Monthly Archive for December, 2007Page 4 of 4

Adjusted NHL Points Race (Minus Second Assists)

Published
by
Brian List
on December 4, 2007
in Stats
. 4 Comments

UPDATE
Here’s some links I’ve found that discuss the topic of second assists more:

Jamie Fitzpatrick discusses the give-and-go and line change scenarios that make the 2nd assist weak.

Interesting article from the Denver Post. Apparently Chris Snow, Wild director of hockey operations, has started to individually track first assists and second assists.

You haven’t heard the last from me on this one. I’ll try to periodically track the NHL scoring race and show the adjusted leaders minus their second assists.

-Brian

I haven’t posted in like 2 years, but I figured I’d post this because I found it a bit interesting. Matt’s probably wondering a) how did Brian remember his WordPress blogger login info? (it was saved on my computer with Firefox password saving) and/or b) is Brian really still registered as a contributor to this site? (apparently I am, for now at least…). But that’s part of the fun.

Thought it’d be interesting to see what the points race would look like if you subtracted out 2nd assists (through today’s games). I just took the top five in points and subtracted out of their 2nd assists:

Kovalchuk 34 adj pts
Lecavalier 31 adj pts
Crosby 31 adj pts
Zetterberg 28 adj pts
Iginla 27 adj pts

With 2nd assists included however,

Lecavalier 42 pts
Kovalchuk 37 pts
Zetterberg 37 pts
Crosby 37 pts
Iginla 36 pts

Pretty much what I expected - obviously it’s going to hurt the playmakers in some way and favor the goal scorers. I just wanted to see who had the most primary assists among these players and if there was anyone who had a disproportionate number of secondary assists.

Kovalchuk is the leading goal scorer (and only has 3 second assists), so he leads in that adjusted format. Lecavalier has 11 second assists of his 24 assists, while Crosby only has 6 second assists of his 23 assists. Zetterberg has 9 second assists of 19 assists. Of the players listed, Henrik had the only second assist on an empty net goal! I was expecting a few more of those than just that one for all these players. Finally, Iginla has 9 second assists of his 21 assists.

Note: Daniel Alfredsson left off due to time constraints (He currently has 37 points).

GameDay: @ Montreal (13-9-4, 30 Pts) 7:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on December 4, 2007
in 2007-2008, Canadiens and GameDay
. 0 Comments

Update (5:38 PM): The Canadian Press has nice piece on Mike Babcock and his return to Montreal (specifically, McGill University) here. - Matt

Update (5:25 PM): Ansar Khan agrees with Helene St. James and says that the Eurotwins will be split, as they were to begin the last road game, in Columbus. Tonight, I expect a similar result: they ended up back on the same line before long. - Matt

Update (2:55 PM): Whoops, I forgot that the game is on Versus tonight, not FSN. Evidently, they will not air any of the pre-game ceremony. Typical. - Matt

Update (2:21 PM): Bruce MacLeod reports that Mike Babcock has not confirmed he’s splitting up the top line. Apparently, he doesn’t know yet what line he’s starting. I don’t know if I buy that, but it seems certain Babcock is thinking seriously of having the Eurotwins center their own lines, at least to start. Whether or not he’ll actually follow through is the question. - Matt

Update (1:55 PM): Helene St. James confirms that Kirk Maltby (back/”upper body”) will not play tonight. He did not skate today, after feeling sore this morning.

St. James also suggests that the lines will be different tonight:

Franzen-Zetterberg-Samuelsson
Filpulla-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Cleary-Hudler-Drake
Kopecky-Ellis-Downey

We’ll see how long those last. My guess? Not long.  Pavel, Hank, and Homer will be back together before you know it. - Matt

Update (9:50 AM): The Montreal Gazette has a Gordie Howe-related story you may have never heard. And be sure to check out the companion piece over at Habs Inside/Out - Matt

Update (7:15 AM): HockeyTownTodd has his preview posted. - Matt

Tonight is the only game between these two Original Six teams this season. The teams met once last year as well, with the Wings winning 2-0 on January 15th.

The Canadiens posted a 7-7-0 record in November, but are 2-4-1 over their last seven. They have not one two or more games in a row since they beat the Sabres and Bruins on the 5th and 8th of last month, and their longest winning-streak of the season was four games back in October. Until recently, they’d also not lost more than one in a row, but they dropped two to Buffalo in a back-to-back series on the 23rd and 24th, beat the Maple Leafs three nights later, and proceeded to lose their next two, including a 5-4 shootout loss to Nashville on Saturday. The Habs blew a three-goal lead in the final eight minutes of the game. An interesting item from the boxscore: Greg De Vries and David Legwand were called for cross-checking and hooking, respectively, at 5:00 of overtime. At that point, why bother even calling the penalties?

Alexei Kovalev is the team leader in goals and points with 12 and 23. Saku Koivu leads in assists with 15.

It doesn’t look like there are any injuries to the Canadien skaters, but forward Michael Ryder will sit. It’s a wakeup call for the former 30-goal scorer.

Cristobal Huet, who played the entire game against Nashville, is out indefinitely with a groin injury. 20-year-old Carey Price will start instead tonight.

For the Montreal perspective, check out A Theory of Ice, Habs Blog, Les Glorieux, and Habs Inside/Out.

The Wings are 5-1-1 in their last seven and have won three in a row. Their most recent game was an underwhelming performance against the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday. After tonight, they return home to play Minnesota on Friday and Carolina on Sunday.

The team leader among forwards not named Zetterberg, Datsyuk, or Holmstrom is Dan Cleary, who has nine goals and seven assists. Jiri Hudler has six goals and ten assists. The top-scoring defensemen are, predictably, Nick Lidstrom (3G, 20A) and Brian Rafalski (3G, 19A).

Kris Draper (knee) remains out, but Kirk Maltby (”upper body”) practiced yesterday and may return. If not, Dallas Drake will fill in on the third line with Dan Cleary and Johan Franzen, while Matt Ellis will center the fourth line with Tomas Kopecky and Aaron Downey.

Dominik Hasek will get his first start in four games tonight.

Be sure to stop by Snapshots, Gorilla Crouch, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Gloveside, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, Red Wings Nation, and Winging It In Motown today.

Tonight is a big game for those of us who love the history of the sport. The Habs will put on a ceremony an hour before the puck drop that will commemorate the rivalry between the two teams with guests including Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, Alex Delvecchio, Jean Beliveau, and others. Those of us with FSN Detroit can expect to see at least some of that beginning at 7:00.

I expect a good game from both teams. The Habs have hit a rough patch, but they should have plenty of motivation to get back on track tonight. The Wings, on the other hand, have a chance for a win against an Original Six team not from Chicago and should be primed to play well.

Bloggers on HNIC

Published
by
Matt Saler
on December 2, 2007
in Hockey Bloggers and Video
. 0 Comments

Today’s must see video (keep an eye out for IwoCPO near the start of the bloggers segment):

It’s always good to see bloggers get such good press. Hopefully having Ron MacLean and Elliotte Friedman talk about blogging will make some people sit up and take notice.

I’m sorry for not posting on the game, but I went to Holland to watch it and spent the night there due to the weather. I didn’t get back until this evening and have to do some school-related things.

GameDay: vs. Phoenix (11-12-0, 22 Pts) 7:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on December 1, 2007
in 2007-2008, Coyotes and GameDay
. 3 Comments

Tonight is the second of four games between these two teams this season. The Wings won the first meeting, 5-2, on October 20th.  They’ll play once more this month on the 29th and then finish the season series on January 30th.

After a 4-6-0 run in October, the Coyotes put up a 7-6-0 record in November. They managed to put together four consecutive wins from the 17th to the 24th with victories over LA (twice), Anaheim, and Toronto, but that streak ended on the 28th with a loss to the Wild. They are coming off a big 6-1 loss to Chicago last night, their second in a row. It was a game in which a little known Blackhawk defenseman, Dustin Byfuglien, scored a natural hat trick in just under five and a half minutes in the first period. The Coyotes were without Ed Jovanovski, who was suspended one game after hitting Marian Gaborik in the head Wednesday night.

Radim Vrbata leads the team in goals with nine, while captain Shane Doan leads in assists and points with 13 and 18.

It looks like the Coyotes have no injuries, so the only lineup change should be the return of Jovanovski.

Ilya Bryzgalov started last night, but gave up 5 goals on 7 shots and was yanked after Byfuglien completed his hat trick. Mikael Tellqvist stepped in and made nineteen saves. That’s unfortunate for the Wings, who likely would have seen Tellqvist tonight had Bryzgalov played the whole game. It now looks like they’ll face the #1 guy rather than the backup.

For the Coyotes side of things, be sure to check out One Fan’s Perspective,  Coyote Corner, Hip Shot Blog, and True Coyote Love.

The Wings finished October 10-2-1, but followed that up with a 7-4-1 November. They have won their last two, including a 4-2 decision over Tampa Bay Wednesday night. It was one of their more dominating performances of the season, as the Lightning underwhelmed and did not put up much of a fight despite having one of the more exciting lineups in the game. Tonight is the last in a three-game home stand for the Wings, who’ll travel to Montreal to face the Habs on Tuesday.

Since the offensive leaders on the team haven’t changed in weeks, I’ll point out the guys on the opposite end of the spectrum. Aaron Downey has zero points in 13 (but still manages to be valuable to the team), while Dallas Drake has a single assist in 18 games. Johan Franzen has managed a whopping 2 points (a goal and an assist) through 15 games.

Kirk Maltby (back) and Kris Draper (left knee sprain) are out tonight, while Matt Ellis (headaches) will return. He’ll center the fourth line with Tomas Kopecky and Aaron Downey, though that line will no doubt be split up at times.

Chris Osgood will get his fourth consecutive start tonight. Dominik Hasek will start in Montreal.

For more of the Wings perspective, see Snapshots, Gorilla Crouch, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Gloveside, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, and Winging It In Motown. Todd already has his preview up.

The Wings played a strong game Wednesday night and need to carry that over tonight. They cannot take the Coyotes lightly, especially if Bryzgalov is playing. The Coyotes played what was no doubt a tiring game last night in Chicago, so as long as the Wings come out flying, they should be able to carry the play. If they take a win for granted, however, they’ll be in trouble.