Daniel Moroz, or The Frost King as some of us know him, will for now on be providing a weekly segment called “Wednesday Webhits” from now until the end of time. Trust me. He’s signed a contract in blood. He can’t get out of it.
This weekly post will deliver powerfully interesting links that will make you laugh, cry and maybe even kiss that dumb brain goodbye.
This week learn about ties, an awesomely great fighter, why EA Sports hates the Capitals and how Jose Theodore’s current flashy statistics might be a little misleading… Take it away Daniel!
NHL Teams are Learning How to Love the Tie
http://www.behindthenethockey.com/2009/12/21/1210151/wall-street-journal-column-nhl
“Whether any team will admit it, they’ve started to take advantage of the extra points available to them if they play for the tie.”
Given the way the rules are set up regarding points, a cost-benefit analysis makes it pretty clear that it’s better to play it safe an assure yourself of at least one point than to take any risks late in a tie game.
I like the idea to change things to: 3 points for a win in regulation, 2 in OT, and 1 for an OTL. 0 points for losing in regulation.
Rick Rypien
http://www.behindthenethockey.com/2009/12/11/1192502/rick-rypien
If you’re going to fight, you might as well be good at it. You know; using both hands and throwing combinations, actually defending yourself, etc. I think Anderson Silva could learn to skate a little bit, and boy would he make a good enforcer.
A Summary Of Goaltending Metrics
http://hockproject.blogspot.com/2009/12/summary-of-goaltending-metrics.html
(1) Wins are largely useless for judging goalies, since they are a team stat.
(2) Goals Against Average doesn’t consider how many shots a goalie faced.
(3) Save Percentage doesn’t consider the difficulty of the shots that a goalie faced.
“And I think that defines the mantra that hockey statisticians strive by,
“It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being better than before.””
I’ll drink to that!
Penalty Kill Impact on Goalies
http://www.puckprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=396
“A great goalie playing shorthanded is much more likely to give up a goal than a mediocre goalie playing with five skaters on each side.”
Jose Theodore is near the top of the list when it comes to facing the fewest percentage of his shots on the penalty kill. The Caps have been very good at avoiding shots while down 4-on-3 or 5-on-3. I guess that means Theodore hasn’t even been quite as “good” as his straight save percentage has looked..
Eastern Conference Finals Simulation: Keys to a Pittsburgh Penguins-Washington Capitals Matchup
http://www.puckprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=393
If the Caps and the Pens met in the playoffs with the teams largely as-is, Pittsburgh would be predicted to win about 55% of the time.
“Both the Penguins and Capitals are known for their superstar-driven offenses, puck-moving defensemen and entertaining style. The Penguins are better at even-strength while the Capitals are better with the man advantage. The big difference will be in nets, where Fleury should be able to edge out Varlamov as he did last spring.”