On Frozen Blog

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.”

The Washington Capitals will revel in retro this season: 16 away games will have the Caps in white throwback jerseys, with red pants and white helmets.

Per the Caps’ press release, here are the opponents who will see the old-school look… one can only hope that those teams with throwback sweaters of their own will follow suit (apologies for the pun). It would be great to see the Devils in their old pizza-box unis, the Habs rocking the stripes, and so cool if the Jets break out their original kit.

Check out artist David Gunnarsson’s work on Michal Neuvirth’s new mask — a dual tribute to Washington D.C. and his Czech roots.

Here’s a terrific hockey-themed promotional video from the United Nations’ World Food Programme . . . clever ad for a good cause.