Who Scores Alone?

Links (2)

Who Made Who
Published 8/27/2007 by JP at Japers' Rink
Question: How do you stop Daniel Sedin from scoring goals? Answer: Deny his brother the puck. Question: How do you stop Alex Ovechkin from scoring goals? Answer: You can't. Or at least so posits The Forechecker, who has compiled two lists , one which shows a goal scorer's "reliance on a particular teammate for the 1st assist on their goals" and the other which details who relied the least on a specific teammate setting him up. The theory that follows, then, is that in order to shut down the scorers on the first list, perhaps it's best to stifle their set-up men, while the guys on the second list "seem to be more adaptable in creating shots for themselves and deserve the full attention of an opposing defense." The results are interesting, especially the Caps-related findings. For example, Dainius Zubrus was the sixth-most reliant goal scorer, with AO getting the primary assist on 11 of his 24 goals (45.8%). We ...

1-22-08: Canadiens 8, Bruins 2
Published 1/23/2008 by E at A Theory of Ice
... whether Ryder ‘deserves’ to go back to a theoretical top line, because he’s still slumping. But then again, so are Higgins and Koivu. Line combinations, however, shouldn’t be determined by status or worthiness (that’s what ice time is for)- they should be determined by who is most effective with whom. And from that perspective, it only makes sense to keep Ryder with Koivu. There is, in fact, some truth to the old stereotype that Koivu is a playmaker and Ryder is a finisher. Check out this post from On the Forecheck about scoring dependency (based on last year’s stats). Ryder ...