Zatkoff/Bernier One Two Punch

Monarchs goaltender Jeff Zatkoff, with his 44-save performance Saturday night, now features the AHL’s best goals-against-average with a 0.75…The goaltending tandem of Zatkoff and Jonathan Bernier is one and two on the AHL leader board with save percentages of .978 and .963, respectively…With an assist tonight, center Andrei Loktionov (5-6=11) remains tied with right wing Sergei Shirokov (5-6=11) of Manitoba for the league lead in points among rookies with 11 points each.

via Monarchs News.

Jacques Plante!

NHL Network Online – Atlanta Thrashers: Atlanta Thrashers: Ondrej Pavelec.

Schenn, Vey, Teubert, Kozun, DesLauriers, Jones Selected for Super Series

Team WHL Roster – Victoria, BC – November 25, 2009

Forwards (12):

Scott Glennie (Brandon Wheat Kings)

Brayden Schenn (Brandon Wheat Kings)

Brent Raedeke (Edmonton Oil Kings)*

Byron Froese (Everett Silvertips)

Wacey Hamilton (Medicine Hat Tigers)*

Linden Vey (Medicine Hat Tigers)*

Jordan Eberle (Regina Pats)

Levko Koper (Spokane Chiefs)

Justin Dowling (Swift Current Broncos)

Cody Eakin (Swift Current Broncos)

Brendan Shinnimin (Tri-City Americans)

Lance Bouma (Vancouver Giants)

Defence (6):

Colby Robak (Brandon Wheat Kings)

Mark Pysyk (Edmonton Oil Kings)*

Tyson Barrie (Kelowna Rockets)*

Brett Ponich (Portland Winterhawks)

Colten Teubert (Regina Pats)

Jared Cowen (Spokane Chiefs)

Goaltenders (2):

Martin Jones (Calgary Hitmen)*

Calvin Pickard (Seattle Thunderbirds)*

Team WHL Roster – Kelowna, BC – November 26, 2009

Forwards (12):

Brandon Kozun (Calgary Hitmen)

Brent Raedeke (Edmonton Oil Kings)*

Tyler Shattock (Kamloops Blazers)

Brandon McMillan (Kelowna Rockets)

Carter Ashton (Lethbridge Hurricanes)

Wacey Hamilton (Medicine Hat Tigers)*

Linden Vey (Medicine Hat Tigers)*

Quinton Howden (Moose Jaw Warriors)

Brett Connolly (Prince George Cougars)

Willie Coetzee (Red Deer Rebels)

Curtis Hamilton (Saskatoon Blades)

Craig Cunningham (Vancouver Giants)

Defence (6):

Michael Stone (Calgary Hitmen)

Mark Pysyk (Edmonton Oil Kings)*

Tyson Barrie (Kelowna Rockets)*

Brayden McNabb (Kootenay Ice)

Travis Hamonic (Moose Jaw Warriors)

Stefan Elliott (Saskatoon Blades)

Goaltenders (2):

Martin Jones (Calgary Hitmen)*

Calvin Pickard (Seattle Thunderbirds)*

 

*Players competing in both games

via 2009 Subway Super Series.

(DeLauriers was selected to represent Team QMJHL; no Kings prospects on the OHL team.)

Guess Who Leads the Kings in ASSTS/60 and POINTS/60…

Scott Parse, that’s who. 3.89 points per 60 minutes of ice time. Kopitar is at 3.00. I know, I know, he’s only four games into his NHL career. (None of which is a loss, by the way.)

How About This for “Settling” Tie Games?

Five minute OT. Two points for a win. Zero points for a loss. AND ZERO POINTS FOR EITHER TEAM IF THE GAME ENDS IN A TIE. That would get rid of the “protecting the tie” strategy. And it would be really fun to watch games between your rivals, rooting for the tie. The closing minutes of a tie game would be a f-ing frenzy!

LA Kings Mayor (mayor119) on Twitter

SJSharks Captain Rob Blake is a team worst MINUS 6. Nothing says leader like leading from the bottom. Well, that & being Captain by default.

via LA Kings Mayor (mayor119) on Twitter.

I believe this is called reverting to the mean.

Geordie Wudrick (GeordieWudrick) on Twitter

first WHL hatty! forgot what it felt like.. and it feels awesome

via Geordie Wudrick (GeordieWudrick) on Twitter.

This is three weeks old, but I totally missed it. As of today, the WHL scoring leaders include:

1. Brandon Kozun 8+19=27

9. Linden Vey 6+15=21 (5th in assists)

27. Brayden Schenn 5+13=18 (11th in assists)

70. Geordie Wudrick 8+5=13 (tied for 22nd in goals)

85. Colten Teubert 4+8=12 (11th among D)

Stop Fucking With Me

Sharks coach said this to Rich Hammond:

If your mindset isn’t prepared to play against an elite team in the National Hockey League…

And in case you assume (as any sane person would) the elite team he’s talking about is the Sharks: no, HE’S TALKING ABOUT THE KINGS. As much as I would like to take his words at face-value, I believe he’s employing an especially cruel kind of psychological warfare. That hurts, McLellan.

via LA Kings Insider.

I agree with Murray about the Scuderi Hit

This is a response to some of the comments on the LAKingsInsider thread on the Murray quotes.

First, directed at rlplayer11 Re “caveman thinking”

This is what rl said in the comments:

“caveman thinking no wonder players don’t respect each oher when coachs and gm are telling them this crap is good but its easy when your sitting behind a desk or bench not the one having your knees taken out or your head smashed against the glass it doesn’t matter to them because there is plenty more down on the farm. nhl has lost alot of great players that fans no longer get to watch because coaches won’t evolve from back in the day, caveman thinking”

You don’t understand. Murray is not saying dirty hits are fine. (c.f. Marc Crawford “allegedly” telling Bertuzzi to take Moore “out”.) Murray is saying clean hits are fine. He’s not saying that it was fine “in the old days” so it’s okay now. He’s saying it was, is, always has been and always will be a clean check. It’s a hipcheck. It doesn’t take out anyone’s knees, nor is it intended to. Chimera’s knees weren’t hurt and, per my previous post on the video of the hit, it doesn’t look like Scuderi hit anything but lower thigh. Is this a little low? Well, it’s a little lower than usual. And if it were even more low — which I would wager is nearly impossible — it would have hit knee and that would have hurt. But, as they say, “if my grandma had wheels she’d be a wagon.” But she doesn’t. So she isn’t.

Also, as an aside, the NHL has not lost any great players because of hipchecks. I would be surprised to learn that the NHL has lost a single player of any kind because of hipchecks. This is because hipchecks aren’t dirty and generally don’t hurt. Though they are spectacular to look at, and they are embarrassing to receive. See my past posts on this topic, if you give a s***.  But the bottom line is, a hipcheck is a high-skill move that is not especially dangerous and it’s the opposite of reckless. It’s controlled. We’re not talking about an elbow to the face or a butt-end or a boarding major.

Moving on:

There is a very weird assumption built into the idea that old school was “caveman” and the modern game is safer. Because you have it backwards. In the old days, players didn’t wear helmets, sticks weren’t curved, pucks didn’t leave the ice surface as much due to the lack of curve, goalies didn’t wear masks, pads were minimal and flimsy compared to modern pads, players were not as strong and not as big and not in as good physical condition (it’s not my intention to debate player x from era y vs Ovi or whoever; I’m talking about the general state of things). Were there more serious injuries? No. Why is that? Several reasons:

1. Players were more careful with their sticks when there were no helmets, because everyone was that much more exposed.
2. Pads were not strong enough to be used as weapons. The shoulder pads I get at the pro shop now can knock a guy out, even in my old out of shape state. If I was using my pads of old, I would dislocate my own shoulder hitting someone that hard. Even if that’s an exaggeration, it’s a fact that checks from very big, strong people of that era were less dangerous because the force of the hit wasn’t magnified by the pads.
3. Players now are bigger, stronger, faster (again, on the whole). Hits are harder by yet another order of magnitude because the collisions are faster all the way around.
4. Skate technology allows much, much faster skating and much quicker, more agile turning. This leads to an exponential increase in knee and leg injuries.
5. Modern boards are stronger and stiffer, and the seamless glass is deadly, leading to a huge increase in concussions.
6. There were six teams until ’67, and 12 for several years after. The talent pool was smaller. The overall level of skill was much higher. Yes, the European exodus changed that. No, I’m not saying that the Original Six teams were better than today’s Pens (etc.). What I’m saying is this: Thirty teams, lots of marginal talent playing that wouldn’t be playing if there were fewer teams. So you have less skilled people, idiots, goons, whatever. There were goons in the old days, too. But they could also put the puck in the net. It’s actually a little better now than it was in the first couple decades after expansion, but the greater disparity between the best players and the worst continues to make lopsided hits more likely to happen.
7. The last and probably most controversial point is this: in the old days, before expansion and the advent of the utterly talentless knuckle-dragging goon, before the instigator penalty came in to assure that 90% of fights would be between two fourth line heavyweights when neither player was likely involved in whatever inciting incident occurred to necessitate “payback”…before all that…players were more likely to stick up for themselves and stick up for each other, i.e. the so-called culture of the players “policing themselves.” I’m not a big fan of the old frontier justice model, but I get it, and it’s pretty clear that it worked to keep the peace to a large degree.

A second commenter, dman, said this:

…But for a coach to come back the next day and more or less say it was a clean hit after the decision might confuse his players as to what is appropriate and what isn’t and where the boundaries are. I’m hoping the players feel that the league trumps the coach on what is acceptable behavior, but when the league isn’t always clear on the punishment and the coach adds to the confusion, well what’s a player to think! Old time hockey is great, but when the rules no longer apply, you have to adjust.

It’s not confusing to the players. It’s a hipcheck. Hipchecks are clean and legal. The boundary is that you are not allowed to use your ass (or back as in Scuderi’s case) to check someone at or below the knees, which I would think is not even possible. To say nothing of desirable. There is literally no point to using a hipcheck to take out someone’s knees. No one would intend to do that. If you want to do that, there are easier ways that don’t involve swooping in backwards at full speed with your ass a foot off the ground like Nancy Karragan.  And as far as the “old time hockey” comment, the rules not only still apply but haven’t changed. A hipcheck is legal, safe and fun. Enjoy.

WWAMD says:

If someone did the same hit to Kopi he’d be all over that other player crying bloody mary.

If Kopitar were hipchecked, he wouldn’t land on his face, because he has this thing called coordination. If Kopitar managed to land on his face after a hipcheck, I for one would have the same response, which is too bad he landed on his face. Most people don’t land on their faces.

I think it’s hilarious that people are up in arms about reckless hipchecking and even suggesting that this dangerous relic from caveman days might be better off rendered completely illegal. There are exactly two parts of the body you are allowed to use to check someone: your shoulder and your hip. Take the hipcheck out the game and you’re left with shoulder checks. Shoulder checks are of course legal but are exponentially more dangerous than hipchecks, which, as body checks go, is a pleasant little flip through the air before you land ignominiously on your butt.

Scuderi lost a bit of control while applying the check on Chimera. The net result of which was that (a) he looked a little weird in the approach, (b) he got him on the lower thigh rather than the upper thigh, and (c) nothing. Chimera didn’t sustain a knee injury of any kind. Not surprising because  the hit didn’t affect the knee. And there’s no way even a low hit could in any way be more likely to cause the player to land on his face. The face thing was the scary part, and it had nothing to do with whether the hit was low, high or anything in between.

Scuderi cops to the hit being a bit low. He’s a good egg, right? That’s fine. But this issue of unsafe hipchecks that could destroy someone’s knee is a non-starter. And that’s what Murray is saying. And I obviously agree.

Oog-a-oog-a-oog-a.

(the original LAKingsInsider post and comments are here.)

Exclusive: Kings Hits Per Sixty Minutes of Icetime

	m/h	h/60
Brown	3.2	19
Moller	3.9	15
Ivanans	5	12
Lewis	5.5	11
Greene	5.8	10
Richardson	7.4	8
Parse	7.7	8
Johnson	8.3	7
Harrold	9.6	6
Williams	10.2	6
Kopitar	13	5
Doughty	13	5
Drewiske	13.3	5
Purcell	13.4	4
Simmonds	13.8	4
Frolov	13.8	4
Handzus	15.6	4
O’Donnell	15.9	4
Scuderi	17	4
Smyth	21.7	3

 

First column is how many minutes go by before a player hits someone. Second column is hits per sixty minutes of ice time. What jumps out at me is Moller and Parse.

Kings forwards, QUALCOMP and plus/minus numbers

QUALCOMP – Kings Forwards (who faces the toughest opponents):

1. Parse
2. Kopitar
3. Smyth
4. Richardson
5. Brown
6. Purcell
7. Ivanans
8. Stoll
9. Williams
10. Simmonds
11. Frolov
12. Handzus
13. Lewis
14. Moller

Notice that the Handzus line is still facing the weakest competition, counter-intuitive if you believe they are really our checking line (I don’t). Toughest assignments are going to the #1 unit. The Stoll/Purcell line is right in the middle, as they have been all year (except for the first couple of games, where they were at the top of the list).

Here are the numbers for GAON/60 (Goals Against a player is on the ice for, per 60 minutes of icetime):

1. Moller 0.00
2. Simmonds 0.73
3. Purcell 1.49
4. Stoll 1.78
5. Handzus 1.96
6. Williams 2.15
7. Ivanans 2.40
8. Frolov 2.43
9. Kopitar 2.57
10. Richardson 2.68
11. Smyth 2.85
12. Brown 2.89
13. Lewis 4.23
14. Parse 5.19

Notice that Simmonds, Purcell, Stoll and Handzus have the best defensive numbers here. I cite this to counter people who don’t understand what Purcell is doing right this year. Now, here’s +/-ON/60 (which is plus/minus per 60 minutes):

1. Kopitar 2.20
2. Williams 2.15
3. Simmonds 1.82
4. Smyth 1.78
5. Purcell 1.49
6. Stoll 0.89
7. Handzus 0.39
8. Moller 0.00
9. Parse 0.00
10. Frolov -0.40
11. Ivanans -2.40
12. Richardson -2.68
13. Lewis -4.23

Again, I notice how high Purcell is on this list. Parse’s numbers are dead even, despite the above-mentioned high GA/60. He got screwed on a couple of those goals against, so I have to think these numbers are very good for him. Frolov’s numbers are not good, but they were much much worse before the benching, so that’s also a net (very) positive. I believe, since he sat, Frolov’s numbers have come up +2, which is a big change for a handful (2?) games.

Brian Boyle vs Matt D’Agostini, Oct 24, 2009 2pd 14:16 – hockeyfights.com

Brian Boyle vs Matt D’Agostini, Oct 24, 2009 2pd 14:16 – hockeyfights.com.

The Hockey News/Hot List: Home cooking

7. Andrei Loktionov, C – Windsor Spitfires (OHL): It’s been a tough go for the Spits at the Mem Cup, but at least Loktionov looked dangerous in the tight loss to Rimouski. The skilled Russian import had two goals in the game and was close to a third. Drafted 123rd overall by Los Angeles in 2008.

via The Hockey News: The Hot List: The Hot List: Home cooking.

The Hockey News/Hot List: Draft aftermath

10. Brandon Kozun, RW – Calgary Hitmen (WHL): Think of Kozun as this year’s Justin Azevedo; a high-scoring small forward passed over in previous drafts, but picked up by the Kings nonetheless. Kozun wrecked the Dub for 108 points this year, good for second on the circuit. Drafted 179th overall by Los Angeles in 2009.

via The Hockey News: The Hot List: The Hot List: Draft aftermath.

The Hockey News/Hot List: Beefing up Broadway

9. Kyle Clifford, LW – Barrie Colts (OHL): The Kings grabbed Clifford ostensibly for his toughness and the Barrie winger paid them back right away. Clifford dropped the gloves four times in two games against the Phoenix rookies last week and will get a chance to do big things with what promises to be a good Colts team this year. Drafted 35th overall by Los Angeles in 2009.

via The Hockey News: The Hot List: The Hot List: Beefing up Broadway.

Stunning Numbers: Scoring droughts and attendance woes – Puck Daddy – NHL – Yahoo! Sports

Leading the NHL? Michal Handzus of the Los Angeles Kings, with 5 goals on 14 shots for a 35.7 shooting percentage. Zeus!

via Stunning Numbers: Scoring droughts and attendance woes – Puck Daddy – NHL – Yahoo! Sports.

For First Time, Dapuzzo Reveals Anguish, Depression After Skate Severs His Face — NHL FanHouse

I hear a lot of “Poor Pat … Poor Pat.” C’mon folks, do not give me your sympathy. I graduated high school in New Jersey in 1976 and six years later became a linesman in the NHL. I worked almost 2,000 games. I’ve met almost every legend in hockey, worked a lot of the biggest games. I’ve met U.S. presidents and was invited to the White House. So many people dream of the life I’ve led.

“Poor Pat.” Give me a freakin’ break.

I would agree to get kicked in the face once a month if I could get back on the ice in the National Hockey League.

via For First Time, Dapuzzo Reveals Anguish, Depression After Skate Severs His Face — NHL FanHouse.

Bernier nominated for AHL Player of the Week as a Right Wing — I guess he heard about Peter Harrold suiting up as a goalie

Other nominees for Reebok/AHL Player of the Week include Adirondack center Jon Matsumoto, Albany left wing Zach Boychuk, Binghamton left wing Josh Hennessy, Bridgeport left wing Justin DiBenedetto, Chicago right wing Spencer Machacek, Grand Rapids right wing Jeremy Williams, Hamilton left wing Tom Pyatt, Hartford right wing P.A. Parenteau, Hershey right wing Francois Bouchard, Lake Erie left wing Chris Durno, Lowell right wing Vladimir Zharkov, Manchester right wing Jonathan Bernier, Manitoba goaltender Cory Schneider, Milwaukee center Mike Santorelli, Norfolk right wing Brandon Bochenski, Peoria left wing Chris Porter, Portland right wing Mark Mancari, Rockford center Mark Cullen, San Antonio goaltender Josh Tordjman, Springfield left wing Chris Minard, Syracuse center Derek MacKenzie, Texas center Greg Rallo, Toronto left wing Jiri Tlusty, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton center Mark Letestu and Worcester defenseman Danny Groulx.

via TheAHL.com | The American Hockey League | Salak backstops way to league honor.

Dirty Hits, Cheap Shots

First off, I wish people would stop referring to “dirty” hits as something other than “intent to injure.” No intent = no dirt. Second, there are plenty of ways to check someone illegally — with the elbow, with the knee, with a cross-check, by charging, by boarding, interference, kicking, slew-footing — but a hip-check is not one of them. If the guy has the puck, and you hit him with your hip, and assuming you don’t leave your feet or are 12 feet tall so you hit him in the head with your ass, it’s a clean check.

That aside, I keep coming back to the following thought: generally speaking, cheap shots, dirty hits, whatever you want to call them…they are generally cheap and dirty not only because they are dangerous but because they are incredibly easy to do if you are so inclined. A player is vulnerable and you choose to make a play that’s outside the rules. Butt-ending, elbowing, spearing, high-sticking, cross-checking, slew-footing, charging, boarding…these are not high-skill moves. Any idiot can do it.

A hip check is a high-skill move. It requires training, timing, judgment — it’s spectacular when pulled-off. It’s embarrassing when you miss. Most people can’t do it. I was a defenseman for about 1000 games as a kid and learning how to execute a hip-check was the hardest thing I ever undertook. Even when you’re good at it, it rarely works perfectly. But when it does, it’s an event, and people talk about it for years. This is being illustrated now. People are remembering checks from years gone by to compare the Scuderi check to (e.g. the hip check on Johnson in his first game, the Malkin check from last year). In general, it’s actually one of the checks that hurts the least to receive, though it’s one of the most embarrassing — since you’ve been sent head over heels through the air and as a rule that’s always kind of humiliating when it happens against your will.

The Universal Cynic: Scuderi v. Chimera: The horrah

The Universal Cynic: Scuderi v. Chimera: The horrah.

From the Montreal Gazette: Honour overdue for ex-Habs goalie Vachon

Great article of Rogie in the Gazette. I would have called it: “Rogie’s mask is in the Hall of Fame, but he’s not.”

Newspaper stories in the autumn of 1967 were suggesting that Canadiens goaltender Rogatien Vachon might soon be returned to the Houston Apollos, the minor-league farm club from which he had been summoned the previous winter.

So a 10-year-old Vachon fan took pen to paper and addressed the first fan letter of his life to his first hockey hero, telling “Mr. Vachon” in as many words that he should simply ignore any demotion and stay put.

The CH-crested envelope was in my family’s mailbox less than a week later, a classic black-and-white postcard of Vachon in the half-splits, the puck about to hit his outstretched blocker.

“Don’t worry, I’ll never let them send me down,” his reassuring, paragraphs-long reply read in part.

Rogie Vachon grinned when I told him this story yesterday. He enjoyed a modest show-and-tell as we spoke at his hotel – his face in a plastic marble that I’d dug out of the sugar of a 1969 Post cereal box, after many Vachon-less boxes had been consumed; one of his earliest Topps bubble gum cards; a full-size replica of the first mask he wore, acquired a year ago for my office wall.

Full disclosure, I told him: I became a Vachon fan when he made his first NHL save on Feb. 18, 1967, a Gordie Howe breakaway. I remained one when I disowned the Canadiens for trading him to the Los Angeles Kings in a 1-for-4 deal in November 1971. I stuck by him no matter how bizarre he looked in the jerseys of Detroit and Boston as his career wound down in the early 1980s.

And the autographed postcard didn’t hurt.

Vachon, 64, was in Montreal for a brief visit to a sports collectibles show at Centre Pierre Charbonneau. He’d flown in from L.A. on Saturday evening, dined with old friends, had Sunday brunch with a few family members, signed autographs yesterday afternoon and was on a dinnertime flight home.

The three-time Stanley Cup champion had never before done a signing in the city where his NHL career began. He does precious few, in fact, maybe one every few seasons, and only good timing and direct flights confirmed this one.

It was the first time in several years that he’d visited Montreal, using the airport mostly for connections to visit family in the Rouyn-Noranda area.

Vachon is surprised by the boom in sports collectibles, as are most of his generation. He has kept very little from his playing days beyond a few jerseys, his final gloves and skates and a purple, crown-painted mask he wore with the Kings. His last game-worn leather pads disintegrated in garage storage, decomposing in the California heat.

“Most of the stuff just got thrown out,” he said. “Or the trainers made a little money with it on the side.”

He remains at his playing weight nearly 30 years after his final game, thanks to four rounds of golf a week, two energetic grandchildren spoiled by him and his wife, Nicole, and the willpower to skip dessert.

Vachon still wears the familiar mustache he grew as a Canadien, the trim salt-and-pepper replacing the Fu Manchu and muttonchops he cultivated in tandem with teammate Mickey Redmond.

“Toe Blake was not very happy,” he joked about his old-school coach’s distaste for facial hair. “He said he was going to send Mickey and me back to the minors if we didn’t shave.”

It was Blake who threw a 21-year-old maskless goalie to the wolves on Feb. 18, 1967, a callup from Houston when Gump Worsley was injured and backup Charlie Hodge struggled.

“I didn’t know I was going to play that night – Toe just handed me the puck before the warmup and said: ‘You’re in,’ ” Vachon recalled of what would be a 41-save, 3-2 victory.

“I was sort of in shock, still trying to pull myself together when Gordie broke in alone from the blue line. Luckily, I stopped it. And I’ve joked with Gordie that this save probably kept me in the league for years.”

That save, yes. Along with an acrobatic style that earned him a share of the 1967-68 Vézina Trophy with Worsley, three championships in 41/2 Canadiens seasons, and a lifetime 395-291-127 record with 51 shutouts and 2.99 average through 795 games – despite being caught in frequent puck blizzards with more than a few clubs in Los Angeles to whom defence was a nasty rumour.

Vachon could have stuck it out in Montreal after the emergence of Ken Dryden, who debuted late in the 1970-71 season and carried the Canadiens to the club’s 17th Stanley Cup victory while winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs.

But he didn’t want to warm the bench at age 26. General manager Sam Pollock dealt him to the Kings for Denis DeJordy, Dale Hoganson, Noel Price and Doug Robinson.

Vachon soon was enormously popular in L.A., and became the first King to have his number retired. After his playing days, he would fill most every front-office job for the club, from goaltending coach to president. He retired from it all last season, most recently having been an ambassador.

On the ice, his most famous work probably was in the international arena. Vachon led Team Canada to victory in the 1976 Canada Cup with a brilliant .963 save percentage, 1.39 average and two shutouts in seven games, selected to the all-star team while being named the tournament’s best goalie and his country’s MVP.

As a three-time Stanley Cup winner and a Vézina recipient, and a player who led hockey out of a palm-tree wilderness before a forward named Gretzky, this remains a mystery:

Why is Vachon is not in the Hall of Fame, especially considering the enshrinement of contemporaries whose statistics are no better?

To say nothing of the curious 1989 induction of Vladislav Tretiak, a fine international goalie who is in the Hall, no matter the argument selectors might offer, almost uniquely for the landmark 1972 Summit Series and its political importance.

“People are shocked when I tell them I’m not in the Hall of Fame,” Vachon said, shrugging. “They assume I am. I’d love to be in there, but there are things in life that you can’t control.”

None of that mattered to him yesterday, nor to the many who queued at his signing table with photos, pucks and miniature Stanley Cups.

If even for a few hours, Rogie Vachon had returned to the city that gave him his start. There’s a Canadiens jersey in his Los Angeles home that says he’s never forgotten that.

And he was delighted to sign my replica of his first mask. He doesn’t have the genuine article – it’s in the Hall of Fame.

You think that check was low, because it was kinda sorta maybe in the neighborhood of the knee?

Here’s a youtube compilation of hip checks. It’s the first one that comes up if you search for “hipcheck.” There are about fifty hipchecks shown here. Watch them and apply the absurd Scuderi/Chimera criteria to them. How many do you think are within a couple inches of the knee, right above the knee, or whatever descriptor you prefer for the Scuderi check? Um, MOST OF THEM. If you limit your data set to “classic” hipchecks (i.e. excluding the forward’s version of a hipcheck where you kinda stick your hip out and catch someone in the stomach or on the hip), then ALL OF THEM are punishable if the Scuderi check is punishable. But they’re not punishable. Because they’re legal checks. And have been for 100 years.

YouTube – The Hipcheck.

This is all about how Chimera landed. But look at how the receivers of all those hip-checks landed. They were in more control of their bodies. Whether or not Chimera is in control of his body post-check is not Scuderi’s fault. And in any case, as I have said a million times now, the low hit issue is a red-herring. It’s the face into the ice that’s freaking people out, and that has nothing to do with whether the hit was low or not.

12 Games, 16 points — is THAT good?

Three times in franchise history the Kings have done better: ’74, ’80 and ’90 (7-1-4, 10-1-1, 9-2-1, respectively). Three times they’ve equaled it: ’75, ’99 and ’05. And, yes, they made the playoffs every time but ’05.

Everyone else is wrong and I am right: look at 2:14 of this clip…

If you can execute a “low” hip check you belong in the circus.

Jim Fox (whom I love) is wrong. His little red arrows do NOT point to the point of contact. Watch when Chimera goes up: Scuderi has hit him right on the pants with his back. Look at the Columbus feed around 4:40, since they have another angle. Even as the announcers are saying it’s below the knees it’s clearly not below the knees, or even on the knee, but at WORST right above the knee, which is of course the same thing as saying “not on the knee.” Is “close to the head” the same thing as a check to the head? How about a puck close to over the goal line? That’s a goal, right?

Also, “intent to injure?” Ha ha ha. It’s a hip check, folks. It’s the classic Holy Grail of a defenseman’s checking arsenal. And what is the “intent” of a hip-check? I will tell you: to send the guy flying through the air, hopefully head over heels. And, done right, it’s spectacular, classic, highlight reel stuff. It’s what defensemen have instead of hat-tricks. Does it hurt to be hit this way? Usually, not at all. But it takes you out of the play, and it’s embarrassing. I’ll try to find the great hip check laid on Jack Johnson in his first ever pro game. Usually, you just pop right up. Chimera fell awkwardly, landed on his face. That’s bad luck. And you simply can’t plan or “intend” that, and it has absolutely not one f**king thing to do with whether he was hit below the knee or not. Which, in any case, he wasn’t.

Clean hit.

11 games, 14 points; is that good?

Yes.

The Kings have done better than this four times in franchise history, in ’74 (16 pts), ’80 (19 pts), ’90 (17 pts)  and ’02 (15 pts). They made the playoffs every time but the last one. They have equaled this year’s 14 pt start five times, in ’75, ’79, ’91, ’99 and ’05. They made the playoffs every time but the last one. The odds are getting better.

Parse!

Now what?

I’m thinking:

Smyth/Kopitar/Simmonds

Parse/Stoll/Williams

Frolov/Handzus/Brown

Clune/Richardson/Purcell

Assuming Williams is back sometime soon, and same for Clune.

Hockeys Future Organizational Rankings, Fall 2009 1-10 – Hockeys Future

5. Los Angeles Kings

Strengths: Seven consecutive years of picking top 15, and top five the last three drafts, has enabled the Kings to maintain a good prospect pool despite the graduation of key players each fall. Thomas Hickey highlights a blueline crew that includes Colten Teubert and Vyacheslav Voinov. Prospect goalie depth is not a problem as Jonathan Bernier, Martin Jones and Jeff Zatkoff all appear to have bright futures. Sniper Brayden Schenn is the top newcomer to the list of forwards and he joins CHL imports Andrei Loktionov and Oscar Moller. Toughness, scoring, goaltending — theres not much missing for L.A.

Weaknesses: Perhaps high-end natural wingers could be considered an area that might be getting thin. The Kings might lack top-notch checkers. The Kings have more boom or bust prospects than some teams around them. Top 5 Prospects: 1. Thomas Hickey, D, 2. Jonathan Bernier, G, 3. Brayden Schenn, C, 4. Oscar Moller, RW, 5. Vyacheslav Voinov, D.

Name the King [never mind, I was trying to do a Purcell pumpkin; the poll sucks and is stupid for not showing exactly what the other choices are grrrr]

First Try: Kopitar Pumpkin?

I’ll try to do better later on. http://www.theoworlds.com/halloween/

Scott Parse is Getting His Shot

I have been rooting for this kid for three years now. This time last year, I was crossing my fingers that he would have a great camp and crack the line-up. That was wishful thinking, but what he did do was put together a solid, complete season in Manchester and managed not to get inj***d. This season, with Loktionov and Moller as his linemates, he leads the league in assists and +/- and is second overall in points. This is very good news for him, and probably not great news for one of Trevor Lewis or Brad Richardson.

Smyth/Kopitar/Simmonds

Frolov/Handzus/Brown

Parse/Stoll/Purcell

Ivanans/Richardson/Harrold

Just guessing. But Parse/Stoll/Purcell is a kind of mouth-watering. (p.s. Parse is 5’11″ now. I can remember when he was 6′.)

Kings Recall Parse – Los Angeles Kings – News.

Red Wings blog: Ex-Wing Robert Lang enjoying the desert | Detroit Free Press | Freep.com

Since leaving the Red Wings after the 2006-07 season, Robert Lang has made a home in Chicago and Montreal. Now he’s a six-hour drive from his off-season home in San Diego, centering the top line for Phoenix between Shane Doan and Taylor Pyatt and helping the Coyotes to a surprising 5-2 start.

“It’s always nice to get off to a good start, especially here,” Lang said this morning after Phoenix’s skate at Jobing.com Arena. “Nobody really expected anything, but Dave Tippett came here and put in simple but pretty effective system in. Guys just want to play and so far it’s been working, so it’s been fun. It’s kind of nice to get off to a good start and just feel good and just play hockey.”

Lang, who signed a one-year deal worth $1 million to come to Phoenix, said all the off-ice distraction about the Coyotes (their financial state, the Wayne Gretzky saga, etc) isn’t worth worrying about because “you can’t really solve it. There is literally nothing you can change by you doing something. If you win, obviously the chances are better that the team is going to be successful, but even then, there are no guarantees.”

I asked Lang if he’d kept in touch with Jiri Hudler (Lang used to refer to Hudler as his “fifth kid” during their days in Detroit). “No,” Lang said, laughing.. “I didn’t talk to Huds since he left. I’m kind of wondering sometimes how he’s doing, but I’m sure he’s fine.”

Lang is just as certain the Wings – who have just seven points after seven games – will soon be back in the mix of things as usual.

“They are a good team,” he said. “They are going to get their points. I’m not worried about Detroit, nobody is, I don’t think. We are playing well right now. They are playing well always, so it should be a good game. It’s always fun to play those games. I’m looking forward to it.”

via Red Wings blog: Ex-Wing (and ex-King) Robert Lang enjoying the desert | Detroit Free Press | Freep.com.

Which is crazier, today’s standings or today’s standings upsidedown?

1. Colorado
2. Phoenix
3. Chicago
4. Calgary
5. Edmonton
6. Los Angeles
7. Dallas
8. San Jose
9. Columbus
10. Detroit
11. Vancouver
12. St. Louis
13. Anaheim
14. Nashville
15. Minnesota

Or:

1. Minnesota
2. Nashville
3. Anaheim
4. St. Louis
5. Vancouver
6. Detroit
7. Columbus
8. San Jose
9. Dallas
10. Los Angeles
11. Edmonton
12. Calgary
13. Chicago
14. Phoenix
15. Colorado

You tell me:

From the Monarchs website: Russian Rookie Turning Heads

Do you remember what you were doing on May 30, 1990?  While Madonna’s Vogue was topping the charts on the radio, the Springfield Indians were battling the Rochester Americans for the Calder Cup, and Edmonton was fighting to get past Boston to hoist the Stanley Cup, and Andrei Loktionov was born on that date in Voskresensk, Russia, a small town 88 kilometers South East of Moscow.

In 19 short years, he has won a silver medal with Team Russia in the 2008 Under-18 World Championships, been drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the fifth-round (123rd overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, signed a three-year contract with the Kings and won the Memorial Cup with the Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfires.  He’s worked his whole life to play hockey at the highest level, and it’s not too far away.

He hasn’t won medals and championships simply because he’s been on the right team.  He’s been an integral part of these victories.  As a member of Team Russia at the 2008 Under-18 World Championships, he collected eight points (three goals and five assists) in six games which tied for second on the Russian squad and seventh out of all the skaters in the tournament.

In the Spitfires’ playoff run last season, Loktionov ranked second overall and led all OHL rookies with 33 points (11 goals and 22 assists).  His four game-winning goals led rookies and ranked fifth overall and his plus/minus rating of plus-18 led the entire OHL.  

While Loktionov was playing in Windsor, Ontario last season, he was not just learning a new style of hockey; he was also learning the English language.  

“I understand, but sometimes no,” explained Loktionov.  “My agent and my team help me when I don’t understand.  It’s not easy.  I learned some English when I lived in Canada a few years ago, when my (Russian) team played there.  I would like to take (an English) lesson, go to school here for one hour a day or three times a week to learn more.”

This is his second season of playing hockey on a different continent from home and he misses his family very much.

Loktionov explained, “[it's] very hard.  My parents are poor and can’t come to watch me play.  The plane ride is too long for them.  Some day I hope to help them, buy them a new home.  Why not [laughing]?”

Loktionov made a professional debut that any parent would be proud of when he scored three goals and added an assist in the Monarchs season opener, a 6-3 victory against the Albany River Rats on October 3.

“I enjoy playing with my new teammates and they deserve all the credit,” Loktionov said modestly about his stellar American Hockey League debut.  “They gave me some nice passes and I was able to score.”

With this impressive success in his debut, Loktionov became the first Monarchs player to be named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week after the first week of the season.  He also became the 18th player in Monarchs history to score a hat trick and the first to score the triple tallies in his professional debut with the team.  In addition, the rookie center became the 25th player in team history to tally four points in one game.

“He’s a special player and we’re going to enjoy him while we’ve got him,” said Monarchs Head Coach Mark Morris on Loktionov.  “He makes those around him better.  He’s got the ability to be a big time player with his passing, skating and shooting.”

Following his first seven games with the Monarchs, Loktionov is ranked second on the team with eight points (4-4=8) and is tied for Manchester’s lead with a plus/minus ranking of plus-8.  It’s probably too early to say when he’ll be called up to Los Angeles but the possibility is not unlikely.

“I don’t know, that’s a good question, but one for Los Angeles (to answer),” said Loktionov when asked about when he may join the Kings.  “All I can do is work hard, but yes, I think of playing (with the Kings).”

via Monarchs site.

After 10 games, 12 points; is that good?

Historically, the Kings have made the playoffs in 23 of their 41 seasons. 56% of the time.

They have gotten exactly 12 points in their first ten games nine times. In those nine seasons, they went to the playoffs five times (56% – exactly the overall average).

They have gotten more than 12 points six times, out of which they made the playoffs four times (67%).

They have managed less than 12 points twenty-six times, out of which they made the playoffs fourteen times (54%).

Which I guess means that doing this well doesn’t improve the Kings chances by much (+2%). But doing any better than this increases the odds by more than 10%.

In the post-99 era, the Kings hit 12 or greater three times: 14 points in 05-06, 13 in 02-03 and 12 in 99-00. In the 99 era, they did it six times (failing twice): 12 in 88-89, 15 in 90-91, 12 in 91-92, 13 in 92-93, 12 in 93-94, 12 in 95-96. Pre-99, they did it six times, including the franchise best 17 points in 80-81. That team’s record after ten games was 8-1-1. It was Jim Fox’s rookie season, in which he played 71 games, tallying 18 goals and 24 assists.

VIDEO: Fro meets with Brownie to discuss what to say, and as a result his second meeting with Terry and Deano goes much better

VIDEO: Murray and Lombardi meet with Frolov, with less than stellar results

Andrew’s Dallas Stars Blog

As for the game, the Stars started well and got the lead but that five-on-three Kings power play early in the second really shifted momentum their way. They scored on the five-on-four and just started to roll. The Stars were coughing up the puck, the pressure continued and the Kings cashed in on some quality chances. Game over. They got a solid game in goal from Jonathan Quick too. The Kings are a good team with a lot of talent. If the goaltending holds up, they’ll be in the mix for a playoff spot.

via Andrew’s Dallas Stars Blog.

Quick Breaks the 3.00 GAA and .900 SV% Barriers

As of tonight, he’s at 2.88 GAA and and even .900 SV%. I guess that’s not quite “breaking” that second one, but so what. It’s good.

via Jonathan Quick, Kings – Stats – Los Angeles Kings – Team.

Schenn and Calvert get four points each as Brandon blasts Blazers 8-3 – Winnipeg Free Press

Brayden Schenn and Matt Calvert each had two goals and two assists as the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Kamloops Blazers 8-3 in the Western Hockey League on Saturday night.

via Schenn and Calvert get four points each as Brandon blasts Blazers 8-3 – Winnipeg Free Press.

ME KOOSH!

Note: this really happened:

Center Juraj Mikus scored his first goal of the season on his first shot during his first shift in his first game of the season

via News.

Bernier earns shut out, Loktionov two assists, Parse a goal and assist, in 4-0 win over Portland

That’s it for good news today.

How many times have the Kings been at .500 after 8 games, and how many of those teams make the playoffs?

Eight times. Half of them make it. Kings are a playoff team 50% (4/8) of the time when they’re at .500 after eight games. If their record is better than .500, they make the playoffs 71% (12/17) of the time. If worse than .500, they make it 44% (7/16) of the time.

Seven Habs

Battle of California provides hockey tip of the day

Now, I don’t stick people in the nuts because it’s unsporting.  What I do instead, and this is only if the guy’s a little bitch, is slide the end of my stick up and down the crack of his ass.  It’s distracting as hell and how do you complain about that?  “What the fuck, Ref, goalie’s putting his stick up my ass!”  The guy didn’t say anything but I know he was fucking furious because he got a pass wide open in front of the net and shot it right into me because he was holding his stick too tight.  He took 4 whacks at me after the whistle until my defenseman took him out and then he whined to the ref again.

The weird thing is that it’s a shitty league so you would think guys would be pretty chill, but it’s the opposite: the guys in the higher end leagues don’t usually whine or get cheap while the shitty guys act like it’s the Goddamn NHL.

via Los Angeles Kings @ Detroit Red Wings GameThread, Oct 15, 2009 4:30 PM PDT – Battle of California.

I Would Just Like to Point Out That Erik Ersberg Has Not Won a Single Game Since Jonathan Quick Joined the Kings

His last win was in mid-December of 2008. Since Quick was called up, Ersberg has lost ten straight. So I don’t think anyone can argue that he’s “resilient” and “he’ll bounce back.” At least not from the evidence.

[UPDATE: and here's something else. Take a look at last year's goalie stats sorted by wins. Notice anything? And I mean apart from the fact that the bottom two names on the list are LaBarbera and Ersberg... There isn't a single playoff team whose back-up has a losing record.]

Ersberg sucks and sucks the life out of the Kings

And that’s all I have to say about that. Until the next post.

From The Frontal Cortex: Should You Go For It On Fourth Down?

Consider some research done by David Romer, an economist at UC Berkeley, who published a 2001 paper entitled “Do Firms Maximize? Evidence From Professional Football”. The question Romer was trying to answer is familiar to every NFL fan: what to do on 4th down? Is it better to bring on the kicking team for a punt or field-goal attempt? Under what conditions should coaches risk going for it?

To answer this immortal mystery, Romer analyzed every fourth down during the first quarter in every NFL game between 1998 and 2000. (He had help from a computer program.) The first thing Romer did was figure out the fluctuating value of a first down at each point on the football field. After all, a first down was more valuable for a team if it occurred on an opponents two yard line than on their own twenty yard line.

Then Romer calculated the statistical likelihood of going for it on fourth down under various circumstances and actually getting a first down. He also calculated the probability of kicking a successful field goal from various spots on the field. So let’s say you are NFL coach, and you have a fourth and three on your opponent’s 30 yard line. Romer could tell you that 1) you have a 60 percent chance of getting a first down, and that teams with 1st downs inside the thirty yard line score a touchdown 40 percent of the time, for an expected point value of 1.7 and 2) that field goal attempts from the 32 yard line failed almost 65 percent of the time, which meant that going for a field goal only had an expected point value of 1.05. In other words, it’s almost twice as effective to go for it than to attempt a field goal.

So what do most coaches do? Well, NFL coaches consistently make the wrong decision. According to Romer’s analysis, teams would have been better off going for it on fourth down during the 1st quarter on 1100 different drives. Instead, coaches decided to kick the ball 992 times. This meant that NFL coaches made the wrong decision over 90 percent of the time. Romer summarized his counterintuitive results: “This analysis implies that teams should be quite aggressive. A team facing fourth and goal is better off on average trying for a touchdown as long as it is within 5 yards of the endzone. At midfield, being within 5 yards of a first down makes going for it on average desirable. Even on its own 10 yard line – 90 yards from a score – a team within three yards of a first down is better off on average going for it.” Romer conservatively estimates that a more aggressive approach on fourth downs would make a team 5 percent more likely to win the game. This is a significant advantage: a coach willing to endure the risks would win one more game in three seasons out of every four.

But if kicking a field goal or punting on fourth down is such a bad idea, then why do coaches always do it? To explain the consistently bad decisions of NFL coaches, Romer offered two different answers. The first is risk aversion. If coaches followed Romer’s strategy, they would fail about half the time they were within ten yards of the endzone. This means that instead of kicking an easy field goal and settling for three points, they would come away empty handed. Although that’s a winning strategy in the long-run, it’s awfully hard to stomach. (As Daniel Kahneman notes, “Worst case scenarios overwhelm our probabilistic assessment, as the mere prospect of the worst case has so much more emotional oomph behind it.”) After a long drive down the field, fans expect some points. A coach that routinely disappointed the crowd would quickly get fired.

The second reason coaches stink at making decisions on fourth down is that they stink at statistics. As Romer politely writes, “Many skills are more important to running a successful football team than a command of mathematical and statistical tools…It may be that individuals involved want to make the decisions to maximize their teams’ chance of winning, but that they rely on experience and intuition rather than formal analysis.”

So how have coaches reacted to this data? In 2001, before Romer published his findings, the average team went for it on fourth down 15.1 times per season. During the 2005 season, the average NFL team went for it on fourth down 14.5 times. Learning about our mistaken decisions led to even worse decisions.

Football : The Frontal Cortex.

Kicking performance affects perception of goal size : Neurophilosophy

This is the latest in a series of studies showing that our perceptions are grounded firmly in our actions. Witt’s group has previously demonstrated that perceptions of goal size in golfers and softball players are apparently affected by performance. Other researchers have shown that perception is also influenced by the amount of effort required to perform an action. A location seems further away when one has to walk uphill to reach it, or if one is tired or in pain during the walk, and hills look steeper when one is carrying a heavy backpack. Similarly, objects that are just out of reach are perceived to be closer when one is holding atool that extends reach, while those that are positioned so that they are difficult to grasp are perceived as beign further away.

All of these studies show that perception does not merely involve reconstructing the geometry of one’s environment from visual information. Rather, our perceptions seem to be firmly grounded in, and strongly influenced by, the abilities, intentions and efforts of the perceiver. This may be because we view the environment in terms of energy costs, and plan our actions accordingly. Thus, a tired walker who perceives a hill to be steeper than it actually is will walk more slowly, and an athelete who perceives a target to be bigger will need to expend less energy and attention. Conserving energy is vital for survival, so such an adaptation would confer an important evolutionary advantage.

via Kicking performance affects perception of goal size : Neurophilosophy.

Kings Still Ranked 14th Alphabetically

Los Angeles Kings – Statistics.

The Fourth Period: Red Wings had traded Kyle Quincey to Dallas, but failed physical led to waiver claim by Kings | Snapshots – MLive.com

In the Fall issue of The Fourth Period Magazine, a featured story on Colorado Avalanche defenseman Kyle Quincey revealed that the 24-year-old nearly became a member of the Stars at the beginning of the 2008-09 regular-season.Quincey, who was with the Detroit Red Wings at the time, was actually traded to the Stars, but the deal was nixed after he failed to pass a physical.”They told me to turn the cab around,” Quincey said in the article. “The Stars doctor saw my MRI and saw the herniated disk, and they said they didnt want to deal with it.”

from http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/10/the_fourth_period_red_wings_ha.html