Hockey is a fluid and complicated game. Sabermetrics’ VORP and OPS and WAR seem to fit baseball well, if a bit coldly. Hockey doesn’t lend itself to discrete analysis the same way baseball does — for baseball, at its core, is a very individual sport when compared to hockey’s constant interaction between players on the ice (not to mention 18 players on each team changing lines on the fly).
Still, observational and emotional analysis can benefit from a reexamination; stats aren’t the end-all of analysis, but sometimes delving into the numbers can shed a different light on a debate. I will try to avoid, as Andrew Lang once wrote, using statistics “as a drunken man uses lampposts — for support rather than for illumination.”
In this clip, you’ll see how carbon-fiber EASTON hockey sticks are created . . . it’s a pretty cool six minutes, particularly the automated slap-shot machine in the final testing (I want one!). Too bad it only shoots at 75 m.p.h.—perhaps that’s why Ovie’s and Green’s cannon-blasts seems to snap their sticks like twigs at inopportune moments.
It’s pretty rare for a player to win a Calder Cup, then to have their AHL coach join them in the bigs a couple years later for the NHL playoffs. For Green, playing for Boudreau again is something special.
It seems Mike Green will not be part of the Caps’ quest for their 10th consecutive win… The National Hockey League announced today that Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green has been suspended for three games, without pay, for an incident that took place during NHL game #802 against the Florida Panthers on January 29.
The Washington Capitals were set up for a letdown last night against the Phoenix Coyotes, but the team was able to hold on to the lead and prevail 4-2. A particular one minute and thirty second span of time in the third period proved key to the Caps. With time winding down, Nicklas Backstrom took [...]
Filed in AHL, American Hockey League, Hershey Bears, Karl Alzner, Michal Neuvirth, Mike Green, Morning cup-a-joe, National Hockey League, NHL, Phoenix Coyotes, Washington Capitals
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Ever wonder how Bruce Boudreau is able to coach when the noise level at the Verizon Center is deafening? Gustafsson was able to ask that question and more during a conference call this afternoon. Here’s some highlights from the call with Gabby:
The Washington Capitals’ players boast quite an array of high-end vehicles — from Alex Ovechkin’s uber-Mercedes to Donald Brashear’s low-slung jet-black Lamborghini. So it makes sense that a few of the Caps were at the annual Washington Auto Show last night, signing autographs for an impressively long queue of red-clad Capitals fans… here are a few photos from Friday night:
[Admin. note: With this file OFB proudly welcomes American University journalism student Andrew Tomlinson into the blogging fold. Andrew has been covering the Caps this season for AU's student paper The Eagle, for which he serves as multi-media editor, and his work has been acknowledged by both the Caps and ESPN. Look for notable and enjoyable [...]
