#1

Posted by Capitals Kremlin, October 9, 2008 8:27 PM

Congrats!

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#2

Posted by Bryanne Mayhew, October 9, 2008 8:39 PM

Congratulations guys and gal... you all consistently provide sterling content!

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#3

Posted by Juan-John, October 9, 2008 9:43 PM

Congrats! Not a bad 2nd b-day present, huh?

Slightly OT question: there's an ESPN.com article comparing Ovechkin and Crosby . . .

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=3631769&type=Columnist&imagesPrint=off

. . . that has the following sentence:

"Will Ovechkin ever be considered for the Frank J. Selke Award as the best two-way player? Maybe not yet. But as Ovechkin learns to be more accountable defensively (he was plus-28 last season after being minus-19 the season before), he'll find himself on the ice in more key situations. The one thing about Ovechkin's evolution is that he has the confidence and skill to shoot from virtually anywhere on the ice with terrific success. He has led the league in shots in each of his three seasons and there simply is little that opposing teams can do to defend a player who can shoot in full stride, off his back foot and from a standstill."

. . . what does the author mean when he writes "plus-28" and "minus-19"?

Burgeoning puck nut wants to know... :-)

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#4

Posted by OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki), October 9, 2008 9:52 PM

@ Juan-John, here's the Cliff's Notes summary: A player's plus/minus rating is determined by whether a player is on the ice when his team scores (+1) or when the opponent scores (-1). It's a far-from-perfect statistic, but it provides some measure of a player's relative role in scoring (or preventing scoring). During power plays, the man-up team does not get a +1 if they score, nor does the man-down team get a -1, basically because PP goals are kind of "expected". If the man-down team scores a short-handed goal, however, then they each get +1 and the opponents each get -1.

Personally I find it most useful when comparing to teammates rather than across teams... for instance, if your cumulative +/- is -2 for the year and you play for Detroit, you're probably not having a great season. But a -2 on Los Angeles means you're probably near the top relative to your teammates.

Hope this helps!

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#5

Posted by pepper, October 9, 2008 10:09 PM

Great accomplishment indeed. And you guys have kicked it up a notch this week with Collin's story and the Ted interview.

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#6

Posted by SovSport, October 10, 2008 5:27 AM

Nice! The only way is up for you guys.

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