Friday, October 23, 2009

Avalanche v. Hurricanes - Scoring Chances #10

TmPTimeNoteCOLOpponent
CAR118:34
91016234152815173041775v5
CAR118:23
5825374144817243041445v5
CAR116:45Goal526415254
1213153036774v5
COL115:39
5825374144412132530595v5
CAR114:13Goal52640414454714151830775v5
COL113:07
922232728411829303841445v5
CAR111:39
82227374041712133059775v5
CAR111:36
82227374041712133059775v5
COL17:58
515283941441415303641445v5
COL13:46Goal5825374144718293038775v5
COL13:15Goal52640414454414152530365v5
COL10:22
5916232741712173077
5v4
COL10:20
5916232741712173077
5v4
CAR216:28
10152837414448172425305v5
COL214:40
910162341521415303641445v5
CAR213:56
5891041
414253036
4v4
COL213:29
89224144
414253036
4v4
CAR212:29
22232627415248253059
5v4
COL210:48
92326274041825293041
5v4
COL210:02Goal92326274041825293041
5v4
COL29:21Goal81025374152417303844595v5
CAR28:39
82227394154712132430775v5
COL27:03
591026404178304159
5v4
COL26:56
591026404178304159
5v4
COL24:41
8910234152714293036775v5
CAR23:46Goal5373940414448172425305v5
CAR23:32
222527373941412132530595v5
COL23:13
8910234152714293036775v5
COL22:31
8910234152717243036775v5
CAR20:56
915224152
714172425304v5
CAR317:44
1025373941441429303641445v5
CAR316:58
52627404154412132530595v5
CAR316:33
891023415278172430775v5
COL315:56
52640414454717293036775v5
COL313:41Goal923262740417123077

5v3
COL312:38
810223740411829304144
5v4
CAR311:21Goal52539415254412132530595v5
COL310:30
822273940411725293036775v5
CAR39:46
222326274154712133059775v5
COL37:31
89222740411429303641445v5
COL36:30
101525374152817243041445v5
COL35:18
89222740411425293036415v5
COL34:38
101525374152817242530415v5
COL34:37
101525374152817242530415v5
CAR34:18
10152537415248172430445v5


#PlayerEVPPSH
5B. CLARK9:40564:50401:1701
8W. WOLSKI15:191063:45100:0000
9M. DUCHENE12:26836:22600:4201
10K. CUMISKEY16:14863:23300:0000
15M. HENDRICKS10:01420:00000:4201
16D. TUCKER6:06110:36200:0000
22S. HANNAN20:31551:38111:2201
23M. HEJDUK14:26536:08410:0000
25C. STEWART13:16652:44000:0000
26P. STASTNY12:41236:46411:1501
27K. QUINCEY19:43466:27411:0800
28D. KOCI4:15210:00000:0000
37R. O'REILLY14:53683:28100:4500
39T. GALIARDI9:15250:04000:4200
40M. SVATOS9:39556:05500:0000
41C. ANDERSON46:12181610:46712:3902
44R. WILSON11:27650:00000:0000
52A. FOOTE15:22841:33011:3102
54D. JONES14:39250:25001:1201


PeriodTotalsEVPP5v3 PPSH5v3 SH
1765520000100
21076541000100
3967610100000
4000000000000
Totals2619181671100200

Another win for the Colorado Avalanche. I keep waiting for them to come back to earth but it just isn't happening. The underlying chance numbers are actually getting better too. Whereas earlier in the year the Avalanche were getting wins over Boston and San Jose while getting killed at EV this game marks the third time in their last four games where they've been even or better with respect to EV scoring chances. On top of that the Avalanche power play looked as good tonight as it has since Liles went down to injury. Things are looking up.

The game itself was very exciting, particularly at EV. Previous to this game the most EV chances in any one game was 30 and it's typically a lot closer to 25. Tonight there were 34 so the fans sure got a treat. The Avalanche also did a very good job of protecting the third period lead. After the Hurricanes cut the deficit to one, I was waiting for shell mode but it never came. Instead, the Avalanche continued forechecking and pressuring the Hurricanes while playing solid positional hockey in their own end. The result was only two scoring chances against in the last ten minutes.

I know it's been "official" for a while but with O'Reilly and Duchene playing ten games now, they're probably here to stay. I don't think it's a good move for the Avalanche in terms of maximizing their contribution per dollar from those two players over their entry level deals but maybe the NHL experience helps them to develop more quickly. I recall from having Sam Gagner up for the year that he played really well over his 9-game audition and then fell off a bit for a long stretch. Maybe the Avs young forwards will have a different fate but I certainly wouldn't bet on it.

As for the Tuomo Ruutu hit on Darcy Tucker... there's not much to say. Bob McKenzie already brought up the problem at the beginning of the season: these kinds of hits are now an expected part of the game. It didn't seem like he was trying to injure the man, just to hit him routinely like he's done before and he's going to do again. It was a normal and dirty hit. Matt Fenwick points out the larger issue at work: the league doesn't give a rip about player safety. As a fan of hockey in general and the NHL in particular all I can say is that I disagree with the NHL position but am willing to actively tolerate or ignore it. I hope that Darcy Tucker's quality of life is not hampered by what transpired this evening.

2 comments:

Olivier said...

Re: Late hits / Boardings

I think the league has it coming. At some point, a Phaneuf - Okposo moment will mean the end of a promising career. That now means tens, if not over a hundred million dollars.

That's a lot of moolah. And at some point the league may very well get sued over something like this. When this happens, they'll get serious about player safety.

Scott Reynolds said...

I'm not sure it really costs the league much at all. So long as the league remains convinced that violent hits sell hockey games they'll stay in the NHL. That certainly mitigates the cost of a promising career ended. It's hard to get much bigger than Eric Lindros or Paul Kariya. Both of those guys were sidelined with concussions and yet the game hasn't changed much at all in terms of punishing dirty and/or dangerous play. I suppose it's possible a lawsuit changes things but so far the league hasn't changed a whole lot as a result of the Moore lawsuit so even then I have my doubts.