Where Do We Go From Here?
On Frozen Blog —
If it is Morning in America, it is also mourning in HockeyWashington. Consider:
The Capitals, a chic selection for Stanley Cup contender status a month ago, are currently 18th in the league's standings, trailing the likes of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Vancouver Canucks, and the Chicago Blackhawks (on their second coach in the new season). Capitals' fans know from just a season ago that November can be a month of big-time turnarounds, but this season wasn't expected to require one.
To find Alexander Ovechkin in the NHL's scroll of scoring leaders, one must navigate through 12 pages, to the 232nd ranking, to land upon the ...
The Kitchen Sink
Five Hole Fanatics —
... Kipper has now allowed 10 goals in two games against the likes of Nashville and Phoenix. Probably 40% of the goals scored on him over that span were stoppable pucks. He is now 23rd in the league in terms of SV% and his GAA is an ugly 3.14. You can argue that he's probably tired and you can argue that the team in front of him hasn't been great so far. At some point, though, the buck has to stop with the $8.5M goalie. ...
Kipper Save Percentage
Five Hole Fanatics —
... raw SV% is only a small part of the picture. What I haven't included here is shot totals, shot quality and strength of opposition. Still, what the chart suggests to me is we're hovering right around Kipper's ceiling since the turn-around (his SV% has been a respectable .910 from game 21 on). The good news is that that isn't a terrible number. The bad news is it isn't a particularly great number either - a .910 SV% is good for about 20th in the league currently. Peers in that range include: Rinne, Johnson, Sanford, Giguere and Halak. Interestingly, Curtis ...
Gameday - Flames vs. Sabres
Five Hole Fanatics —
... . As such, the Sabres are the inferior club at 5on5 so far (-8 vs +1), despite playing in front of the superior goaltender. The thing that brings the two club's GD closer together is actually ...
Gameday - Flames in 'Sota
Five Hole Fanatics —
... That's true again this season. Backstrom is a league leader in SV% and Minnesota has the best PK in the NHL. They've also taken the least amount of penalties, meaning a league low 25 PPG against. The Flames, owners of the 3rd best PK, have given up 36 PPG as a comparison. ...
There's Worse Things Than Sidney With The Cup
Capitals Kremlin —
Admist the steroid allegations, KHL negotiations and minor league championship domination, a little thing called the Stanley Cup Finals has been going on. Just thought I'd remind you, because in a few hours, hated rival Sidney Crosby might be putting his grubby penguin flippers on the holy hockey chalise.
You can stop shuddering now.
But as the saying goes, when life gives you lemons, grab some liqour and make a damn fine drink to go with it. I'm not sure who said it, maybe Brooks Laich or David Steckel, but it doesn't matter. The point is there could be some upside to Sidney Crosby and his flightless friends lifting the Stanley Cup.
Sure, saying that is like putting ...
