><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Here's that imaginary roster including 2008-09 stats (playoff stats through Apr 26):<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>Goal: </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>-----<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">T.Thomas,BOS</span></strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>54 GP, 36-11-7, 2.10, .933 </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(4, 4-0, 1.50, .925)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">T.Conklin,DET</span> </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>40 GP, 25-11-2, 2.58, .909 </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(0, all zeroes)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">S.Valiquette,NYR</span> </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>15 GP, 5-5-2,,, 2.84, .907 </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(2, 0-0, 0.00, 1.000)<br /><br />Defence:</strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>--------<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">C.Pronger,ANA </span></strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>82 GP, 12-36-48, EV </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(5, 1-1-2, +6)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">J.Pitkanen,CAR</span></strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>71 GP, 7-26-33,, +11</strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(6, 0-3-3, +3)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">R.Hamrlik,MTL</span> </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>81 GP, 6-27-33,, +4 </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(4, 0-0-0, -5)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">J.Hejda,CBJ</span> </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>82 GP, 3-18-21,, +23</strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(3, 0-0-0, -5)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">T.Poti,WAS</span></strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>52 GP, 3-10-13,, +2 </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(6, 2-4-6, +1)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">J.Woywitka,STL</span></strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>65 GP, 3-5-8,,,, +8 </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(4, 0-0-0, -1)<br /><br />Forwards:</strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>---------<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Ra.Whitney,CAR</span> </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>82 GP, 24-53-77, +2 </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(6, 2-4-6, -1)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">J.Lupul,PHI</span> </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>79 GP, 25-25-50, +1 </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(6, 1-1-2, +1)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">B.Guerin,PIT</span></strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>79 GP, 21-27-48, -12</strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(6, 2-1-3, +3)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">S.Samsonov,CAR</span> </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>81 GP, 16-32-48, -8 </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(5, 0-1-1, EV)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">E.Cole, CAR</span> </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>80 GP, 18-24-42, EV </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(6, 0-0-0, -1)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">C.Glencross,CAL </span></strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>74 GP, 14-26-40, +14</strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(5, 0-3-3, -1)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">D.Cleary, DET</span> </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>74 GP, 14-26-40, EV </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(4, 2-3-5, +6)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">M.Satan,PIT </span></strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>65 GP, 17-19-36, +3 </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(2, 0-0-0, EV)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">M.Grier,S.J</span> </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>62 GP, 10-13-23, +8 </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(5, 0-0-0, -1)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">J.Chimera,CBJ</span> </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>49 GP, 8-14-22,, +8 </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(4, 0-1-1, EV)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">M.Peca,CBJ</span> </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>71 GP, 4-18-22,, -6 </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(4, 0-0-0, +1)</strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">B.Winchester,STL</span> </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>64 GP, 13-8-21,, -1 </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(4, 0-0-0, -4)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">R.Torres, CBJ</span> </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>51 GP, 12-8-20,, -4 </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(4, 0-2-2, -3)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">T.Marchant,ANA</span> </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>72 GP, 5-13-18,, -2 </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(5, 0-1-1, +2)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">K.Maltby, DET</span> </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>78 GP, 5-6-11,,, -9 </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(4, 0-0-0, -2)<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">G.Laraque,MTL</span> </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>33 GP, 0-2-2,,,, -6 </strong></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>(4, 0-0-0, -1)</strong></span></div><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><div></span></div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Not the most balanced of rosters, especially up front where there are just two full-time centres in Peca and Marchant; so happens that Arnott, Weight, Stoll, Reasoner and Comrie all missed the playoffs this season. No Smytty either. Such is the nature of the "filter"; these aren't the best of the ex-OIlers, merely the ones who have played (or at least dressed) in the post-season. Which, of course, is more than one can say about any <em>current </em>Oilers.<br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />I'm sure I missed a couple along the way, especially of the Tim Thomas type</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, who was Edmonton property for a time without ever playing an NHL game for the Oil. Please post any names that come to mind in the comments section.<br /></span><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></div></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><div></span></div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Only the Devils, Canucks and Hawks don't have any ex-Oilers, while the Hurricanes and Scott Howson's Blue Jackets each have 4. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">While the list speaks for itself, I certainly do not mean to imply that all of these guys moving on represent mistakes by Oilers management; indeed several of them were moved <em>for each other</em> so there is no way we could have kept all of them. Of particular note is the sequence Woywitka-begat-Pronger-begat-Lupul-begat-Pitkanen-begat-Cole-begat-O'Sullivan, all trades which have occurred since the lockout. All but Woywitka (who is standing in for the injured Eric Brewer) were the primary player in their respective trades both coming and going. The key point seems to be the Oilers have never been able to stabilize what should be an important asset, with each guy arriving with high expectations but moving on to greener pastures after a year or even less. Need I add, all but O'Sullivan have played in the 2009 post-season.</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></div></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to establish imaginary line combinations for the Erstwhile Oilers, such as the Pennies-on-the-Dollar Line of Whitney, Satan and Chimera ... </span><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-81282631231876541212009-04-24T15:42:00.021-06:002009-04-24T21:32:59.155-06:00Canada 6, Belarus 1 -- a good start<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRc8s2GILgaBvd3Y8QlRBm8X4wOqf3lvVyO5QDxtbxY_NUgc32mPcm-T5269P1yQwcrBpGnxAFPa3wtg_2VxCj3Go8cEGrMHRsH5xv4k_2Z3VBmmSB5Ikxhqxowq_h5mz1o0XQ6v8Xur7y/s1600-h/MSL.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328459993659436786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 364px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRc8s2GILgaBvd3Y8QlRBm8X4wOqf3lvVyO5QDxtbxY_NUgc32mPcm-T5269P1yQwcrBpGnxAFPa3wtg_2VxCj3Go8cEGrMHRsH5xv4k_2Z3VBmmSB5Ikxhqxowq_h5mz1o0XQ6v8Xur7y/s400/MSL.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Team Canada 2009 took to the ice earlier today in Kloten, Switzerland. The club had no opportunity for exhibition games, but the opening preliminary round match against Belarus was pretty much that. The squad, ably coached by Lindy Ruff, Barry Trotz and Dave Tippett, played a pretty solid all-around game, all things considered. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />The success formula for Canada or pretty much any club at this tourney is to build cohesiveness through the early rounds and peak for the medal round. </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The early games are generally against inferior opponents and tend to be sloppy affairs. That was less true than usual today, as Canada jumped out to an early 2-0 lead courtesy a pair of goals by Steven Stamkos, and held that modest lead through 40 minutes before exploding for 4 goals in the third to put it away.<br /><br />While at first glance the current squad appears underwhelming, Canada's depth is such that we always have a respectable team with a fighing chance of taking home the gold (5 of the last 15). I see no reason why the current group shouldn't aspire to that, especially with a couple of spots held open for reinforcements.<br /><br />Today's lines were as follows:<br /><br /><strong>1. D. Roy - J. Spezza - D. Heatley</strong> </span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">For obvious reasons the coaches stuck with pairs of teammates when possible. The Ottawa pair showed their chemistry in the third when they combined for three goals, with each finishing the night +3 with 3 points. Best of the lot was the one Spezza literally stuck in the roof of the net after Heatley froze the defence with a fake shot before slipping it through. Roy, playing out of position, did OK, but I have half a mind he's just a placeholder for Rick Nash if he's healthy enough to come over.<br /><br /><strong>2. M. St.Louis - S. Stamkos - S. Doan</strong> </span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Stamkos turned the corner on his rookie season around the time St.Louis was put on his line, noching 17 goals in his last 28 games after just 6 in his first 51. According to HockeyAnalysis.com the pair played 230 minutes together, scoring at a rate of 1.474 GF per 20 minutes. When apart Stamkos recorded just 0.540 GF/20. We saw that chemistry seconds into their first shift when Stamkos converted MSL's bullet feed across the goal mouth into the early lead. Doan provides a perfect complement with his gritty two-way play and broad international experience.<br /><br /><strong>3. M. Lombardi - S. Horcoff - S. Upshall </strong></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJxVJ47L_VkQu9mE9qNdLD3ffoYvd25xgMzi2nJMVhpNNKVnFlAVRKOLEmUdOdnte4n1kJu2t3Joc-jczfI3AfuNmb3ox1ErC57u4044plYhrJXiaOYvCO9CFPXBtPXhxr69GMZ8sge5ZR/s1600-h/horcoff_shawn040508.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328461790229679778" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 194px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 194px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJxVJ47L_VkQu9mE9qNdLD3ffoYvd25xgMzi2nJMVhpNNKVnFlAVRKOLEmUdOdnte4n1kJu2t3Joc-jczfI3AfuNmb3ox1ErC57u4044plYhrJXiaOYvCO9CFPXBtPXhxr69GMZ8sge5ZR/s320/horcoff_shawn040508.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Finally pencilled in at what some would call his "natural" spot of 3C, Horcoff nonetheless led all Canadian fowards with 18:20 TOI, almost 3 minutes more than the next guy, his linemate Lombardi. Horc was first choice in the long 3v5 Canada killed in the second and a major contributor to the PK unit generally. Like Roy, Lombardi is a centre forced out to the wing. Wild card here is Upshall, who lit it up in Phoenix after a mostly desultory year in Philadelphia.<br /><br /><strong>4. J. Neal - M. Fisher - C. Armstrong </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Fantastic looking crash line, three guys with no little skill that skate hard both ways carrying a chip on their shoulder. Fisher absolutely crushed one poor Belarussian with a wicked shoulder check. The line also chipped in with a goal on a fine three-way passing play. These guys are going to be fun to watch.<br /><br /><strong>1. D. Hamhuis - S. Weber </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Talented young pairing with buckets of international experience. They look like a natural pair with a righty and a lefty but mostly play with separate partners in Nashville (Hamhuis-Zanon; Weber-Suter). Still seemed to know each other pretty well, playing a solid, assertive and coordinated game. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>2. C. Phillips - D. Doughty</strong><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Although they had couple of rocky moments, the veteran shutdown man Phillips would seem to be a perfect complement for the talented Doughty, one of three teenaged Canadians who was picked at last June's draft. Doughty combined with his fellow top pick Stamkos on a beauty give-and-go that resulted in the game winning goal.<br /></span></div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">3. I. White - L. Schenn<br /></span></strong></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">One wouldn't expect this to be a regular pair in the NHL for a couple of reasons, but to my surprise the two righties played over 266 minutes together this year. Truth be told, I'm a little baffled as to White's presence on the team -- he's the one guy in the group who doesn't appear to have top pairing potential -- but he's a mobile puck mover whose defensive game needs a little less work than it used to. Schenn is an absolute beauty of a young shutdown defender who accomplished the difficult feat of continuing to impress me this season despite playing for the Leafs.<br /><br /><strong>G - D. Roloson</strong> </span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Roli was in fine fettle, even hit a fungo midway through the game. Got away with one puckhandling blunder late in the first when he stumbled into the net and knocked it loose just as Grabovski was depositing the gift, and even though it was a defensive player responsible IIHF rules disallowed the goal. In the second Roloson made a sensational two-pad stack on a fine rush by Grabovski to hold the lead at 2-0, but later bled a fat rebound to the same Grabovski -- by FAR the best Belarussian -- to lose his shutout late in the third. Looked rested and focussed.<br /><br />Josh Harding backed up this game, but with Chris Mason <em>en route</em> we probably won't get a look at the Wild young backup who many favour as a possible answer in the Oilers' crease. Or maybe Harding will get a token game against Canada's next opponent, overmatched Hungary playing in the A Pool for the first time since 1939. That'll be on the tube Sunday afternoon for those who want to see different coloured unis and a probable butt-kicking. I'll be out of town for that one, but otherwise will be following Team Canada's progress here on Oil Droppings, including live blogs for the big games in the medal round. Those of you who are following the tournament (or who can't due to its often-inconvenient game times), do drop in!</span></div><div></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-24769110122086908952009-04-16T20:00:00.009-06:002009-04-17T00:54:30.261-06:00Team Togetherness<span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn6VLAIFdSGygifYz0m7vXvzlnYyXhPsJ-ykRQpT4qAikIJ2qawYMTor6JuvlqCh13_4WAdfAm4Jqq0_tbR37imI5Ouz8flAgDw84fh8AE3RRCYSZD8oaV48YDxLOBVcp7MbX6CqQfYrO_/s1600-h/moreaupenalty.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325475150209682450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 235px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn6VLAIFdSGygifYz0m7vXvzlnYyXhPsJ-ykRQpT4qAikIJ2qawYMTor6JuvlqCh13_4WAdfAm4Jqq0_tbR37imI5Ouz8flAgDw84fh8AE3RRCYSZD8oaV48YDxLOBVcp7MbX6CqQfYrO_/s400/moreaupenalty.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Some interesting quotes in today's news cycle: </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><em>"<strong>We need a new voice</strong></em>, we need a new start, we need new expectations, <em>we need a <strong>new discipline</strong></em>, and it’s time to look forward here."<br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> <strong>Steve Tambellini</strong>, on expectations<br />***</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">"Mac really thought he couldn’t do any more with<strong><em> the group</em></strong>."<br /><br /></span> <strong>Kevin Lowe</strong>, on accountability<br />[note how it is “the” group and not “our” group let alone “my” group]<br />***<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">"The thing that was maybe most disappointing for me was our culture took a hit, in terms of our work ethic and our <strong><em>selflessness</em></strong>."</span><br /><br /> <strong>Craig MacTavish</strong>, on professionalism<br />***<br /><em><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></em><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">"<strong><em>I’m </em></strong>always proud of the way <strong><em>I </em></strong>play, <em><strong>I’m</strong></em> always proud of the way <strong><em>I</em></strong> prepare and proud of the way <strong><em>I</em></strong> carry myself."<br /></span><br /> <strong>Ethan Moreau</strong>, on himself<br />***<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>"</strong>If <strong><em>you’re</em></strong> in the NHL, if <strong><em>you</em></strong> want to have a good career, <strong><em>you</em></strong> should be able to motivate <strong><em>yourself</em></strong>."</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> <strong>Ethan Moreau</strong>, on others<br />***</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">"We have some good veterans that <strong><em>hopefully</em></strong> want to be a part of this going forward. But I can tell you things are going to change as far as expectations and preparation from the players’ standpoint."<br /></span><br /> <strong>Steve Tambellini</strong>, on the future<br />***<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">"We got behind the 8-ball right away, <strong><em>we took an undisciplined penalty</em></strong>. I love Scottie Hartnell’s emotion but he’s got to find that line of <strong><em>discipline </em></strong>and I don’t really think he did tonight. He’s a guy we count on to kill penalties, he’s a guy we count on a lot. ... <strong><em>He ends up in the penalty box way too much and that’s something we’re going to have to correct</em></strong>."<br /></span><br /> <strong>John Stevens</strong>, coach of an actual playoff team, on Real accountability </span><br /></span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-91757814882645596302009-04-08T15:00:00.038-06:002009-04-09T10:48:25.864-06:00The missing link<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFOFiQfxpMK5SEX4Pi-aDnLA981rzkwjFEBvlj7ZAnaDx_j9Oh6rYR9wXX7Atbgrwk0hndGdZ8EaBFx84_YIodhzamdTUkfLEO8VmIq2UlUBpg8NOWFSlwWdmTszYWCY_ws7lF6BsYV5W/s1600-h/oilersroom.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322033370539997618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 328px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFOFiQfxpMK5SEX4Pi-aDnLA981rzkwjFEBvlj7ZAnaDx_j9Oh6rYR9wXX7Atbgrwk0hndGdZ8EaBFx84_YIodhzamdTUkfLEO8VmIq2UlUBpg8NOWFSlwWdmTszYWCY_ws7lF6BsYV5W/s400/oilersroom.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>I know the pieces fit cuz I watched them tumble down</em><br /></span></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;">No fault, none to blame it doesn't mean I don't desire to</span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;">Point the finger, blame the other, watch the temple topple over</span></em></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>To bring the pieces back together, rediscover communication</em><br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Tool -- </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><strong><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em>Schism</em></span></strong></a></div>*****<br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I cited this tune over at Lowetide's place the other day, finding some of Maynard James Keenan's lyrics resonated with the (hotly-denied!) reports of a rift in the Oilers' room and with the state of the roster in general. Rather than dally with the rumours or try to divine the true intelligence behind Ethan Moreau's remarks, I focussed on matters of record, namely birth certificates. These reveal a stunning gap where the heart of the roster should be. To recap the findings of my <a href="http://oildroppings.blogspot.com/2009/04/room-divided.html">previous post</a>, here are Oilers players and GP by age group through 78 games in 2008-09:<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>Age<br />Group ..... # ..... GP ... AvGP .. %team<br />----------------------------------------<br />36-39 ..... 1 ..... 61 ..... 61 ..... 4%<br />33-35 ..... 3 .... 217 ..... 72 .... 15%<br />30-32 ..... 8 .... 332 ..... 42 .... 22%<br />27-29 ..... 1 ..... 20 ..... 20 ..... 1%<br />24-26 ..... 9 .... 443 ..... 49 .... 30%<br />21-23 .... 10 .... 343 ..... 34 .... 23%<br />18-20 ..... 1 ..... 72 ..... 72 ..... 5%</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>----------------------------------------<br />Total .... 33 ... 1488 ..... 45 ... 100%<br /></strong></span><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I have added two columns. The first is simply the average number of GP for players in the given age group; the second expresses the percentage of team GP for each age group. Here's a crude graph showing that % of GP distribution, featuring a very odd double-peaked curve.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqsb13RTmJC03bPL4CIw18G7saWI13foTfgvdGq_PGlQmfxU0l-NhZt_uxQZm1r3F1ZPpWXSJ1LNkK22W87KbrggSEBuDPYE7Aj5SMZVNH7CXac_SNAOauWxeW2g0r4J_NRP96_r5cfCHF/s1600-h/oilersbyage.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 207px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqsb13RTmJC03bPL4CIw18G7saWI13foTfgvdGq_PGlQmfxU0l-NhZt_uxQZm1r3F1ZPpWXSJ1LNkK22W87KbrggSEBuDPYE7Aj5SMZVNH7CXac_SNAOauWxeW2g0r4J_NRP96_r5cfCHF/s400/oilersbyage.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322722566334283394" /></a><br />That looks not so much like a team, but two different ones. <br /><br />Comparison is the next stage of the analysis; it is obvious at first glance that the current age distribution is out of the ordinary, but how much so? Surely the place to start is with the '05-06 Oilers, the last time we know the pieces fit. Here was the distribution by age of the House of Cards that Kevin Built.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>Age<br />Group ..... # ..... GP ... AvGP .. %team<br />----------------------------------------<br />36-39 ..... 2 ..... 56 ..... 28 ..... 4%<br />33-35 ..... 2 ..... 43 ..... 22 ..... 3%<br />30-32 ..... 9 .... 536 ..... 60 .... 34%<br />27-29 ..... 9 .... 472 ..... 52 .... 30%<br />24-26 ..... 7 .... 235 ..... 33 .... 15%<br />21-23 ..... 6 .... 204 ..... 34 .... 13%<br />18-20 ..... 3 ..... 25 ...... 8 ..... 2%<br />----------------------------------------<br />Total .... 38 ... 1571 ..... 41 ... 100%<br /></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">In each column there's a fairly normal Bell curve with a single peak. Almost half (18 of 38, or 47%) of the players who suited up for the Oil during that chaotic season were between 27 and 32; moreover the same group played more games per player than the other groups; combine the two and the 27-to-32-year olds played fully 64% of the games. It's an interesting contrast to 2008-09, where not only is that huge hole at the age 27-29 level, but the distribution within groups is strange. Players over 33 averaged 70 GP; those between 27-32 averaged just 39. In 2008-09 the 27-32 y.o. group comprised just 27% of the full roster and played only 23% of the games. Let's compare the two graphically, with the 2005-06 Oilers represented in copper, the '08-09 squad in blue.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVA3oKkyHJYBQCX6x-u1PpN9veesj0qDhsD_g94AGr4gR5pPDezixnfpkDIpTGlnCC7dBTjdJFNPzHRX4V6XPmqAn23XD7_iX3K7h65Og1svMNXubgxZ4aluQx8r_zvi47LswOJY1gtq10/s1600-h/oilerscompbyage.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 203px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVA3oKkyHJYBQCX6x-u1PpN9veesj0qDhsD_g94AGr4gR5pPDezixnfpkDIpTGlnCC7dBTjdJFNPzHRX4V6XPmqAn23XD7_iX3K7h65Og1svMNXubgxZ4aluQx8r_zvi47LswOJY1gtq10/s400/oilerscompbyage.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322722985185170018" /></a><br />There are superficial similarities between the central curve of the '05-06 Oilers and the younger lobe of the current version, but there is a 5-year difference in maturity. More generally, the above starkly demonstrates the '08-09 Oilers have far more players near the beginning or end of their careers, while the '05-06 club had a critical mass of players near their peak. <br /><br />Of course the 2005-06 regular season Oilers that stumbled and bumbled their way to 8th place was different from the leaner version that was wildly successful in that same post-season. Some guys were traded off mid-season; others who had a cup o' coffee at some point were out of the mix come playoff time, as was the case with all three 20-year-olds (Pouliot, Jacques, Syvret).<br /></span><br /><strong><span style="font-family:courier new;">Age<br />Group ..... # ..... GP ... %team<br />--------------------------------<br />36-39 ..... 1 ..... 18 ...... 4%<br />33-35 ..... 1 ..... 24 ...... 5%<br />30-32 ..... 9 .... 169 ..... 37%<br />27-29 ..... 8 .... 130 ..... 28%<br />24-26 ..... 4 ..... 74 ..... 16%<br />21-23 ..... 2 ..... 42 ...... 9%<br />18-20 ..... 0 ...... 0 ...... 0%<br />--------------------------------<br />Total .... 25 .... 457 .... 100%<br /></span><br /></strong><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The 27-32 y.o. set comprised 68% of the active players and played 65% of the games, while the under-24s played an even smaller role with only Hemsky and Greene getting a sniff of playoff action. I won't show a graph, which varies but little between regular season and playoffs. I have noted for future reference that playoff rosters might provide a more streamlined methodology, a little less clutter with fewer players and a more constant "best possible" line-up. Of course, for that method to work the team in question has to actually make the @#$%^&* playoffs. <br /><br />Which brings us back to 2008-09, where it's instructive to compare the Oilers with the competition. I'm using brute force, not code, so won't do the whole league. Let's just compare with geographic rivals and Northwest Division co-leaders Calgary and Vancouver. Here I have reduced each team to just the number of players in each age category, and the percentage of GP for each group.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>Age ..... Edmonton .. Vancouver .. Calgary<br />Group ... # / %team . # / %team . # / %team<br />-------------------------------------------<br />36-39 ... 1 // 4% ... 1 // 3% ... 1 // 5%<br />33-35 ... 3 / 15% ... 3 // 8% ... 3 / 12%<br />30-32 ... 8 / 22% ... 3 / 14% ... 6 / 23%<br />27-29 ... 1 // 1% .. 13 / 38% ... 6 / 20%<br />24-26 ... 9 / 30% ... 5 / 16% .. 11 / 30%<br />21-23 .. 10 / 23% ... 7 / 21% ... 5 / 11%<br />18-20 ... 1 // 5% ... 0 // 0% ... 0 // 0%<br />-------------------------------------------<br />Total .. 33 /100% .. 32 /100% .. 32 /100%<br /><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The Oilers have gotten more GP out of guys 33 and older than either rival, <em>and </em>more GP from guys 23 and younger. In the middle both divisional rivals far outstrip the Oilers; note the 13 players Vancouver has used in the 27-29 group, compared to Edmonton's 1. Calgary's curve peaks a little younger, but fully 73% of their games have been played by players aged 24-32, compared to 68% for Vancouver and just 53% for Edmonton. Here's a graph showing Vancouver in green, Calgary in red, Edmonton in blue. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6y7BIDHfmxn4okxg7Ik0bXDfLTf-EAoMqqh58JIhRGCPZplTm9GmRh4oHHEl6uiBtwK8YylZJ5h4gkZbDUop4XhwFZcnmbCVdBLlApQR7ne6juS5My3mOK_h5mOrj2ulExT2kdeVZTHh8/s1600-h/agegroups3.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6y7BIDHfmxn4okxg7Ik0bXDfLTf-EAoMqqh58JIhRGCPZplTm9GmRh4oHHEl6uiBtwK8YylZJ5h4gkZbDUop4XhwFZcnmbCVdBLlApQR7ne6juS5My3mOK_h5mOrj2ulExT2kdeVZTHh8/s400/agegroups3.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322503076835908290" /></a>Next year Dustin Penner and Tom Gilbert -- dangerously assuming either is still around -- will turn 27; Pouliot, Jacques, Stortini, Reddox and O'Sullivan all "graduate" to age 24, and their whole generation of players will be one year older and presumably better. At the same time, Sheldon Souray, Lubo Visnovsky, and Fernando Pisani all turn 33, Steve Staios turns 36, and lest we forget, Dwayne Roloson turns 40. Whatever the validity of my artificial brackets, it's pretty tough to argue those guys on the far side of 30 will be getting much better; they'll just be getting older. The wheel of time keeps turning, but given the void of players cycling through the top of the career curve ours seems to be missing an axle. </p></span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It is incumbent on Oilers management to address this gaping hole in the coming l-o-n-g off-season. Such a hole cannot be readily filled from within.<br /></span><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-68419734045548727322009-04-04T16:04:00.010-07:002009-04-06T03:32:28.117-06:00A room divided?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ueLZ0h9xnAxCJiBC0jgrUMIjOaGkY09QjrLuyio0QB0hMmu3gzihoN_X1RxGFb5c1ZMoN6URthzaZiopHr1XfzTsNYvSvfF6iAJ0Wt8zQMtDolsK2B5VwJBBblo4R6PHeuXIME4E5DB2/s1600-h/oilers_dressing_room_pano_111208_02.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320940560670042402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ueLZ0h9xnAxCJiBC0jgrUMIjOaGkY09QjrLuyio0QB0hMmu3gzihoN_X1RxGFb5c1ZMoN6URthzaZiopHr1XfzTsNYvSvfF6iAJ0Wt8zQMtDolsK2B5VwJBBblo4R6PHeuXIME4E5DB2/s400/oilers_dressing_room_pano_111208_02.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">In 2006 the Oilers made a thrilling run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. It was a veteran group: 19 of the 25 players who dressed during the playoff run were aged 27 or older, the other 6 age 25 or younger.<br /><br />Fast forward three years, and just 6 players remain from that Cinderella crew. 5 of them were, and remain, veterans: Dwayne Roloson, age* 39; Steve Staios, 35; Ethan Moreau, 33; Fernando Pisani, 32; Shawn Horcoff, 30. Of the youngsters, only the enigmatic Ales Hemsky, now 25, remains an Oiler. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:85%;">( <span style="font-size:100%;">*</span> - "hockey age" as of Feb 1, as per <a href="http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/EDM/2009.html">Hockey-Reference.com</a>)</span><br /><br />Brad Winchester and Marc-Andre Bergeron were in the pressbox during those Stanley Cup Finals and were gone within a year. Of the four key youngsters of that run, last summer's trades of Raffi Torres (now 27), Jarret Stoll (26) and Matt Greene (25) gutted the squad of three of them. One of the departed players was moved for yet another unproven youngster, the other two netted a valuable but now injured veteran. Whatever the return, what was lost was an important link between the older and younger members of the team. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />The 2008-09 Oilers are rumoured to be a fractured squad, with a significant group of 30-something vets, a larger group of youngsters with collectively little success in their pro careers, and not much in between to bridge the gap. Here's a breakdown of the 33 players who have suited up for Oil this season:<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>Age<br />Group ..... # ..... GP<br />----------------------<br />36-39 ..... 1 ..... 61<br />33-35 ..... 3 .... 217<br />30-32 ..... 8 .... 332<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">27-29 ... 1 ... 20<br /></span>24-26 ..... 9 .... 443<br />21-23 .... 10 .... 343<br />18-20 ..... 1 ..... 72</strong> </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Courier New;">---------------------- </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><strong>Total .... 33 ... 1488</strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />That's right, a great big hole right in the centre of the Bell curve, which even the gigantic Steve MacIntyre cannot begin to fill. Other than SMac and his 67 minutes of ice time, there's not a single player on the roster in the prime age bracket of 27-29. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br />And when the likes of Ethan Moreau -- or Craig MacTavish for that matter -- looks around the room, he sees a bunch of 30-something guys who have been through the wars, many of them together, and then a bunch of youngsters whose history with the Oilers is one of failure. Is it any wonder there are rumours of a disconnect in the room?</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-39392541093632744442009-03-30T22:41:00.008-07:002009-03-30T23:20:01.809-07:00Guest rant<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95RwYhyphenhyphen4J8SBtK3EPz76ksblQtz3hThp4aRZfmuXO1satCHsJqa35z2nB4NE0wYQR_isWegpfmBbYMDId0v0uc9yuJXhKDhQXAmJf-5ahUbHdEL3x-x8T-OI5H3ffNc78UFhSXpz9u6KG/s1600-h/MacT.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 376px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95RwYhyphenhyphen4J8SBtK3EPz76ksblQtz3hThp4aRZfmuXO1satCHsJqa35z2nB4NE0wYQR_isWegpfmBbYMDId0v0uc9yuJXhKDhQXAmJf-5ahUbHdEL3x-x8T-OI5H3ffNc78UFhSXpz9u6KG/s400/MacT.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319228737416051330" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Got a beauty email from a friend, let's call him "Dave", who has been a season ticket holder for a number of years. Other than his association with me, Dave doesn't frequent the Oilogosphere. It was interesting to read his independent conclusions, so much so that I asked and received his permission to post his comments here. I thought it would be a nice change of pace for my blog to have a post that featured short sentences, each one that actually had a point.</span> </div><div>***</div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>As for the Oilers:<br />Color them dark brown, as in done like a Sunday roast.<br />The two Minny games and the Phoenix game amply pointed out the prime problems.<br />There's no passion. The Coach yawns through games.<br />This is a a passive collection of individual players, not a team.<br />There's no real leadership, starting right at the top, but mostly behind the bench.<br />There is no obvious focus, strategy, game plan or set of tactics other than passive defence and inflexible offence.<br />The penalty kill consists of a simple box with no puck pressure.<br />The power play consists of "ring around the rosie" then pass to Souray.<br />Defence is "active sticks'" positional play with little physical play or puck pressure.<br />A one goal lead is protected by single player forecheck and "back up like mad" defence.<br />Breakouts are based on multiple in-zone passes until the other team is organized, followed by slow movement through the neutral zone.<br />Offence consists of drop passes and making plays at the offensive blue line.<br />Nobody is encouraged to dump and chase.<br />Leaving a defensive position to recover a puck broken loose by a good forecheck or hit is discouraged. They never outman the defence in the oh-oh zone.<br />The best scoring player is harangued by the coach to play defence.<br />The +/- leader is relegated to the 4th line while the No. 1 line is deep in the +/- hole.<br />The line blender get turned on every second period.<br />The big bruiser gets left in the press box so the skilled players get pushed around.<br />The No. 1 goalie gets worked until he starts giving up bad goals from fatigue.<br />Four lines get played regardless of the score, until the 3rd period at least.<br /><br />I hope they finish 12th. Maybe that will finally push the owner into making the necessary changes in management, the coach for non-performance and Mr. Lowe for not recognizing the fundamental problems and dealing with them. At least I wouldn't waste money in a fruitless first playoff round and the possibility that the futility would continue next year.<br /></em></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Bruised Black and Blue Dave</em></span></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-64359710159665890372009-03-28T17:19:00.012-07:002009-03-28T17:52:21.986-07:00Oilers 5, Ducks 3 -- player gradings<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7atxHVLRtd2z3bbzJqsujD4PBoL-ybszgr-2_SiLlbAQbC3kroIwpCVhKQY7M1UNlJZDkvN3UTdEU921MO3041zmrsmI4ugehyphenhyphenUG0eWBlq-1ryaonx1Mm8zUsuNy04HIBXJzNrhKxbSj/s1600-h/roli.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318401816122159602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 279px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7atxHVLRtd2z3bbzJqsujD4PBoL-ybszgr-2_SiLlbAQbC3kroIwpCVhKQY7M1UNlJZDkvN3UTdEU921MO3041zmrsmI4ugehyphenhyphenUG0eWBlq-1ryaonx1Mm8zUsuNy04HIBXJzNrhKxbSj/s400/roli.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">Dwayne Roloson gigantic in Oil crease</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">I have offered to assist in David Staples' latest project over at Cult of Hockey, namely to grade the Oilers' players on a game-by-game basis. This is a collective effort, I'm just one member of a team of markers.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The scoring system is as follows: 10, perfect game; 9, extraordinary game; 8, great game; 7, good game; 6, above average game; 5, average game; 4, below average game; 3, bad game; 2, terrible game; 1, trade this player or send him to the minors.<br />***</span> </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Well that was a wild affair in Anaheim last night, an intense game with lots of bad feeling, especially after the whistle. The long-overdue returns of Zack Stortini and J.F.Jacques helped the Oilers hold their own in the physical battle, as both made their presence felt in limited ice time. Oilers rode a pair of two-goal outbursts early in the first and second periods and as they tend to do, tried to sit on the leads for the whole rest of the game. Shots on goal were one-sided at 54-20, and shots AT goal even more so at an astonishing 93-30. In the third period alone, Anaheim directed 39 shots towards Dwayne Roloson, the Oilers just 4 at Jonas Hiller, and eventually 1 into an empty net that finally allowed Oiler fans to breathe easily for the last dozen seconds. I had long since turned blue at that point, as had the air in my living room with various oaths directed at Chris Pronger, Corey Perry, the officials, and whoever was the latest Oiler to not get the puck out of his own end. But we'll take the two points, and the big zero looks good on Anaheim too. To walk into their building trailing them in the standings and to leave with a one-point lead is a sweet outcome.<br />***<br /><br /><strong>Ladislav Smid – 6:</strong> Ladi was one who had occasional difficulties clearing the zone, but played some strong defence and took his job of clearing Roli’s crease seriously as Todd Marchant discovered. Got a rare shift on the powerplay and forced a fine stop from Hiller with a well-placed shot. Finished the night +1.<br /><br /><strong>Shawn Horcoff – 6:</strong> Workhorse led all forwards on both teams with 23:53, including 7:51 on the PK unit which spent much of the night in chase mode but wound up killing 8 of 9 Duck powerplays. A key assist on the game’s first goal, +1, and a very creditable 15-9, 63% in the faceoff circle on a night when 9 (!) other Oiler forwards won just 32% (12-27) of their draws combined.<br /><br /><strong>Andrew Cogliano – 5:</strong> Made a nice pass to Pisani for the 2-0 goal, but spent much of the night riding the pine, posting just 7:42 TOI, as his linemates Pisani and Moreau contributed to an overworked PK unit. Just 1-4, 20% on the dot which is all too typical for Andrew.<br /><br /><strong>Ethan Moreau – 5:</strong> One of the more effective penalty killers when he wasn’t in the box himself serving his 999th and 1000th career penalty minutes for another careless stick foul. Did not perform well at even strength, posting a team-worst -12 Corsi number, and was one of just two Oilers (also Gagner) to wind up -1 on the night. Contributed a humorous moment when he received a perfect breakout pass in his own zone and with nobody around, performed a spectacular pratfall and turned it over.<br /><br /><strong>Patrick O’Sullivan – 6:</strong> Oilers actually outshot Anaheim 5-4 with O’Sullivan on the ice, one of just 2 Oilers with a positive figure (linemate Penner being the other). O’Sullivan also made a strong contribution on the PK, especially on a 3-on-5 late in the first with Horcoff in the box.<br /><br /><strong>Ales Kotalik – 6:</strong> A fairly strong performance with 3 shots capped by the empty netter. Kotalik drew two Anaheim penalties, however took two of his own although I’m prepared to give him a pass for that cheap puck-over-glass infraction when he scooped a dangerous rebound from Roli’s crease. He plays a fairly robust game, and Oilers need as much of that as they can get.<br /><br /><strong>J-F Jacques – 6: </strong>A rambunctious return. His first four shifts covered just 0:22 of TOI combined, yet in that time he had a fight and threw a booming hit behind the net which led directly to Brodziak’s game-winning goal and drew a retaliatory penalty besides. I’m sure David Staples will grant an unofficial assist to both JFJ and Stortini for their involvement in that “unassisted” goal. His careless four-minute high-sticking penalty midway through the third docks him one full mark.<br /><br /><strong>Steve Staios – 5: </strong>Trademark gritty effort, but Oilers were outchanced 8-2 with Steve on the ice at evens and 9-0 on the penalty kill. Puck was in our end virtually all the time he was out there. He and Souray miscommunicated on Perry’s goal that made it 4-3 early in the third. 2 hits, 2 blocks, and somehow wound up the night +1.<br /><br /><strong>Dustin Penner – 8:</strong> Oilers’ best skater in his old barn, and posted the only positive Corsi of the night (+3). Also was the only Oiler to be on for more scoring chances for than against at even strength, and the only player who recorded +2. (Pronger was at the other extreme, posting a game-worst -3.) Penner led the team with 4 shots and more importantly, 2 goals, both of them giving the Oilers the lead. Landed 2 hits, went into the high traffic areas and paid the price to score the powerplay goal that put Oilers ahead to stay. Also drew a penalty with some dogged work along the boards.<br /><br /><strong>Fernando Pisani – 6:</strong> Scored the 2-0 goal on a wicked snapshot, otherwise spent a lot of the game in Oilers’ end, especially on the PK where he played over 8 minutes. Seemed to be running on empty more than once at the end of too-long shifts. His experience and composure shone through at key moments.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAqKwXAp-MsKFnX89asQXiP4zh2r48K2b38zUX7VeLFtKJ-RMZtvfDIh18N_FCNKGWNOq2Rv-A_1FIEzFZnalCfO9kYldUr0a1BQSs-TkBVrKbDY4s5jIQKW_F0UX81081bNV76rU05yul/s1600-h/Dwayne_Roloson_2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318402060911643298" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 135px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAqKwXAp-MsKFnX89asQXiP4zh2r48K2b38zUX7VeLFtKJ-RMZtvfDIh18N_FCNKGWNOq2Rv-A_1FIEzFZnalCfO9kYldUr0a1BQSs-TkBVrKbDY4s5jIQKW_F0UX81081bNV76rU05yul/s200/Dwayne_Roloson_2.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Dwayne Roloson – 9:</strong> Sorry Roli, no shutout, no perfect 10. All you did was win the game for us. Of all the Oilers who played 6 games in 6 cities over 9 nights, the oldest one had the most energy and focus. A fantastic game for the team MVP when his club needed him the most. Dennis at <a href="http://www.mc79hockey.com/?p=3115">MC79hockey</a> had the scoring chances at 41-17 Anaheim, including no fewer than 19 chances with the man advantage where shooting percentages are significantly higher. Usually. The axiom about the goalie being the team’s best penalty-killer was never truer than last night on the Pond.<br /><br /><strong>Denis Grebeshkov – 6:</strong> Spent a little too much time on his heels, and had a couple of his occasional episodes with the puck, including a brutal giveaway in the opening seconds of the game. Led the team in TOI at 24:47, and in blocked shots with 4. Grebs’ crisp pass to Hemsky allowed Ales to gain the zone with speed on the play that led to Penner’s powerplay goal, surely earning one of David’s unofficial assists.<br /><br /><strong>Jason Strudwick – 6:</strong> The veteran delivered everything he’s capable of, a dozen minutes of grit and effort. Slower than tectonic plates, Struds kept the play to the outside for the most part, cleared the crease, and contributed a team-leading 3 hits. Surprisingly, co-led the club in attempted shots (4, tied with Horcoff and Penner).<br /><br /><strong>Sheldon Souray – 6: </strong>Solid effort. A presence in the defensive zone who contributed big minutes on the PK unit. Didn’t have a big night offensively, in fact did not so much as attempt a shot on goal which may be a first. Nonetheless scored a late assist for his key shot block off of Perry’s last dangerous rush which led directly to Kotalik’s empty netter.<br /><br /><strong>Zack Stortini – 7:</strong> Returned from a wholly-undeserved 8-game layoff to do what he does, which is exactly what this team needed. Levelled Wisniewski with a great open-ice hit, then came back hard on the backcheck and eventually intercepted Parros who was heading for Roli’s doorstep with malice aforethought. The subsequent fight was no surprise, but Zack winning it decisively was a little unexpected. Later crashed the net hard and created a commotion that was instrumental in Brodziak’s game winner getting through. One camera angle indicated pretty decisively that Stortini actually deflected that shot.<br /><br /><strong>Kyle Brodziak – 6:</strong> Back in his comfort zone playing on the Plumb Line with Jacques and Stortini. Scored the winner on his only shot, blocked 3 shots and contributed to the overworked penalty kill. Just 5-8, 38% in the circle, which led to some of the extended zone pressure the Oilers endured.<br /><br /><strong>Tom Gilbert – 5:</strong> The Ducks appeared to be targeting Gilbert for heavy forechecking, and Tom was coming out second best in the battle for puck possession a little too often for my liking, including on the first Ducks’ goal. Seemed to raise his battle level a little as the game went on.<br /><br /><strong>Ales Hemsky – 6:</strong> His line with Gagner and Kotalik was outplayed for the most part, outshot 9-2 with Hemsky on the ice, and outchanced 8-2. Did make a nice play to Gagner that led to Penner’s powerplay goal, and a great play while being tripped to clear the zone on Kotalik’s empty-netter. Missed an empty net himself a few minutes earlier which would have alleviated my dangerously high blood pressure.<br /><br /><strong>Sam Gagner – 5:</strong> A hard night for the kid. While he won’t back down from anybody, the boy against men aspect sometimes shines through in physical games like this one. 3-5, 38% on the dot. Did earn a powerplay assist on a smart feed to Penner on the doorstep.<br /><br /><strong>Craig MacTavish – 6:</strong> His decision to insert Stortini and Jacques, while overdue, was the right choice for a physical opponent like the Ducks. The way his team backs up when it has the lead drives me crazy, but at this point of the season it’s all about results. Oilers got two points, the Ducks got none, and MacT gets a passing grade.</span><br /></span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-41096971582386833482009-03-22T11:58:00.004-07:002009-03-22T12:04:15.726-07:00Paging Mr. Hemsky … white courtesy telephone please<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9YF9luhNYwDJDHwfKX9RzuAVttP8LZFlW-slXhXvuHpYUIZt_DC5dl8mWxas5pn_tv0B7mh8mUSb4Obk81AyVmyhRYugpsxr2WFDHzIXbp0yopuq74oTa45nhU4HrkhIUUVynBm9IZ7iM/s1600-h/Hemsky.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316088841742700114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 347px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9YF9luhNYwDJDHwfKX9RzuAVttP8LZFlW-slXhXvuHpYUIZt_DC5dl8mWxas5pn_tv0B7mh8mUSb4Obk81AyVmyhRYugpsxr2WFDHzIXbp0yopuq74oTa45nhU4HrkhIUUVynBm9IZ7iM/s400/Hemsky.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Ales? Ales? Are you there, Ales?<br /><br />For the second year in a row the Oilers are engaging in a second half playoff run with their putative star player seemingly missing in action. Last year Hemsky scored some on the powerplay, but bled goals against at evens, posting a brutal -13 rating after the All-Star break. This year the +/- isn’t so bad, but the scoring has dried up including on the powerplay where production from Hemsky is essential to production from the unit.<br /><br />It’s interesting to compare the production of Ales Hemsky, first line right winger and team leading scorer, with that of Zack Stortini, 4th/5th line right winger and 9-minute a game grinder. Entering this afternoon’s game at Minnesota, this is what the two have done over their last 15 games played:<br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>Hemsky : 15 GP, 3-4-7, -2<br />Stortini:15 GP, 4-3-7, +2<br /></strong></span><br />Now I’ll readily admit this is cherry-picking to some extent, that 15-game run is by far the best production of Stortini’s career, although somehow not enough to prevent a wholly-undeserved five-game vacation in the press box. But the point is that Hemsky is being paid, and played, to produce, and he hasn’t been doing it. 15 games is a significant enough segment of the schedule that he should be far ahead of the likes of Zack Stortini. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Let’s dig a little deeper:<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:courier new;">Even strength<br />Hemsky : 223:33, 3-1-4, 1.07 ESP/60<br />Stortini:133:06, 4-3-7, 3.16 ESP/60<br /><br />Powerplay<br />Hemsky : 59:02, 0-2-2, 2.03 PPP/60<br />Stortini: 1:18, 0-0-0<br /></span></strong><br />Two points, both secondary assists, in 15 games for Mr. Power Play. One assist in 15 games at even strength for Mr. Playmaker. One assist on an empty netter.<br /><br />Ales looks frustrated out there. Even the acquisition and insertion of his buddy and fellow Ales, Kotalik, on his line accomplished nothing. Is he hurt? Or just in another second-half funk?<br /><br />Groundhog Day was six weeks ago, Ales. The time to wake up is Now. </span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-71285437569967192282009-03-20T23:47:00.003-07:002009-03-20T23:59:44.102-07:00Oilers 8, Avalanche 1 -- player gradings<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTL-FrqgfWkDTYr32Mmz7CT_ICTc_9YDT-tEphrh6QSTF68HgLT_x6r_PrUvJW71EXVHRBPaIGJFNjkAYw7kYzEO0che926hBIXA-CItOzEuz18_8eBUTR3z5duRpYnnDXm0AOVrJON9lz/s1600-h/gagner.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315531864468454930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 337px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTL-FrqgfWkDTYr32Mmz7CT_ICTc_9YDT-tEphrh6QSTF68HgLT_x6r_PrUvJW71EXVHRBPaIGJFNjkAYw7kYzEO0che926hBIXA-CItOzEuz18_8eBUTR3z5duRpYnnDXm0AOVrJON9lz/s400/gagner.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">I have offered to assist in David Staples' latest project over at </span><a href="http://communities.canada.com/edmontonjournal/blogs/hockey/default.aspx"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Cult of Hockey</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">, namely to grade the Oilers' players on a game-by-game basis. This is a collective effort, I'm just one member of a team of markers. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">The scoring system is as follows: 10, perfect game; 9, extraordinary game; 8, great game; 7, good game; 6, above average game; 5, average game; 4, below average game; 3, bad game; 2, terrible game; 1, trade this player or send him to the minors.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">***</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">After four consecutive overtime nailbiters, the Oilers were due a blowout one way or the other, and this one went the good way. Oilers rode goals from each of the four lines to stake out a 4-1 lead through 40 minutes, then tacked on four more in the third to turn it into a laugher. Where were those third period goals last week when we really needed them?<br /><br />Hard to read too much into a game where the Avalanche had guys named Vernace, Galiardi and Peltier where Sakic, Stastny and Foote used to be. Still, we’ll take the two points, and hope that the offensive eruption kick-starts the offence for the stretch drive.<br />***</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><strong>Ladislav Smid – 6:</strong> Had a tough couple of shifts early in the game including a dubious interference penalty, but got stronger as the night went on. Took yet another headshot, a cheap elbow from Laperriere that knocked Ladi down but not out. I hate to say it, but the way guys run him every night, he needs to learn to bring his stick up to protect himself. Right now he’s way too much fun to hit.<br /><br /><strong>Shawn Horcoff – 6: </strong>A solid effort which wasn’t rewarded at even strength, but did contribute the game winning goal on a first period powerplay. As usual, led all forwards in TOI, a relatively light 17:22 as MacT rested his first line in the third period when they could have been out there fattening up their stats.<br /><br /><strong>Robert Nilsson – 8: </strong>His line with Gagner and Kotalik had the puck on a string, especially in the second half of the game with Colorado losing interest. Earned his three assists with beautiful passes. He can be a gamebreaking playmaker when he’s on, and he appears to be coming around during the stretch drive for the second year running.<br /><br /><strong>Andrew Cogliano – 5:</strong> Didn’t make a whole lot happen. Oilers were outshot 5-1 with Andrew on the ice, yet he wound up +1. Posted another dismal night in the faceoff circle, just 4-10, 29% which actually improved his faceoff percentage for the month of March. It’s hard to understand how he’s actually getting even worse on the dot, but he is.<br /><br /><strong>Ethan Moreau – 7:</strong> Opened the scoring, later added an assist, helped out on a PK unit that recorded a clean sheet for the first time in 9 games, and didn’t add to the workload by taking any penalties himself. This was the “good Ethan”.<br /><br /><strong>Patrick O’Sullivan – 6: </strong>Did everything but finish, forcing Budaj’s best (only?) save of the night after a sweet Hemsky feed. Showed good vision at times and very nice hands at others. It seems a matter of time before he and Hemsky start to click.<br /><br /><strong>Ales Kotalik – 8:</strong> After six scoreless games, the shootout winner against St.Louis may have lifted the piano off his back. Looked excellent on his natural right wing with Gagner and Nilsson, driving to the net to finish one beauty pass from Gagner, then returning the favour with a sweet goalmouth feed of his own. 4 points, +3 in just 11:10 TOI.<br /><br /><strong>Steve Staios – 7:</strong> Has played by far his best hockey of the season since the injury to Visnovsky bumped him into the top 4. “Heady Steve” was on the ice for 4 even strength scoring chances for, just 1 against; contributed 3:39 to the PK unit, posted an assist, and finished the night a tidy +2.<br /><br /><strong>Dustin Penner – 6:</strong> The big guy barely made a ripple on the event summary – 1 shot that didn’t get through, 0 hits, 1 takeaway, 2 blocked shots, 1 won faceoff -- but finally hit the scoresheet with 2 assists, ending a 12-game pointless drought. Finished the night +2 at evens while contributing to a solid power play unit. Played a strong game along the boards and always seemed to be to be in the right position, driving play in the right direction.<br /><br /><strong>Fernando Pisani – 6:</strong> Low event game, just 1 scoring chance for, 2 against at evens. Made the most of that one chance, potting a goal on a wicked shot over Budaj’s shoulder. Had a strong game on the PK.<br /><br /><strong>Dwayne Roloson – 7:</strong> Allowed a weak, weird goal early, but slammed the door after that. Did his puck batting routine a couple of times, hitting one clean single to centre and one weak dribbler to the second baseman that caused a little defensive zone grief. Picked the right night to fool around a bit.<br /><br /><strong>Denis Grebeshkov – 6:</strong> Led all players on both teams with 24:41 TOI. Skated miles, 2 shots, 2 hits, 2 blocked shots, +1. Oilers were significantly outshot and outchanced with Grebs on the ice, however.<br /><br /><strong>Jason Strudwick – 7:</strong> A solid effort from the journeyman. Played 18:14, including over 16 minutes at evens when the Avalanche generate just one scoring chance. 1 takeaway, 2 blocked shots, a team-leading 3 hits, +2.<br /><br /><strong>Sheldon Souray – 8:</strong> The Oilers’ big bomber was firing away, leading the club with 4 shots on goal and 9 attempted shots. One of them found twine, his 21st of the season, tying Ales Hemsky for the club lead. Had a solid defensive game with 3 takeaways, 0 giveaways. With Souray on the ice, the Oilers outchanced the Avs 4-1 at evens, 3-0 on the powerplay, and 2-1 even while shorthanded.<br /><br /><strong>Kyle Brodziak – 6:</strong> A decent performance centring Moreau and Penner, contributing to the perfect PK unit, and dominating in the circle (10-5, 67%). One assist, +2.<br /><br /><strong>Tom Gilbert – 6:</strong> Some trouble in Oilers’ zone, including a misread on the lone Avs goal. Made up for it at the good end with 2 assists to pass Hemsky for the club lead with 36.<br /><br /><strong>Ales Hemsky – 5: </strong>Somehow generated zero points and posted a -1 in an 8-1 romp. The Oil didn’t need their leading scorer on this night, but they are going to need him soon. He did make at least three beautiful passes to set up scoring chances, but the pucks are not bouncing in for Ales and his linemates just now.<br /><br /><strong>Liam Reddox – 6:</strong> A fairly vanilla effort but nonetheless effective. Made a fine cross-seam pass to setup Pisani’s goal, and another to set up Souray’s shorthanded rocket which rang off the post and shook the cage. Also chipped in on the PK unit.<br /><br /><strong>Sam Gagner – 9:</strong> I’ll give him a bonus point for his first (official) career hat trick, after he narrowly missed an earlier hat trick on a controversial video review in Ottawa. He and his linemates Kotalik and Nilsson had the puck on a string, racking up 11 points on the night, albeit much of the damage was done after the Avs had seemingly given up. Scored on all three of his shots. Sam has gotten hot down the stretch for the second year in a row, posting an impressive 7-5-12, +8 in his last 8 GP. </span></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-40287455144118722742009-03-16T23:29:00.029-07:002009-06-14T12:12:48.203-06:00Another Day, Another Bettman Point<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkIlJvxcxZQZDj6JpC5Y4GI3wBjGRhnELe3PE8aL9rO4OLZYPTeSDxGMiw2GfSxZitbd9POc2IV3o__zxz7CzMeDztcqVMA0cOGY5B8XJFlCeItX-0Jlq47ia4Sicio1rFEJyAmj67dD7w/s1600-h/bettman1216.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313547831126504018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 250px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkIlJvxcxZQZDj6JpC5Y4GI3wBjGRhnELe3PE8aL9rO4OLZYPTeSDxGMiw2GfSxZitbd9POc2IV3o__zxz7CzMeDztcqVMA0cOGY5B8XJFlCeItX-0Jlq47ia4Sicio1rFEJyAmj67dD7w/s400/bettman1216.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Ooohhh!! A point! Big whoop! I know exactly how you feel, Gary.<br /><br />In fact there are too damn many of your points floating around these days. In the last week the Oilers have accrued 3 of them, in consecutive overtime losses to Montreal, Atlanta and Colorado. But that's just the tip of the iceberg; in those same 5 days Tuesday-Saturday, fully half -- 21 of 42 -- NHL games awarded the bogus, er bonus point that gets awarded jointly to any two teams which can't decide a game in regulation. It's the most cockamamie system imaginable.<br /><br />Of course it’s in a team’s best interest to win their games in regulation, but a club prone to playing a lot of close games – which is the vast majority of them – is better served by playing conservatively and going for overtime. A late game-deciding goal has far greater negative impact on the team allowing it than positive for the team scoring it. Assuming that Bettman points are split 50/50, which of course they are on a league-wide basis, every regulation tie is worth an average of 1.5 points. The law of averages dictates that the late GA means the loss of those 1.5 points, the late GF gains just 0.5. Might as well wait for overtime and go for it then, with your 1 point assured if you fail but full value for a victory given if you succeed.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">This system does nothing less than compromise the competitive integrity of the game.</span> If that sounds like a serious charge, it is. When two teams and their coaches reach an in-game situation where the score on the board serves both their interests for the time being, the system is broken. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Gary Bettman and his cronies have failed in their fiduciary capacity as stewards of the game, and the shambles that their gimmicks have made of the standings, the record books, and the very games being played in front of their paying customers cannot be undone.<br /><br />***</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Interesting to look at the cumulative standings of all NHL teams over the past ten seasons.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>Season * GP * W * L * T * OTL = Pts. Pct.<br />-----------------------------------------<br />1998-99 2214 945-945-324- 00 = 2214 .500<br /><em><br />* Introduction of Bettman Point Ver 1.0 *</em> </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong><br />1999-00 2296 1002-888-292-114 = 2425 .528<br />2000-01 2460 1078-956-304-122 = 2582 .525<br />2001-02 2460 1081-960-298-121 = 2581 .525<br />2002-03 2460 1073-918-314-155 = 2615 .532<br />2003-04 2460 1060-915-340-145 = 2605 .529<br /><br /><em>* Introduction of Bettman Point Ver 2.0 * </em></strong></span></div><em><div><br /></em></div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>2005-06 2460 1230-949- 0 -281 = 2741 .557<br />2006-07 2460 1230-949- 0 -281 = 2741 .557<br />2007-08 2460 1230-958- 0 -272 = 2732 .555<br />2008-09 2060 1030-792- 0 -238 = 2298 .558 </strong></span><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;">(2008-09 through Saturday, March 14)<br /></span><br />For perspective it begins with the last year of standings sanity, where all games were worth the same two points and teams by definition played .500 hockey against themselves. But in 1999 that changed with the introduction of the Bettman point, awarded to teams that lost games in overtime (or to teams that won them in OT, depending on your interpretation). The idea, or so it was explained at the time, was that teams were playing too conservatively in overtime, hanging on to their one point. A win for the winner, a tie for the loser will put an end to that. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><div><br />Overtime indeed became more wide-open; the percentage of games actually decided in OT doubled from 24.7% in 1997-98 to 49.7% in 2002-03. How much of that was due to the Bettman Point and how much to the 4-on-4 format that was introduced at the same time cannot be disentangled. The heavy cost, however, was that instead of hanging on in overtime for their one point, coaches started to do so in regulation, often for entire third periods at a time or even longer. And given the “new math” of Gary Bettman’s NHL, frequently both teams would be doing so simultaneously, cuz it was in both their interests. Coaches ain't stupid, and most of them passed Grade 6 arithmetic.<br /><br />After the lockout – another blight on the historical and statistical continuity of the sport, and the second such which happened on Gary Bettman’s watch – the powers-that-be went a step further and brought in the shootout, thus ensuring that the third point would now be awarded in every game that reached overtime, not just the half or so of them that resulted in an overtime goal. Thus the value of a regulation tie soared from 1 point pre-1983, to an average of 1.00 points during the 15 years that decided overtimes split the points 2-0 and undecided OTs 1-1, to almost 1.25 points during the first variation of the Bettman Point, all the way to 1.50 points in the shootout era.<br /><br />The results can be seen in the blocks above, which show the league winning percentage jumping in two discrete steps from its natural .500 (1917-99) to about .528 (1999-2004) to about .557 (2005-2009). Key word: “about”, as the median, once a reliable constant, now fluctuates from season to season, indeed from day to day. In past seasons I have tracked this median figure and observed a general upward slope; as the playoffs approach and the points become more dear, OT games become more common. Last year for example, I divided the season into 5 * 246-game segments:<br /><br /></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong># 3-pt. games * Segment % * YTD % * Mean Pts%</strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><strong>---------------------------------------------</strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>1. * * 39 * * * 15.9% * * * 15.9% * .5396</strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>2. * * 49 * * * 19.9% * * * 17.9% * .5447</strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>3. * * 59 * * * 23.9% * * * 19.9% * .5498</strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>4. * * 65 * * * 26.4% * * * 21.5% * .5539</strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>5. * * 60 * * * 24.4% * * * 22.1% * .5553</strong></span></div><div></div><div><br />While Bettman & Co. delivered on one part of their promise, no more tie results, in reality there are more tie <i>games</i> than ever.<br /><br /></span></div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>Season * % Ties * % Regulation Ties </strong></span><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>-----------------------------------<br />1917-18 * * 0 % * unknown </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>1927-28 * 16.8% * unknown<br />1937-38 * 18.8% * unknown </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong></strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong><br />1947-48 * 18.9% * 18.9%<br />1957-58 * 16.2% * 16.2%<br />1967-68 * 17.1% * 17.1%<br />1977-78 * 18.3% * 18.3%<br /></div></strong></span><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong><br />1987-88 * 11.5% * 17.4%<br />1997-98 * 15.5% * 20.5%<br />1998-99 * 14.6% * 20.1% </strong></span></div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><div><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>1999-00 * 12.7% * 22.6%<br />2000-01 * 12.4% * 22.3%<br />2001-02 * 12.1% * 22.0%<br />2002-03 * 12.8% * 25.4%<br />2003-04 * 13.8% * 25.6%<br /></strong></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong><br />2005-06 * ----- * 22.8%<br />2006-07 * ----- * 22.8%<br />2007-08 * ----- * 22.1%<br />2008-09 * ----- * 23.1%<br /><br /></strong></span>The above list takes a sample once per decade, and annually during the Bettman Point era. Pre-1942 I don’t have a reliable source of info on OT results, so don't have a handle on what percentage of games were tied after regulation. Following the elimination of regular season OT due to wartime travel restrictions right through 1983 all games were 60 minutes and a tie was a tie, splitting the (two) points. Roughly 18% of all games ended in ties. </span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />After 1983 the 5-minute overtime started to prune the number of tie results down, even as the number of games tied after 60 rose to about 20% during the dead puck era. But in 1999, the Bettman point was introduced and the number of regulation ties surged to new highs. It has remained high ever since, with the last 9 seasons yielding the 9 highest percentages of the entire sample, with 22-26% of games tied through 60 minutes every season.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />***<br /><br />That extended rant aside, the rules are the rules, and the teams must play within them. How do they apply to the Oilers?<br /><br />Recent results suggest that the Bettman Point (a.k.a. the “loser point”) has saved the Oilers from what could/should have been a major pratfall in the standings. 1-1-4 = 6 points is much less painful than 1-5, 2 points would be. Getting to overtime has saved our bacon.<br /><br />It’s what we have done when we get there that is disturbing. The play-for-OT strategy only really works if you can win at least your share of overtime sessions and/or shootouts. I would argue that it’s the “winner point” that is the true Bettman Point, the two points for regulation having been split in the traditional manner of a tie and now only the third, free lunch point that’s up for grabs and awarded to the winner of the mini-game. It’s here where the Oilers have been an epic fail, playing under 11 minutes of overtime the last two weeks and being outscored 4-0. Four goals against in half a period. Yuck.<br /><br />The Oilers have been outshot in each one of those overtimes and cumaltively by a 9-2 count, so clearly something is amiss. One can start with goaltending: 4 GA on 9 shots is just brutal. Makes one wonder if tired goalie syndrome is likely to manifest itself at the end of a long, tense night. This past week Roli posted a Sv% of .902 in regulation, but only .500 in OT over the three games which included two decidedly weak goals through the 5-hole. Ugh-ly. That said, a team which took two penalties in overtime and couldn't kill either one, allowed one clear breakaway in the dying seconds, and which failed to backcheck effectively (if at all) in their most recent defeat, can't just lay it all on the goaltender.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So the Oilers crawl up the standings, one painful point at a time. Across the league, teams earn on average something over 1.11 points per GP in the Second Bettman Point Era, an average which surged to 1.25 during this recent outbreak of OT affairs. So 1 point a night is the equivalent of hanging on by our fingernails but gradually sliding away. We gotta win some games.<br /></span></div></span></span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-85533445017291373252009-03-06T10:27:00.017-07:002009-03-06T14:59:18.086-07:00Senators 4, Oilers 2 -- player gradings<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Bj-17NYwJ2iGL56pkjqq-Z5bloYQ25iqWk2wm6USSyVudKSdvVC1lvNCtbYr1UG2MLi4poobx7NMB1g71lICCHddI6zkZQpuSfr44rKgBc3jukXNTLFKtIj41O5LfK5fP1q8hI0uTAWN/s1600-h/GrebeshkovGA.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310155005810503954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 329px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Bj-17NYwJ2iGL56pkjqq-Z5bloYQ25iqWk2wm6USSyVudKSdvVC1lvNCtbYr1UG2MLi4poobx7NMB1g71lICCHddI6zkZQpuSfr44rKgBc3jukXNTLFKtIj41O5LfK5fP1q8hI0uTAWN/s400/GrebeshkovGA.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">I have offered to assist in David Staples' latest project over at </span><a href="http://communities.canada.com/edmontonjournal/blogs/hockey/default.aspx"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Cult of Hockey</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, namely to grade the Oilers' players on a game-by-game basis. This is a collective effort, I'm just one member of a team of markers. </span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The scoring system is as follows: 10, perfect game; 9, extraordinary game; 8, great game; 7, good game; 6, above average game; 5, average game; 4, below average game; 3, bad game; 2, terrible game; 1, trade this player or send him to the minors.</span><br />***<br /></strong></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It's been my "pleasure" to grade both of the Ottawa games, two of the most disappointing losses of the season for Edmonton. Need I add, regulation losses. I left the building angry and disappointed after the Sens snapped their 12 game road losing streak at our expense in late December, and hoped the Oilers would be chomping at the bit for some revenge last night.<br /><br />Not so much. The Oil started going backwards right off the opening faceoff, and somehow conspired to send Spezza in alone for an unassisted breakaway goal just a dozen seconds in. That constituted a Senators franchise record for fastest goal, but didn't even match the Oilers' seasonal mark of fastest GA. That one opened the 10-goal floodgate to Buffalo, and while last night didn't disintegrate to that degree, the Oilers never got back in this one either.<br /><br />While Oilers are, in theory, a better team than Ottawa, there's no doubt which squad was the better on this night. These statistics don't lie:<br /><br />Final Score: 4-2 OTT<br />Shots on goal: 32-26 OTT<br />Shots at goal: 57-43 OTT<br />Faceoffs: 28-23 OTT<br />TakeAways: 13-7 OTT<br />GiveAways: 12-4 EDM<br /><br />Combining those last two, Ottawa's margin of 25-11 in the turnover battle speaks volumes about which team wanted the puck more, and which protected it better when they had it. Oilers played OK in the physical aspects of the game, matching Ottawa's 26 hits and blocking 15 shots. Ottawa's skill guys had a dominant game and our top guns came up short in a Power vs. Power match-up, while our 2-3-4 lines could only saw off against their underwhelming counterparts.<br />***<br /><br /><strong>Ladislav Smid - 7:</strong> Ladi was the top Oiler to my eye. He's evolving into a commanding presence on the blue, increasingly calm and confident with the puck, and a punishing hitter as Shean Donovan can attest. 4 hits, 3 blocked shots, and contributed to both Oiler goals by drawing the penalty that led to Gagner's PP goal, and then assisting on Sam's second late in the third to extend his point streak to three games (0-4-4). Kept the sheet clean at the defensive end, and was full marks for his +1.<br /><br /><strong>Shawn Horcoff - 3:</strong> Won the opening faceoff, and everything went downhill from there. Quickly. Didn't seem to have his hands going at all -- 6-10, 38% on the dot, both of his attempted shots missed the net, and his most creative pass whistled past Kotalik's stick a foot off the ice. Hard to fault him on Spezza's goal, but on Comrie's he 1) lost an offensive zone faceoff, 2) chased the puck for awhile, 3) took the (cheap) delayed penalty on Heatley which allowed Comrie to come off the bench for the 6v5, 4) didn't get the call when he touched the puck in the corner, and then 5) watched helplessly as his man Spezza fired a great feed that Comrie finished off. Later was on the receiving end of a huge collision between Stortini and Volchenkov and went off gingerly. The hard minutes are taking a toll.<br /><br /><strong>Andrew Cogliano - 6:</strong> Had his skating legs going better than I've seen from him in awhile. Got a few chances for his efforts but couldn't finish a one of them, including a golden opportunity for a game-changing 3-2 goal off a nice Penner feed that he pretty much whiffed. A rare excellent game on the dot (7-2, 78%).<br /><br /><strong>Patrick O'Sullivan - 5: </strong>Played OK on a line with Pouliot and (mostly) Gagner, holding his own in scoring chances (+6/-6) and shots (+10/-9). Unfortunately his first shift on the PK unit went badly, with O'Sullivan's giveaway on a poor clearing pass leading directly to Campoli's game-winner. I guess he fits right in with Oilers' PK.<br /><br /><strong>Ales Kotalik - 4:</strong> Didn't stink, but his line got owned, as he was on the ice for all three even-strength goals against. Showed a little bit of chemistry with the other Ales, had 2 of his line's 3 shots, and a couple of hits.<br /><br /><strong>J.F. Jacques - 6:</strong> I like what he's bringing, which last night was 9:49 of solid fourth-line grinding. 1 hit, 2 blocked shots, and Oilers outchanced the Sens 4-2 with JFJ on the ice.<br /><br /><strong>Steve Staios - 7:</strong> A strong effort. Oilers outshot Ottawa 15-8 with Staios on the ice, outchanced them 10-6, and outscored them 1-0. Attempted 4 shots and blocked 2. Led the charge into the scrum in the final minute when Campoli took liberties with Cogliano, which is worth a point in my book.<br /><br /><strong>Dustin Penner - 5:</strong> Not much working offensively just now (0 shots last night, 0 points in his last 8 games). Played a fairly physical game with 4 hits and lots of puck battles deep in Ottawa territory. His low-key personality doesn't translate well to the power game; even when he plays hard, he seems dispassionate.<br /><br /><strong>Fernando Pisani - 6:</strong> Gradually returning to form. 3 hits, 2 shots, 1 block, and even at evens. Was on the ice for Ottawa's PP goal.<br /><br /><strong>Dwayne Roloson - 5:</strong> Was not the reason Oilers lost the game. Unfortunately, we can't say he was the reason they won it either.<br /><br /><strong>Denis Grebeshkov - 3: </strong>A terrible game, right from the brutal backwards pass he made that hopped on Gilbert and sent Spezza in alone. Things just went from bad to worse as he wound up the night outshot +3/-13 and had the whopping -3 to prove it. Made a nice pass to send Gagner in alone on the powerplay, but it was nowhere near enough to atone for his sins. Still hurting?<br /><br /><strong>Jason Strudwick - 5:</strong> A decent effort. 2 hits, 1 shot, 1 block, 1 takeaway, 1 (brutal) giveaway. Not a difference-maker.<br /><br /><strong>Sheldon Souray - 6:</strong> Solid outing with 4 shots, 1 hit, 1 takeway, and Oilers were rarely in trouble with the SS-SS pairing out there. His shots have an effect even when they don't go in: one softened up an opponent, while another led to the uncontrolled rebound that Gagner turned into an extended video review.<br /><br /><strong>Zack Stortini - 5:</strong> What I love about Stortini is that he's just as willing to take a hit as give one. Many hitters like to take the long way to the puck so that they can arrive second and lay the body on the other guy, but Zack values possession of the puck first and foremost. One case in point occurred late in the first when Zack outraced Jason Smith to a loose puck in the corner, absorbed a very heavy hit while protecting the puck, then got back on his feet to crunch Jarkko Ruutu on the continuation, one of a team-leading 5 hits on the night for Zorg in a team-low 9:43 TOI. Did take a rare undisciplined penalty when suckered by Ruutu, although for the life of me why diving is unsportsmanlike and turtling isn't escapes me. I docked Zack one full point for this indiscretion.<br /><br /><strong>Kyle Brodziak - 7:</strong> A solid game centring the two Coke machines on the fourth unit, a group which outchanced Ottawa 5-3 when Brodziak was on. 2 shots, 1 hit, 2 takeaways, 3 blocks, and an impressive 6-2, 75% in the circle.<br /><br /><strong>Tom Gilbert - 3:</strong> A very tough night. Lined up with Grebeshkov in the shutdown role against Ottawa's first unit, and fared poorly indeed. Shots on goal were 14-2 Ottawa with Tom on the ice at evens, and his -3 was all-too-well-earned.<br /><br /><strong>Marc Pouliot - 6:</strong> A very quiet night on the stat sheet (other than an unflattering 0-4, 0% on the dot), but I thought he played a solid, heady game on the right side with Gagner and O'Sullivan.<br /><br /><strong>Ales Hemsky - 3:</strong> Didn't get the job done offensively or defensively. Was on the ice for all three even-strength goals against, and while he showed a few flashes offensively, the elite playmaker now has gone 8 games without an assist. Appeared to win a race to negate an icing only to have Heatley outbattle him and touch it up; 8 seconds after the subsequent faceoff, Heatley scored at the other end to seal the deal at 4-1.<br /><br /><strong>Sam Gagner - 6:</strong> Tasted blood on his first shift when rocked by Gator, and it may have spurred him into one of his more proactive games as a pro. Scored both goals and appeared to be robbed of a third when he made an incredible shot from an almost impossible angle. Led the team with 5 shots. On the downside, had 2 giveaways, went only 2-5, 29% in the circle (including the draw that led to Heatley's goal), and was sitting in the box for the game winner after taking a dumb penalty 200 feet from his net. He argued the call, but he did grab and rather dangerously spill Bell into the end boards on an over-aggressive forecheck. Every ref in the league will make that call, and it cost us.<br /><br /><strong>Craig MacTavish - 3:</strong> I watched a replay of Bruce Boudreau going ballistic on the Washington bench last night, and I thought to myself, where the heck is that on our team? Composure is important I guess, but so is passion, and too many nights our coach looks resigned to his fate. He didn't respond too well to the bad PvP match-up that Cory Clouston employed, didn't switch Grebs and Gilbert off that unit despite all the negative results, and didn't change up Horcoff for Gagner until far too late to have much effect. Sounded discouraged in the post-game scrum, and used the word "they" to describe the Oilers far too often for my liking. <br /></span></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-71072775317465212272009-03-05T13:18:00.029-07:002009-03-05T23:18:56.670-07:00Moving Patty O'Furniture<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCHB5tJQGwwCZeCfLo1wF8ozmOCstGz84p67x_Ype58ngnfTZkHKNZP3I4OhyiIF6dORY4qinzkVT3PLtzkmUB1Nzf4bYWtqhilz0TjSv1CBE0JZu3bS3X5Mto_8wf2_orBhBWte4yAlI7/s1600-h/osullivan2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309828091710610114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCHB5tJQGwwCZeCfLo1wF8ozmOCstGz84p67x_Ype58ngnfTZkHKNZP3I4OhyiIF6dORY4qinzkVT3PLtzkmUB1Nzf4bYWtqhilz0TjSv1CBE0JZu3bS3X5Mto_8wf2_orBhBWte4yAlI7/s400/osullivan2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdOaWj-eyz84gC2VVlQeN7ZU8CAWNGm2Cn6cyMFyRQW2papTTwSaLvtLMhQhluUcKxxLwEIm5R0bl3jRz1cvgw05A95CunLwrf8b5si5Rm6DTvC4uVYb-mqIKFQT6YjQK48CKgvf49Q-R/s1600-h/Kotalik.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309830307747698754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 327px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdOaWj-eyz84gC2VVlQeN7ZU8CAWNGm2Cn6cyMFyRQW2papTTwSaLvtLMhQhluUcKxxLwEIm5R0bl3jRz1cvgw05A95CunLwrf8b5si5Rm6DTvC4uVYb-mqIKFQT6YjQK48CKgvf49Q-R/s400/Kotalik.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>When men on the chessboard</em><br /><em>Get up and tell you where to go</em><br /><em>And you've just had some kind of mushroom</em><br /><em>And your mind is moving Lowe :)</em><br /><em>Go ask Ales</em><br /><em>I think he'll know</em><br /><em></em><br /></span><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">("White Rabbit", adapted with apologies to Jefferson Airplane)</span><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Double puns in the header and song lyric to honour two incoming Oilers, Patty O'Sullivan and Ales Kotalik. Whether we're arranging the proverbial deck chairs or placing the chess pieces for the decisive gambit remains to be seen. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Overall I'm happy with the two moves we did make, although still wishing we'd done something on the dot and behind the blueline as well. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Last summer's white knight has turned into a rabbit and disappeared down his hole, with 2 newcomers and one longer-term contract taking his place. With the same second-round draft pick coming and going and otherwise only a fifth given up, essentially it was a 2-for-1. Of course, unless logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead, we can't put 7 guys on the ice or dress a 13th forward ... somebody else has to come out to make room for both. And Coach MacT has to spot them in there wisely.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The incoming guys between them adequately cover most of Cole's skill set. Here's a head-to-head-to-head statistical comparison (2008-09 only) drawn from NHL.com., Behindthenet.com, and Timeonice.com. In the right column I have projected which of the newcomers better addresses the hole left by Cole's loss, where "both" means each guy covers off Cole, and "combined" means it will take the efforts of both together to fill the void. Of particular concern are the categories marked "neither".</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>Player * Cole **** AK *** POS ** </strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>---------------------------------------<br />Age ****** 30 **** 30 **** 24 ** AK<br />Cap hit 4.000 * 2.500 * 2.925 ** Combined<br />Expires* 2009 ** 2009 ** 2011 ** AK<br /><br />Height * 6'2 *** 6'1 *** 5'11 ** AK<br />Weight * 205 *** 227 **** 190 ** AK<br /><br />TOI/GP* 17:04 * 15:14 * 19:25 ** POS<br />ES TOI* 13:15 * 12:14 * 14:03 ** POS<br />PP TOI** 2:31 ** 2:58 ** 3:07 ** Both<br />SH TOI** 1:18 ** 0:52 ** 2:15 ** POS<br /><br />GP ***** 63 ***** 56 ***** 62 ** Both<br />G ****** 16 ***** 13 ***** 14 ** Both<br />A ****** 11 ***** 19 ***** 23 ** Both<br />Pts **** 27 ***** 32 ***** 37 ** Both<br />PPG ** 0.43 *** 0.57 *** 0.60 ** Both<br /><br />ESP **** 20 ***** 14 ***** 28 ** POS<br />PPP ***** 7 ***** 18 ****** 8 ** AK<br />SHP ***** 0 ****** 0 ****** 1 ** POS<br /><br />+- ***** -3 ***** -7 ***** +1 ** POS<br />PiM **** 63 ***** 28 ***** 16 ** Neither<br /><br />Shots * 145 **** 153 **** 200 ** Both<br />MsS **** 53 ***** 39 **** 100 ** POS!<br />Sh% * 11.0% *** 8.5% *** 7.0% ** Neither<br /><br />Hits ** 134 ***** 93 ***** 60 ** Combined<br />BkS **** 33 ***** 13 ***** 29 ** POS<br />GvA **** 34 ***** 21 ***** 59 ** POS!<br />TkA **** 41 ***** 17 ***** 31 ** Combined<br /><br />QualComp +0.01 * -0.04 * -0.03 * Neither<br />QualTeam +0.09 * -0.07 * -0.11 * Both<br />ESG/60 ** 0.70 ** 0.48 ** 0.65 * POS<br />ESP/60 ** 1.32 ** 1.16 ** 1.87 * POS<br />GF ON/60* 2.18 ** 2.23 ** 2.66 * Both<br />GA ON/60* 2.33 ** 2.42 ** 2.45 * Both<br /><br />Corsi/60* +0.8 ** -0.3 ** +9.9 * POS<br />Sv% ON ** .928 ** .912 ** .920 * Neither<br />Sh% ON ** 7.8% ** 7.7% ** 7.5% * Both<br />PDO # ** 1.006 ** .989 ** .995 * Neither<br /><br />PPG/60 ** 2.01 ** 1.26 ** 0.64 * Neither<br />PPP/60 ** 2.82 ** 4.19 ** 2.23 * AK<br />PP+/60 ** 5.24 ** 5.87 ** 4.14 * AK<br /><br />SH-/60 * -2.36 * (N/A) * -4.78 * Neither<br /><br />Pen.Drawn * 32 ***** 8 **** 27 * POS<br />Pen.Taken * 12 ***** 8 ***** 5 * Neither</strong> </span><br /><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So it's Kotalik who is the best match for age, experience, size, and contract situation. Surprisingly, both newcomers have outscored Cole this season, and with his big ticket and impending UFA status I'm frankly amazed we got as much for Cole as we did. Clearly Carolina was a target market, as they knew what they had in Erik and realized he was more important to their squad than Justin Williams. I'll be surprised if he isn't re-upped well in advance of June 30, whereas the likelihood of that happening here was vanishly small. It is this aspect which makes this trade a potential "win" from all three perspectives. Oddly, though, unless Carolina chooses not to sign Cole, it is anything but a salary dump for any of the three: Cole is an established big ticket player still in his prime and won't come cheap to Carolina; LA will pay Williams over $2 MM more than they would have O'Sullivan over the next two years; and Edmonton is on the hook for almost $5 MM in salary and $6 MM in cap hit over the next two years instead of having salary walk out the door on July 1. Such is the risk of this deal from an Edmonton perspective, who have added to their young talent pool of Gagner, Cogliano, Nilsson, Pouliot but on a much bigger ticket. Indeed, O'Sullivan's contract based on one year of solid boxcar numbers isn't that different from the one Joffrey Lupul signed here in the summer of '06. Such contracts can very easily become albatrosses. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><div><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Nobody has said anything about how O'Sullivan's contract was heavily top loaded -- reason?? -- and therefore his actual pay cheque will be well south of his cap hit during his time in Edmonton. Something which would be more attractive to a floor team vs. a ceiling team I would have thought. For all the talk about how Daryl Katz is prepared to eat salaries by burying guys in the minors and so forth, I have yet to see evidence that he's not a careful man with a buck. And to tell you the truth, I don't mind that.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">"The Other Ales" is an intriguing wild card as well. Here is a guy with talent, a Big shot, and a reputation for indifference. Suddenly he is traded for the first time in his career, and arrives on his new team to find himself inserted on the first line, with a buddy/budding star with a reputation as a playmaker on the opposite flank. Moreover, he's got 19 games to make an impression, in a playoff drive, and perhaps most importantly, in the dwindling days of an expiring contract. If he can't rise above indifference in that situation and actually <i>make</i> a difference, than that's probably all we need to know about that, and at least have the option of letting him walk. My guess however, is that rather than coming up small, Ales will be ten feet tall. If we</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> see his best and most inspired hockey it's a very possible outcome that Kotalik could be the Oilers' leading goal scorer the rest of the way. Even more importantly, that his arrival might spark Hemsky to find the missing jump in his step. It's the first Ales we need to lead us through the looking glass and into the post season.<br /><br />The double-edged sword of course is that if Kotalik puts together a Glencross-esque stretch drive, his cost goes up, and Oilers will have to pay him and hope like hell he doesn't lapse into old habits, or let him walk and risk the wrath of the faithful.<br /><br />Where Cole will be most difficult to replace would appear to be on the defensive side of the puck, especially physically. Erik is well above both new guys in Hits and Blocked Shots, has a fine Takeaway/Giveaway ratio, and some truly excellent numbers in limited ice time on the penalty kill. Then there's the matter of QualComp, where Erik has played both with and against the top half of the roster, whereas both Kotalik and O'Sullivan appear to have been getting the soft. We haven't got two places to hide them, so it'll be interesting to see how MacT copes, and how the newcomers themselves fare under the microscope.<br /><br />Starting tonight. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><i>*singing*</i> Let's go, Pat-i-o. You too, Ales2. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-78916719916762694232009-02-19T03:38:00.021-07:002009-02-19T12:00:34.125-07:00Post-Lubo goal scoring: a new paradigm? :)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNhYH8ZQmMqMSPKSu0gCwuM2boJoHXts7IARwDG9Tg_cvIATysafkFl8xx3srxS_wZ9k57ybWUHepzNSM4OI2celSdUmNf7UkT9q-r3uklhTB9jH7BZ3TESn3GU_Bt1b6vicXsIKp_r2Rt/s1600-h/stortini1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304468365323884114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 238px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNhYH8ZQmMqMSPKSu0gCwuM2boJoHXts7IARwDG9Tg_cvIATysafkFl8xx3srxS_wZ9k57ybWUHepzNSM4OI2celSdUmNf7UkT9q-r3uklhTB9jH7BZ3TESn3GU_Bt1b6vicXsIKp_r2Rt/s400/stortini1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div>Of all the numbers that seep into my life, from recreational mathematics to classical astronomy to baseball and hockey statistics, one of my favourite diversions is the field of small number statistics. One can find all sorts of interesting and extreme examples and draw all sorts of bizarre conclusions just for the fun of it. The key is not only sample size, but choosing exactly where to constrain that sample.<br /></div><br /><div>Here's an example that is entirely current and factually correct. There are even some grains of meaning to be found therein. </div><br /><div></div><div>The Oilers have had to change their game since the unfortunate loss of their slick puckmoving defencemen, first Lubomir Visnovsky followed all too quickly by Denis Grebeshkov. Suddenly a defence crew that provided four of the club's top eight scorers was a double amputee in the manner of the Black Knight. Just as suddenly, the onus fell much more squarely on the shoulders of the forwards to light the lamp.<br /></div><br /><div>The Oilers have played 7 games since Lubo went down, 6 of them on the road, and have posted an impressive 4-2-1 W-L-L record. The club has scored a creditable 20 goals in those games, even without counting a pair of ersatz shootout "goals". Here is the distribution of goal scorers over that span:<br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXCl-rnrTJLe8mdHXnV9PWuUu8oWEx6YtdHakSe-aUV3QaGlCbZrK9HEv5P0YUCwJl8vn4Kj1duoHHYJY-nNvfiWqK0-7TyWU2rzg5tLHLPCnJiHCD2WICqj6mEL2LAq0rI52xMZ89u119/s1600-h/stortini2.jpg"><strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304471076346188498" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 258px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXCl-rnrTJLe8mdHXnV9PWuUu8oWEx6YtdHakSe-aUV3QaGlCbZrK9HEv5P0YUCwJl8vn4Kj1duoHHYJY-nNvfiWqK0-7TyWU2rzg5tLHLPCnJiHCD2WICqj6mEL2LAq0rI52xMZ89u119/s320/stortini2.jpg" border="0" /></strong></a><strong>Stortini 3<br />Souray 3<br />Penner 3<br />Hemsky 2<br />Horcoff 2<br />Gagner 2<br />Cole 1<br />Pouliot 1<br />Cogliano 1<br />Brodziak 1<br />Reddox 1<br />Nilsson 0<br />Moreau 0<br />All D but SS 0</strong></span></div><br /><div>For the love of mike, there's Zack Stortini leading the Oilers in goal scoring. Who knew?</div><br /><div>I care more about how the lines are faring as a group, not as much about who is finishing the job. The forward lines have been pretty stable over that period of games, even as the defence has been shuffled. Here's the goal scoring line by line:<br /></div><br /><div>1. Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky - 7 goals</div><br /><div>2. Nilsson-Gagner-Cole - 3 goals</div><br /><div></div><div>3. Moreau-Cogliano-Pouliot - 2 goals<br /></div><br /><div>4. Reddox-Brodziak-Stortini - 5 goals</div><br /><div></div><div>So our so-called fourth line has equalled the offensive production of the second and third units combined over this two-week stretch. Moreover, the first of Penner's goals was scored when Dustin was demoted to the fourth line -- assisted by Zack Stortini, come to think of it -- suggesting that over this 4-2-1 stretch the fourth line has equalled the output of the First line, in a helluva lot less ice time. </div><br /><div></div><div>The underlying numbers -- shots and Corsi data -- don't paint such a rosy picture of the grinders' performance, but shots don't tell the whole tale either. Last year much was made of the "unsustainable" shooting percentages that the Crosstiniaks maintained. Yet this year I look at the same data and there is Zack Stortini leading all non-Schremps with a team Sh% of 12.0% when he's on the ice, and leading all the non-SMacs in individual Sh% at an astonishing 28.6%. 4 goals in 14 shots, but still. As a unit those guys plainly don't waste a lot of shots, they try to bull it to the front of the net and when they succeed in getting it there a one-foot shot has a better than average chance of going in. Or so the small number statistics suggest. :) </div><br /><div></div><div></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-63373783712356982322009-02-17T12:22:00.014-07:002009-02-17T14:31:20.418-07:00Oilers 3, Coyotes 1 -- player ratings<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgYsCNBJpZbm4-RA2WOwtp88caDSMxJX5a6v90xL0Uz0DHmxBuHc0hiFlsK7mk49m5D-5NyvZssSK9nkL3GkJ7Ez8NT9WBK1ZDzxyoa8GJsFZ8GZMgSdNzIB5S3NNEozS5FTTftlznEgH/s1600-h/souray.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303877334379020290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 397px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 375px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgYsCNBJpZbm4-RA2WOwtp88caDSMxJX5a6v90xL0Uz0DHmxBuHc0hiFlsK7mk49m5D-5NyvZssSK9nkL3GkJ7Ez8NT9WBK1ZDzxyoa8GJsFZ8GZMgSdNzIB5S3NNEozS5FTTftlznEgH/s400/souray.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">***<br />I have offered to assist in David Staples' latest project over at Cult of Hockey, namely to grade the Oilers' players on a game-by-game basis. This is a collective effort, I'm just one member of a team of markers.<br />The scoring system is as follows: 10, perfect game; 9, extraordinary game; 8, great game; 7, good game; 6, above average game; 5, average game; 4, below average game; 3, bad game; 2, terrible game; 1, trade this player or send him to the minors.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">*** </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Last night scared me as the sort of game the Oilers might be expected to win, and let get away on them. That has happened far too often this season, albeit mostly at home. In Arizona the Oil were up to the task, turning two powerplay goals and some staunch defending into a well-deserved 3-1 victory over the hungry Coyotes. The depleted defence, which had allowed 38+ shots in their previous three games, came up with a solid effort from top to bottom, holding the Desert Dogs to 29 shots including virtually nothing of the second shot variety. Dwayne Roloson, who somehow had delivered 5 standings points in those previous three games by stopping 113 of 118 shots, was again up to the task, stopping every shot but one.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Ladislav Smid - 6:</strong> I saw Ladi good in this one. He lugged the puck all night long and seems to quickly have found a chemistry with Gilbert, who can find Smid with an actual pass in his own zone rather than a suicide ring-around. Dennis had the scoring chances at +3/-8 during Ladi's 15 minutes of even-strength ice, but the shot clock was just at +6/-7 and I didn't notice the ice tilting the wrong way when the pair was out there. 1 shot, 1 hit, 2 blocks and nothing negative on the scoresheet. Took another tremendous wallop when clearing the puck from danger late in the third. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Shawn Horcoff - 8</strong>: Another quietly excellent game from our #1 centre. His 23:00 TOI led all forwards by over five minutes, finished the night 1-1-2, +1 with 2 shots, 2 takeaways, and 1 block. Split his game-high 26 face-offs 50/50, and actually won the draw very late in the second that ultimately resulted in Phoenix's lone goal. Was also on the ice for all three Oiler goals.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Robert Nilsson - 6: </strong>A strong game marred by a bad penalty and his inability to finish. Row-bert has his skating legs again, and his hands and head seem to be coming up to speed right along with them. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Andrew Cogliano - 5:</strong> Another nondescript game from the young speedster, who to my eye has his the doldrums the past little while. An uneventful 12:41 with no shots on goal, 2 misses, 1 hit, and an acceptable 4-4, 50% in the circle. Not a difference-maker either way.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Ethan Moreau - 4: </strong>A typical high-energy game with 6 attempted shots, 3 shots, 2 hits, and 2 more bonehead penalties 200 feet from Oilers' net. Particularly egregious was the first, an absolutely needless reach-in hook after turning the puck over on a 1-on-5 rush. The hook accomplished nothing, Moreau was headed for a change, but a hook it was, putting the Oilers 2 men down for a harrowing 85 seconds. Credit his teammates for killing it off, but Moreau's dumb play "should" have cost us a goal. Minutes later he was back in the box for a debatable running the goalie penalty, and this time the Coyotes struck for their only goal. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Steve Staios - 7: </strong>Has really stepped up into the big minutes role in the absence of Visnovsky and Grebeshkov. His 25:57 last night was second on either team, trailing only his partner Souray. Was on the ice for a team high 11 even-strength scopring chances, just 3 against, and also posted a respectable +3/-0 in just 1:25 of 2nd powerplay unit duty. 1 shot, 1 hit, and 2 blocked shots don't do numerical justice to a hard night in the trenches. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Erik Cole - 6: </strong>Played his best game in some time with 4 shots, a hit, 2 takeaways, and some some inspired penalty-killing. Also drew the penalty that resulted in the game-winning PPG. Nonetheless is mired in another extended scoring drought, just 1-1-2 in 14 games since his hat trick in Washington, and pointless in the last 9 outings. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Dustin Penner - 7</strong>: This guy is coming a lot closer to earning his $4 MM stipend in my view. Had another strong game with 3 shots, 2 hits, 1 block, led all forwards in scoring chances with +8/-3 at evens. Played a key role on both powerplay goals, bulling to the net to create a rebound for the first and then providing his usual heavy shade for Souray's point blast. I docked him a point for a bad penalty in the third, although I note it was actually in our zone while the other guys had the puck, which is more than we can say about Moreau's infractions. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Dwayne Roloson - 7: </strong>A solid night's work, marred only by a weak goal in the dying seconds of the second. Came up big in the first and third, especially with a big-time stop off of Lindstrom in the late going that helped seal the win. Had a strong night handling the puck and, it appeared, communicating with his defence. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Jason Strudwick - 7: </strong>His best game as an Oiler, at least as a blueliner. Oilers outchanced the Coyotes 6-4 with Struds on the ice at evens, 2-0 in a brief surprise stint on the powerplay, while holding Phoenix without a chance during 2:25 that Strudwick served on the PK unit. 1 shot on net, 4 hits, and 4 blocks testify to a hard night's work. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Sheldon Souray - 8:</strong> Had a great game, leading both teams with 26:35 including, it seemed, all the big minutes. With Horcoff, Staios, and Roli, killed the entire 85-second 3-on-5, much later played a 2:09 shift between Gilbert's penalty and Horcoff's empty netter. In between times, of course, he scored the game-winner on a trademark powerplay rocket that Tellqvist knew nothing about until he heard it hit the chain that connects the netting to the goalpost at a hundred miles an hour. Was physical from the game's first shift, where he roughed up Mueller, to the end where he twice showed Ed Jovanovski who was boss on this night. The only things that kept him from a 9 was a penalty, his inability to clear the puck under very heavy pressure late in the second (it would have been a great play if he had), and coming up empty in his three-for-a-dollar chances to hit the empty net. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Zack Stortini - 6: </strong>A solid night's work from Zorg in limited minutes, with 3 official hits in 5:32 and at least one crunching check that was missed by the scorers. Had a brief but successful bout with old rival Todd Fedoruk in which Zack held the upper fist, and to his credit, held it back. Crashed the net hard to create one decent scoring chance.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Theo Peckham - 6: </strong>Finished his own bout with my neighbour's buddy Steven Goertzen in a similar manner, in a position to hit a fallen opponent but not actually doing so. I liked how he went to bat for his goaltender there, and how fiercely he defended him generally (2 hits, 1 block), with a surprising +5/-4 on the scoring chance metric. Overcommitted a couple of times but was able to make the play in the prone position at least once. Lots of rough edges in this kid, and lots to like. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Kyle Brodziak - 6: </strong>Had a big night in the faceoff circle (11-5, 69%) including the critical last-minute 4v6 draw that ultimately led to Horcoff's empty netter. Strong game on the PK unit, but next to no offence.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Tom Gilbert - 7: </strong>A solid night with two assists, an unofficial helper on the third, and a great steal and pass that sent Nilsson in alone in the first. He like Smid was outchanced at evens (+4/-8) but I don't recall too many Grade A chances among those. Defied the law of physics by shooting a puck that was touching the boards directly over the glass for what could have been a killer penalty very late, but stepped out of the box to cause the turnover that led to the empty-netter.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Marc Pouliot - 5: </strong>Did he even play? Barely noticed the guy ... again. To be a little more fair, when he's on his game Poo tends to disappear out there, largely by doing a lot of little things right. But it's not a free smorg, he needs to bring a homemade dish to the pot luck. Whatever that is, it's heavily flavoured with vanilla. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Ales Hemsky - 7: </strong>Created at evens (+7/-3) and produced on the powerplay with a goal and a primary assist. Seems to be skating better after a poor stretch of games after the All-Star Break. Didn't particularly notice him on the defensive side of the puck, which is probably a good thing. Played just 16:04.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Liam Reddox - 6: </strong>Earned a bonus point for one third-period shift in which he nearly scored on a nice rush, then came back with a big shot block. 3 hits in just 7:50, and a solid effort thoughout. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Sam Gagner - 6: </strong>A solid night's work with 2 shots, 2 hits, 1 block, and 5-4, 56% on the dot. His line held their own at evens (+5/-3 scoring chances) and created on the PP (+5/-0) in just 2:12).</span> </div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-56090334194768201642009-02-13T17:27:00.010-07:002009-02-13T18:01:24.597-07:00Attention: Doogie2K<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1UcTPCoH6eLvxPcVUoOuZe9ryUvj5CQNYD0qGpPJo4CfKuvDFqK2qAqgoWYQygZN1dKx_WW2kGOFZhiAuK03HGqVxZOFza6qwGbNPzbYdeGJ9SYurVWOaYd-17B7rbgXpjtkP_cMOL2SP/s1600-h/ginoreda.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302449439592429602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 326px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1UcTPCoH6eLvxPcVUoOuZe9ryUvj5CQNYD0qGpPJo4CfKuvDFqK2qAqgoWYQygZN1dKx_WW2kGOFZhiAuK03HGqVxZOFza6qwGbNPzbYdeGJ9SYurVWOaYd-17B7rbgXpjtkP_cMOL2SP/s400/ginoreda.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Overheard on TSN's "That's Hockey": the eloquent and passionate Ray Ferraro's comment on the Plekanec "hit", and the seeming agreement from the vacuous host until the stunning <em>non sequitur</em> at the end which prompted me to actually transcribe and post this. I love PVRs, cuz when you can't believe your ears sometimes, you can go back and listen again and again until you <i>do</i> believe 'em. :D </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">***<br /><br />Gino Reda: ... Tomas Plekanec got a two game suspension for what he did to Denis Grebshkov when he brought him down with that slewfoot. You've <em>got </em>to crack down on that kind of stuff.<br /><br />Ray Ferraro: Two games is not enough for this play. This is a <em>malicious</em> play by Plekanec here. He's below the goal line, there's only one place that Grebeshkov is going to go. If Plekanenc wants to get in on the forecheck, go make body contact! He kicks his feet out, it's a dangerous play, this suspension should be more harsh in my opinion. Grebeshkov has a high ankle sprain, they're saying two weeks which would be very fortunate for the Oilers if he's back that quickly. That to me is a <em>malicious</em> play. Guy Carbonneau called it a hockey hit; do you think he would call it a hockey hit if that was Mike Komisarek going in like that? I don't think so.<br /><br />Gino: There's nothing hockey hit about a slewfoot.<br /><br />Ray: It's one of the game's most dirty plays.<br /><br />Gino: <strong><span style="font-size:130%;">It's a great exciting play</span></strong>, you just gotta make it a little safer.<br /><br />(Ferraro does a double take, keeps his cool and grins weirdly at the camera, Gino doesn't even notice anything out of the ordinary. Fade to commercial.)</span>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-90209092072902399802009-02-07T20:40:00.004-07:002009-02-07T23:27:37.121-07:00Red Wings 8, Oilers 3 -- player gradings<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijsVG4UfXdnMGficwh1UJEKQy9uoLTaGkgJ54pSe0gyX4gU8wwvm4sw4lSqFKPG8CKM4VEbYN9oMaQAt_Tt1hmC2w_88jGLb9pvMvakGNrqEfeVqQaNZ0giDFJFyblkX8E19fGYe0xPw2r/s1600-h/MacT2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300269809396706242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 210px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 210px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijsVG4UfXdnMGficwh1UJEKQy9uoLTaGkgJ54pSe0gyX4gU8wwvm4sw4lSqFKPG8CKM4VEbYN9oMaQAt_Tt1hmC2w_88jGLb9pvMvakGNrqEfeVqQaNZ0giDFJFyblkX8E19fGYe0xPw2r/s400/MacT2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></span></div><span style="font-size:130%;">No, Craig, they didn't get 10 this time. Then again, neither did you.<br /></span><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:85%;">***</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:85%;">I have offered to assist in David Staples' latest project over at Cult of Hockey, namely to grade the Oilers' players on a game-by-game basis. This is a collective effort, I'm just one member of a team of markers.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />The scoring system is as follows: 10, perfect game; 9, extraordinary game; 8, great game; 7, good game; 6, above average game; 5, average game; 4, below average game; 3, bad game; 2, terrible game; 1, trade this player or send him to the minors.<br />***</span> </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This was one of those games where I looked at the schedule and pretty much got out my pen to write in “Loss”. The schedule maker has once again done the Oilers no favours, with not just another three-in-four-days run, but the most compressed possible version of that: Thursday night - Saturday afternoon - Sunday afternoon. Detroit won their last to end a 5-game losing streak, and weren’t about to let their foot off the gas against a tired, hurting, and frankly inferior opponent.<br /><br />That said it would have been nice if the Oilers had showed up for the first period.<br /><br /><strong>Ladislav Smid – 3:</strong> Was floating around as if he was lost out there at times, which he probably was given Craig MacTavish had him playing with Jason Strudwick at times, Theo Peckham at times, and a couple of shifts on LW just for auld lang syne. I thought MacT had learned that lesson. Did record a rare assist but still ended up -2 on the day.<br /><br /><strong>Robert Nilsson – 5:</strong> Made one great rush to set up Pouliot’s goal that temporarily closed the gap to 6-3, otherwise didn’t get much done.<br /><br /><strong>Andrew Cogliano – 5: </strong>Wasn’t on the ice for any goals, either for or against. Not much of anything happened with Cogs out there in fact, just 1 scoring opportunity for the Oilers in 16 minutes work including 2:48 on the PP.<br /><br /><strong>Ethan Moreau – 6:</strong> Same as his linemate Cogs, scoreless hockey in almost a full period’s work (19:40), including a clean sheet in over 4:00 on the PK. 3 shots, 2 hits, and made Zetterberg pay for a late whack at Roli. One of the few Oilers who wanted to compete.<br /><br /><strong>Steve Staios – 5:</strong> No worries about Steve’s compete level. 4 blocked shots.<br /><br /><strong>Erik Cole – 4:</strong> Fought the puck all afternoon. Had a shift on LW early (with Pouliot and Stortini) and sure enough the puck wound up in our net. I thought MacT had learned that lesson early in the season.<br /><br /><strong>Dustin Penner – 5: </strong>A goal, 3 shots, and +6/-5 in even strength scoring chances. A decent effort.<br /><br /><strong>Dwayne Roloson – 2:</strong> I was shocked he got the start, given the tight schedule and the fact that tomorrow’s game against a divisional/playoff race rival seems both more winnable and more important. Roli had a terrible time, taking a selfish penalty in the first minute and then was unable to come up with the save that would kill it off. Never came up with any saves in fact. In last two starts against Detroit has been torched for 8 goals against in just 30 minutes work.<br /><br /><strong>Denis Grebeshkov – 6:</strong> The best of a bad lot of Oilers defencemen. Had a fine third period (+3) which negated some of the bad stuff that happened earlier (2 EV GA, 2 PP GA). Was soft on Datsyuk on the 5-0 goal, but also made some good defensive plays. +10/-8 in EV scoring chances, leading the team in both categories. High event game.<br /><br /><strong>Jeff Deslauriers – 5:</strong> Looked great compared to Roli, but at the end of the day allowed 3 goals on 19 shots over 40 minutes. That’s 4.50, .842 for those keeping score at home. Still, looked aggressive and confident, a nice bounce back from the debacle against Buffalo. Gives MacT something to think about for tomorrow.<br /><br /><strong>Jason Strudwick – 3:</strong> A tough afternoon. +1/-6 in EV scoring chances, -2 on the scoreboard, no hits or blocked shots. Seemed a step behind. Had the worst Corsi rating on the team at -10.<br /><br /><strong>Sheldon Souray – 5:</strong> A team-leading 22:28 including over 9 minutes on special teams, and was only on for Leino’s 8-3 goal in garbage time. 3 shots, 3 hits. Oilers only generated 1 chance on 3 powerplays though.<br /><br /><strong>Zack Stortini – 6: </strong>A rare high-event game, with 1-1-2, but on the ice for 3 goals against. Was only slightly culpable on Lebda’s goal when he let Lebda go to Pouliot and picked up the trailer, and truly unlucky when he came on on a line change while Samuelsson was already on his breakaway that made it 7-3. Co-led the team with 3 hits and impressed with a diving shot block followed by a second dive to clear the zone with the score 8-3. Doesn’t know the meaning of quit, which kind of stood out today.<br /><br /><strong>Theo Peckham – 2:</strong> Didn’t look like an NHL defenceman. Was badly burned on Cleary’s goal when he got sucked into chasing Zetterberg off the draw and abandoned his post for Cleary to walk into. Why Peckham was on for a defensive zone faceoff against Datsyuk and Zetterberg is anybody’s guess. -2 in just 7:25, now is -4 on the season in under 20 minutes work. If this is our most NHL-ready blueliner on the farm, uh oh.<br /><br /><strong>Kyle Brodziak – 4:</strong> Weird game. 3 shots, 3 blocks, but lost the draw on Cleary’s goal, lost his position on Hossa’s PP marker, and lost the puck on Datsyuk’s marker when he froze in the neutral zone allowing Zetterberg to pick his pocket. Just 7-10, 41% in the circle on a day the Oil got burned on faceoffs, with Detroit scoring soon after draws in the offensive zone, defensive zone, and centre ice.<br /><br /><strong>Tom Gilbert – 6: </strong>Decent performance, esp. given the bad back. +9/-5 by the scoring chance metric, best on the squad, although not nearly so successful on the PK. 3 hits.<br /><br /><strong>Marc Pouliot – 5:</strong> A high event game, despite playing 3 minutes less than any other forward. Played just 2:20 in the third but posted 1-1-2 and an even rating, as he was also on for 2 goals against in that brief time. Scored on his only shot, a very nice shelf job on Nilsson’s feed, but didn’t really stand out with skating or physical play. Was badly burned by Lebda on the 2-0 goal. His grip on an NHL job may be slipping.<br /><br /><strong>Ales Hemsky – 3: </strong>A third consecutive poor game for Ales, who was outchanced badly again, +3/-8 (+7/-24 this week). Got nothing going offensively including “his” powerplay which sputtered badly. Had a well deserved -2 for his efforts.<br /><br /><strong>Liam Reddox – 3:</strong> Got burned on both Detroit PP goals, allowing Rafalski to walk off the point for the opening goal and was also out of position for Hossa’s game winner. Finished the night with a terrible clearing pass that led to Leino’s 8-3 goal.<br /><br /><strong>Sam Gagner – 4:</strong> Led Oilers forwards in TOI for the second time this week but didn’t have anything to show for it with just 1 shot. Was Oilers’ best in the faceoff circle at a modest 9-8, 53%. Docked a full mark for his absolutely brutal giveaway to Samuelsson that led directly to the unassisted 7-3 goal. Oilers were making a line change at the time, and the cross-ice pass was a poor decision, poorly executed.<br /><br /><strong>Craig MacTavish – 1:</strong> Likely the coach’s worst game of the season. Questionable decisions abounded – Roloson starting, Peckham out for a D-zone draw against Datsyuk and Zetterberg, Smid on LW, Cole on LW. His team wasn’t ready to play, but given these examples all occurred in the first period, one could argue MacT wasn’t ready either.<br /></span></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648556457874572949.post-78664086496771947432009-02-04T15:16:00.011-07:002009-02-05T11:32:28.770-07:00Black Hawks 3, Oilers 1 -- player gradings<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdGOnrHGtBAdqOHfZX0wwm9zhcBC9rTGYlesaVsdHgx98UfKGKF-udU-BoM7aNuslOdMSuEQ-6FC7LuGEGJgN6Zp3dyzuQClTlmKW3hKrKAIG5PsRaS3uUIo1avBKI31OIxvshXfBIxI6/s1600-h/vis.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299073413448143186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 268px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdGOnrHGtBAdqOHfZX0wwm9zhcBC9rTGYlesaVsdHgx98UfKGKF-udU-BoM7aNuslOdMSuEQ-6FC7LuGEGJgN6Zp3dyzuQClTlmKW3hKrKAIG5PsRaS3uUIo1avBKI31OIxvshXfBIxI6/s400/vis.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"><strong>I have offered to assist in David Staples' latest project over at Cult of Hockey, namely to grade the Oilers' players on a game-by-game basis. This is a collective effort, I'm just one member of a team of markers.</strong></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"><strong>The scoring system is as follows: 10, perfect game; 9, extraordinary game; 8, great game; 7, good game; 6, above average game; 5, average game; 4, below average game; 3, bad game; 2, terrible game; 1, trade this player or send him to the minors.</strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>***</strong></span> </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I had the pleasure of attending the game last night, courtesy a good friend who was unable to go. Unfortunately I got a little lost trying to find his place way the heck and gone in Outer Riverbend (Beyond the ‘Bend?). Some genius has seen fit to name all the streets in the neighbourhood with the same letter, so that all the signs look the same (“Hxxxxx", except in smaller font). It seems I missed the intersection of Hell and Handbasket and proceeded down a logarithmic spiral to Howthehelldidiwinduphere Close.<br /><br />End result was we missed the first two or three minutes, including The goal. We arrived just in time to stand behind the Zamboni section to see the massive Zack Stortini hit on Brian Campbell and subsequent scrap with Matt Walker. But we only heard the roar for Moreau’s fluke goal just 10 seconds later as we wound our way up to Row 34. Very nice seats in the corner of the Oilers’ “offensive” zone – the Hawks had more shots (18) in their one period coming my way than the Oil did in two (7 +8).<br /><br />The Chicagos <a href="http://oildroppings.blogspot.com/2009/02/hawks-at-oilers-backstory_03.html">were who we thought they were</a>. They out skated and out skilled the Oilers for 50 minutes, by which time the scoreboard stood at 3-1 and the shot clock at 40-16. Hawks laid back a little in the last 10 as Oilers attempted to come on, but Cristobal Huet was more than up to the task. Certainly the outcome was only in doubt during the 18 minutes that the Oilers somehow held the lead against the torrent of play.<br /><br />In a typically astute comment Craig MacTavish mentioned the speed of the Hawks checkers, who were all over the Oilers, especially in our zone. In this way this game resembled the 4-0 loss in Detroit, the miraculous 3-2 win in San Jose, and indeed the early-season 3-0 whitewash in Chicago. The Hawks are capable of puck pressure of the same quality as the elite squads of the Western Conference. The Oilers are nowhere close.<br />***</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Let's turn our attention to individual player gradings, which as usual are cobbled together from sporadic observations and statistical bric-a-brac:<br /><br /><strong>Ladislav Smid – 5:</strong> Solid, unspectacular. I loved the way he challenged Adam Burish, then Colin Fraser, then Burish again in the aftermath of a Burish whack to Roli’s glove.<br /><br /><strong>Shawn Horcoff – 4:</strong> A very tough night for our #1 C, along with his entire unit of Hemsky, Nilsson, Grebeshkov and Visnovsky. (Especially Visnovsky … sigh) The unit collectively had 5 shots and 10 giveaways, having a great deal of difficulty getting the puck out of their own end, and some of that goes on the centre. Did post a credible 14-8, 64% in the circle, but that didn’t convert into actual puck possession (at least, not for long). Forced two of Cristobal Huet’s best saves in a night’s work that was tougher than 21 shots suggest. After being stoned on his breakaway, made a great recovery and centring pass for a second chance that Hemsky couldn’t convert. Was himself surprised by Gilbert’s great behind-the-back pass that slid harmlessly through his feet with the yawning four by six beckoning. Definitely is fighting the puck.<br /><br /><strong>Robert Nilsson – 3:</strong> Virtually invisible. His only official stats for the night were 13:58 TOI, 3 giveaways, and 1 lost faceoff. No anecdotes of his play that I remember, but this MacT quote applies to Row-bert as well as anybody: <i>“What we needed to do was pound the puck out. We kept trying to overhandle it and ended up turning it over at the contact point. It’s tough to exhibit intensity in the defensive zone and we spent a period of time there.</i> [Ed: that would be the <em>second</em> period. And most of the first.] <i>Offensively we were small and slow.”</i><br /><br /><strong>Andrew Cogliano – 4:</strong> Another guy who is fighting the puck. Didn’t have a single shot on net, and passed up a couple of shooting lanes for ill-advised passes. Went 0-8, 0% in the faceoff circle, which is a bad night even for Andrew. His linemate Marc Pouliot went 2-0, but MacT seems to prefer Cogliano for whatever reason, even choosing Andrew for a defensive RW zone draw which theoretically was Poo’s strong side. Predictably -– and I <i>did </i>predict it -- Cogs lost the draw.<br /><br /><strong>Ethan Moreau – 4:</strong> I saw the replay later of the incredibly flukey goal he scored, in which the puck bounced off the heads of two different Hawks and into the net. Like Horcoff and others, I’m probably giving him one higher grade than his game deserves just for his hustle, but as is usual with Ethan that “bull in a china shop” energy is counterproductive as often as not. Took a rockhead interference penalty at the far end that resulted in the Hawks’ only powerplay of the night, and ultimately the tying goal. Then was directly responsible -– what David Staples calls the Primary Error -- for the winner when his mistimed block turned into a fadeaway slide as Bolland stepped past him and let fire unimpeded from the slot. That’s the second time that’s happened to Moreau in a couple of weeks, and both times I thought his execution was technically incompetent in that he was sliding away from the direction the shooter was moving, thus taking himself completely out of the play. We used to teach this in Pee Wee (Tier 5).<br /><br /><strong>Ryan Potulny – 6:</strong> A passing grade. His line with Cole and Gagner generated a few dangerous opportunities. I liked his play away from the puck, esp. his change of pace. Potulny got himself wide open at the edge of the crease for a pass from Cole that came about a second and a half too late; another time got himself loose in the high slot for another pass that never came. Made a fine one-handed pass out to Gagner for a gold-plated opportunity early in the second. 2 shots, a team-leading 2 takeaways.<br /><br /><strong>Steve Staios – 4:</strong> Another guy awarded a point for effort, but that did not translate into results. 4 shots at net, but the best opportunity, set up by a fine Cogliano dangle, fluttered harmlessly high and wide before bellyflopping into the end boards with a barely-audible <i>splat</i>. Was unable to clear the crease on either of Chicago’s first two goals, one on the PP and one at even strength. On Bolland’s game winner he and his check formed a perfect screen of Roli even as his doppelganger Moreau took absolutely nothing of the shooter. 3 hits, all kinds of try, but even more come-up-short.<br /><br /><strong>Erik Cole – 6:</strong> 4 hits on a night Oilers outhit their opponent 27-17. Erik’s shot off the post was probably the best of several Oiler chances to open up a 2-0 lead, which would have been huge. Likes to carry the puck, isn’t always aware of his linemates, and gets ahead of the play at times, all of which point to why he wasn’t a good fit with Hemsky.<br /><br /><strong>Dustin Penner – 6:</strong> A fairly solid game from the big man in an unfamiliar position, playing with the slugs. Took awhile to adapt to the strictly N-S game his linemates prefer, in the early stages making a low-percentage cross-ice pass through the neutral zone when the dump-in was the play. In the zone though, all three like to simply bull the puck towards the net, which they did frequently and effectively. Got stronger as the night went on.<br /><br /><strong>Dwayne Roloson – 7:</strong> Let’s start with the negatives: didn’t cover enough net on two long screened shots, let in a flat-out weak third goal (the other Primary Error in my books), had trouble with rebound control, and suffered another puckhandling miscommunication with Gilbert that led to a minute of extended pressure. Fact is Roli was under pressure from the drop of the puck right through that third goal which sealed the deal midway in the third. He battled hard, and won more than his share of them with some fine stops. Was not the reason Oilers lost this game, <em>was </em>the reason the score stayed respectable. Could have stolen a point or even two if his counterpart wasn’t equally sharp.<br /><br /><strong>Denis Grebeshkov – 5:</strong> Let’s start with the positives this time: Grebs is a beautiful skater, especially laterally where his fluid movements summon images of Paul Coffey or Nicklas Lidstrom. Unfortunately last night required more backward skating than forward as his unit was constantly flummoxed in its own zone. Grebeshkov actually had the best Corsi number of the group, an embarrassing -13. Made one outstanding give-and-go rush on a third period PP that could easily have resulted in the tying goal.<br /><br /><strong>Sheldon Souray – 6:</strong> A solid night’s work with a few mistakes sprinkled in, pretty typical for this proactive defender. 7 attempted shots, 3 giveaways, a takeaway, a blocked shot, and 2 hits, including one beauty where he stepped up and rocked Bolland seconds after Wisniewski had leveled Gagner with a hard shot. A team doesn’t always need to be initiating the physical stuff, but it sure in heck better be ready to respond, and Souray picked his spot perfectly on this occasion.<br /><br /><strong>Zack Stortini – 7:</strong> Am tempted to give him even more, as he played his role almost to perfection. It is a limited role, however, where “perfect” is maybe only worth 8 points unless there’s bonus goals being scored. I know I’ll take grief for this, but to my eye Zorg was Oilers’ best skater (don’t read that literally) on this night. His line was by far the Oilers best, consistently jamming up the Hawks deep in their own zone and bringing their bodies with them. With the puck Zack is not so much a N-S player as a N player, always moving the biscuit ever deeper into opposing territory and to the end boards. Did make two fine centring passes, one of which resulted in a good shot by Penner. By Dennis’s scoring chance metric the Oilers had 6 chances to score when Zorg was on the ice, and 0 (zero) against. Played 10:45, least of the 18 skaters by a narrower margin than usual, and led the team with 5 hits, including one wallop of Campbell that led to a subsequent dust-up with Walker. Was on the receiving end of one big hit and had the discipline not to retaliate, but after a Chicago penalty on the continuation waded into the post-whistle scrum chin-first. Said chin was wagging you may be sure, giving the Hawks every opportunity to take a second minor without any fear of a bad one on the Oil. If only Ethan Moreau could learn stuff like this.<br /><br /><strong>Kyle Brodziak – 6:</strong> Unlucky to post a -1 on a night when the scoring chances with Kyle on the ice were 7 for and 1 against. His line had the only three positive Corsi numbers on the entire team, with Brodziak and Stortini leading the way at +4. Took the puck to the net with 6 attempted shots. Was also on the ice for Chicago’s PP goal, so the results did not match the performance for the most part.<br /><br /><strong>Lubomir Visnovsky – 4:</strong> Oilers needed his slick puck movement on this night, but really had trouble getting going, and when he did was still likely to make the dreaded drop pass to nobody. Lost a few battles along the boards, including the unfortunate contact with Bolland that will put Lubo on the shelf for a few weeks. The Oilers will be very hard-pressed to replace a guy who has had many more good nights than bad.<br /><br /><strong>Tom Gilbert – 5:</strong> I thought he was getting owned physically for a substantial part of the game, though he did bring some nice skill plays and was on the ice for a team high 10 scoring chances for, just 7 against. Showed his lack of experience when he pulled up and didn’t take the net off on a second-period tumble into his own crease where a whistle would have been both helpful and unpenalized.<br /><br /><strong>Marc Pouliot – 4:</strong> Has those moments where the talent shines through, like the second period manoeuvre where he turned sharply and against the flow into open ice to shake some heavy forechecking pressure, then air-mailed a perfect breakout pass onto Cogliano’s tape. Effortless, first-round talent. But didn’t show it often enough on this, as many nights. In just 12:45 co-led the team with 3 GV, with none of his three attempted shots actually getting through to the goalies. Oilers were outchanced 5-2 and outshot 9-2 with Poo on the ice.<br /><br /><strong>Ales Hemsky – 4:</strong> Probably a generous marking giving respect for the nights Ales has led the way in a positive sense. On this night his arrows were all pointing in the wrong direction, as he had a team worst +3/-12 scoring chances and dreadful Corsi of -21 (tied with Horcoff in both cases). Was on the ice and partly responsible for Havlat’s backbreaking 3-1 goal. Ales did dangle effectively at times, threading a great pass through to Horcoff for one breakaway and then somehow disappearing behind a sleep-walking Hawks unit for another. Not often one sees the trailing team get a breakaway with the goalie on the bench. Alas, Ales missed the net, and generally missed the mark all night. Getting cranked by Keith and especially Byfuglien early in the game did not help.<br /><br /><strong>Sam Gagner – 6:</strong> A decent first game back, in which his line didn’t carry the play but generated their share of chances (+6/-3 with Gags on the ice). Had one pointblank shot but couldn’t solve Huet, and made a couple of slick passes for others. Decent in the circle at 5-2, 71%. Surprisingly, led all Oiler forwards in TOI with 19:45.</span></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01190620732067746768noreply@blogger.com8