Follow @james_tanner123 PLUS/MINUS is the NHL's worst stat, however, if you care about that, you probably don't even watch the games anyways. Measuring anything is crazy - it's the internet, just guess and then get really, really defensive about your position!
PLUS: The Islanders have taken over last place from the Coyotes!! Let's face it though, when soon-to-fired coach Jack Capuano started the season by placing Jason Chimera on Tavares' 'right-wing, you knew this was gonna happen.
Somewhere, Mike Milbury laughs.
MINUS: Stamkos being injured for another four months. That just sucks.
MINUS: If you are an adult, don't say or type "OMG" or "LOL." What is wrong with you? Have some pride. Speak like an educated person, even if you're not.
And while we're on the topic, if you say "butthurt," no serious person will want to talk to you or take your opinions seriously.
It is important to stay vigilant against people who talk like morons, or who knows, one day you could see an uneducated, unqualified, racist liar elected to the highest office in the land.
PLUS: What makes me happy to be alive is finding out about songs this good that I've never heard, even though they're almost as old as I am. Ironically, some people consider this the worst Leonard Coen song in existence.
Johnny Gaudreau is now out after having his hand broken from one of the 52 slashes he received on his hands. Why is it OK to "tap" a guy's hands like that?
Now the Flames are screwed and fans are screwed out of watching one of the NHL's best players.
I think I've come to the conclusion that for the NHL to be safe and for the refs to not ignore dozens of infractions every game, each team would need about 15 power-plays per game, which is infeasible. Not sure there is a solution.
MINUS: Hockey Night in Canada
The "Classy" Nick Kypreos seemed to take a shot at George S. last night on HNIC, which I thought was pretty bad. Really? you're knocking tight pants? Jesus, Kypreos.
I too wanted Ron McLean to return, but in a classic-case of getting what you want, I just can't stress how out-of-touch the entire broadcast is.
It reminds me of watching those Old Navy commercials that use 'cool slang' to appeal to 'the kids' when it really is just sad. Cherry and McLean don't speak to anyone under 50, the 'diversity' seems forced (Tara Sloan? From Joy Drop? A band I am pretty sure only I remember. You couldn't get a single ex-hockey player?) and 100% of their commentators played in the 80s and 90s and have not evolved with the game. Kypreos is an enforcer with the same exact views as Don Cherry. Friedman is a great journalist who is too uncomfortable for TV.
I could go on.
The whole thing just seems stuck in the 90s. Please tell me more about plus/minus and face-offs!! Or don't, I'll just FF the entire thing.
Also, you should probably read novels. Adults should read, know the basic plot of Hamlet, and be able to converse intelligently about current events. This is the bare minimum of what should be expected of you.
Today, all we ask is that you recycle, but clearly we need to expect more from people.
MINUS: Stamkos with his third major injury in three years. They are all freak accidents too.
Taylor Hall, Steve Stamkos and Johnny Guadreau all going down in the same night is a reverse-jackpot you don't wanna ever hit. Injuries will always be a part of hockey, but this sucks.
MINUS: This is bizarre:
I watched parts of @nbcsnl Saturday Night Live last night. It is a totally one-sided, biased show - nothing funny at all. Equal time for us?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 20, 2016
Comedy shows have no mandate to be "equal," and it is terrifying the "President" doesn't know that. They ripped him for appointing people to his cabinet who are sycophantic supporters and not the best people for the job, not to mention that they all have an objectively terrifying record of racism.
When the policies of the President are ridiculous, hurtful, and insane, I should hope the show is "biased." It is also incredibly dangerous the way this man holds grudges and attacks the media.
SNL has no need to give equal time. They need to make fun of what is dangerous and dumb. They should be applauded.
Obviously this is a hockey blog and maybe you don't care about politics, but we need to care because a guy who runs a racist "news" site is now one of the most powerful people in the country. No matter who you voted for, that shouldn't be OK.
PLUS: While it sucks that Phife Dawg has passed on, it's amazing to receive a new Tribe Called Quest album.
This week they were slaughtered so badly in back-to-back games against the Flames and Canucks that it was embarrassing. Sure, they came away with two over-time points, but they were extremely lucky to get those.
Then, last night, after blowing a 2-0 lead to the Sharks, they somehow won in Overtime.
But you know how sometimes you lose a game and go "well we deserved to win" ? In this case, the Coyotes should be ashamed to even take these two points.
The Coyotes were out-shot 45-26 overall. Take away the Power-Plays and it was 43-18. Look at shot attempts, which is what we should all be doing anyway, and it was 73-34 in favor of the Sharks. That's a 70% 5v5 Corsi which is almost as if the Sharks played the entire 60 minutes with a powerplay.
That's fire your coach material. In NHL history, I don't think a team deserved to win a game and lost more than the Sharks did last night.
MINUS: I just learned that before a game in the AHL last night, Coyotes' player Craig Cunningham suffered a medical emergency and had to be rushed to the hospital. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.
MINUS: I thought we stopped judging players by their point totals and instead agreed we would look at how they were actually playing. Instead, I all I hear about is Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid and how they are in such huge slumps etc etc etc.
This is lazy, lazy, lazy and pathetic.
A quick look at the advanced stats (and it turns out that's a pretty good description of what they are, since apparently, even the major outlets can't be bothered to look beyond goal totals) shows that they are basically the two best forwards in the NHL.
McDavid silenced the idiots with a hat-trick last night, and so soon will the snake-bitten Matthews.
MINUS: This is why you don't see more situations where you have a coach who is the GM's boss. Obviously, that's a recipe for disaster. Even more when the coach has been the coach for way too long, has no answers for how bad the team is and can't seem to make even one good line. Dave Tippett needs to be fired.
The Coyotes do not have a single player with a 5v5 Corsi-for % above 50%.
PLUS: The Leafs are a #1 (read: top-ten) defenseman away from being the best team in the NHL. Mark my words. This is happening. Oh man are they fun to watch.
PLUS: It's the Tweet of the Week:
Habs' winning % last year without Price: 40%
— Andrew Berkshire 📎 (@AndrewBerkshire) November 19, 2016
Habs' winning % this year so far without Price: 42.9%.
So is extra leadership worth 2.9%?
PLUS: Connor Brown (who had a four point game recently) as well as Mitch Marner William Nylander and Auston Matthews have all recorded a three-point game this year.
The Leafs have four amazing rookies and people don't even realize that Connor Carrick is also playing well, as are Zach Hymen and Nikita Soshnikov.
Seven rookies and they deserve to have an even better record then they actually do. This team is going to be awesome. If they weren't already my favorite team, they would be now.
This is ridiculous. Last season Duclair balanced his high shooting percentage with the fact that he was a solid driver of possession. This season, he hasn't even done that.
However, IN THE FIRST GAME OF THE SEASON Duclair was given under 12 minutes of ice-time.
If we look at who he's played with, we see that under half his minutes this season have come with Domi, but Domi is still his most paired-with teammate. What this means is that he's been bounced around the lineup and hasn't consistently played with anyone.
Duclair without Domi: An enforcer-level 39% CF Duclair with Domi: A first line worthy 53.2% CF
This is a team, keep in mind, that doesn't have a single player who is over 50%.
It's quite obvious that firing Tippett is a must. We're talking about trading one of the best young players in the NHL because he's off to a bad start when we can empirically pin it on coaching.
MINUS: Tippett plays Doan and Vrbata the second and third most ice-time on the Team, among forwards.
And they are in last place. (tie!!). If you're getting last place regardless, play the $$$**$* Kids.
PLUS: Pete Davidson: "Unless it's accompanied by a sick beat, we don't want to hear anything Kanye West has to say, ever again."
Amen.
Thanks for reading, and, as always, I love you.
Shelley: I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.…
All stats 5v5 unless noted and from Corsica.hockey and Stats.hockey.analysis.com