PLUS/MINUS a concept so good at least two far more established writers have used it to pay homage to yours truly.
You know the drill: we use the NHL's worst stat to salute or degenerate a wide range of topics, sometimes including hockey.
PLUS: Crispy bacon, sunny-side up eggs, whole-wheat toast and some cut-up berries and apples on the side. Two to three large black coffees, a newspaper and some excellent music.
That is how you Sunday.
PLUS: Despite being pulled last night after falling victim to the law of averages, John Gibson is the best goalie in the NHL.
MINUS: I'm still seeing people evaluate players with +/- on TV. In fact, while analysis is improving all across the internet, and as NHL teams are now fully invested in the advanced stats movement, Brian Burke has been added to the league's most popular broadcast.
Who runs the Leafs again?
MINUS: The Coyotes have been shut-out in three of their first four games. They have yet to score an even-strength goal. As good as they've played overall, as unlucky as they have had to be for this to happen, it's still pretty concerning.
Three shut-outs in four games is pretty unlikely, even if you tried not to score. But it's also pretty bad. Chychrun and Galchenyuk are out of the lineup. But still.........
As much as I want to respect the process - and the Coyotes have legitimately played four good games - scoring goals is a necessity.
PLUS: Outside of the re-united top line of Panik, Keller and Stepan, Dylan Strome was the next most used forward on the team last night.
MINUS: That top line played five more minutes 5v5 than any other line on the team. That'd be understandable if say you were desperate to score and you had Matthews, Tavares and Marner loaded up. But on virtually every other team in the NHL, the Coyotes top line is a second line (at best).
There isn't that much difference between that line and other lines to warrant that kind of discrepancy. The fact is, the Coyotes have only two players with first line talent on their whole roster. The coach might wanna try them together sooner than later, cause this is getting ridiculous.
MINUS: I write this almost every week, but how can Peter Chiarelli and Todd McLellan still have jobs?
PLUS: In my year covering the Washington Capitals, Evgeny Kuznetsov became one of my favorite players in the NHL. Along with Artemi Panarin, he is the most underrated player in the NHL. Both of these guys should be considered in the top ten.
MINUS: Are the baseball playoffs even on?
PLUS: Best movies I saw this year: Three Billboards, Upgrade, Unsane, Jumanji 2, Avengers, and the absolute best: Isle of Dogs.
MINUS: Worst movies I saw: Incredibles 2, Jurassic Park 12, Blockers
PLUS: If you didn't see it, go on youtube now and watch that goal Kuznetsov scored last night. Amazing.
PLUS: best records of the year: Tha Carter V and Tranquility Based Hotel and Casino
The new Lil Wayne actually being good is the most surprising thing of all. I thought my boy had gone into a serious decline, but it turns out that his new record is his second best ever. Probably not a huge group of people on the hockeybuzz who love Lil Wayne, but he's one of the greatest artists of our time.
PLUS: If I was the Blue Jays, I'd hire Ron Washington to manage team. I don't think you even need a manager in baseball anymore since the game is pretty much decided by computers, so why not hire one of the coolest guys in the entire world to be in charge?
MINUS: This nicotine tablet I'm slowly dissolving in my mouth is disgusting. They definitely need to put the word "Mint" in quotations on the box. It taste likes the Arizona Coyotes goal scoring. However, it does put a damper on the murderous rage associated with not smoking, so whatcha gonna do?
The best thing about quitting smoking is the money. So much money. If I add my smoke money to my current car payment, I could afford the payments on Mercedes Benz C-Class or BMW X5.
I mean, probably not a new one, but still.
In all seriousness, I think this it the time I kick the butts for good. It's my (4th? 10th?) time trying in the last two years.
PLUS: All this scoring. You don't win friends with defense.
MINUS: I love Don Cherry. I think he's the absolute best. The man is a legend. But that doesn't mean I agree with all his opinions. He's wrong about celebrations. You don't need to act like you've been here before, you need to go nuts. There is nothing wrong with fun.
MINUS: John Torterella. Worst coach in the history of the NHL. You don't sit Lungo for an outdoor game, and you sure as hell don't start the season with Bobrovsky on the bench.
PLUS: You gotta watch more Hurricanes games. Not only is Dougie Hamilton arguably the best defenseman in the NHL, but Sebastian Aho is a superstar. This guy will finish top ten in scoring, mark my words.
MINUS: It's been twenty years, but I've never wavered on this one: People who watch reality tv are losers. (But hey, lots of people would say that about people who smoke cigs or watch a ridiculous amount of hockey.)
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