#all they have is that they kill toronto. so what. tampa does that too you arent special | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

artificialqueens · 6 years ago

Text

save your breath (Branjie) - PinkGrapefruit

A/N - Yo! I am back because all I ever do is write nowadays. I wrote this on a whim at 10 pm last night after a prompt someone sent in. Thanks to FreyKitten for beta-ing me and being an awesome human as per usual as i write weird lines about orchestras and carnations. It’s written to the song ‘save your breath’ by Adore Delano and is from Brookes POV. As always, all work is my own and although this is based on real people, both the characters and the story are my own interpretation and therefore fully fabricated. Enjoy! x

When you think about me

Do you remember when

You were all about me

Or am I just a myth?

Do you remember the way our hands intertwined? The fluttering of black on red that day by the tree. Do you remember that, baby? Because I do. I remember it like yesterday, my mind filled with clouds, and apple cider, and you. Because you feel like coming home and nothing will ever beat that feeling. You could give me a handjob and make it feel like a pas de deux. All graceful and elegant and shit. You could buy me a thousand purses and pumps and a goddamn planet but I would love nothing more than I love you. Because I love you like a cat loves catnip or some other analogy that I don’t have the heart to make up. You took my heart and crushed it under my own pointe shoes. You placed it prettily on the floor and watched me pirouette my way over it. If God is a woman, she is cruel and unwavering in her choices.

Do you remember that time by the beach? The one in Florida after I met the Mateos. That’s where I realised I love you. Not in some club in wherever the hell we were. Not even in Toronto when I watched you look, with so much joy, at the place I’m from. No, I realised it on a beach at 2 am when my mind was so addled by sleep that the tide was covering half my legs. When you pulled me up and made me dance with you under the stars of Tampa. Your head was heavy on my chest and your breath was warm. It smelled like Panda Express and cider and your hair of cologne and prop glitter. And then I took you to my hometown, God. We stood at the top of Church near Old Toronto and you wanted to see my old haunts so badly so I let you pull me into The Drink. Later you tugged me back out and demanded I showed you all of the touristy destinations so we hired bikes and cycled them all. We shared long, languid kisses in front of each and everyone and savoured each other like it would be our last hurrah.

Do you remember the way I took you in my arms that night? How I made you scream? How you told me you loved me in between sweaty sheets and heavy breaths. I remember the way that undeniable feeling of home swelled in me like a symphony. Like the violin solo reaching its crescendo and when we crashed back down like waves against the shore - the pitch, fuzzy in my ears. You are fortissimo, brash and loud but you can be kind when needed. Like pauses in the bar. I am mezzo-piano. I am moderately soft and though we both know I can get loud, I do not broadcast that. That is not the world’s secret to know. That is not yours to share.

I loved you hardest

Happy, just loving you

And to be honest

Sometimes I think I still do

It would take a lot for me to say that I do not love you. But the thing about love is that it is rarely enough. Love is never the sole emotion, it is always supported by others. You can have love and jealousy, love and rage, love and pure, unadulterated joy. But you never just have love. The same way that the organ supports the strings section, all other emotions support love because it is fickle. It is easy to break. It is easy to detune, destring, derail. Just like we were. And yet I love you. I love you like I am going to break if I stop. Like I will cease to exist. Loving you feels like I am constantly in the eye of the storm. The winds are swelling around me like the strings and you are the conductor. You are the maker of chaos and the ruler of the winds. The king of my goddamn world. When did I forget that you’ve always been the king of the world?

I think about you a lot. It’s mostly just me wondering if you’re thinking about me too because this feels like I’m drowning and I don’t think you can save me anymore. I need to learn to swim or find a place, high and dry, to smoke a cigarette or two before I go down. It’s awfully hard to keep your head above the water when you can’t remember why you’re there. This ocean I am stuck in, this whirlpool I cannot escape, it’s just a storm in a teacup. The hurricane’s coming. We both know it will wipe us out.

I never thought leaving would be a precautionary measure. I didn’t realise that I needed caution till I met you but now I see that I was wrong. Because leaving is the biggest precaution one can make when trying not to get hurt and Lord knows I am the master of that. You don’t spend your life as a dancer without knowing how to avoid injury. You learn how to stretch. How to feel when a muscle is straining and how to differentiate between good and bad pain. I am the master of my body, I am the master of my soul. I am not the master of you. I know when my hip is about to go out, how long I can hold an arabesque to still move my knees. I have learned when to take off my pointe shoes and when to say enough is enough. Why can I never do that with you?

You’re losing oxygen

And I can’t find the words

You’re a fire that’s losing oxygen. A powder keg about to explode. You’re running out of fuel but you’ll blow up at any second and it's dangerous but I’ve always liked dangerous. I’ve never feared getting burned. As I said, I know how to avoid getting hurt. It’s funny how we worked, how we would work if we weren’t overtired and underpaid and running on the fumes of tomorrows and good tequila. I’ve always been more of a vodka kinda gal but maybe that’s the Canadian in me. If you were here you’d make a joke a about having Canadian in me and we’d laugh and then I’d call you a hypocrite. One of us has had Canadian in him more often than the other.

I remember the way you burned on Drag Race. The way the fire within you would roar rather than just flicker. Because alcohol fuels fire, it doesn’t destroy it the same way that loneliness does. I’ve never been a fragile person but watching us again kills me a little. I long for the days when we weren’t so busy. When we had no reason not to be together. I don’t know where you found the words to impose this ban on us. I certainly don’t have any. We made our bed and now we have to lie in it but this time the bed is a single and there are two of us. Because this game shrunk the bed and I want to get out. Twitter is not a substitute for texting. It is not a substitute for love and affection and the physical closeness I crave.

This game we play is orchestrated but my feelings are not. Your fire does not control what I do or who I see or how they end up in my bed. I tell myself this in the hope that I will learn. In the hope that it will teach me not to fall in love again. Because you cannot play the violin to the tune of my soul. No drumbeat can replicate the beating of my heart when I held you in my arms and whispered love into your hair. I am someone else when I am in love, and you broke that.

The air is getting thin

Silence is all we heard

How’s the air up on your high horse? How do you feel in this atmosphere you’ve made? Are you jealous of me because I didn’t have to make the call? I was too naive to see that we couldn’t stay together. I wasn’t strong enough to fight the tide. The crashing waves of saltwater that burned all of my cuts. Every scar filled with salty tears and every painful thing I’ve felt exacerbated by the cool flow of the ocean. If you read this you’d tell me that I sounded like a Pisces and I’d be inclined to agree if that wasn’t so Libra of you. You’d say it like it’s a compliment but the context just screams insult. Isn’t that just adding insult to injury here?

We only talk online but really all that means is we haven’t spoken in months and you know how I was talking about an orchestra? Well, this newfound silence is deafening. It’s the long pause after that crash of the symbols. The day after the rain. It’s the quiet of an early morning but without you in bed with me and fuck. It hurts, baby. Your forte was always loud but I miss it now. I’ve never regretted being quiet before but I’m aching for the noise that you took away. My life has been one constant note. It never wavered until you. Then you came crashing in and it became a vibrato, technical and beautiful. And then you left. And it feels empty without the melodies. The harmonies we made were visible from the very beginning on Drag Race and whether we thank the editing for that or not, we both know it’s true. We were opposites in public but two peas in a pod alone.

When we would lay in bed, your head on my chest, my fingers grazing your tattoo and your hand in my hair: that’s the only place you were quiet. The air was heavy with love and familiarity and it pooled in my stomach like summer and home. It trickled down your neck like hot chocolate, soft and smooth and filled your lungs with flowers till you coughed up petals onto our bed. Red carnations for love. Bouvardia doubles for life. Sweet pea for departure after a good time. Now silence looks like sweet peas and sex hair and I can’t live my life in that.

You know our last goodbye

Keeps playing through my mind like

Ah ah ah

My mind feels like a compilation video these days. It’s taken every good moment we had and made a supercut. One day I will take it and splice it, titling it happiness.mov. I will watch it until I am old and haggard. When my legs are feeble and I’ve lost all muscle tone in my body. When life has drained from my eyes and my feet no longer support me en pointe. That is when I will let go of these memories. You see, in a way, they made me who I am. Every kiss you gave me, slow and soft under harsh club lights. Every green room I waited in for you and vice versa. Every dollar of tip money I’ve thrown at you - that’s part of me now. You are part of me and I will carry you in my heart like a scarlet letter.

The last time we said goodbye felt more like a hello. It was warm and quick but the way you smiled isn’t something you can fake. Neither of us can act but we are clever enough to play pretend when we need to. We are too young to know better but too old to be fooled. I was not fooled. You directed Courtney with ease, told her what to do like the producers did back then and when I looked at you, you whispered something. So soft, I didn’t hear what it was, but I got lost in you all the same. You still smelt like apple cider and dreams and when you placed your small hands on my waist - when you pulled me in as you did in Florida and in Toronto; well, I could have sworn I heard angels sing. I felt you smile into me and I know you welcomed the feeling too.

I am grateful to Courtney and Nina for suggesting we did that. I am grateful for the video that I have watched a million times. It hurts less than watching Drag Race. Maybe that’s because I know that this wasn’t in our honeymoon phase. Now we have a grip on reality and we aren’t just letting the waves pull us together. We’ve swum through the riptide and I can’t say that we’re stronger but we’re certainly still here.

I often let my mind wander when I am in the depths of despair. I question whether you have watched the video like I have. Whether you will view it with the same sliver of hope and painfully real emotion. I wonder if it stirs your heart and messes with your head to see two people look so in love. If it breaks you down a little to see us look so in love. We may be too old to be fooled but we aren’t near old enough to be blind. Nina made me promise when she sent that video, promise not to go mad. Her warning was belated. All I smell is sweet peas and apple cider and Tampa Bay - and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Love was already dead

Did you know, red carnations are common in funeral bouquets? They say the word ‘carnation’ comes from the Latin, God in the flesh, and in that case, I suppose I understand how they link to you. If you are a carnation, red like anger and love. I am a peony. Bashful and compassionate and completely indignant. I am angry because this is an injustice, I am indignant to the world and to you. I love you bashfully and with my whole self. I love you with compassion and joy and I long for the good health and prosperity that peonies symbolise. If God is a woman, let her have the heart to see that we cannot be over just yet, I am not content with being a peony. I wish to be a daffodil of new hopes and beginnings. I would like you to join me in them.

Love was already dead

What do oceans and orchestras and flowers and fires and God have in common? You. You are the fire that burns in the dead of winter, keeping the rest of the world warm even if it means you burn out. Too selfless to save yourself, too selfish to let me burn out with you. You are the ocean that swallows me whole and deposits me back on the shore when I swim too far out. You are the conductor of symphonies that all bear my name. Every piece is personal and swells and dips like the North Sea. You play gracefully although your instrument isn’t typical for a twenty-something drag queen. You are the red carnation to my peony even though I pray that one day we will both be daffodils in March, swaying in the gentle breeze with the early sun on our backs. You are the controller of my fate, the author of my destiny. With every breath I take in, I exhale blue roses. I can’t have you but I can’t stop thinking about you. That sounds about right.

Love was already dead

So save your breath

Our love isn’t dead, but you can’t just talk your way out of this one, babe.

Do you remember us?

Because I do.

#rpdr fanfiction #branjie #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #angst #pinkgrapefruit #concrit welcome #submission #canon compliant

43 notes · View notes

your-dietician · 4 years ago

Text

NHL officiating in the playoffs has been nothing short of haphazard

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/nhl/nhl-officiating-in-the-playoffs-has-been-nothing-short-of-haphazard/

NHL officiating in the playoffs has been nothing short of haphazard

You may be thinking of several more incidents left unmentioned. Maybe something from the Bruins’ playoff run?

Rage against the referees has been a part of hockey since the puck was a chunk of wood and the sticks were fashioned from saplings. There used to be a few cameras in the building, and now there’s a few hundred, and we can clearly see what the officials a few feet away miss, as the players skate by in a blur. Maybe we should accept that they’re going to miss some bad ones.

Judging by the numbers, nothing should change. On average, officials call more penalties in the playoffs than in the regular season. According to the NHL, playoff games in the last two seasons have averaged 8.33 penalty calls, compared with 7.05 during the regular season.

But that doesn’t sound right, does it? When the prize is greater, players battle harder, empty their tanks completely, finish checks more violently. Why aren’t there more penalties called?

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, through a league spokesperson, told the Globe that players, not officials, determine the calls.

“Officials are directed and encouraged to call the same standard as in the regular season,” Daly said. “That’s always been the case, but it’s been an even greater point of emphasis in recent years. What changes in the playoffs is the way the game is played on the ice, and that changes how officiating is perceived.”

Not everyone buys that.

“It’s different from regular season to playoffs. The refs are letting a little bit more stuff go,” Vegas winger Jonathan Marchessault said, calling it “adversity that teams need to face in the playoffs. Good teams will find a way to go through it. Just have to battle through it. Find a way.”

More bluntly, NBC analyst Brian Boucher tweeted he was “tired of people crying about officiating. Deal with it!”

Sure … but … why? Do we want what amounts to a different rulebook for the postseason?

Does it make sense that Connor McDavid can go eight games over the last two playoffs without drawing a penalty, despite numerous clear-cut infractions against him? Analyst Rachel Doerrie said she watched every McDavid shift from the Oilers-Jets series and counted 30 non-calls. McDavid, as you’d expect from the league’s premier talent, had the most offensive-zone puck possession time of any player during the regular season, according to Sportlogiq. He earned 53 penalty calls in 120 games, ranking sixth in the NHL. Not one penalty call in the postseason?

Longtime NHL official Kerry Fraser, who retired in 2010, said the missed calls this year have been “troublesome,” pointing to a “regression” in the performance of veterans in stripes.

“This is painful to say, and to watch, because I know all these guys, and worked with some of them,” Fraser said on TSN 1050 in Toronto. “They’re good people. They don’t deserve the kind of work that they’re putting forth.

“That’s not fair. That’s not right. As a player, you would look at yourself first. But you would also look at the kind of direction you’re getting … you’ve got to look at the game plan.”

Paul Stewart, the longtime former NHL ref from Dorchester, noted in a phone conversation that officials don’t have regular pregame meetings during the season, but they do in the playoffs. That’s where all kinds of bugs can be put in their ears — like “No. 11 is cheating on faceoffs,” he said, conjuring an example that would perk the ears of Bruce Cassidy.

Though the league has denied it, “letting the players play” is a long-accepted practice. A few seasons ago (2017), the NHL told its men in stripes to focus on slashes to the hands. That’s how we get what happened in Game 4 of Vegas-Montreal: Joel Edmundson retaliated by cross-checking William Carrier into the boards (no call), Suzuki hooked Alec Martinez on the hands (penalty).

“This is an annual event,” Fraser said. “We have one set of rules in the regular season, and then a whole different standard in the playoffs.

“Yes, we like to let them play, but when you let the players decide the outcome of a game, which I never subscribed to, then you’re actually as a referee letting things go that could affect the outcome of the game.

“Draw the line. Players will play within it. They’re smart. But if you let the inmates run the prison, the warden might as well take his skates off and watch it on TV.”

Canada’s best

Canadiens an unlikely finalist, or are they?

Few expected to see the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final, but the Habs are four wins away from lifting their first Cup since 1993.Vaughn Ridley/Getty

This is as deep as the Canadiens have been in a generation. They have not been to the Stanley Cup Final since 1993, when they won the most recent Cup in their (and Canada’s) history.

And they got there on an overtime goal. The last time they went to the Final on an OT winner was … for the sake of anyone who remembers 1979, let’s not go there. Already too much discussion of penalties here.

But give the Habs their props. They took it to a Vegas team that rolled over the West Division, and now we have to question whether the West, not the North, was the weakest division in hockey. The Knights went a combined 33-6-1 against the Ducks, Coyotes, Kings, Sharks and Blues, two of which (Arizona and St. Louis) made the playoffs last year. They split with Colorado (4-4-0) and went 3-4-1 against surprising Minnesota.

Entering the postseason, the commonly held belief was that Colorado, Vegas and Tampa were the three best teams, and that an eventual Avalanche-Knights series would be a de-facto Cup Final. But the Avs flunked out, and the Habs shut down that raucous party in the scorching desert summer.

This, from a team that fired Claude Julien and finished 18th in the regular-season standings. Montreal was supposed to be blown out by Toronto in the first round. But after offing the Maple Leafs in seven (coming back from a 3-1 deficit) and sweeping the Jets, here they are.

Not enough offense? Young talent too unreliable? Carey Price is washed up? Oublie ça. Forget it.

A major key, to this eye: after Julien was fired in February, interim coach Dominique Ducharme — who last week gave way to assistant Luke Richardson because of a positive COVID-19 test — asked his team to play more passively in the neutral zone. Similar to the Islanders, the Canadiens play patient and reliable defense, work as a unit, and strike off turnovers. They don’t dominate the puck or own the offensive zone. It doesn’t matter. They had 14 different goal scorers, a dozen among the forwards.

Nick Suzuki is making plays all over the ice, showing why Julien liked to compare him with a Patrice Bergeron-in-training. Shutdown center Phillip Danault neutralized Mark Stone (0-0—0, seven shots) to a degree rarely seen, after having a similar effect on the Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews. Brendan Gallagher, after missing the last six weeks of the regular season with a broken thumb, is back in his heart-and-soul role, irritating Vegas stalwart Alex Pietrangelo enough to draw consistent attention away from the play. Corey Perry is still an on-ice jerk, albeit one with some gas left in his tank.

Montreal leans heavily on four big defenders (Ben Chiarot, Shea Weber, Jeff Petry and Joel Edmundson), all of whom play 23-25 minutes a night. Jon Merrill (13) and Erik Gustafsson (sub-10) don’t see much action, the latter used mostly for power plays. Montreal is 11-0 this postseason when scoring twice. While Price has been stellar, he isn’t making a slew of spectacular stops. He’s seeing pucks.

It’s a team that blends age (Perry and Eric Staal, both 36; Weber, 35; Price, 33) with youth (Suzuki, 21; Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Cole Caufield, 20) and had enough grit to withstand whatever Vegas threw its way.

Caufield, the Habs’ version of Alex DeBrincat, scored four times in the series, including a Game 6 goal that showed his touch, acceleration, shot and verve. After Vegas netminder Robin Lehner shut him down on a Game 4 breakaway and cracked how five-hole or high glove were Caufield’s two moves, the rookie roasted him upstairs.

After sitting Caufield for the first two games against the Leafs (and Kotkaniemi for Game 1), Ducharme found one of the breakout stars of the playoffs. Game 6 was the ex-Wisconsinite’s 24th career game, his 14th in the playoffs. Caufield won the Hobey Baker some 10 weeks ago. He can still win the Calder Trophy next year.

If Tampa is next, Montreal won’t shrink. They enter the final having killed 30 consecutive power plays — a league-record 13 straight games without a PPG allowed — so why would the Lightning’s man-advantage scare them?

Abuse allegations

Ex-Blackhawks video coach accused of sexual assault

Think of the Chicago Blackhawks of the 2010s and what comes to mind? Probably the names of star players — Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith — and the three Cups they won.

The legacy of that team might be shifting.

TSN recently uncovered stunning claims of sexual assault on the watch of the Blackhawks’ management. The Canadian outlet reported that two former Blackhawks reported to then-skills coach Paul Vincent in May 2010 that they had been abused by video coach Brad Aldrich, who went on to abuse others at subsequent career stops.

Vincent, of Beverly, told TSN recently his plea to Hawks management to take the allegations to Chicago police was rejected. He says he is willing to testify on behalf of the plaintiffs in court.

In May, two unnamed players filed lawsuits against the franchise, alleging the team covered up alleged abuses by Aldrich.

According to multiple reports, Aldrich was convicted of abusing a 17-year-old player in Houghton, Mich., in 2013. He resigned from his position as Miami University hockey operations months before, under suspicion of “unwanted touching of a male adult,” according to police records obtained by TSN.

A former Blackhawks marketing official told TSN that Alrdich would “routinely befriend young interns” and invite them to hang out at his Chicago apartment. The official said he was told to “steer clear” of Aldrich because he had “tried something” with a few players, and that “the entire training staff, a lot of people knew” about Aldrich’s behavior — it was “open secret,” the official said.

It is a situation the Blackhawks and the NHL must address. Neither entity has commented.

Raising awareness

Ex-Stars defenseman roller-blading for mental health

Former Stars defenseman Stephen Johns is roller-blading and road-tripping across the US to raise awareness for mental health.Ron Jenkins/Associated Press

Got big summer plans? Stephen Johns didn’t, until a couple weeks ago.

The former Dallas defenseman, who did not play last season because of post-concussion syndrome, retired June 13 and announced a new adventure: he’s roller-blading and road-tripping across the US to raise awareness for mental health.

Johns, from Wampum, Pa., reports he traveled from Pittsburgh to Wisconsin in his first week, logging roughly 40 miles a day. He’s on three wheels, with a helmet, elbow pads and wrist guards, and has a friend, Jeff Toates, driving alongside him, documenting the trip and carrying necessities. There has been lace bite and leg burn. In Chicago, the former Notre Dame standout skated to Lake Michigan and did a front flip into the water.

The genesis of the trip was Johns’s battle with depression, which sank him during a 2018-19 season in which he suffered a head injury during training camp in Boise, Idaho. He did not play the entire season. After 22 months away from the game, he returned to play 17 games in 2020, earning a finalist nod for the Masterton Trophy.

Johns recently wrote on Instagram that he was “tired of letting depression destroy my life,” and wanted to provide the same kind of inspiration to those facing their own battles.

“What I miss most about the game of hockey is providing inspiration,” he wrote. “If I can inspire one person to climb out of their hole, then that’s a successful trip.”

Loose pucks

Former Flyers coach Dave Hakstol is taking over the expansion Seattle Kraken ahead of their first season.Ken Lambert/Associated Press

Swerve in Seattle: Dave Hakstol, who coached the Flyers (and made a pair of first-round exits) from 2015-19 and was a Maple Leafs assistant the last two years, is the expansion Kraken’s first head coach. Hakstol did good work with Toronto’s defense (in two years, 26th to seventh in goals against). Bruce Cassidy and Mike Sullivan, among many others, would tell you that all you need is a second chance … Gerard Gallant, the Rangers’ replacement for David Quinn, wants to coach the “hardest-working team in the league,” which is a thing often said during introductory press conferences. Will GM Chris Drury add a few gritty types to fill out the roster? Are the Rangers a playoff team next season? We say yes, and no … Expecting some team to overpay for Vegas’ Alec Martinez, the defense-first, top-four defender with two Stanley Cup rings from Los Angeles. Same feeling about Tampa’s David Savard and Blake Coleman, and whichever UFAs the Islanders don’t re-sign on their fourth line … The Sedin twins are back in Vancouver, Canucks GM Jim Benning hiring them as special advisers to learn the management side. “We care about this team,” Henrik said, noting that he and brother Daniel have a lot to learn. Any fresh ideas on how to sign RFAs Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes, with $15 million in cap space and a roster that currently includes 15 skaters? … The NWHL’s Toronto Six made a splashy move, hiring Hockey Hall of Famer Angela James as an assistant coach … Who’s going to be a more interesting TV analyst: Wayne Gretzky on Turner or Mark Messier on ESPN? Not expecting spicy takes from either … RIP to René Robert, a member of the Sabres’ famed French Connection line, who died at 72. Robert gave Buffalo its first win in a Stanley Cup Final game by finishing Game 3 against the Flyers in 1975 with an OT strike in a foggy Buffalo Auditorium … Podcast recommendation: Bernie Corbett’s “Games People Play,” featuring lengthy interviews with a range of sports figures (including the Globe’s Bob Ryan and John Powers). Hockey subjects include Keith Tkachuk, Theo Fleury, Bryan Trottier and Eddie Johnston … Draft trivia: forward Cole Sillinger, a first-round prospect, is the son of well-traveled Mike Sillinger, who made an NHL-record 12 stops during his 18-year career. Cole was born during his father’s two-year stay in Columbus … The aluminum bottles and cans were likely empty — why would anyone waste a drop? — when Islanders fans celebrated a Game 6 win by giving the Nassau Coliseum sheet a silver shower. Throwing objects is normally a protest, not a celebration, but that’s life at the old barn in Uniondale. “That building coming into overtime was smelling like cigarettes,” mused winning goal-scorer Anthony Beauvillier. “Now it smells like beers.”

Matt Porter can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyports.

Source link

0 notes

timclymer · 5 years ago

Text

Platform that each month sends breezed package time

We aren’t trying to turn back the clock. 5 • Super Bowl LVIII Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans Feb. Kawhi Leonard 6. Tom Brady 8.

Analysis It remains potently strange that Larry Bird, three-time MVP and something like the sixth-best player of all-time, breezed through Indiana, organized one of the best teams in the league, and then quietly walked away from a profession nobody knew he would be good at or even wanted to pursue in the first place. Simone Biles 6. Pittsburgh Steelers 19. What’s funny is that, at the time, I had met the man I’m now engaged to, and he does live in a house by the sea. According to Jeremy Dunham, vp-publishing, for San Diego-based Psyonix, As WWE fans ourselves, we are well aware of WWE’s strong capabilities as a strategic marketing partner.

Analysis It remains potently strange that Larry Bird, three-time MVP and something like the sixth-best player of all-time, breezed through Indiana, organized one of the best teams in the league, and then quietly walked http://www.arizonaapparels.com/73-Jersey from a profession nobody knew he would be good at or even wanted to pursue in the first place. I hope I won’t be doing anything too embarrassing. Look for this and the other cars at SEMA 2019, and keep an eye out for details about next year’s Hot Wheels Legends Tour. Every year the NHL Awards keeps getting bigger and better and this year will be no exception, Steve Mayer, NHL chief content officer and evp, said via the league. She shared the 2019 award with Margaret Atwood. Tom Brady 8.

Arizona Cardinals 9. Kobe Bryant 7. The official alliance between MLB and Topps will continue at least through 2025 with an extension of their exclusive global partnership for MLB-licensed trading cards signed this past July. Katelyn Ohashi NYSJ Sports-Entertainment Business News Service October 15: With MLB ‘s two League Championship series underway, the Fall Classic, due to begin Oct.

Soon after the story was essentially killed at NBC News, Farrow writes, Weinstein sent a friendly note to Oppenheim about Megyn Kelly’s then-new daytime talk show on the network. Cincinnati Bengals 2. You’ll brighten up their day and take their mind off difficult thoughts, even if it’s just for a moment. • The NFL said that in collaboration with the NFL Players Association, clubs, owners and players, more than $35 million has been donated to date as part of the COVID-19 relief efforts. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 15.

Cleveland Browns 11. Verlander pitches 3rd career no-hitter, Astros beat Jays 2 By IAN HARRISON TORONTO Justin Verlander took the mound for the ninth inning, fully aware of the no-hitters he finished – and his near misses, too. Analysis It remains potently strange that Larry Bird, three-time MVP and something like the sixth-best player of all-time, breezed through Indiana, organized one of the best teams in the league, and then quietly walked away from a profession nobody knew he would be good at or even wanted to pursue in the first place. Guhle cut through http://www.cincinnatiapparels.com/18-Jersey offensive zone and got a puck on goal that was stopped. Megan Rapinoe 2.

They know how to , and you will see that at every track. • Showtime has shared details about its new documentary, a collaboration with NBA star Kevin Durant and Thirty Five Ventures. Prior to the first episode, WWE has unveiled the 12 charitable organizations paired up with WWE Superstars competing in WWE . 5 • Super Bowl LVIII Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans Feb.

Despite the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers have been hovering around .500 all season, Bryant received the most votes among all players, almost 16 million. Analysis It remains potently strange that Larry Bird, three-time MVP and something like the sixth-best player of all-time, breezed through Indiana, organized one of the best teams in the league, and then quietly walked away from a profession nobody knew he would be good at or even wanted to pursue in the https://www.tampabayapparels.com/34-Jersey place. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 15. In addition, some agents aren’t fans of the two-way deal.

Becky Lynch 7. The Lakers still have to negotiate the deal. I think with him, he cares so much about winning too.

Indianapolis Colts 14. That says a lot about what the St. Big left arrow icon Big right arrow icon Close icon Copy Url Three dots icon Down arrow icon Email icon Email icon Exit Fullscreen icon External link icon Facebook logo Football icon Facebook logo Instagram logo Snapchat logo YouTube logo Grid icon Key icon Left arrow icon Link icon Location icon Mail icon Menu icon Open icon Phone icon Play icon Radio icon Rewind icon Right arrow icon Search icon Select icon Selected icon TV icon Twitter logo Twitter logo Up arrow icon User icon Audio icon Tickets iconAdd to calendar iconNFC icon AFC icon NFL icon Carousel IconList ViewWebsite InstagramTwitterFacebookSnapchatShop IconProfile Overlay AvatarAddAirplayArrow LeftArrow RightArrow UpArrow DownAudioBack 5sBack 10sBack 30sCalendarChartCheckDownLeftRightUpChromecast OffChromecast OnCloseClosed CaptionsBench OffBench OnBroad OffBroad OnVertical OffVertical OnCommentDockDoneDownloadDraftFantasyFilterForward 5sForward 10sForward 30sFull Screen OffFull Screen OnGamepassGamesInsightsKeyLeaveLiveCombineDraftFantasyMenu GamesMenu NetworkMenu NewsMenu PlayoffsMenu Pro BowlMenu ShopMenu StandingsMenu StatsMenu Super BowlMenu TeamsMenu TicketsMenuMore HorizontalMore VerticalMy LocationNetworkNewsPauseplayMultiple PlayersSingle PlayerPlaylistPlayoffsPro BowlPurgeRefreshRemoveReplaySearchSettingsShare AndroidShare Copy URLShare EmailShare FacebookShare InstagramShare iOSShare SnapchatShare TwitterSkip NextSkip PreviousStandingsStarStatsSwapTeamsTicketsVideoVisibility OffVisibility OnVolume HiVolume LowVolume MediumVolume MuteWarningWebsite Caret downCaret upAt. The same braking system as the High Desert Concept shows up in the Tahoe and Suburban concepts, helping bring all that power and mass to a halt safely.

Katelyn Ohashi By Barry Janoff October 6: In September 2015, adidas signed a seven-year deal with the NHL naming it the official provider of on-ice uniforms and supplier of licensed apparel and headwear, taking over for its Reebok division beginning with the 2017 season.

We are proud to have this new partnership with Western Union who, like the Nuggets, are Colorado-based but with an incredible international presence, Jim Martin, CEO and president for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, said in a statement.

The most interesting thing about me is that I can eat 20 chicken nuggets, no problem! This one was probably the toughest for Washington because it was not only a repeat of the first year but also because they lost in Game 7 in a series where they carried the play for most of it, only to run into a white-hot goalie. The theme of privilege is so interwoven throughout the story that the book challenges readers to examine their own environment without being overtly on the nose.

from Home Solutions Forev https://homesolutionsforev.com/platform-that-each-month-sends-breezed-package-time/ via Home Solutions on WordPress from Home Solutions FOREV https://homesolutionsforev.tumblr.com/post/615582204290023424 via Tim Clymer on Wordpress

#Home Solutions FOREV

0 notes

homesolutionsforev · 5 years ago

Text

Platform that each month sends breezed package time

We aren’t trying to turn back the clock. 5 • Super Bowl LVIII Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans Feb. Kawhi Leonard 6. Tom Brady 8.

Analysis It remains potently strange that Larry Bird, three-time MVP and something like the sixth-best player of all-time, breezed through Indiana, organized one of the best teams in the league, and then quietly walked http://www.arizonaapparels.com/73-Jersey from a profession nobody knew he would be good at or even wanted to pursue in the first place. I hope I won’t be doing anything too embarrassing. Look for this and the other cars at SEMA 2019, and keep an eye out for details about next year’s Hot Wheels Legends Tour. Every year the NHL Awards keeps getting bigger and better and this year will be no exception, Steve Mayer, NHL chief content officer and evp, said via the league. She shared the 2019 award with Margaret Atwood. Tom Brady 8.

Becky Lynch 7. The Lakers still have to negotiate the deal. I think with him, he cares so much about winning too.

from Home Solutions Forev https://homesolutionsforev.com/platform-that-each-month-sends-breezed-package-time/ via Home Solutions on WordPress

#Home Solutions Forev

0 notes

paradoxicalca · 5 years ago

Text

r/hockey NHL Power Rankings Week 6: Tropical Depression Edition

/r/Hockey NHL Power Rankings Week Nov 4, 2019 - Nov 10, 2019Thank YouThank you to all of the volunteers doing the power rankings. Each ranker has their own system and have their own reasonings and analyis. It truly is a lot of work.RankersSpoilerOrganizersSpoilerVisualizationThe visualization contains historical data, so you can see how your team has done over time. Hopefully, we can run this for many years in hopes that we can see the rise and fall of teams by /r/hockey opinion.It automatically updates so feel free to bookmark. You can find it hereProcessHow does this work? Throughout the course of the week rankers are able to access an app that will allow them to rank teams. At the end of the period we calculate the average ranking for every team and collate all of the analysis provided by rankers.The app then generates a post that is first proofread and then posted to /r/hockey!Rankings (27/31 Rankers Reporting)Ranking (avg)TeamDeltaOverall RecordRecord This WeekComments1 (1.59)Washington Capitals113-2-32-0-0The boys are buzzin. The top line isn't slowing down and our shiny new second line of Vrana - Kuznetsov - Wilson is tearing up the weaker competition. MacLellan's new look bottom six is still giving teams fits with their mix of speed and size. The defense is the best it's been since Mike Green ran the PP. Samsonov is the prince that was promised. Aside from a surprise mid-season extension for Backstrom there really isn't anything more a humble Caps fan could hope for.2 (3.03)Boston Bruins-111-3-31-2-1Well, this is a slump. Nothing but sloppy, uninspired hockey this week from the Bruins. The fact that we beat the Penguins is a shocker. Lost a close game to the Habs, stunk against the Red Wings, and played 40 minutes of bad hockey against the Flyers after having 10 shots through 40 minutes. Bruins showed signs of life in the 3rd period against them but ultimately fell in the shootout. PS: Pasta, get good at penalty shots.3 (3.68)New York Islanders-12-3-12-0-1Despite the rough loss to the Penguins the point streak is still alive. All throughout the goal-tending has been fantastic by both Greiss and Varly. With Eberle now back we will have to see if he can recapture the magic he has with Barzal, which was missing at the start of this season. Even without Matt Martin, Cizikas and Clutterbuck combined to have an outstanding week. On defense, Adam Pelech is playing like a top d-man. Other teams and fans will hear more about him if he keeps it up, but for now he is one of the most underrated players around.4 (4.76)St. Louis Blues412-3-33-0-0The bad news is that the Blues really aren't playing the best hockey they're capable of. The good news is that we're still winning. Many close games but the duo of DP57 and ROR is dragging us to some wins, our D is stabalizing, and our goaltending is proving good enough to compete. Would like to see some depth pieces begin to contribute more, and the loss of Tarasenko is just beginning to set in, but at the end of the day we're leading the Western Conference and we can still definitely get better from here. There also might not be a more trusted ownership/GM combo in the League than Army and Stillman. It's a fun time to be a Blues fan.5 (6.74)Edmonton Oilers-12-5-22-1-16 (6.76)Colorado Avalanche110-5-22-1-0The Avs have awoken. It took about two weeks, but the Avs finally figured out chemistry against Nashville & Columbus. Bad News two new injuries this week, now with 6 players out with Grubauer the only one set to return soon. Sakic looks smart for acquiring all the depth this offseason. The new top line is fun, not as skilled, but no players work harder than Donskoi and Calvert and Mackinnon benefits from the chaos they create and they benefit from the chaos he creates. Francouz has been sufficient in Grubauer's absence but isn't really playing himself into a potential 1B role. Avs start a Western Canadian Road trip this week and look to keep the momentum from the last couple games. First up a big 4 point game in Winnipeg on Tuesday. Calder Watch: Makar had an insane week, with points in all three games a 3 point night and a 2 goal game with his first GWG. He is now at 17 points in 17 games which ties him for third in scoring amoung NHL dmen, Crazy!7 (9.82)Nashville Predators39-5-31-1-1I'm away from my computer this week so I'll keep this one to a single point: /u/dabz14, I'm a true believer after the Red Wings game this past week. That second period was brutal, and the Preds made sure I understood that by being on the other side of the brutality against the Avalanche.8 (10.26)Pittsburgh Penguins610-6-12-1-0Almost as soon as we got Malkin back, Crosby gets knocked out. Please start wrapping these players up in bubble wrap.9 (10.5)Carolina Hurricanes-59-7-10-3-0The lack of top tier star power is starting to show. Each of the last 4 games should have been winnable but they ended up not even being close.10 (11.53)Buffalo Sabres-49-6-20-2-0Three more games until we hit .500.11 (12.59)Vegas Golden Knights19-7-31-2-1Tough week for the Golden Knights going 1-2-1 on the road trip. Blown leads in the 3rd period has plagued the team lately and really needs to change.12 (12.91)Vancouver Canucks-39-6-30-3-1Ever since rushing to jump on the ill-conceived and somewhat forced "Team Like That marketing campaign, the Canucks have indeed become a team like that. The team like that has since lost 5 of their last 6, with their only win coming against a floundering Sharks team. Over this period the powerplay has lost some the luster shown earlier in the year, and Canucks fans must face the tough reality that a team (like that) might not win 70% of its games this year. The club remains competitive, but this string of losses should slide them down to the middle of the pack in our power rankings - the "playoff bubble" position most anticipated the team would inhabit at the start of the season.13 (13.41)Toronto Maple Leafs29-6-42-1-1The Leafs are a confusing team. The week started with a sloppy 3-1 win against the Kings on Tuesday which made it a two game winning streak, which was extended on a 2-1 OT win against the Golden Knights (Did you see Ceci's beautiful setup for Pacioretty!?), which was won by captain Tavares himself. Unfortunately that streak ended Saturday night, after the Flyers got shootout revenge, highlighted by Marner taking an awkward tumble. After trying to take another shift, he was sent to the dressing room and shut down for the game, and after an MRI, for four weeks. Looks like leaf fans are still gonna annoy r/hockey by saying this team still isn't fully healthy yet :). Is that an excuse for letting up 4 goals in the first against the Blackhawks? Oh it's the second half of a back-to-back. That excuse. Made the game close, but not close enough. Overall, another confusing week for leafs fans14 (13.5)Arizona Coyotes-19-6-21-2-115 (14.18)Calgary Flames110-7-32-0-1The Flames had a good week, getting 5 out of a possible 6 points. The team appears to have a completely different effort level when they are down in the third period, having multiple late goals to tie both Arizona and St. Louis, forcing overtime. If only they could play with the same sense of urgency at all times. Johnny Gaudreau continues a large slump. While he's still getting points, he doesn't look like himself and his turnovers and defensive game make him feel like a liability at times. The Flames have already played 20 games this year, so hopefully their schedule slowing down a bit will give them some time to solve a few issues.16 (15.18)Anaheim Ducks-59-8-10-2-0This season feels like a rerun. Looks like a losing home stand came 1 month earlier than last year. A poor effort against the oilers after 4 days off. Similarly poor effort against the wild. I don’t see the fight. I don’t see the ducks ready to start any game lately. Song of the week: Free fallin’ - Tom Petty and the heartbreakers17 (15.35)Tampa Bay Lightning28-5-22-0-0Hard to take a ton away from just a back to back against the same team, but I did like what I saw from the team. Got some depth scoring, so that was nice. 3/7 on the PP isn't too shabby, and killing off all 4 penalties is quite nice too. Very happy only seeing 4 PP's given up, seems Tampa decided they were just having no fun sitting in the box.18 (15.76)Montreal Canadiens-19-5-32-0-1This week the team made big strides in improving their penalty kill (albeit in large part to Price in the net). Victor Mete is making up for all the goals he didn’t score to start his career and it helping beat the Bruins makes it all the better. Ryan Poehling finally has first few games of the season but if all Julien is going to do is play him for 9 minutes a game I would rather see him getting more time in the AHL.19 (15.97)Philadelphia Flyers210-5-24-0-0Its been a very Fly week this week, not a Die week. Myers has been on fire since scoring his first of the season, Coots, Lindblom, and TK line is actual sex on ice, our goaltending is stabilizing, and we are making teams regret starting their backup against us. 3 games in 4 nights against teams in playoff spots, and having pulled a majority of the points from it means we are doing a good hockey. Giroux with an absolute slapper in the SO, Moose and Hart are being the tandem we need them to be, and the team responding well under AV means things are well. We may never go pointless in a game again. Also PROVY PLEASE JUST KEEP YOUR GAME SIMPLE YOU ARE TOO GOOD TO BE PLAYING AS POORLY AS YOU HAVE BEEN RECENTLY. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk pt.2. Praise Gritty20 (17.68)Winnipeg Jets-10-7-12-0-121 (19.47)Florida Panthers-38-4-51-1-1Panthers' games are absolutely crazy. 4th in GF/game and 4th most GA/game. Half their game have been to overtime...it's not good for my heart. Recap; decent game against the Caps. Good game against the Islanders, should have won but Greiss was fantastic. Good game against the Rangers, Monty was bad, but the team rallied to with it. The Panthers don't give up and that's great.22 (20.74)Dallas Stars-8-8-21-0-1Only two weeks this game. Big win over the Avalanche and a OT loss to the Jets. Standouts? Faksa, Bishop. Takeaways? We played great against the Avalanche, and the Jets loss was hard-fought A 1-1 record doesn't always spell improvement - and it's sure not as good as last week - but we're playing better than our first 10 games. That's what matters.23 (23.56)New York Rangers-7-6-22-1-1Just another week at the office for the New York Rangers. We opened the week by losing 6-2 to the Ottawa Senators. This one was tough and really showed how young this team is, but a game like this was necessary. Next, we bounced back against the Wings by winning solidly 5-1. The next day, we got to see vintage Hank against the Canes. Even though we got outshot 47-19, we somehow walked out with a 4-2 win. To cap off the week, we had a shooting gallery of a game against the Panthers, falling 6-5 in the shootout. Some positives to come out of the week were that the kids are finally catching their stride and really developing. Kakko, Chytil, and Fox have looked great the past few games. Lindgren also deserves a shoutout for his play lately. Strome continues to put up points as well. Here's to another successful and entertaining week (also hopefully Lias gets more minutes).24 (24.41)San Jose Sharks37-10-13-0-0Much better week for the Sharks, but there's still a lot of work to be done. They were able to squeeze out 3 wins, but almost blew late leads against the Hawks and Wild. If the Sharks want to be back in the playoff picture they'll have to clean it up and play consistently tight defence for the next two weeks, with the upcoming divisional games against good teams like the Oilers and Vegas. The forwards are looking better and they've had some periods with really good defence, but they can't have those 10 minute stretches where they almost blow the entire thing, because good divisional teams will pounce on those opportunities.25 (24.47)Columbus Blue Jackets-16-8-31-2-0Bemstrom got his first and his second career goals this week. The two games we were pretty close, which is an improvement over our 5 game skid, but we're still 1-6-1 in our last 8. Things are looking grim if we don't improve by American Thanksgiving.26 (26.5)Chicago Blackhawks-6-7-42-1-1After a disconcerting California road trip, the Blackhawks managed to go 2-0-1 against the Canucks, Penguins, and Leafs. Kane has 5G, 6A and points in each of our last 6 games. Keith has been playing well, and is averaging over 25 min in ATOI, which is around his career average, but is significantly higher than the past 2 seasons. Lehner has been fantastic, and is 2nd to only Greiss in SV%.27 (27.21)Minnesota Wild26-10-12-1-0Wild fans are in this weird spot right now where they want the youngsters to show signs of development but the collective team is being cheered on to tank. Kevin Fiala has shown, to quote the GM-who-shall-not-be-named, "gamebreaker" qualities in the past few games. Jordan Greenway and Joel Eriksson Ek have finally looked in the mirror and realized they have big bodies meant for a physical brand of hockey. Ryan Donato...well, he's still looking pretty lost. Can't win them all I suppose. As much as this franchise needs a number one pick, it did feel good to see four pucks go past Mr. Darcy on Saturday night.28 (28.03)Ottawa Senators36-9-13-1-0With the Sens recording 5 wins in their last 8 games, I'm suddenly feeling a sense of...what's the opposite of "shame"? Less shame. That's it. Make no mistakes folks - even though they've had a good week thanks to the heroic efforts of guys like Pageau and Nilsson playing absurdly well, this team is going to finish in the bottom 5. They NEED to finish in the bottom 3 in any case, so as to have the best chance of picking up a generational forward talent at this stacked draft. This means not winning against other bottom tier teams like the Kings and Rangers, which we unfortunately were unable to do this week. Good games for team morale but certainly not for draft position!!29 (28.26)New Jersey Devils-15-7-42-2-02-2-0 This week, nothing too out of the ordinary. Back in Sept. r/devils did a straw poll about Hynes' leash and most said he had until Halloween to turn it around. A week after the devils are 5-7-4 and severely under-performing for the talent level of the roster. This roster shouldn't be 5-11. Shero should already have a list in his mind at this point to replace Hynes. The Good: Blackwood seems to have rebounded from his rocky start and has taken the starter reins from Cory. Hughes is still playing great. He isnt always scoring, but seeing him play with hustle every shift is amazing to see. The Bad: Hall is cursed. He has 2 goals on 59 shots, only 3%, while his career shooting percent is over 10%. The Ugly: We're still barely 0.500 hockey week to week and sitting at the bottom of the metro, only 1 point above the Sens ins the same 16 games. The talk has already started on Hall's fetching price come trade deadline time.30 (28.56)Los Angeles Kings-55-11-10-2-1I was fortunate enough to watch the Kings play the Leafs in Toronto this past week. We look slower than molasses right now and its a pretty boring brand of hockey almost worse than the ‘wear you down’ of Sutter’s time as coach. Some of the young guys are doing well but its crazy to think that this core won 2 cups.31 (29.59)Detroit Red Wings-16-12-12-2-0Robbie Fabbri and Jonathan Bernier stole the week for the Red Wings. With a jam packed schedule of four games the Wings continued their walk of shame with piss poor effort against the Preds and breakdowns against the Rangers. Jimmy Howard gets the start and the hook in both games. Then the trade for Fabbri happens and Bernier gets the start in both games against Boston and Vegas and now the parade planning begins. In reality, the Bruins were at the tail-end of a 11-2-1 stretch and Vegas was back to back after getting beaten up by the Capitals. However, this is what we should expect from the Wings. The plan is to stay competitive and transition to the next phase of the rebuild. Detroit needs to be in these games against top teams who are struggling and limiting their chances. Boston and Vegas combined for 30 shots against the Wings at 5v5(47 All Situations) which is an incredible defensive performance considering the power those offenses have. r/hockey NHL Power Rankings Week 6: Tropical Depression Edition Source

0 notes

thrashermaxey · 6 years ago

Text

Dobber Ramblings: Day Two of the NHL Playoffs; Gusev; Defence Scoring – April 12

There may be reinforcements on the way for Vegas as Nikita Gusev, the 26-year old Russian who was traded to the Golden Knights by Tampa Bay as part of the package to draft Jason Garrison in the expansion draft, could be in Vegas soon.

You can read Gusev’s Dobber Prospects profile here.

Nothing is a done deal yet. Gusev is under contract in the KHL through the end of the month, which means some negotiating will need to be completed, and the Russian Federation has recalled him ahead of the 2019 World Championships, which is another hurdle. Then he has to actually make his way to Vegas and suit up. All the same, it would be exciting to see him in the playoffs.

Just a small thing, but Ilya Samsonov, Washington’s top goalie prospect, was on the ice for morning skate on Thursday. Barring catastrophic injuries, he won’t get into game action, but it’s still pretty cool to see him on NHL ice nonetheless.

Just for a bit of fun, there was an article over at The Athletic from Sean McIndoe about the “what ifs” of the draft lottery. These are games involving teams near or around the picks that would end up in the top-3 and how things would be different if small little quirks in those games hadn’t gone the right way. Hockey is about razor-thin margins, even when it comes to draft positioning.

The Leafs were flat-out the better team in Game 1 as they skated away with a 4-1 win over Boston. The speed from Toronto, combined with precision passing, led to odd-man opportunity after odd-man opportunity for the team. They even got a short-handed penalty shot when Mitch Marner broke free on a penalty kill (he converted). Frederik Andersen had to make 37 saves, but a lot of those saves weren’t near the quality of shots Tuukka Rask was facing at the other end.

Something to note: Jake Gardiner played 16:32 in this game, fifth-lowest among Leafs blue liners. That’s the second-lowest mark of the season for him, his lowest being 16:30 in the game he was injured on February 25th. The Leafs were nursing a 3-1 lead for much of the game so maybe Mike Babcock was just saving him unless they desperately needed him? Just something to keep an eye on.

Andrei Svechnikov scored a pair of third-period goals to make things interesting for Carolina, but Washington’s Lars Eller tallied an empty netter to seal a 4-2 win for the Capitals. At least for the first 20 minutes, this looked like a game between a defending Stanley Cup champion and a (mostly) young team with several players playing their first postseason contest.

Nicklas Backstrom had a pair of goals, including a beautiful curl-and-snap shot that beat Petr Mrazek on the glove side, using the Carolina defenceman as a screen.

John Carlson played over 25 minutes, registering three assists, two blocked shots, and four hits along the way.

Update on the late game in the morning.

Yesterday in these Ramblings I talked a lot about defence scoring trends. While there is a lot more to dig into, which I will dig into at some point in the offseason, I want to look at actual defence scoring. Let’s go through some of the offensive performances across the NHL this season.

Erik Gustafsson

There is a whole lot going on here. Coming into the season, Gustafsson was a 26-year old who’d been drafted by the Oilers in 2012, spent a few post-lockout seasons in Sweden, bounced between the AHL and NHL for a couple years, and then exploded for 60 points this year.

Of course, what stands out immediately is that he shot over 10 percent. That’s pretty high for a blue liner. For reference, in 2017-18, Alex Goligoski shot 10.1 percent and followed that up this year with a 2.9 percent season; in 2016-17, John Klingberg shot 10.5 percent and followed that up in 2017-18 with a 3.9 percent season; in the same year, Nick Holden shot an insane 13.1 percent and that crashed to five percent in 2017-18. That isn’t to say every defenceman with a high shooting percentage always craters – Shea Weber has usually done pretty well – but the odds aren’t in Gustafsson’s favour.

That isn’t to say Gustafsson’s season is a fluke. When looking at additional stats like the rate at which he exits his zone or enters the offensive zone with possession and how he can find his teammates for shots via shot assists, we certainly see how good he was. Here’s how his 2018-19 season compares to the 2017-18 season another top-end puck-moving defenceman (from CJ Turtoro’s viz):

As I wrote about yesterday on Eric Cernak, one season does not make a career, but despite the high shooting percentage, it was a marvelous campaign for Gustafsson.

The question is if he maintains his power-play role; he had more than 100 minutes at five-on-four over the next-closest Blackhawks defenceman. Henri Jokiharju looked great whenever they allowed him to play in the NHL and Adam Boqvist was a top-10 pick last year for the franchise and has been tearing up the OHL playoffs to the tune of nine goals and 12 points in eight games. It seems certain that unless he falls off the map (he won’t), Gustafsson should have the PP role for 2019-20. Beyond that? Less certain.

Torey Krug

Speaking of Krug, we can only wonder the season he would have had if he had played 80 games. Among defencemen in the league this year, Krug:

Was third in points per minute behind Mark Giordano and Brent Burns

Was first in totals assists per minute

Was eighth in primary points per minute

Was third in primary assists per minute

Was 18th in shots per minute

Krug set a career-high in assists for a single season with 47 and did so in just 64 games.

It was just a marvelous season all around, but the true upside was limited by injury. It’s worth noting that his missed time was out of the norm for him; in his five previous seasons, he had never missed more than six games and averaged 79 games a season. I wouldn’t worry too much about some lingering injury history.

With Krug still in his prime and that Boston team loaded for another run next year regardless of how this year turns out, I would expect more of the same from Krug.

Vince Dunn

When using the Dobber Tools report generator, we can easily find which defencemen led the league in individual points percentage (IPP) at even strength. IPP is the rate at which a player garners a point when a goal is scored with that player on the ice. You will typically see the elite defencemen; last year, the top-5 included Burns, Krug, Pietrangelo, and Klingberg. The year before it was Burns, Hamilton, Karlsson, Jones, and Shattenkirk. Some guys find their way into the top-10 with some luck – names like Skjei, Severson, and Braun appear – but they’re mostly top-end puck-movers. That’s what makes this list from 2018-19 so interesting:

The two names that really stick out are Vince Dunn and Brandon Montour. We’ll save Montour for another day.

Dunn has long been thought of as an offensive defenceman. He had 99 points over his final 120 games in the OHL and had 45 points in 72 games as a 20-year old rookie in the AHL back in 2016-17. That we see him among the leaders in a category that helps point us in the direction of puck movers shouldn’t be a huge surprise.

Here’s the thing: there’s not a whole lot to support that Dunn is a top-end puck-mover from the blue line (yet). Without inundating with charts, his zone entry/exit rates and shot-assist rates pale in comparison to someone like Gustafsson. It’s worth noting that these numbers, specifically shot-assists, were a lot better in 2017-18 than in 2018-19, and this season’s tracking data isn’t yet complete. Maybe his numbers improved a lot in the second half as the rest of the team improved with him. I’m more than willing to give some time for more data to be collected before making a final determination.

All I’m saying for now is that I’m leery of predicting some sort of Gustafsson-esque breakout. There is still Alex Pietrangelo’s ice time to contend with and Colton Parayko isn’t someone to just eschew. Of course, Dunn is still just 22 years old, so the fact that we’re even talking about the possibility of him being a good playmaker from the blue line is a very good sign.

Neal Pionk

When we look at the list of top producers per minute from the blue line at five-on-four, most of the names make sense. We see Krug, Byfuglien, Yandle, Hedman, and Rielly, among others. The defenceman who finished second in points/60 minutes at five-on-four this year (minimum of 100 minutes)? Yeah, I kinda gave it away. It was Pionk. In fact, over the last two years, he leads all defencemen in points/60 minutes on the power play. Yes, all defencemen. Granted, it’s limited ice time (140 minutes or so), but it’s been an unbelievable run.

I think a bit of caution should be used here. Pionk had a poor season defensively, as much of the rest of the team did. Tony DeAngelo had a good season for the team even if David Quinn wouldn’t play him every night. Kevin Shattenkirk is still lurking and I’m sure he’d like to have a rebound season of his own. I’m not entirely sure what the Rangers are going to do on the blue line next year. I’m not entirely sure the Rangers know what the Rangers are going to do on the blue line next year.

All I wanted to point out is that there could be some sneaky value should A) Pionk be a regular next year again and B) no one else is brought in. There are a lot of moving parts that can change in the next 5-6 months.

Filip Hronek

Just wanted to include what a great season Hronek had. The 21-year old was among the top-10 defencemen in relative shot share at five-on-five. That’s in the league, mind you.

Hronek had 13 points in 22 games after his recall from the AHL in the middle of February, including nearly 22 minutes of ice time per night. By that point, the team was casting off, or getting ready to cast off, tradeable assets like Nick Jensen and Gustav Nyquist. Mike Green’s season was nearly over by that point. All this is to say that Hronek did fairly well down the stretch considering the Red Wings were largely a one-line team with Andreas Athanasiou providing some additional scoring. Pretty good for a rookie defenceman.

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/dobber-ramblings-day-2-of-the-nhl-playoffs-gusev-defence-scoring-april-12/

0 notes

islesblogger · 7 years ago

Text

Media and Former Player Reaction to Tavares's Departure: Part Two

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

As we continue to heal and clean up the mess left behind by the departure of our now former franchise forward John Tavares, we will examine a variety of topics and opinions by members of the media and former players. If you missed Part One of this multipart story, please go ahead and check that out first.

In Part One, we heard a bunch of positives about what the future would be like on Long Island from former NHL players (and Islanders) Mark Parrish and Justin Bourne, we also hear from WBAB’s Roger Luce, Sirus XM NHL Network Radio’s Ryan Paton, ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, The Isle Seat’s Mike Carver. Today we will learn what John was like when he was just coming into the league, discuss Lou Lamoriello as GM and Barry Trotz as head coach. We’ll also discuss free agency signings and recent trades.

We begin Part Two with a few thoughts from Katie Strang who was the Newsday beat writer when John Tavares was selected first overall by the Islanders. She then moved on to write for ESPN covering all of the Tri-State area teams before moving over to where she currently writes at The Athletic. Strang, on the rookie John Tavares “I am not sure I came across a more precocious athlete” and that from the start “had such a keen awareness of what he meant to the franchise”. Cleary John embraced this during his early Islander tenure, and this was backed up as Strang continued “He knew what was expected of him, and what sort of responsibility that bestowed.” Something we can all agree that he walked away from on July 1st.

While we have all come to accept, mostly, that he left the team high and dry Strang points out that John handled the pressure of being a franchise player who didn’t exactly get the support he should have by saying he shouldered it “with grace and without complaint for years, and through some very difficult times for the organization.” A sad reality of what was a great 9 years in blue and orange.

Team building, never a concept that former General Manager Garth Snow fully seemed to grasp or act upon. In more than one way he came close, only to never enable the team to take that next step. From goaltending to defense, to elite wingers to surround Tavares with – it just never happened. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski points to what’s left of the Islanders in a post-JT period “The problem [now] is that all of this team building was in service of John Tavares. This was his supporting cast, rather than a Plan B in case he was no longer an Islander. It’s like someone building a Solar System and then the Sun is extinguished – and, yes, this is an absurd escalation of a “Lou is God” parable.” Lou Lamoriello, despite being a Hall of Fame GM, has a daunting task to fill the holes left by Tavares and Garth Snow. We’ve all maybe been putting too much faith into this, which is possible given everything fans have been through.

Getty Images

Since July 1st has come and gone, the Islanders do look slightly different – signing former Toronto Maple Leaf Leo Komarov, Tampa Bay Lightning/Flyer Valtteri Filppula and former Penguin Tom Kuhnhackl. That was followed up with signing former Sabres goaltender Robin Lehner to a one year contract and trading for former Islander Matt Martin. Moves that fill some holes defensively and help the horrible Penalty Kill. It also raises questions of the intentions of next season – is it a tank? Will it be a crash and bang type season? Were the Islanders viewed as too soft and they wanted veterans to come in and change perception?

Another point to raise is how the Islanders seem to have two fourth lines now – does it indicate that existing Islanders will be traded? We explore that a bit.

Andy Graziano of WFAN doesn’t seem to think the Islanders have the chips it takes to swing a major trade “Personally, I don’t see them as having a ton of assets to trade with. That will hurt.” he also has a warning for fans “I think fans should prepare for a real tough year ahead until the free agent market turns around.” He cites a little tidbit from Lamoriello as a key point “Lou did preach “patience” when he took over – that will certainly be tested this season.” Oddly enough, this all was said to me prior to a majority of the changes I spoke about earlier – so I am not alone in not knowing what direction this team will take this upcoming season.

Building a team, the right team seems to be a common theme everywhere you look and that’s no different here. The Islanders have no choice now but to surround whats left of their talented players with the RIGHT support. A point that Ryan Paton of SiriusXM NHL Network Radio echos “It’ll be slower [building] with JT gone, but I’m a believer in teams taking their time and getting the right pieces in place no matter how they come about, because there is so much talent in this league.”

Dom, from Lighthouse Hockey thinks that everything has been reset but “options for upgrades aren’t great. Lou and Trotz probably scratch them up to non-tank, but non-playoff territory (although with Komarov and Filppula, maybe the accidental tank is already on, yikes!).” He also continues “Handling Lee and Eberle as pending UFA’s is huge” – Lou cannot let them walk away without gaining something in return, a lesson the entire league learned with Tavares’s departure for sure.

Despite all of the unknowns, Strang thinks fans should hang onto the positives “I think the team has made some huge steps forward in brining in Lamoriello and Trotz, but I don’t know how the Isles can fill the void that Tavares leaves, both on the ice and off, in the years to come.” Mike Carver of The Isles Seat agrees “I think the perception of the team is definitely better now than say 10-15 years ago, they’re getting the arena [Belmont], have a brand new beautiful practice facility, recently brought in Lou and Trotz (guys who’ve won) here.” But he also offered up a warning “Unfortunately, something like this will still make the Isles a punching bag for people like the Canadian Media” – we know nothing will ever change there until we start winning. Winning changes everything.

Wyshynski expands upon Lou Lamoriello due to his experiences with him in the past “Signing Leo Komarov and Valtteri Filppula reminded me of when Lamoriello tried to replace Scott Niedermayer [In New Jersey] with Dan McGillis and whatever was left of Vladimir Malakhov in 2005, like he was pants’d by free agency and didn’t have a backup plan”. He points to some potential trade targets like Jeff Skinner or as he says “in a bit of irony in a draft that produced Tavares, Matt Duchene of the Ottawa Senators” and warns “but this was a team that was on the bubble before their franchise player left. What are they now?” A question we’re still trying to find the right answers for, and may not know until the opening puck drops. A lot can change between today and in three months.

We’ll end on what we do know and it’s a big part of what Mark Parrish thinks will be a positive for this team moving forward “The good thing is that the Isles had no problem scoring goals last year. Barzal, Bailey, Lee – plenty of talent up front to compete. But, they have to address their D zone and goaltending.”

There’s way more to come in Part THREE where I speak in pretty lengthy detail with Mark Parrish on the inner-workings of the locker room and team when you lose an important player and what he feels about the GM and coaching changes. It’s worth the wait.

Media and Former Player Reaction to Tavares’s Departure: Part Two was originally published on islesblogger.com

#Anders Lee #Barry Trotz #Greg Wyshynski #Jodran Eberle #John Tavares #Josh Bailey #Katie Strang #Lou Lamoriello #Mark Parrish #Mat Barzal #New York Islanders #The Athletic #Toronto Maple Leafs

0 notes

flauntpage · 7 years ago

Text

Doing Nothing Is A Good Thing: Why The Flyers Are Better Off After The Trade Deadline Than Most Teams

Almost everyone around him made a move or three. Pittsburgh. Tampa Bay. Boston. New Jersey. Columbus.

But Ron Hextall stood firm.

While other teams were trading high draft picks like they were duplicate baseball cards, Hextall decided not to enter the fray, aside from making a waiver claim for veteran defenseman Johnny Oduya, who is here to be the No. 7 defenseman as the team prepares for the playoffs.

And it was the right thing to do.

Not because the Flyers – check that, the first-place Flyers – are head and shoulders above everyone else and don’t have flaws that can be addressed.

No, believe me, this team has flaws that definitely could have been corrected by trading for any one or two of several guys who switched teams yesterday.

It’s not that at all.

Nor is it what Hextall said – that he didn’t think trading for any of the guys that were available yesterday were of a good enough value that couldn’t be replaced by in-house options.

I mean, really, Ryan McDonagh would have instantly made the defense better than any other guy in the system. Evander Kane or Patrick Maroon or Thomas Tatar would have improved an offense that many mistake as deep because a bunch of streaky players are sitting around 10 goals.

No, there were upgrades that could have been made. For sure. But Hextall did the right thing by not getting rid of future assets at this time.

It’s not that he’s being too stubborn. It’s not that he’s overprotective of his draft picks. It’s that the Flyers are surprising everyone – including themselves – with how they are playing right now.

In other words, they’re playing with house money. If it weren’t for the Vegas Knights doing what they’re doing, the Flyers would be the best story in the NHL right now. Easily.

They went from last place to first place, defying all odds and expert analysis (including mine). They are doing so with a handful of really good players, and a bunch of mediocre players. They are in one close game after another, after another, after another, and are winning most of them.

Since December 4, they are 26-8-3. That’s pretty darn good. But let’s break that down further:

They are 11-2-3 in one goal games (including last night’s 1-0 shootout win in Montreal)

They are 8-2 in two-goal games

Six of the 10 two-goal games were still in doubt in the final minute and were finished with an empty-netter to make the two-goal spread (the Flyers are 5-1 in those games).

Add it all up and 22 of the 37 games (59.5%) had the winner in doubt into the final minute of the contest and in those 22 games, the Flyers are 16-3-3, garnering a .796 points percentage.

I don’t have the time to do the statistical research necessary to identify where that fits in the grand scheme of things, but based on experience and being around the sport for as long as I have, I’ll tell you that:

It’s rare for a team to have 60% of their games still be in the balance in the final minute of a game.

It’s even more rare for a team to be accruing 80% of the possible points available for all games that are lingering in the balance in the final minute of a game.

This was kind of the argument I was making in my last post a few days ago. This team never really looks like it’s consistently playing better than it’s opponent, and yet somehow, it’s winning.

The Flyers have now won six straight for the second time this season after winning in Montreal last night, a game, where, once again the Flyers didn’t play their best, but still won.

It’s been happening a lot lately with this team. And you can’t knock them for it. They’re 10-0-2 in their last 12 games. That’s not all luck. But it’s certainly not measurable statistically.

So, I decided to ask a couple of sharp guys on the team to offer some insight into this. How is this possible? How does a team that is not dominating the opposition on the ice somehow dominate in the win/loss column for such a long stretch of games (nearly half a season?)

“What’s overlooked a lot in hockey is that there is a real process to learning how to win games,” Andrew MacDonald told me. “But when you are playing strong, systematic hockey and everyone is committed to ding what you have to do to win, it not only improves your chances of winning, but it builds confidence.

“We are going into games now expecting to win every night. We no longer think ‘let’s not blow this one,’ or ‘let’s not let this one slip away.’ It’s a good mindset we’re in right now.”

I found what he said about systematic hockey interesting. Because, I felt when things were going bad, and even when they initially started to get better, that the Flyers biggest problems still were mistakes born from the system they were playing.

But MacDonald identified a key element that changed that has been the real difference maker for the Flyers.

“We made a change to our system that allowed us to have more support going back to the puck,” MacDonald said. “When teams dumped it in, it was tough [earlier in the season] because the defensemen were going back alone and didn’t have a lot of support. Now, we have some more layers to protect against breakdowns. That’s one part of it. But, even then we still have to make little tweaks along the way because teams pre-scout and they have a pretty good idea of what we are trying to do. So those tweaks are important to guard against complacency and ensure we can keep getting good breakouts out of the zone.”

Let’s look at those last 37 games again from this perspective:

In the games the Flyers have allowed two goals or fewer, they are 17-0-1. In the games they have allowed three goals or more they are 9-8-2.

Now, common sense will tell you that you will, of course, win more games the fewer goals you let up. So, I’m not giving you earth-shattering information there.

But compare it to the first 26 games of the season:

In the games the Flyers allowed two goals or fewer they were 6-3-0. In the games in which they allowed three goals or more they were 2-9-7.

See the differences?

Firstly, nearly half (48.7%) of the games since Dec. 3 have ended with the opposition scoring two goals or fewer. Where as, in the first 26 games, only a little more than a third (34.6%) ended that way.

Secondly, they are slightly above .500 from a points percentage perspective in higher scoring games since Dec. 3 (.526), then they were in the first 26 games (.306).

Thirdly, for the season, they are averaging 3.00 goals per game and giving up 2.83 goals per game. Here are the splits form the first 26 games and the last 37 in the goal scoring department:

Pre Dec. 3: 2.69 goals for; 3.12 goals against

Post Dec. 3: 3.21 goals for; 2.62 goals against

It’s all about defense. And not just the defensemen on the ice, but team defense. The Flyers have knocked off an average of a half goal against per game in the last 37 games. That’s a very big number. Considering the penalty kill is still subpar, it speaks a lot to the defensive schematic at 5-on-5. It also speaks to the team discipline to not take too many minor penalties.

It’s the immeasurables. Because if you look at puck possession statistics, the Flyers rank 17th in the NHL with a Corsi For percentage of 49.54, meaning they actually have possession of the puck less than 50 percent of the time.

Analytics people will argue that there are better measurements now than Corsi – like where the shots are coming from – and those that are being taken from the “high danger” area improve scoring success (no duh… but let’s go with this).

The Flyers HDFC% (high danger chances for percentage) is 49.75, which ranks 16th in the NHL and is again, below 50 percent.

Well, shit… the analytics say the Flyers are mediocre. How can they be a first place team?

“It’s the way the game is nowadays,” Sean Couturier told me. “Games are tighter than they’ve ever been. Everyone has the same information. What separates you is you have to learn as a team of players how to win these tight games.

“We’re comfortable playing these close games now. We thrive in them. Earlier in the year, the games were still tight, but we couldn’t figure out how to close it, or we’d find a way to lose it. We’ve learned from that. We’re a better team because of that. We’re responsible now. Guys are doing their jobs. We’re not trying to overdo it. We’re not trying to take chances just to take chances. We’re playing with patience and waiting for the good chances to arrive and not just trying to force them.”

In other words, they’re not just shooting the puck to shoot it because shooting is supposed to indicate they’re a good puck possession team. Nor are they only focusing on one area of the ice – you know, that place marked “high danger area.”

Instead, they are making other teams have to work harder to create their own opportunities and chances – however you want to define them. And the Flyers are waiting patiently for their chance to arrive.

O.K., so maybe waiting until the sixth round of the shootout last night was a bit too long, but – they still got a win.

And that’s all that matters.

So if you’re Hextall, and you’re looking at these team’s paying a king’s ransom for players to improve their lineup, when you know that your team is doing just fine the way it is for a long period of time, and probably reached this point a whole year before you expected it to do so, then why make a move? Why trade future value to make the push now?

Look, the Flyers are going to be a hard out in the playoffs. That said, they are still a likely underdog in a series against at least five other Eastern Conference teams (Tampa, Pittsburgh, Boston and probably Washington and Toronto, although I think they can beat either in a seven-game series).

And that’s to be expected.

The Flyers are living in the moment. They don’t know they are supposed to be losing more than they are. They don’t focus on the fact that Carolina Thursday will be the 12th opponent in the last 13 games that are below the Flyers in the standings. They just come to the rink and expect to win.

And although there’s a brutal stretch of games against really good teams on the horizon that will be a true bell weather test for the Flyers, it doesn’t matter. This team has already exceeded expectations.

Everything moving forward with the Flyers for the remainder of the 2017-18 season is just gravy. And when it ends, whenever it ends, because Hextall had the foresight to see that we’re still at least a year away from him needing to shove all his chips into the middle of the table at a trade deadline, the Flyers will be better off for it for several years to come.

Doing Nothing Is A Good Thing: Why The Flyers Are Better Off After The Trade Deadline Than Most Teams published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

0 notes

yahoo-puck-daddy-blog · 7 years ago

Text

What We Learned: Coming to terms with the Bruins being good

The Boston Bruins are on a serious roll. (Getty Images)

Toronto and Boston both won on Saturday in their respective last games before the Christmas break.

That positioned the Leafs two points ahead of the Bruins for second place in the Atlantic Division, but the Leafs have also played three additional games. And the way things are going for Boston right now, with only two regulation losses in 11 games in December, maybe we have to accept something that seemed a little unrealistic at the start of the season: This Bruins team might be pretty damn good.

That might be a bit difficult to accept for a lot of reasons. On paper, their defense is pretty underwhelming even if it has a few bright spots. On paper, their forward group has like five guys who look to be difference-makers (even if you rightly believe that first line is among the best in hockey). On paper, Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin might not seem like anything resembling a great goaltending tandem any more.

And on paper, when they started out 6-7-4 due largely to a raft of injuries to important players, you would have been well within your rights to take a pass on the Bruins’ playoff chances. They’re 12-3-1 since that time, though, and while that has obviously required some serious luck (their PDO is 102.7 in that time, fourth-highest in the league) they’ve been very good foundationally as well. Their possession numbers over the last 16 games rank fifth in the NHL. Their numbers have, in fact, been very good all season — they were also fourth in possession over their first 17 games, but had a 98.6 PDO, so that’s hockey.

It’s hard to overstate how important that top line is, though. Injuries and other issues forced Bruce Cassidy — who by the way has now coached the Bruins for 61 games and has 80 points and some really good underlying numbers since he took over behind the bench — to separate the incredible trio of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak for a good chunk of the season, and while those guys were all still good apart, together they’ve been dynamite.

How about this: The Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak line has now played almost 200 minutes together at 5-on-5 and haven’t been on the ice for a goal against. They’ve also scored 10 times, which isn’t a huge number given the TOI, but it’s at least respectable, and the result of an on-ice shooting percentage of just 8.1. Maybe you’d expect a higher that standard they’ve been a little lucky this season.

But even when those guys — with their 60-plus Corsi, shot, and expected-goal shares — are off the ice, the Bruins are still very good (though that obviously ignores the fact that they were being sprinkled throughout the lineup earlier in the year). But let’s take, for instance, David Backes, who might be out for quite a while still, and looked Very Done last year and early in this season as well. Despite looking like he was going to be a huge drag on the Bruins all year, his underlying numbers are elite just about any way you want to look at them. And that’s with the majority of his minutes being played with the basically no-name duo of mediocre veteran Riley Nash and promising-but-not-highly-touted rookie Danton Heinen. When you can get anyone to get David Backes’s underlying numbers to look respectable, there’s something good going on. When they’re all north of 55? That’s incredible.

A lot of the credit has to go to Cassidy: He was handed the keys to a franchise with too many older, broken-down, overpaid players and too many guys on ELCs. There were elite contributors throughout the lineup, but seemingly not enough to get things turned around. Not only does he have the Bruins playing at a roughly 108-point pace since he took over, but every number is great at 5-on-5; third in xGF and goals, first in Corsi, and all with a manageable PDO. And this season, both the power play and penalty kill are better than league average as well.

But so too must we credit a lot of the lower-pair contributors. Heinen has 22 points in 30 games thanks in large part to an unsustainable shooting percentage, but his underlyings are phenomenal as well. Frank Vatrano is having another good season. Anders Bjork was good until he wasn’t. Jake DeBrusk has been pretty good as well. And obviously the crown jewel in the Bruins’ stable of youngsters is Charlie McAvoy, whose performance has been above and beyond anything anyone had any right to expect this season. He has 19 points, which is a good total for any defenseman (tied for 26th in the league), but his performance at 5-on-5 is Chara-in-his-prime good in terms of the underlying numbers.

Obviously McAvoy doesn’t have the all-encompassing presence his pairing partner once did and to some extent still does, but he’s making everyone he’s on the ice with look better to an extent that no one could have anticipated, no matter how high on him they might have been. If this kid, playing his first full season of pro hockey, as a teenager, getting No. 1, tough-assignment minutes, hits 40ish points this year and has possession of 55ish percent at year’s end, then it’s as easy a Calder decision as we’ve had in recent years.

And Chara is still playing very good hockey, by the way. So is Torey Krug (despite the occasional grumble from locals in Boston). These were the three guys the Bruins needed to have going all year to be competitive, and they’re all doing it. But here’s how well things are going for the Bruins right now: Kevan Miller is having a dynamite season with positive relative numbers at 5-on-5 pretty much across the board.

If the D can keep this up — i.e. if McAvoy can avoid hitting the wall Brandon Carlo did last season — then there’s no reason to think the Bruins will slow down.

While they probably were never as bad as they were to start the year, they also aren’t as good as they’ve been in recent weeks. But the middle ground there is, of course, what puts them comfortably in contention for the second playoff spot in the division, and given both the way things have gone and the quality of the team in first, that feels just about right.

Kinda surprising, but hey, here we are.

What We Learned

Anaheim Ducks: Damn this was an impressive game from Anaheim.

Arizona Coyotes: I missed this earlier last week but: haha.

Boston Bruins: What if, and bear with me here, but what if Tuukka Rask is just good? Followup: What if we didn’t have to re-litigate this every season?

Buffalo Sabres: The Sabres are averaging almost 40 shots a night over their last few games, and that to me is a good number to aim for.

Calgary Flames: Basically nothing is happening on the arena front, presumably because ownership is still sulking. Losers.

Carolina Hurricanes: You can try to spin this as though it’s good but, uh, it’s not.

Chicago Blackhawks: One wonders if this team has any post-Christmas shakeup plans. They’ve been playing very well lately but lost their last two games by a combined scored of 8-1 and still not in a playoff spot.

Colorado Avalanche: I love that Nathan MacKinnon is good again.

Columbus Blue Jackets: The Jackets haven’t lost to Philly at home since 2005. Pierre-Luc DuBois, who had the shootout winner on Saturday, was 7 years old. Fun sport.

Dallas Stars: This is incredible.

Detroit Red Wings: Calling all fans of the Hold Steady. Detroit needs your help.

Edmonton Oilers: This seems like a real “lipstick on a pig” scenario.

Florida Panthers: It’s a Christmas miracle.

Los Angeles Kings: The Kings hadn’t been shut out this season until Saturday. Pretty incredible.

Minnesota Wild: What this team definitely needed was more bad news.

Montreal Canadiens: So uhh, what do the Habs do now?

Nashville Predators: Just unreal.

New Jersey Devils: The Devils are first in the Metro? Okay, sure.

New York Islanders: Yeah I dunno about this.

New York Rangers: The Rangers love giving up 35-plus shots. They love it and they do it all the time.

Ottawa Senators: The Senators? Listless? Say it ain’t so!

Philadelphia Flyers: Here’s me saying “Hmmmmm” for 12 hours straight.

Pittsburgh Penguins: How many times have we gotten this take in recent years?

San Jose Sharks: It honestly feels like Martin Jones is undefeated all-time against the Kings but he’s only 8-3-2 with a .927 save percentage. So that’s still pretty good.

St. Louis Blues: Yeah playing the Canucks is usually good for what ails ya.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Hey if you’re gonna score three goals in three minutes, doing it late in a scoreless game is definitely the meanest way to do it.

Toronto Maple Leafs: I don’t like to hear this.

Vancouver Canucks: Get used to this, kid.

Vegas Golden Knights: And yet “Vegas Golden Knights whine” has been in my email inbox all season.

Washington Capitals: The Vegas Flu Is Real!!!!!!

Winnipeg Jets: In my opinion it’s bad to give up a hat trick.

Play of the Weekend

Good lord, Jonathan Huberdeau.

Gold Star Award

Matt Barzal might be the guy that keeps Charlie McAvoy from winning the Calder, but I won’t accept that! Especially because, from what I understand, the Bruins could have drafted Barzal but, from what I understand, didn’t.

Minus of the Weekend

Zac Rinaldo is still in the league, huh?

Perfect HFBoards Trade Proposal of the Year

User “King in Glory” is getting creative.

Pacioretty Lindgren Juulsen

For

Barzal

Sign-off

Seymoooooour!

Ryan Lambert is a Puck Daddy columnist. His email is here and his Twitter is here.

(All stats via Corsica unless otherwise noted.)

#_uuid:dc73513d-b827-3ea1-9a85-3032441548eb #_revsp:21d636bb-8aa8-4731-9147-93a932d2b27a #_lmsid:a077000000CFoGyAAL #_author:Ryan Lambert

0 notes

spoiledsplendid · 7 years ago

Text

Lady Gaga: Joanne World Tour—Giving us a million reasons to enjoy the show

Lady Gaga: Joanne World Tour, No opening act

Date Seen: August 3, 2017

Cost of Ticket: $300: Come to Mama VIP Package

Rating: 85%

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

I've been fortunate enough to see Lady Gaga perform in 3 of her other world tours (Monster Ball 2010, Born This Way Ball 2012 & ArtRave 2014). I have appreciated watching Gaga grow as an artist and performer. There were parts of the Monster Ball tour that were riddled with amateur mistakes from blocking to song choices and pacing. Monster Ball was a huge improvement where I believe she really hit her stride. The ArtRave tour made me fall in love with songs from the ArtPop album that I otherwise felt had fizzled. The show gave her music life and her performances were electric. Gaga's latest album, Joanne, had a few stand out songs but overall lacked the edginess that has defined her career. So it was with great anticipation I waited to see what her most recent tour would bring to her fans and tonight I found out.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Gaga took the stage and started her 22 song-set with gusto. Instantly digging into new material—and be prepared, she sings 9 of the 11 tracks from her Joanne album. Diamond Heart was an interesting choice to start the show. However, the little monsters ate it up as Gaga had finally arrived. She rocked Precious Illusion which is the best breakup song of the past few years. Come to Mama was a poignant and sweet moment where Mother Monster embraced the diversity of the crowd and preached the need for love and acceptance. Her vocals hit all the right notes even if she occasionally missed one or two on the piano.

A few highlights of the show came when Lady Gaga played crowd favorites such as Bad Romance, The Edge of Glory and Just Dance. While Scheiße has never been a personal fave, it was a great vehicle to showcase the energetic dancing of Gaga and her team of dancers. Sadly, a few songs fell flat. Telephone seemed empty without having Beyonce's role (prerecorded or otherwise) filled. While Alejandro was well performed with a multitude of sexy male dancers, the lighting was too dark for both Gaga and the dancers, and the performance essentially became a silhouette to the LED screens on stage. Bloody Mary and Dancing in Circles were both forgettable. But Mother Monster finishes strong with The Cure and a show-stopping encore of a Million Reasons.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Gaga's stage was an innovative network of bridges that get lowered down from 'pods' suspended from the ceilings. Sometimes the bridges were rotated and doubled as screens. On another occasion, they were used for a quick change. They allowed Gaga to move from one end of the arena to the next. It was well used and interesting to experience. The mainstage had moving risers that contorted the stage into different angles. This also added to the overall visual effects of the evening.

I think the biggest flaw of the evening was the disjointed and lengthy transitions between segments. Artists like Cher and Britney Spears change costumes within 30-45 seconds. Gaga's transitions were closer to 3 minutes with the band playing and the odd video segment. It killed the dance vibe the crowd had going. When Lady Gaga reappeared, she had no issue getting the crowd back again, but it felt like a bumpy ride. It should also be said that the costumes were mostly interesting and unique except for the repeated country themed outfits. I can only handle so many cowboy hats in one show.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

One final critique is on the organization of the event. Originally when I bought the tickets, the event was scheduled for 7:30 pm. It got changed to 8:30 pm with no notice to concert goers. We had purchased the VIP Come to Mama package, which included floor seats, some swag, and priority entrance. 2 days before the show, the email from organizers informed us that the priority entrance was from 3:30-5:30 pm. Many people arrived around 3:30 pm. Organizers herded us from one line to the next for over 4 hours. Gaga didn't take the stage until almost 9 pm. So by the time the concert had started, many of the VIPs had already been standing for over 5.5 hours and then stood another 2 hours for the show. If you ask me...that's not very VIP at all.

Overall, Gaga did what she does best, she connected with her crowd and sang her heart out. There were places she could have improved but there was also some standout moments that I'll likely never forget. Advice: See the show, Skip the VIP packages and avoid floor tickets.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Remaining Shows are listed below:

AUG 5, 2017 SATURDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Tacoma Dome Tacoma, Washington AUG 8, 2017 TUESDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour The Forum Inglewood, California AUG 9, 2017 WEDNESDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour The Forum Inglewood, California AUG 11, 2017 FRIDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour T -Mobile Arena Las Vegas, Nevada AUG 13, 2017 SUNDAY @ 7PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour AT&T Park San Francisco, California AUG 15, 2017 TUESDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Golden 1 Center Sacramento, California AUG 19, 2017 SATURDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour CenturyLink Center Omaha Omaha, Nebraska AUG 21, 2017 MONDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Xcel Energy Center Saint Paul, Minnesota AUG 23, 2017 WEDNESDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Quicken Loans Arena Cleveland, Ohio AUG 25, 2017 FRIDAY @ 7PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Wrigley Field Chicago, Illinois AUG 28, 2017 MONDAY @ 8:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Citi Field Corona, New York AUG 29, 2017 TUESDAY @ 8:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Citi Field Corona, New York SEP 2, 2017 SATURDAY @ 6:30PM Lady Gaga Fenway Park Boston, Massachusetts SEP 4, 2017 MONDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Centre Bell Montréal, Quebec SEP 6, 2017 WEDNESDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario SEP 7, 2017 THURSDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario SEP 10, 2017 SUNDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania SEP 11, 2017 MONDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOV 5, 2017 SUNDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Indiana NOV 7, 2017 TUESDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Little Caesars Arena Detroit, Michigan NOV 10, 2017 FRIDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, Connecticut NOV 11, 2017 SATURDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, Connecticut NOV 13, 2017 MONDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour KFC Yum! Center Louisville, Kentucky NOV 15, 2017 WEDNESDAY @ 7PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Sprint Center Kansas City, Missouri NOV 16, 2017 THURSDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Scottrade Center Saint Louis, Missouri NOV 19, 2017 SUNDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Verizon Center Washington, District of Columbia NOV 20, 2017 MONDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour PPG Paints Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania NOV 28, 2017 TUESDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Philips Arena Atlanta, Georgia NOV 30, 2017 THURSDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour American Airlines Arena Miami, Florida DEC 1, 2017 FRIDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Amalie Arena Tampa, Florida DEC 3, 2017 SUNDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Toyota Center Houston, Texas DEC 5, 2017 TUESDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas DEC 8, 2017 FRIDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour American Airlines Center Dallas, Texas DEC 9, 2017 SATURDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour Chesapeake Energy Arena Oklahoma City, Oklahoma DEC 16, 2017 SATURDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga T-Mobile Arena Las Vegas, Nevada DEC 18, 2017 MONDAY @ 7:30PM Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour The Forum Inglewood, California

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

0 notes

junker-town · 8 years ago

Text

Predators fans throw catfish. What should fans of other NHL teams throw?

Cultural (and legal) ideas for the 30 other teams.

When a rogue Predators fan threw a disgusting dead catfish onto the Penguins’ ice in Game 1, fans tuning into the Stanley Cup Final might’ve been asking one question.

Why?

Yes, that. Thank you.

But I bet some were also wondering what their own fanbase throws on the ice. Surely all teams do this!

Nope. Only a few teams have caught onto this tradition. Which leaves us with the daunting task of coming up with ideas for all 31 NHL teams.

So far, as you’ll see, the three teams who do this regularly stick with animals. So for this thought exercise we’ll try to adhere to a few rules. We won’t nominate ideas:

If PETA is going to get pissed about it

If it’s illegal

If it’s offensive to a lot that goes on

Notice I didn’t say if it’s not possible. Anything is possible.

Let’s do this.

*Disclaimer: Don’t actually do any of these things. SB Nation does not condone the throwing of any of these items. I’m just idea-making here. Ideas are not endorsements. Wink.

Boston Bruins

If we were just going to stick with mascots here, we’d have to suggest a dead bear. But that doesn’t pass the PETA rule or the cost rule.

Simple googling tells me that wild turkeys are abundant in Massachussetts. You’re telling me a fan can’t smuggle a whole turkey into TD Garden?

Even if they couldn’t, you could totally hide a turkey breast or leg. This has potential.

Buffalo Sabres

One of two. Serious and non-serious.

Serious: buffalo wings. C’mon. Easy.

Non-serious: actual sabres. The players are basically wearing body armor. They’ll totally be fine.

Detroit Red Wings

Already figured out.

youtube

Florida Panthers

Also already solved in the Panthers’ third season and their 1996 playoffs run. From ThoughtCo.:

The story began during the franchise's third NHL season at the Miami Arena. Forward Scott Mellanby killed a rat with his hockey stick, which had tried scurrying across the team's locker room before the Panthers' home opener on October 8, 1995.

Mellanby went on to score two goals in the game with the same stick in which he killed the rat with. After the game, Florida's goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck then nicknamed Mellanby's feat the "Rat Trick."

Fans caught onto the story and started throwing rubber rats onto the ice after goals were scored. That led to this glorious scene:

youtube

So, yeah. No need for a new suggestion.

Montreal Canadiens

Canadians. Literally throw the Canadian next to you onto the ice.

Ottawa Senators

You can’t throw a senator unless you want to get arrested. Ignore the fact I just suggested you wouldn’t get arrested for throwing a Canadian. Just ignore that. Don’t worry about it.

You can, however, throw a gavel.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Unless you’re Zeus, you’re not going to throw lightning onto the ice.

Googling tells me that redfish are one of the more plentiful sporting fish in the Tampa area. So they could throw those.

But we all know that the Florida ecology is threatened. Why not help out by throwing these little buggers onto the ice?

That’s an Asian green mussel, an invasive species that wreaks havoc on intake pipes on ships, marinas and power plants. They also look ugly.

Okay, maybe just save those for when opponents score or something. Throw an alligator instead.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Imagine watching a fan trying to throw a leaf from his seat onto the ice. Hilarious.

But no. I also think that might be insulting to greater Canada. So fans should throw a maple tree onto the ice. Not branches. Entire trees.

theplantingtree.com

Don’t ask me how you’re supposed to sneak that into the arena. I provide the ideas, you provide the execution.

Carolina Hurricanes

If you really wanted to dig deep here you could throw tobacco. Maybe even barbecue.

But Krispy Kreme was started in North Carolina, and it would be absolutely wonderful if fans threw doughnuts onto the ice. Maybe even whole boxes! The fans get a fun sight and the players and refs get an in-game snack. Win-win.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images

If you’re going to fire a cannon after every goal then you have to let fans throw cannonballs onto the ice every once and awhile. Them’s the rules.

New Jersey Devils

Devil-based idolatry might offend many people. Understandable. That’s why you throw traffic cones. I hear traffic in New Jersey is awful. A governor once told me that.

New York Islanders

Photo by Stephen Chernin/Getty Images

You have to celebrate Long Island’s seafood. Lots of options here. You could throw Blue Point oysters. You could throw clams.

But you could also get away with throwing Long Island ducks. Duck farming is apparently a big thing on Long Island, so nobody will get mad if you buy a duck and decide to launch it into a hockey game instead of dining on it.

New York Rangers

... blue shirts?

I’ve got nothing.

Philadelphia Flyers

My Philly coworkers tell me the food is good in Philly. Sure. I’ve never been, so I can’t disagree.

I almost put hoagie down for New Jersey because that’s where I thought it was from. Nope. It’s from Philly. So congrats, Flyers arena staff. You get to clean up after launched hoagies splatter all over the ice.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Awww. You can’t throw dead penguins onto the ice. That’s actually pretty disturbing.

But what do you associate most with Pittsburgh? That’s right. Bridges. Fans should throw a bridge onto the ice. Failing that, throw something made of steel. That’s safe enough. Probably safer than a bridge. Probably.

Washington Capitals

I’d say throw a swamp but that’s been drained, right? I was told that was drained.

I think it’d be a nice way to honor one of our greatest presidents by throwing top hats. Save your generic, normal hats for hat tricks. Top hats only come out for playoff runs.

Or throw a politician. Either one.

Vegas Golden Knights

Dice. Duh. Moving on.

Anaheim Ducks

Well. Ducks have already been taken by the Islanders. I know. This is confusing.

But fans can still honor the Mighty Ducks tradition by throwing Mighty Ducks action figures. Way better than real duck corpses.

Arizona Coyotes

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Cacti. Are you kidding? Cacti. This was way too easy. Next team, please.

Calgary Flames

Throw fire.

Just kidding. No, throw lassos or cowboy hats or cowboy boots. Alberta (and Calgary, in particular) has a neat rural, ranching culture. And Calgary also hosts the Stampede, Canada’s largest annual rodeo festival. Embrace that and toss some rodeo items.

Like saddles! For the Saddledome! Perfect. Throw saddles.

Edmonton Oilers

Throw first round picks away. Wait, they’ve already done that a few times.

This is a deep cut, but stick with me.

Throw milkshakes to honor one of the best oil boom movies ever.

youtube

Los Angeles Kings

Crowns. Duh.

I guess if you wanted to throw something related to L.A. culture you could throw ... red carpets? Money? Flashing lights? Movies?

Wait. Yes. Movies.

Throw DVDs onto the ice. Boom. Forget the crowns. That was dumb.

San Jose Sharks

Too easy. I bet you could buy a shark at a market, right? A small shark, not a fully-grown one. Though if you can manage to smuggle in a whale shark then more power to you.

Vancouver Canucks

Another coastal town. So let’s go back to fish. And let’s go with a readily available Vancouver staple: salmon.

Or monkey puzzle trees. Because they sound and look funny.

123rf

Chicago Blackhawks

Lots of food-based options here. But I like the idea of smuggling a deep-dish pizza into United Center in your coat for two periods before frisbee-ing it onto the ice.

Colorado Avalanche

I have family members who’ve lived in Colorado and told me stories about being late to work because they had to wait for a herd of moose or elk to cross the road. Antlers can’t be too hard to acquire, right? You could totally toss antlers, as long as they weren’t all sharp and stuff.

Or mountains.

Dallas Stars

As a Dallas native, I feel uniquely prepared to answer this. Dallas fans should honor their city’s traditions by throwing corporate buildings onto the ice.

Kidding. Kind of. Dallas is way less “Texan” than you’d imagine. Cowboy stuff wouldn’t fit too well. But as the only Texas NHL team, they have to represent the whole state.

So, fine. Stars fans should throw cowboy stuff. Maybe hats. Maybe boots. Maybe horseshoes. Let’s go with horseshoes.

Minnesota Wild

Apparently there are a lot of lakes in Minnesota. And gophers. If you don’t mind offending some fellow fans by throwing a dead gopher on the ice, then go for it I guess. But if subtlety is more your game, go to your local Minnesota lake with an empty water bottle and fill it up. Toss it on the ice. Hope somebody gets the joke as you’re escorted out of the arena.

St. Louis Blues

What better way to celebrate the blues tradition than throwing saxophones?

Winnipeg Jets

Again, you could go moose antlers here. Or plane tickets.

But I like the idea of low-tech references to your team name. So make some really cool paper airplanes and toss those.

0 notes

uncleleo16 · 8 years ago

Text

Playoffs! This should be fun

Entering the season the Toronto Maple Leafs had a very low goal after finishing last in the NHL the year before. The goal was progress and development of younger players while the veterans on the team guide the younger players through a difficult season. Then next thing we know the trade deadline is approaching and we are very close to a playoff spot. The rookies are playing terrific, the veterans are stepping up, Andersen is better than we thought and Mike Babcock could win coach of the year. The Leafs then acquire Brian Boyle and Eric Fehr for the playoff run while getting rid of Frank Corrado and acquiring a 4th round pick. Losing the 2nd round pick in the Boyle trade hurt at the time but the Leafs went 9-3-2 in March and finished the season going 3-3 in April which was good enough for the last wild card spot. Now the Leafs face the Capitals, the best team in the NHL for their first playoff series since 2013 and their first postseason in a full season since 2004! That 2004 team had Mats Sundin, Bryan McCabe, Joe Nieuwendyk, Gary Roberts, Tie Domi and Ed Balfour. None of those players are still in the NHL and on the team only Matt Stajan is still in the league (2004 was his rookie year). This season is different then 2004 because in 2004 the Leafs were filled with Veterans and supposed to make the playoffs, they actually finished 4th in the East and lost in 6 games in round two too Philadelphia. This years Leafs weren’t expected to make the playoffs and are Rookie lead finishing 8th in the east and facing an uphill climb starting in Washington on Thursday. To get ready for the playoffs let��s look individually at each Maple Leaf and Grade them on their season so far. We will be excluding three categories:

Long-Term Injured: Joffrey Lupul, Nathan Horton, Stephane Robidas

Traded Away: Peter Holland, Jhonas Enroth, Frank Corrado, Byron Froese

5 or less Games: Milan Michalek, Seth Griffith, Eric Fehr

Forwards:

Auston Matthews: Rookie, 19 years old, Center

82 Games Played, 40 Goals, 69 Points, 14 Penalty Minutes, +2

Grade: A+

Matthews had a dream season for the Maple Leafs, he has run away with the Calder Trophy, lead his team to the playoffs as a 19 year old. Set Leafs records, scored more goals in a season than Phil Kessel had in any of his seasons in Toronto. First 40 Goal season by a Maple Leaf since Mats Sundin in 2002 as a Rookie. Matthews has also been very responsible Defensively and has a very mature game for a rookie.

James Van Riemsdyk: 8th year, 27 years old, Left Wing

82 Games Played, 29 Goals, 62 Points, 37 Penalty minutes, -2

Grade: B+

A very good season for Van Riemsdyk who might have found his role in Toronto with Tyler Bozak on a second line. Statistically this is his best season in point total but Van Riemsdyk comes in two people. Some games you barely know he is playing and other games he explodes for 4 scoring chances in the first period. His defensive game has been questionable at time but a good season overall for JVR.

Nazem Kadri: 7th year, 26 years old, Center

82 Games Played, 32 Goals, 61 Points, 95 Penalty minutes, -7

Grade: A

What a season for Nazem Kadri! Mike Babcock turned a former first option scorer into a more defensive center that shadows the oppositions best players. Kadri’s line was matched against the league best every night and he still had time to score 32 Goals. His development as a complete player has been really nice too see and he is still only 26 years old.

William Nylander: Rookie, 20 years old, Right Wing

81 Games Played, 22 Goals, 61 Points, 32 Penalty minutes, -3

Grade: A+

William Nylander had a very impressive season and although it started off with question marks on his effort and defensive ability, he really took off in the second half. He set a Leaf rookie record for longest point streak, showed amazing vision and passing ability with a killer wrist shot that is arguably the best on the team. Nylander even spent a couple of weeks on the fourth line to improve his defensive game and ever since then he has been a good two way player.

Mitch Marner: Rookie, 19 years old, Right Wing

77 Games Played, 19 Goals, 61 Points, 38 Penalty minutes

Grade: A+

Mitch Marner was said to be too small to make it in the NHL just like every other small winger but man can he play. Marner only scored 19 goals but he set a Leafs rookie record with 42 assists. Also the Maple Leafs rookies are so good that I act like 19 goals isn’t a lot. In the 2015-16 P.A. Parenteau lead the Leafs with 20 goals on the season, so 19 goals by a rookie is very impressive. Marner also has improved his defensive game under Babcock.

Tyler Bozak: 8th year, 31 years old, Center

78 Games Played, 18 Goals, 55 Points, 30 Penalty minutes, -1

Grade: A-

Bozak does his job as a Veteran second line Center. He wins a lot of Face-offs, he scores 50 Points, he plays defense and shows great commitment for the plan. Bozak playing with Marner has really elevated his game offensively and he is able to help Marner’s game defensively. Bozak pretty much played his role every night to the best of his ability.

Connor Brown: Rookie, 23 years old, Right Wing

82 Games Played, 20 Goals, 36 Points, 10 penalty minutes, +3

Grade: A

I’ve heard many different die hard Leafs fans say that on any other year Connor Brown would be our best rookie and all eyes would be on him. This is completely true and people have seemed to forget about the 20 goal scoring rookie and how valuable he has been to the Maple Leafs. He is given opportunity on both the Power Play and Penalty Kill and shows a lot of heart and desire on any line he is playing on. (He was most recently slotted on the Kadri/Komarov checking line heading into the playoffs). Brown could be a dark horse to make some noise for the Leafs in the Playoffs both offensively and defensively.

Leo Komarov: 4th year, 30 years old, Left Wing

82 Games Played, 14 Goals, 32 Points, 31 Penalty minutes, +6

Grade: A-

One of Babcock’s favorite players and the inspiration for this Blog. Leo Komarov is a relentless forward on defense and on the fore check. He always finishes his checks and finished with 232 hits on the year. He gets first line Power Play and Penalty Kill time and is a great mentor to younger players and specifically Nikita Soshnikov and Kasperi Kapanen. Komarov is a beast and should get under the skin of some players during the Capitals series.

Zach Hyman: Rookie, 24 years old, Right Wing

82 Games Played, 10 Goals, 28 Points, 30 Penalty minutes, +2

Grade: A

It was rare to see a shift in which Zach Hyman didn’t give everything he had to get the puck or maintain possession. People think he shouldn’t be on the Matthews line but Hyman is fast and great on the fore check to get the puck from the opposition. He complements a top line really nicely on the cycle below the goal line. A future Leo Komarov in the making possibly.

Josh Leivo: 3rd year on and off, 23 years old, Right Wing

13 Games Played, 2 Goals, 10 Points, 4 Penalty minutes, +2

Grade: A

Whenever Josh Leivo was playing it seemed like he would get a point, he is a hard working forward that is currently up with the Maple Leafs and possibly suffering a minor injury before the playoffs. He can be used on the power play and works well on the 4th line with his checking ability. The good thing about Leivo is that because of his offensive abilities, it is easy to slot him into any line on the roster.

Nikita Soshnikov: Rookie, 23 years old, Right Wing

56 Games Played, 5 Goals, 9 Points, 16 Penalty minutes, +1

Grade: A

Soshnikov is crazy, he is a rookie that will hit anything in sight and will fire absolute lasers at the net every so often. His ceiling is unknown because he has raw offensive talent that could place him on a top 2 line but he has characteristics of a grinder. He hasn’t played for the Maple Leafs in a couple weeks with an undisclosed injury but hopefully he will be ready to go for the playoffs because he energizes the team and the fans every night.

Matt Martin: 7th year, 27 years old, Left Wing

82 Games Played, 5 Goals, 9 Points, 123 Penalty minutes

Grade: A

He does his job and he has earned every penny of the 2,500,000 dollars he is signed too. Martin protects our rookies and while sometimes he doesn’t get an opportunity to go at certain players, he always steps in to fight and he is also a great forechecker that hits everything in sight. 6′3″ 220 Pound Forward constantly running over players every game. He has also been a good mentor to Mitch Marner and the youth.

Ben Smith: 5th year, 28 years old, Center

36 Games Played, 2 Goals, 4 Points, 4 Penalty minutes, -5

Grade: C

Honestly didn’t do terrible but wasn’t really memorable either, he was pretty good at face-offs and he did work really hard. The problem was that he wasn’t physical enough for the 4th line and struggled at times at both ends. It will be unlikely that he returns during the postseason or even for next season but we never know

Frederik Gauthier: Rookie, 21 years old, Center

21 Games Played, 2 Goals, 3 Points, 23 Penalty minutes, +2

Grade: B

The GOAT was good and had a solid 6′5″ frame to play on the fourth line. As a first round pick though Gauthier hasn’t developed as expected but he is a big body with potential and did show some nice signs during his stint with the Maple Leafs

Brian Boyle: 9th year, 32 years old, Center

21 Games Played, 0 Goals, 3 Points, 18 Penalty minutes, -2

Grade: A-

Ever since he stepped into Toronto, we have the twin towers of Martin and Boyle on the fourth line that no team wants to go against. Boyle adds great playoff experience and comes from winning teams which should help in the playoffs. The one disappointment on Boyle so far is offensively he hasn’t got anything yet in terms of goals even though he had 13 this year with Tampa Bay before he joined Tampa Bay. The truth of Boyle’s value will be tested once the playoffs start.

Kasperi Kapanen: Rookie, 20 years old, Right Wing

8 Games Played, 1 Goal, 1 Point, 0 Penalty minutes, -2

Grade: A

I’ve really liked what i’ve seen from Kapanen since he got called up from the AHL (where he had 43 Points in 43 Games). Kapanen is willing to kill penalties and play on the 4th line even though he is more known for his offensive abilities. His one goal however was one of the Leafs most important goal of the season and it will be interesting to see how Babcock manages where to put Kapanen once playoffs start.

Defenseman:

Jake Gardiner: 6th year, 26 years old

82 Games Played, 9 Goals, 43 Points, 34 Penalty minutes, +24

Grade: B-

I’m going to take heat for that Grade but I believe it is accurate. Yes he scored 9 goals and had 43 Points as a defenseman and yes he was a +24 but statistics don’t tell the whole story. I’ve tried to watch almost every Leafs game this year and Gardiner is sometimes difficult to watch. He breaks the puck out without strength or confidence and turns the puck over in dangerous situations throughout the season. His offense and skating redeems his mistakes on defense but he’s the type of player that either makes a great offensive play for the win or a bad defensive play that plays into a lose. I just want to say though that I fully support Gardiner, I think he is arguably our best puck moving defenseman at times but i’m curious as too how Babcock will treat his defensive mistakes. The Playoffs will be a big test for Gardiner and it should give us a better understanding of how he handles high stakes situations.

Nikita Zaitsev: Rookie, 25 years old,

82 Games Played, 4 Goals, 36 Points, 38 Penalty minutes, -22

Grade: B+

Overall it has been a very good rookie season for Nikita Zaitsev, and he has at times been the Leafs best positional defenseman. The 36 Points and 4 Goals are also promising as he had developed a strong offensive game in the KHL before coming to North America. Zaitsev goes into the playoffs possibly injured but if he is healthy, expect him to be matched up with the Ovechkin line in the first round.

Morgan Rielly: 4th year, 23 years old

76 Games Played, 6 Goals, 27 Points, 21 Penalty minutes, -20

Grade: B-

Morgan Rielly had a very interesting year of development. He remains the Leafs best puck moving defenseman but his offensive numbers are the worst of his career. He also is given a lot of ice time and has been expected to be too much of a shut down defenseman when in reality he is more of an offensive defenseman. He is still only 23 and probably the Leafs best defender but it wasn’t a great year for Rielly.

Matt Hunwick: 9th year, 31 years old

72 Games Played, 1 Goal, 19 Points, 18 penalty minutes, +8

Grade: A-

Matt Hunwick was very consistent this year. He provided stability on the third pairing for Toronto’s defense. He isn’t a flashy defenseman and doesn’t have great offensive abilities but he provided veteran leadership and was great at being in position and making the smart plays. Hunwick really had a good year for the Leafs.

Roman Polak: 9th year, 30 years old

75 Games Played, 4 Goals, 11 Points, 65 Penalty minutes, +10

Grade: A-

Polak had a terrific year in Toronto. He was the true warrior and veteran presence on the defense that the young Maple Leafs needed. He blocks shots, hits heavy, and moves the puck really well. Last year he was on a Cup finalist San Jose Sharks and played in all of their 24 playoff Games and this year he is trying to show the Maple Leafs a winning attitude and help guide them far in the postseason.

Connor Carrick: 3rd year, 22 years old

67 Games Played, 2 Goals, 8 Points, 51 Penalty minutes, +8

Grade: B

Carrick is a puck moving physical defenseman that plays like he is 6″6″ and he isn’t afraid to drop the gloves. In Reality he is only 5′11″ and had 18 Points in 15 Playoff Games with the Toronto Marlies last year. So although he has shown a lot of passion and heart with the Maple Leafs this year, the offensive ability is still something to be desired.

Martin Marincin: 4th year, 25 years old

25 Games Played, 1 Goal, 7 Points, 16 Penalty minutes, +3

Grade: C+

Marincin had solid numbers for the Maple Leafs in his 25 game stunt but he is the defenseman version of Ben Smith. His season was pretty forgetful and he had a tendency to turn the puck over by not being as confident or strong in his decision making. He is still only 25 years old and has turned into a injury replacement player for Babcock and the Maple Leafs.

Alexei Marchenko: 2nd year, 25 years old

11 Games Played, 1 Goal, 2 Points, 0 Penalty minutes, +1

Grade: B

Marchenko was not bad in his 11 game stint with the Maple Leafs after being acquired from Detroit and even scored a goal against his former team. The former 7th round pick is a physical defenseman that constantly blocks shots and is great on the penalty kill. He shoots Right handed and if Polak is still injured before Game 1, Marchenko will probably get the start over Marincin.

Goalies:

Frederik Andersen: 4th year, 27 years old

66 Games Played, 2.67 GAA and a .918 Save Percentage

Grade: A

Andersen is one of the primary reasons the Maple Leafs made the playoffs. He had a rough start but he quickly found his game and stole a lot of games for the Leafs following the All Star break to make the playoff push. He was terrific in two postseasons in Anaheim and hopefully he can put together a good performance against Washington because the Leafs need him if they want to pull off an upset.

Curtis McElhinney: 8th year, 33 years old

14 Games Played, 2.85 GAA and a .914 Save Percentage

Grade: B+

He is no Andersen but Curtis McElhinney won some big games for Toronto and proved that he is a solid backup. His best moment came on Saturday when he stepped in for a injured Andersen to finish the job against the Penguins. An amazing save on Crosby with less than a minute remaining clinched the Maple Leafs a playoff spot.

0 notes

paradoxicalca · 5 years ago

Text

r/hockey NHL Power Rankings Week 3: Feeling Blue Edition

/r/Hockey NHL Power Rankings Week Oct 14, 2019 - Oct 20, 2019Thank YouThank you to all of the volunteers doing the power rankings. Each ranker has their own system and have their own reasonings and analyis. It truly is a lot of work.RankersSpoilerOrganizersSpoilerVisualizationThe visualization contains historical data, so you can see how your team has done over time. Hopefully, we can run this for many years in hopes that we can see the rise and fall of teams by /r/hockey opinion.It automatically updates so feel free to bookmark. You can find it hereProcessHow does this work? Throughout the course of the week rankers are able to access an app that will allow them to rank teams. At the end of the period we calculate the average ranking for every team and collate all of the analysis provided by rankers.The app then generates a post that is first proofread and then posted to /r/hockey!Rankings (28/31 Rankers Reporting)Ranking (avg)TeamDeltaOverall RecordRecord This WeekComments1 (1.52)Colorado Avalanche-7-0-13-0-1Avs are strange they are winning, but at the same time they are very sloppy with many issues. The giveaways are sometimes out of control and the defense is often scattered. The Power Play is bad right now very stationary missing Barrie hurts. The first line looks normal which is unusual for a line that is typically so dominant. On the positive this team is a collective unit and its depth is showing up. The stars are flashing at different times and different lines are breaking through each night. Whether Kadri, Burakovsky, or Jost players are replacing the top lines dominance. The top line is still a sleeping giant and I worry for the rest of the league when it wakes up. Calder update: not a great week for Makar which is saying something still multiple assists on the week and 7 points in 8 games so far.2 (3.86)Edmonton Oilers37-1-12-1-13 (4.07)Buffalo Sabres27-1-13-1-0Its obvious that the west coast style of hockey was a shock to us, but we still managed to pull off 4/6 points for the trip. Victor Olofsson has cooled off a bit along with the powerplay, but our 5 on 5 play has been exceptional to compensate. Rasmus Dahlin is now second on the team in scoring to Eichel and second in PIMs to Kyle Okposo, who along with the Roaring 20's line has looked fantastic. We can't continue this pace forever, but I can dream right?4 (5.07)Boston Bruins-25-1-21-0-2The Bruins started off strong this week with a big win against the Ducks and Pasta scoring 4 goals! The rest of week had middling results with a shootout loss to the Bolts and an OTL to the Leafs. The Bruins still struggle to score 5v5 against the Bolts with all 3 goals coming on the PP. More secondary scoring is starting to show up on the scoresheet which helps but not at the level the team would like. The Bruins need more than the first line putting up points.5 (6.41)Carolina Hurricanes-36-3-01-2-06 (6.69)Vegas Golden Knights-6-3-02-1-0The Golden Knights are boasting one of the league's best special teams. Cody Glass's addition on the top unit has added an extra dimension to it allowing them to score on 30% of their power play chances. The penalty kill has only allowed two goals while scoring 4 short handed. Marc-Andre Fleury has been lights out lately playing like a Vezina candidate. But you have to ask the question if the Golden Knights are playing Fleury too much having him play all but one period in the season.7 (7.79)Anaheim Ducks36-3-02-2-0Ducks are living on the edge. Finishing problems have not been solved but Rakell looks night and day better than last season. Current team mood(not including Calgary): https://ift.tt/33urMd4 With wins over Buffalo and Carolina, the ducks look to shock teams thinking they can pull 4 points from a socal swing. Also does anyone have a power play goal for sale?8 (7.83)Washington Capitals-6-2-23-1-0Holtby has been much improved these last couple of games. Which is great news for Caps fans and bad news for everyone else. I think he may have realized his payday is coming up and he needs to get his numbers back to 2016-17 year. Although I would be okay with him repeating his playoff numbers from 17-18.9 (8.66)Pittsburgh Penguins56-3-02-1-0Despite having the most extensive injury list to start the season the boys are still playing at an elite level and winning games against tough opponents. Even in a loss against Vegas that game was kept close until very late but the Flower is going to do what he does best.10 (9.03)Toronto Maple Leafs-15-3-12-1-011 (12.21)Tampa Bay Lightning-4-3-12-1-0I really don't know what to make of this team yet. D has looked solid, and the PK hasn't been terrible (just need to win more faceoffs). The offense seemed to pick it up a little more, generating 46 shots against Colorado. The powerplay however, has looked awful, dropping from 28% last season to 16% this season.12 (13.86)Nashville Predators-4-3-11-1-1Well, the good news is the Preds found their missing PP. The bad news is now we need to start putting up flyers for their PK.13 (15.03)New York Islanders75-3-03-0-0Isles look to be getting into a groove now. Goaltending is solid and Mat Barzal is showing off his scoring while Nelson follows his regular Brocktober schedule. Wahlstrom being called up is very exciting with him showing some great skills, despite not getting his first goal yet. Next week's roster moves will be interesting, with Eberle hopefully returning to health and Dobson riding watching from upstairs lats couple of games.14 (15.03)Montreal Canadiens44-3-22-2-015 (15.21)St. Louis Blues-83-2-30-1-2This team is still hungover. Good play from some players but not really cohesive yet. Still early in the season though.16 (15.59)Calgary Flames-5-4-13-1-0A 3-1 week was the bounce back that the Flames needed, however an abysmal effort leading to a 4-1 loss against LA leaves fans wondering what kind of team the Flames are this year.17 (15.83)Arizona Coyotes54-2-13-0-0While the Coyotes have had one of the top D-groups in the league since last season, offense has finally started clicking for the Desert Dogs. The Coyotes have taken 9 of the last 10 available points, scoring 4.6 gpg over the previous week, and only allowing 2 gpg. The PP has heated up to over 30% in this time frame, and Darcy Kuemper set a franchise record for most consecutive games allowing 2 of fewer goals. Kuemper has not allowed more than 2 goals against now since March.18 (16.1)Vancouver Canucks55-3-03-1-0I suppose I should say something I'm thankful for this year, but as a true Canucks fan I'd rather just be an entitled little egg eater and not give thanks for anything. This team is pretty good, but what I really deserve this year is a Stanley Cup win, or maybe the first overall draft pick if we miss the playoffs. Ideally, the Canucks will win both, otherwise it's time to #firebenning. Anyway, The Canucks turned around their early season slide with a very convincing win at home vs. the Kings and a less-convincing shootout win vs. the Flyers. The top line continues to be somewhat stifled, but that's okay because there are now various interesting players to watch on this team. Miller and Hughes have both come exactly as-advertised, Markstorm is tight, and Pearson appears intent on revitalizing his career. Myers is big, and while I don't know how his play will end up on statlines, he is very fun to watch.19 (17)Winnipeg Jets-65-5-01-2-0Tough, week was tough. Last week saw us win 3 in a row, this week saw us lose 3 in a row. The truth is we're probably somewhere in the middle of that. No one is doubting this teams offensive depth or skill level, The defense continues to leave much to be desired. Rumblings of Buff's return continue to give us this false sense of hope about the season. The tenders have been decent, through this tough stretch. Not alot to say at this point. The forward core is good enough to score on anyone, but if they run into a hot goalie, like they did vs the Isles they are going to lose. Frustration isn't the correct word, I'd say it's more of a malais. Also, they failed to sell out a game for the first time in 2.0 history, I understand it was vs the Gila River Coyotes on a Tuesday while there was snow on the ground on October 15th, but still, not a great sign.20 (20.34)Florida Panthers13-2-32-0-1Can the Panthers end a game in regulation? Can the Panthers hold on to a lead? No and no. But they managed to win against Nashville without Barkov, pretty good.21 (21.79)Columbus Blue Jackets33-3-21-0-2Three solid performances this week, but both overtime losses were games that were very winnable. Poor power play performance continues to plague the Jackets and this year the penalty kill seems to be having issues too. Cam Atkinson is on the right wing side on the PP and it doesn't seem to be working. Outside of special teams, though, the young Jackets team has looked pretty good at driving the game though puck possession. There were multiple shifts vs Chicago that were a minute plus of sustained pressure and chances in 5 on 5 situations. Only issue here is burying chances which should eventually happen if this play keeps up. Two tough opponents this week should be a good test. Expect to see Elvis get his first win soon!22 (22.86)Philadelphia Flyers-52-3-10-3-0Thanks to the backup ranker, I'm a student who is working as well so sometimes time escapes me. Thanks again for covering last week. That being said, the flyers made me sad and I want them to not suck. Oilers hurt our Goodboye(tm) Hart, we lost to the flames who I feel we should have at least been able to take to overtime, and I dont want to talk about the stars game. Lets just hope that we do that hockey thing better this week.23 (23.48)New York Rangers-82-4-00-3-0This team's starting to look a little more as I expected. Actually a little worse than I figured. It may have been due to the schedule, but holy shit was this a painful week. There were only about 20 minutes of hockey that I was hyped about this week and that was the third period against the Canucks. Defense needs to be addressed and the forward lines need to be sorted out. Andersson still deserves more minutes and Kakko should get time with the first line and possibly even the first power play unit. Hopefully this upcoming week gets better.24 (23.52)San Jose Sharks33-5-01-1-0Much better week for the Sharks. The rookies are starting to look more comfortable, and everything is starting to fall into place. The team is starting to regain confidence and everyone's playing much better than the first week.25 (23.62)Chicago Blackhawks32-3-12-1-0Kirby Dach made his NHL debut last night. The 3rd line of Saad-Kampf-Kubalik has been the most consistent, and arguably our best line so far. They have a 60.75 CF% and 67.90 FF% at even strength, and the team has a 46.54 CF% and 42.91 FF% when none of them are on the ice. The Hawks are a much more physical team, averaging 31.3 hits/game, up from 16.5 last season. But are hurt by poor special teams: they are 3 for 18 on the PP (16.7%) and 12 for 18 on the PK (66.7%).26 (23.79)Los Angeles Kings-13-5-01-2-0no bueno for the kings this week, Drew Doughty may have exerted dominance in his love-hate relationship with Matthew Tchakuk. along with a flying Mark Giordano superman appearance. The Kings look poised for mediocrity or worse again.27 (23.86)Detroit Red Wings-83-5-00-3-0We expected regression to hit at some point, things took a turn for the worse as they went 0-3 getting killed by VAN/CGY. The “veterans” seem to be hindering development. Dropping Bertuzzi from the top line to create “balanced” scoring was unnecessary by Blashill as no increased production came from Athanasiou along with decreases in Larkin/Mantha hot start. Most teams in the league load up a top line(COL/BOS) or have players to spread out(VGK/STL). Detroit is definitely not the latter and having Darren Helm on the top line kill many opportunities for Larkin/Mantha. Defense is still lackluster outside of Hronek and the Goaltending is still hard to evaluate since the defense is playing so poor. However I still maintain that Howard and Bernier do well enough to keep the WIngs in games. Their loss against EDM was a good step forward as Bertuzzi rejoined the top line near the end of the game and they were able to keep the EDM studs from running up the score.28 (27.59)New Jersey Devils22-4-22-1-0WE DID THE THING! It may have taken us longer than everyone else but we did it and against the Rags, making it all the sweeter. Predictably, the rampant calling for Hynes' head in the sub and GDTs have largely subsided, though he is still very much on the hot seat. Hughes got his first goal of hopefully many against his brother's team, and it ended up being the GW and only goal. The team as a whole seems much more cohesive and the pieces are starting to fall into place. And in possibly the best news of the week, we signed Nico long term, 7 years 7.25 AAV with a MNTC. Having Nico signed until 2027 is a relief knowing exactly how much a high talent player will be making before the offseason hits.29 (28.24)Dallas Stars-32-7-11-3-0If you're panicking this week, I don't blame you. I am, too. Things went almost as bad as they could have. The negatives are many. We're all aware of them, so let's try to be optimistic. What went right this week? Hintz and Heiskanen continue to deliver. Bishop showed he can still stand on his head for a win. Perry and Gurianov look promising. Can we take our successes against Philly and triumph against the Senators tonight? Can we use this win to build momentum and get key players back to playing elite hockey? Lets hope... otherwise, it's going to get messy, and you'd have to imagine that drastic changes are on the table.30 (29.97)Ottawa Senators-11-5-10-2-1An incredibly boring loss against the Minnesota Mild this week pointed the Sens' tank back in the right direction this week. Despite an incredible performance from Nilsson in Las Vegas and finally recording a goal on the powerplay, the team managed no wins and only a single point over the course of this week - exactly the kind of performance they want to continue if they wish to remain at 31st in the standings for the best possible shot at 1st overall pick in the 2020 draft. The only concerning part about this week is in Chabot, Tkachuk, White, and Zaitsev all clearly looking frustrated by the team's struggles; It will be a test of new coach DJ Smith and the "veteran presence" guys that Dorion brought in to keep locker room morale up in this tough rebuild year.31 (30.14)Minnesota Wild-2-6-02-2-0This blurb requires more effort than the Minnesota Wild have shown so far this season. Were it not for a dumpster fire of a matinee game against Ottawa, Minny would still be looking for their first win of the season going into Sunday's tilt against Montreal. 8 games in and Brad Hunt is the leading the team in points. Seems pretty fitting as the rest of the team is playing like total Hunts (unfortunate that one important key on my keyboard is broken). r/hockey NHL Power Rankings Week 3: Feeling Blue Edition Source

0 notes

paradoxicalca · 5 years ago

Text

r/hockey NHL Power Rankings Week 2: Nature's Wrath Edition

/r/Hockey NHL Power Rankings Week Oct 7, 2019 - Oct 13, 2019 (30/31 Rankers Reporting)Thank YouThank you to all of the volunteers doing the power rankings. Each ranker has their own system and have their own reasonings and analyis. It truly is a lot of work.RankersSpoilerOrganizersSpoilerVisualizationThe visualization contains historical data, so you can see how your team has done over time. Hopefully, we can run this for many years in hopes that we can see the rise and fall of teams by /r/hockey opinion.It automatically updates so feel free to bookmark. You can find it hereProcessHow does this work? Throughout the course of the week rankers are able to access an app that will allow them to rank teams. At the end of the period we calculate the average ranking for every team and collate all of the analysis provided by rankers.The app then generates a post that is first proofread and then posted to /r/hockey!RankingsRanking (avg)TeamDeltaOverall RecordRecord This WeekComments1 (2.61)Colorado Avalanche34-0-02-0-0Week two same as the first 2-0 and the Avs remain unbeaten. Honestly it has been impressive. MacKinnon still seems frustrated and not quite firing 100%, so that is scary for other teams. The depth has been there though Kadri finally got rewarded and Burkovsky had two GWG, Jost got his first and the PK looked slightly better. Best news on that front is Ian Cole should be back soon and will travel on the road trip. Defensive zone giveaways are still the big weakness of this team combined with the young d-core, but we will get better, and the great passes generally out weigh the giveaways. Avs have a really hard 6 game road trip coming up with the easiest teams being a beat up Pittsburgh and Florida, neither of those are easy games. We start of with a matinee in D.C. on Monday. Calder Watch: Makar now has 5 points in 4 games with two primary assists in the win against the Coyotes on Saturday, He is still averaging about 20 min a night. Barnacle_Ed says Undefeated and boasting the likes of Mackinnon, Rantanen, and Makar, this team is all but a lock for a playoffs spot in the West.2 (2.97)Carolina Hurricanes45-1-02-1-05-1-0 to start the season, two early Norris candidates in Slavin and Hamilton, and Svechnikov coming into his own as a play maker has Canes fans ecstatic. Aho has had a slow start, lets see how the following weeks California trip goes for him, fans hope to see his production kick off.3 (3.42)Boston Bruins-14-1-02-1-0The Bruins finished up their first road trip with 6 points in 4 games which is an impressive way to start the season. The Bruins came into Vegas with a sluggish start but then turned on the offense and responded with 4 unanswered goals for a win.The Avs provided to be a very formidable opponent, handing the Bruins their first loss of the season in a wacky game with two, rightfully, overturned Bruins goals. The Bruins returned home for their season opener and put on a clinic against the Devils for Rask's first shutout of the season. The special teams are starting to get a good rhythm going and more depth is showing up on the scoreboard on a consistent basis. In the buzzsaw that is the Atlantic, the Bruins can't take the foot off the gas to fall behind other teams also high in the standings.4 (5.53)Edmonton Oilers105-0-03-0-0A blazing powerplay and penalty kill have powered the Oilers to an undefeated 5-0-0 to start their season. Real Deal Neal is scoring at a fiery pace. The wins are from some spectacular offensive performances from Klefbom, Nuge, McDavid, and Draisaitl this past week. Nurse is dominant on defense, and goaltending has been solid (though nothing spectacular). The Oilers performance is undeniably unsustainable, but comeback victories this week against Oilers, Devils, and Rangers have many believing that this team looks to make magic happen for this entire season. Let's see where this goes.5 (6.5)Buffalo Sabres34-0-12-0-1We have had a nice string of games to start the season, however these last few look quite different from the first couple. Columbus really had our number; we barely had any chances and were badly out-shot. We somehow dragged that game into OT and came away with a point, but yikes. The Florida game could have had a much higher score if not for Bobrovsky, and at times Ullmark. Its not a good sign that we need extra time every night to get the job done, given how that turned out last year after the streak. However, the only real problem I see right now is an invisible third line. That would be Vesey-Mittelstadt-Sheary/E-Rod. Don't be fooled by the flashy shootout winner, we will need to see production from all four lines if we want any chance at making the playoffs this year. Speaking of invisible,someone should tell Krueger to put a third player on with Skinner and MoJo.6 (7.87)Vegas Golden Knights-44-2-02-2-0After dropping two straight games against Boston and Arizona, Vegas bounced back really strong against Calgary and Los Angeles. Cody Eakin's return allowed Gerard Gallant to reunite the Pacioretty - Stasty - Stone line and has worked wonders for them. Marc-Andre Fluery has been fantastic on the season so far and the two rookies on the line, Cody Glass and Nic Hague, are doing pretty well for themselves.7 (8.21)St. Louis Blues23-1-12-1-0Blues are most finding ways to win, but Saturday's ugly loss to Montreal shows that we still have some work to do. Hopefully some young guys who aren't getting it done like Fabs or Sanford can pick it up before its too late for them. Also, i see u Sammy Blais and I love you8 (8.45)Washington Capitals-23-1-21-1-19 (9.55)Toronto Maple Leafs-63-2-11-2-0I think it’s safe to say this was not the week that the leafs envisioned themselves having. The week started alright with an overtime loss to the reigning Stanley cup champions. A loss is never the goal but keeping pace with the team that just won the Stanley cup was a good measuring stick for the leafs. On Thursday the leafs hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning and in short the Lightning walked all over the leafs. This was a game where nobody on the leafs played well and the score shows that (7-3 Tampa Win). I could sit here and talk about which leaf players played poorly and which ones were worse for hours but I am not going to. My suggestion to all leaf fans is to just accept that this game happened, every team gets blown out once in a while. We don’t need to be happy about it but the fact is it happened so just put it out of your mind and move on to the next one. Saturday against the red wings was a chance at a bounce back game for the leafs and they did just that with a solid 5-2 win.10 (10.05)Anaheim Ducks34-1-02-1-0We have got your nail biting hockey here. The ducks went 1-1-0 this week against the penguins and blue jackets. The ducks don’t have anyone with more than 2 goals. Ondrej Kase leads the team in points with 1+3=4 points.11 (12.29)Tampa Bay Lightning-42-2-11-1-0YIKES. Sure, the Bolts looked great against Toronto, but good god did they play down to Ottawas level. The first line was almost non-existent, and those poorly timed penalties showed up again. It's almost like Tampa plays hard against difficult opponents, then tries to coast by teams that should be easy, but we see how well that works.12 (12.53)Nashville Predators13-2-02-1-0Alright, another week down and the playoff picture is really starting to become clear... Okay, not really, but it does seem pretty clear that the offseason moves have given us a Preds team that is different than what we're used to. Defensively the team seems to be adjusting to a lineup sans Subban, and Fabbro is handling the immediate expectations nicely. Conversely, I'm going to continue deluding myself into thinking somehow the loss of Subban explains whatever our third pairing is doing on the ice. On the other side of the puck, well, as weird as it feels to say it the Preds lead the league with a 4.6 GF/G. More importantly though is the fact that no longer does a 2 or 3 goal deficit feel insurmountable; this week alone the team clawed their way back against WSH multiple times before stealing a W, and they closed a 3 goal deficit to LAK before letting in the game winner in the final minute. There's still a long season ahead, but if nothing else this team is a hell of a lot of fun to watch right now.13 (13.08)Winnipeg Jets84-3-03-1-0What a week, wins against Pittsburgh, the Wild and Hawks. all come from behind affairs, there is reason to be optimistic about this team. No one doubted their forward depth, and with Laine looking like he wants a big pay day in 2 years, it’s been tough for teams to match the skill from the Jets top 9. Helly has also shaken off whatever was ailing him against the Rangers, allowing the inexperienced d-corp to make a few mistakes and gain some confidence. Heinola has looked shaky at times but he seems to have a very high skill ceiling. Lowry hasn’t looked great, but being between Bourque and Letestu will do that to you. Also, I’d love to take a moment to shout out Anthony Betetto, kid has looked like a serviceable NHL defenseman these past couple games, almost like Chevy knows maybe a bit more about hockey than your average r/winnipegjets poster. But this could all be for not as I’m writing this before our game against the Pens and who knows what could happen. Knock on wood.14 (13.89)Pittsburgh Penguins34-2-03-1-0This team is getting 6 and 7 goals with Malkin and Bjugstad out. Not to mention Galchenyuk and Rust as well. Their offense is gonna be flat out scary in a month or two.15 (14.55)New York Rangers-52-1-00-1-0Only one game this week, and unfortunately it was an L. On the bright side, KAAPO KAKKO IS A GOD. I believe he deserves a chance on the first line with Bread and Mika. Lias also deserves to play more than 8 minutes a night. The game overall was ok but it was apparent that there was some rust (thanks schedule makers). Now we have to wait until Thursday for another game.16 (15.18)Calgary Flames42-3-11-2-1The Flames do not look great. The team just isn't clicking and can't seem to start games on time. Through 6 games, only 4 forwards have scored (insert James Neal joke here). The good news is they started last season quite slow (5-5-0) and still finished 2nd in the league, so there is hope the team can get things rolling.17 (15.63)Philadelphia Flyers12-0-11-0-118 (16.26)Montreal Canadiens-32-1-21-1-1Two hard losses to worse teams hurt morale, but they bounced back with a big win against the Blues. If they keep up the momentum from this win, they will shoot up the rankings19 (17.66)Detroit Red Wings13-2-01-2-0Detroit was outlasted by the Ducks and shut down by the Maple Leafs this week. Detroit could have potentially won both these games despite being out-ranked and they had every opportunity. This is a transition from last years mentality of “maybe” to “should be” winning games any given night. While the young studs are playing great, there is a player missing. That player between rising stars and worn-out veterans, who sets contenders apart from the rest of the league, similar to Ryan O’ Reilly before last season. That kind of player comes into the picture after a playoff window starts and Detroit hasn’t hit one quite yet. Their dominance over Montreal, who has a similar rebuild timeline as Detroit, offers assurance that things are on the right track. Detroit will be a fun team to watch succeed this year when they can put together a complete effort. Their games can be consistently determined by their own ability and effort, instead of getting lucky against a superior opponent.20 (20.34)New York Islanders-12-3-01-2-0Last year the Islanders took almost a dozen games to stop being garbage and get into the Trotz system. You'd expect that in year two this wouldn't be necessary, but Isles fans are hoping thats what this is right now. Not playing well, this team has struggled to score and goaltending hasn't been able to bail them out. Bailey and Beau are leading the way so far for the offense, with Barzal, Lee, and Eberle leaving a lot to be desired. On defense Pelech looks to be picking up where he left off, with Dobson holding his own in his first start. Have to hope that they build on the solid effort they put up vs the Panthers, and are able to start getting into a groove going forward.21 (20.74)Florida Panthers-51-2-20-1-2The Panthers had two solid games and Bob and Hoffman stole the show during the home opener. Q's system will take some time to cement itself, but it's looking good.22 (22.45)Arizona Coyotes31-2-11-0-1The Coyotes came out of the 2nd week 1-0-1, attaining 3 of 4 available points. As was the case in the first week, the Coyotes defense and goaltending combo has arguably been one of the top in the league, allowing only 1.75 goals against per game, and limiting opposition possession and high quality shots. The Coyotes main struggle comes in finding consistent offense. It was on high-display in Vegas, where the yotes scored 4 and took the victory; however, it was ellusive against Colorado on Saturday, in which, despite having possession and shot advantage, the Yotes could only pocket 2, eventually falling in OT. If the Coyotes maintain the current levels of defensive production, all they need to do is find a way to hit 3 goals in a game, and they will win the majority. PP desperately needs help as well.23 (22.47)Vancouver Canucks62-2-02-0-0I suppose I should say something I'm thankful for this year, but as a true Canucks fan I'd rather just be an entitled little egg eater and not give thanks for anything. This team is pretty good, but what I really deserve this year is a Stanley Cup win, or maybe the first overall draft pick if we miss the playoffs. Ideally, the Canucks will win both, otherwise it's time to #firebenning. Anyway, The Canucks turned around their early season slide with a very convincing win at home vs. the Kings and a less-convincing shootout win vs. the Flyers. The top line continues to be somewhat stifled, but that's okay because there are now various interesting players to watch on this team. Miller and Hughes have both come exactly as-advertised, Markstorm is tight, and Pearson appears intent on revitalizing his career. Myers is big, and while I don't know how his play will end up on statlines, he is very fun to watch.24 (23.76)Columbus Blue Jackets62-3-02-1-0A few solid performances this week vs some hot teams. Special teams still seem to be an issue, however. The youngest team in the league will continue to grow in the coming weeks and we should get a better idea of what we've got by Thanksgiving.25 (24.13)Los Angeles Kings22-3-02-2-0Sorry for missing last week fam. After getting thrashed by the Nucks, the Kings did pretty well and bounced back against the Predators. McLellan's system is continuing to be tweaked game to game- but its clear that the Kings are trying to create somewhat of a new identity early in the season.26 (25.32)Dallas Stars-31-4-11-1-1I know you may want to panic... but. don't panic. Everything is going to be fine (probably). Remember, it has been a pretty darn tough schedule.. We played good hockey on Tuesday against the Caps and, on Thursday, showed moments of strength against the Flames despite a heartbreaking shootout loss. Later in the week, the Caps were ready for a rematch and took advantage of our under-performing special teams. It was the worst we looked all week, tons of missed opportunities. The 4-1 loss was deserved. Here's the thing, though. The top 6 WILL start producing. The schedule WILL get easier. And our goalies are only gonna look better as the season progresses. If things are still looking dire by this time next week... well maybe start panicking a little.27 (26.61)San Jose Sharks-12-4-02-1-0Still not a good week for the Sharks, but a definite improvement. Having Marleau back should add some scoring depth, and hopefully Simek will be back soon to tighten up the defence and help Jones/Dell.28 (26.61)Chicago Blackhawks-60-2-10-1-1The Blackhawks have lost 3 straight, all by 1 goal. They have started strong, but failed to play a full 60+ minutes. They have an abysmal 42.91 CF% and 60 PK%. But the defense was helped by the returns of Connor Murphy and Calvin de Haan. Kirby Dach made his pro debut in Rockford on Saturday, on a conditioning stint.29 (28.26)Ottawa Senators21-3-01-1-0The Eugene Melnyk Experience Senators managed a win this week over renowned choke artists the Tampa Bay Lightning, thanks to a surprisingly solid game defensively and Namestikov showing that he was certainly worth the steep price of a 4th round pick. This was a great morale boost for our young core, but hopefully that 1 win doesn't come back to bite us later in the Lafreniere and Byfield sweepstakes at the 2020 draft. Hopefully, in true Ottawa fashion, we have a poor showing against the Mild on Monday and get this tank right back on track pronto.30 (28.68)New Jersey Devils-60-3-20-2-1Please hockey gods, tell us what do we need to do? The subreddit is seemingly calling for Hynes head just 5 games into the season, however it's hard to discern whether this is a result of the echochamber of the GDT or legitimate consensus. Here is a straw poll that was sparsely answered, but still holds value in the people that answered it are more likely to be users active outside of the GDT. Pros: not many but Cory has been a bright spot. #goals4cory2019. We also have played good teams, currently the Devils opponents combined record is 19-3-2. Like Damn. Cons: The team is gelling like oil and water. Our PP is 0 for 15, and PK is 8 for 16. We aren't even giving up an unusually high number of shots. 30.8 is T9 in the league. It feels like the wheels were put on too hastily and they fell off a few feet out of the gates and we are still trying to repair the damage. Oh, and the cherry on top is that Greene is on IR so we are down our captain.31 (30.39)Minnesota Wild-30-4-00-2-0Big brain take: With just one disastrous season at the helm, Paul Fenton was brought on to enable the tank, absorb the unified hatred of a fan base, and allow Bill Guerin to ascend and rebuild the franchise from the dumpster fire which it currently resembles. It's unfortunately going to cause Bruce Boudreau to lose his job as a result and while it's not his fault that the outgoing GM made moves that caused even Peter Chiarelli to scratch his head, this season could spiral out of control very quickly. The prospect of a complete overhaul and not "tweaking the roster" as our meddlesome owner loves to repeat is the only thing keeping me from doing my best Peter Parker with a Metro train. r/hockey NHL Power Rankings Week 2: Nature's Wrath Edition Source

0 notes

thrashermaxey · 6 years ago

Text

DFS Saturday: Potential Targets, The Rise of Hotsam Batcho

After an Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres matinee, we are granted with an 11-game main slate on Saturday. The Montreal Canadiens, who are one point behind the Atlantic-division leading Tampa Bay Lightning, will play the Lightning on Saturday night and try to build on a surprisingly successful first 30 days of the season. The New York Islanders will attempt to win their fifth straight game when they face Taylor Hall’s (Kyle Palmieri’s?) New Jersey Devils, while the Toronto Maple Leafs will look to stay perfect away from home. And the last place Los Angeles Kings will be entertained by the Columbus Blue Jackets in La La Land to complete the night’s action. Mikko Rantanen, the NHL’s leading point scorer, and Gabriel Landeskog, the NHL’s leading goal scorer both have the night off so we’ll have to look elsewhere for some studs to lock into our lineups. Let’s take a look at a few, potential DFS targets for Saturday.

C – Ryan O’Reilly (DK $6,900, FD $5,800)

Here’s some trivia for you: What NHL player has averaged the most fantasy points per game on both DraftKings and FanDuel over the past two weeks? If you guessed Ryan O’Reilly, you’re wrong. Sorry, I couldn’t make it that easy on you considering there’s a “Ryan O’Reilly” headline directly above this paragraph. But Ryan O’Reilly has averaged the second-most fantasy points per game on both of the previously mentioned DFS sites over the past two weeks. It’s a good thing you stumbled across this article—anyone who could’ve guessed Ryan O’Reilly has been doing this well as of late is a liar.

C – Nazem Kadri (DK $6,000, FD $5,400)

It’s impossible for one to not notice how Kadri has been the beneficiary of Auston Matthews going on the IR list. Kadri has played 21:14 and 19:50 in the games that AM34 has been on the shelf, which is a significant increase in his average TOI. The Penguins can create lots of scoring opportunities, but they can also give up lots of scoring opportunities. Plugging Kadri into your lineup allows you to get some exposure to what should be an exciting Leafs/Pens game at a reasonable price.

W – Justin Williams (DK $6,100, FD $4,400)

The forward line of Williams, Staal, and Foegele has the highest CF% in the NHL so far this season with a minimum of 50 total minutes played at 5v5. Also, no line has taken more shot attempts than theirs when using the same criteria for analysis. The Canes like to shoot the puck—Williams is no exception. Mr. Game 7 recorded six shots on goal in his last game and eight shots on goal in his game previous. Playing with Aho and company on the power play only increases Williams’ desirability.

W – Drake Caggiula (DK $3,500, FD $3,300)

Anyone who gets the chance to play with Connor McDavid should always be considered. The undrafted winger out of Pickering, Ontario, doubled his season goal total as well as his point total in his last time out where he was playing on a line with McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins (one of Caggiula’s goals was shorthanded). Caggiula and the Oilers take on a Red Wings team that has been a bottom-ten NHL team this year in allowing scoring chances against per 60 minutes and high danger scoring chances against per 60 minutes. The Wings are also a bottom-ten team in shots against per 60 minutes and goals against per 60 minutes. Caggiula and the Oilers will be in play on Saturday.

W – Tomas Tatar (DK $4,700, FD $4,700)

Perhaps the Golden Knights should have given Tatar more of a look during last season’s Cinderella story. The 27-year old Slovakian is the second-highest point scorer on the Canadiens thus far. His line has also been excellent. Taking into consideration all NHL forward lines that have played a minimum of 100 minutes together at even strength, the line of Tatar, Danault, and Gallagher ranks second in both CF% and GF%. Tatar was recently replaced by Armia on Montreal’s first power-play unit, which does negatively affect his value to an extent. It may also be a tall task to ask a player to put up numbers against the powerhouse that is the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, the Lightning have given up four or more goals four times already this season including seven to the Coyotes in one outing. The Lightning will also be without Victor Hedman again on Saturday.

D – Thomas Chabot (DK $6,100, FD $4,400)

Heading into Thursday night, Thomas Chabot has averaged the third-most fantasy points per game among all NHL defensemen on both DraftKings and FanDuel over the past two weeks. Chabot then proceeded to tally two assists, five shots on goal, and three blocks against the Sabres on Friday. The Senators aren’t a great team, but they do have some talent, mainly embodied in their big three upcoming unrestricted free agents. Hotsam Batcho’s (shoutout to @brian5or6) price is simply too low on FanDuel for what he’s been accomplishing this season and is usable on Saturday.

D – Brent Burns (DK $6,500, FD $7,300)

The San Jose Sharks began the season as Pacific Division favourites, and they are still Pacific Division favourites even though people have been expecting a slightly better showing in their first 13 games where they’ve collected six wins and seven losses. Individual fantasy production, however, does not have a direct correlation with team standings, and Brent Burns is still a great, daily play. He’s quietly been a top-two defenseman in terms of DFS production over the past couple weeks. He’s had exactly three shots on goal in each of the past six games while playing over 25 minutes per game in his last four. Brent Burns is still the fantasy beast that we’ve become accustomed to over the past several years.

D – Shea Theodore (DK $4,300, FD $4,200)

The 5.2 million dollar per year man is a viable option in Saturday’s main slate. The Carolina Hurricanes, the Golden Knights’ opponent on Saturday night, took the fewest minor penalties in the NHL last season. So far this season, they’ve taken the 14th most penalties. Not only that, they have the worst penalty kill percentage in the entire league so far. Theodore has been quarterbacking the Knights’ top power-play unit where he has been seeing an average of 4.82 minutes of power-play ice time per game over the past five games heading into Thursday night. Theodore also has a stable floor as only two players in the Golden Knights’ brief team history have more total shots per game than Theodore—one of those two players is James Neal.

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-home/the-kings-of-daily-fantasy/dfs-saturday-potential-targets-the-rise-of-hotsam-batcho/

0 notes