» Hockey 101

GSPODS · Hog Joined: 03 Sep 2007 Posts: 4983

In a shootout, there is no passing, no screening the goaltender, no moving the goaltender out of position ahead of the shot, and there is a time limit.

Not to mention the fact that the closer a shooter gets to the goaltender, the smaller those one, three and five holes appear to be. In Ovechkin's case, he leads the NHL in shots on goal as well as goals and points. It's a numbers game with Alex. The more chances he gets, the more damage he does. And he seldomn misses twice. But in a shootout, he only gets one chance.

:twocents:

KazooSkinsFan · kazoo Joined: 05 Sep 2004 Posts: 10021 Location: Kazmania

Steve Spurrier III · ---------- Joined: 17 Jan 2004 Posts: 2167

GSPODS · Hog Joined: 03 Sep 2007 Posts: 4983

KazooSkinsFan · kazoo Joined: 05 Sep 2004 Posts: 10021 Location: Kazmania

GSPODS · Hog Joined: 03 Sep 2007 Posts: 4983

Bob 0119 · Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 9:34 am Post subject:

Back to the +/- discussion, I've heard it argued in the media about whether or not this is a truly useful stat or not. The general idea I got from it was that it was an interesting "gee-whiz" stat, but not a very practical judge of a player's individual ability on it's own. As stated previously by other posters, the +/- fills in the picture when used with the players other stats (ice time, goals, and assists). I think it's a better defensive stat, than an offensive one (like goals and assists).

As for the shootout stuff, perhaps some players shoot better when they can focus on just the goalie, and not worry about avoiding defenders or the back-check. Ovie may be better when he's trying to create something, but pound for pound as far as individual accuracy, there may be players that are more accurate, but lose that accuracy to distraction in a real game situation.

I loved his shot attempt at the All-Star game, but I think he has to raise his stich above the cross bar to do it. While it was legal for that contest, probably isn't legal in a real game situation. Though it looks like he is still practicing it. I noticed he scooped the puck up the other night and started bouncing it a couple of times before flipping it to the ref!

Bob 0119 · Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 9:37 am Post subject:

Stich? I meant "stick", but I suppose you could still pronounce what I typed originally that way! Laughing

GSPODS · Hog Joined: 03 Sep 2007 Posts: 4983

1 Viktor Kozlov WSH C +25
2 Alexander Ovechkin WSH L +24
3 Nicklas Backstrom WSH C +11
4 Jeff Schultz WSH D 67 +7
5 Brian Pothier WSH D +5
6 Tom Poti WSH D +5
7 Eric Fehr WSH R +4
8 Quintin Laing WSH +4
9 Boyd Gordon WSH C +3
10 Milan Jurcina WSH D +3
11 Joe Motzko WSH R +1
12 Shaone Morrisonn WSH D +1
13 David Steckel WSH C 0
14 Christopher Bourque WSH L 0
15 Mike Green WSH D 0
16 Chris Clark WSH R 0
17 John Erskine WSH D -1
18 Sami Lepisto WSH D 7 -1
19 Matt Bradley WSH R -1
20 Matt Cooke WSH L -3
21 Steve Eminger WSH D -4
22 Brooks Laich WSH C -5
23 Tomas Fleischmann WSH L -8
24 Donald Brashear WSH L -8
25 Sergei Fedorov WSH C -9
26 Michael Nylander WSH C -19
27 Alexander Semin WSH L -20

We can see from this list that the +/- rating shows a player's ability to play "two ways", offensively and defensively. The higher the plus, the better the player is at playing both ends of the ice.

So, while Kozlov and Ovechkin are excellent two-way players, Semin is pitiful in the defensive zone. Does that mean the Caps should waive or trade Semin? No, and hell no. I think this stat is over-rated by the media. I haven't heard a coach or a GM ever say anything about using this stat to determine whether or not to sign, draft, waive or trade a hockey player.