Heroes of Hockeytown

More blathering: I also happen to find the use of being in X place in the league to be a dubious manipulation of stats as well, due to the small increments that can separate large swaths of standings. For example, what separates Detroit, 20th in league GAA, from Florida 10th in league GAA? Six goals against.

In any event, it's best taken on a case by case basis. There's something to be said for having a poor GAA, but most teams that feature poor GAA do not have the same line up or circumstances (Stanley Cup hangover) that the Red Wings do. So I'm with you on this one, but those are the numbers. Incidentally, since you mentioned it last time: There were two Cup runners up that were also not in the top 10 GAA to make it to the Finals in the last decade. Carolina owns the dubious distincton of being featured again here, coincidentally 19th in the league again. The other was Edmonton, 12th.

I don't know where you got your figures, but you can find team GAA on NHL.com, dating back to 97-98. EDIT: By the power of the Internet I can just link this to you. Tampa Bay is the closest to falling out of the top ten outside of Carolina, and is listed 11th, but is actually tied with Montreal for 10th. Using those figures there is a strong correlation to being in the top-third GAA and winning the Stanley Cup. I tend not to interpret all that much from those kind of stats, and was just stating a fact.

The Carolina Hurricanes are an exception to the rule. For the last decade, at least, every other championship team has finished at least top 10 in GAA.

Even though the Wings have tended to struggle against lightweights, it's the Islanders. No excuses, should win by four or five goals.

Well that was pretty much a once in a lifetime event. I'm pretty sure at least 45 of the Sharks wins this season have been by tying it late and winning in OT or SO.

Magnified by the home crowd? I'm reaching, because I don't see the need to draw any conclusion whatsoever. Maybe the Wings just struggle more than any other team when they don't have the match ups. Maybe it's nothing, and that's just the way the numbers fall. It's an interesting stat, but it doesn't say anything.

The Sharks tying a game late and getting a charity point in OT?! Now I've seen everything!

Teams getting up to play when the champs come to visit? I don't know what else to tell you, unless you're putting forth some kind of grand NHL conspiracy, which is, of course, absurd.

Doesn't seem that off to me. Home team gets the match ups it likes, there should be an advantage.

Although it didn't matter in the long run, I've still got no compelling reason to forgive him for wrecking Jiri's knee.

From the replays they showed during the game it seemed clear to me it they got the assists right.

Uhhh, not to burst your bubble, but in his very limited playing time Cujo's stats have been even more brutal than Ozzie's. He's stuck on the Leafs as well, so no playoffs for him. That was nearly a full four seasons ago, plus lockout. Oz was dropped in favor of Hasek, not Joseph. By the time Hasek was gone (which is to say, the end of that season) Osgood was still under contract with the Islanders.

Does it? I think that's a valid line of inquiry, and the same goes for Pavel's production remaining the same when separated from Hank.

This will be the first season since the lockout where there is an appreciable difference in scoring between Hank and Pavel that can't be accounted for by missed games. He certainly didn't lose his touch overnight, but he's definitely been a bit off this year. Whether that can be attributed to his back or if it's just been an off year for him, I can't say. If it's the former and it persists then we've got a problem on our hands, but otherwise, given their past totals, it'd be folly to use just this one year to make judgments about them.

There is no roster limit in the playoffs, real or salary cap related. The Wings can carry as many players as they want.

So with the exception of the ugly stuff, eh? I'll give them that the defense was good, and was good last night. Even with all the nonsense giveaways and failed clears, they limited scoring opportunities, and Conklin played fine. But it was pretty much a snoozer.

That was about as ugly a win as you can get. I was just about to call Maltby in double overtime... Game recap would go something this: Nothing happened for 58 minutes. Suddenly, a hockey game broke out.

One goal win? Well, we are watching a Red Wings game.

Wow, where were these bounces for 58 minutes?

It would be nice if the Wings could keep both fo those guys.

Wings have had an uncharacteristic number of giveaways tonight.

Didn't even see that one go in. Franzen in front? Figured it would take a stupid little wrist shot from a lousy angle to get it in tonight.

For all these shots there haven't been many quality scoring chances.

Haha, Klima's mullet was brutal.