Barnes got the other two. I | Forum
miaowang123
Jan 30 '18
With a new NHL season upon us, hopefully this will be a refreshed blog, with plans to post every day Monday-Friday, and include stats, lineup notes, injuries and other details from the night before. Alex Goligoski Jersey . Im also going to try to use it as an outlet for responding to e-mail and Twitter questions, and -- please note -- Ill be doing chats on TSN.ca every Friday. So come with questions, whether they involve fantasy hockey or analytics and lets have a great season. Today, its Grabovski making a point, Eller in fine form, Troubas instant impact and some recommendations for stats-oriented hockey fans. 1. After one game for the Washington Capitals, it turns out that Mikhail Grabovski is still a pretty decent hockey player. Grabovski scored three goals, added and assist while starting more of his shifts in the offensive zone, at least compared to last year, when his usage was drastically different in Toronto. Its only one game, of course, but its notable that Grabovski was among the Capitals leaders in offensive zone starts and hes being used in an offensive capacity, which plays to his strengths. This comes on the heels of Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle saying that he wants the Leafs to be more of a puck possession team this year, as though the decisions made in the summer (like buying out Grabovski and re-signing Tyler Bozak, for example) have no bearing on the teams ability to play an improved puck possession game. Even after being put into a defensive role last season, Grabovskis puck possession numbers have been better than those recorded by Bozak over the past three seasons. Why compare Grabovski specifically to Bozak? Because the decision to buy out Grabovski only came into play because the Maple Leafs were choosing to re-sign Bozak, who was an unrestricted free agent in the summer. If they let Bozak leave, Grabovski would fit in an open scoring centre slot, not unlike the one hes found in Washington. While Grabovskis buyout doesnt affect the Maple Leafs cap, it still required more than $14-million and I dont care how much revenue pours in to MLSE, no one likes paying a player $14-million to play somewhere else, especially if turns out that he could be better than the guy theyve agreed to pay $21-million over the next five seasons. 2. Now, in the interest of fair play, it should be pointed out that Bozak scored a shorthanded breakaway goal and took 27 (winning 15) of the Maple Leafs 55 face-offs against Montreal Tuesday, his 21:13 of ice time leading all Maple Leafs forwards. His possession numbers werent ideal but, again, this is one game and Grabovski did much of his damage (two goals and one assist) on the power play, so his even-strength possession numbers werent great either. At the same time, these comparisons are going to get made. When teams choose one player over another, especially at the same position, its inevitable. 3. The Canadiens had a productive game out of what is ostensibly their third line -- C Lars Eller (2 G, 1 A, +2, 6 SOG) , LW Alex Galchenyuk (2 A) and RW Brendan Gallagher (1G). The oddity of it all is that Montreal didnt seem to use Galchenyuk and Gallagher as much as they could. The sophomore wingers played 13:23 and 11:26, respectively. Brandon Prust and Travis Moen both played more than 12 minutes against Toronto, so there was more of an emphasis on the physical game, it appears. For Eller, whose 2013 season ended when he was knocked out by Senators D Eric Gryba, it was an ideal return to action from an individual standpoint, showing that he is strong, healthy and capable of being productive right away. 4. Jets rookie D Jacob Trouba announced his presence in his first NHL game. After one year at Michigan, the 9th overall pick from 2012 stepped into the Jets lineup, played 25:02 to lead both teams, and scored his first NHL goal along with an assist. If hes a top four (or even top pair) defenceman right out of the gate -- he was paired with Zach Bogosian -- then Trouba can be a difference-maker for the Jets. 5. Blackhawks sophomore LW Brandon Saad (1 G, 2 A, +2) opened the season on Chicagos third line, with Andrew Shaw and Jimmy Hayes, but was still plenty productive. Bryan Bickell, who has the top line left wing spot, alongside Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, had one shot on goal in 15:05. 6. Capitals RW Alex Ovechkin (1 G, 1 A, -2, 9 SOG) had a strong opening game. In 126 games over the previous two seasons, hed registered nine shots or more twice, so doing it in Chicago, against the Blackhawks, seems like a decent initial indication that hes on his game. 7. Oilers LW, er, C Taylor Hall played 23:30 against Winnipeg, a threshold hed crossed twice in 171 previous NHL games. Playing primarily with Ryan Smyth and Ales Hemsky, they took puck possession lumps against the Jets. 8. Were going to wrap up todays blog with a few recommendations. First, for anyone interested in hockeys advanced stats or simply taking a different look at the game, this seasons Hockey Prospectus is a must-read. I wrote the Foreword to the HP annual a couple of years ago, emphasizing that hockey analytics should be a growth industry, and appreciate the work that some very smart people put into the analysis every year. Ive been fortunate enough to meet some of them at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, including editor Timo Seppa and Brian Macdonald. Ive worked on a few things with Rob Vollman (who published his own, also recommended, Hockey Abstract this summer too) and have chatted with a few more on Twitter, including prospect ace Corey Pronman and I appreciate people challenging the status quo when it comes to player and team analysis. Its good stuff. 9. Not to be confused with TSNs Fantasy Hockey League Manager (which is also great!), Ive started playing Franchise Hockey Manager, a hockey simulator presented by OOTP, makers of Out of the Park Baseball. Ive played their baseball game and enjoyed it, but was anxious for their release of the hockey product. I spent way too much time in my youth playing Hockey League Simulator II and loved the idea of picking my teams, setting lines, making trades etc -- this was really before fantasy hockey had taken hold online -- and you could play through a season in a night. Maybe a long night, but it could be done. The amount of detail involved is great -- they have rosters and prospects for all NHL teams, but also for junior and European leagues -- and its still fun to mix and match line combinations. If youre into that kind of stat-nerdy thing, give it a look. 10. Finally, research is the heart of this job. I watch and I listen and I read and I dig for more and there are many websites that I turn to in order to have a handle on whats happening in the NHL. These are some that I will link to a lot throughout the season: www.behindthenet.ca ; www.capgeek.com www.leftwinglock.com ; www.hockey-reference.com stats.hockeyanalysis.com www.extraskater.com www.hockeyfights.com www.hockeydb.com Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Mikkel Boedker Jersey .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings take aim at an eighth straight victory on Monday night as they wrap up a road trip versus the Calgary Flames. Louis Domingue Jersey . This week, topics cover the World Series champion Red Sox, John Farrell and what to look forward to this off-season.Torontos Melvin Ejim accomplished much more than just one record-setting game this season. The Iowa State senior forward has a unique top-10 standing in the Big 12. The 6-foot-6 Ejim was named Monday as The Associated Press Big 12 Player of the Year. He joined Kansas Andrew Wiggins of Vaughan, Ont., the leagues Freshman of the Year, as unanimous All-Big 12 first-team selections. Ejim, whose 48-point game against TCU last month set a Big 12 single-game scoring record, is the leagues only player in the top 10 in scoring and rebounding. He ranks second in both categories, averaging 18.2 points and 8.6 rebounds. "To see the progression of Melvins basketball career from where he came in as a freshman, very raw ... it just shows when you put a lot of work into your game, its going to pay off, and it certainly helps with your culture," Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said of the A-student history major. "Hes a great leader and young guys see what hes doing and the impact that has on our team and our program." Only Iowa State had two first-team players. Ejim was joined in the top five by 6-4 senior teammate DeAndre Kane, a transfer from Marshall who was the unanimous pick for Newcomer of the Year. Kane averaged 17.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists. "Three great years at Marshall, but had never reached the tournament," Hoiberg said. "I know that was huge for him, and hes going to get that opportunity." Oklahoma State sophomore guard Marcus Smart and West Virginia junior guard Juwan Staten, the Big 12s leader with 18.4 points and 5.94 assists per game, rounded out the first-team selections that matched the coaches picks released Sunday. Smart was the AP Big 12s top player and top freshman last year, when he was only the third player to win both of those awards in the same season. His scoring average was better this season at 17.9 points and he led the league with 2.7 steals a game,, but also was suspended three games during conference play after shoving a fan at Texas Tech. Jakob Chychrun Jersey. Oklahomas Lon Kruger, who led the Sooners to a No. 2 seed in this weeks conference tournament, was selected as the AP Big 12 Coach of the Year with 11 of the 18 votes from a panel of AP sports writers and sportscasters who cover the league on a regular basis Ejim got 11 votes for top player, becoming the first Iowa State player to win that AP award since Jamaal Tinsley in 2001, a year after Cyclones standout Marcus Fizer. Wiggins, who capped the regular season with 41 points Saturday in a loss at West Virginia, got four Player of the Year votes, and the remaining votes were split by Kane, Smart and 7-foot Kansas freshman centre Joel Embiid. Wiggins got 17 votes for Freshman of The Year. Embiid, who got the other vote for top freshman, headed up the AP All-Big 12 second team that also includes Oklahoma States Markel Brown, Kansas State freshman Marcus Foster, Oklahoma sophomore Buddy Hield and Baylors Cory Jefferson. Kruger is 58-36 in his three years at Oklahoma, and last season with the Sooners became the first NCAA Division I coach to take five different programs to the NCAA tournament. They finished the regular season with a 97-67 win at TCU, their fifth win in six games. "Its always satisfying when your guys play well and play with enthusiasm and get good results," Kruger said. "This league is so deep ... if we can be in that group right after Kansas, were in a very good group of basketball teams, so I feel good about it." Kansas coach Bill Self, whose Jayhawks clinched their 10th Big 12 title in a row with a young group, got five votes for top coach. Texas Rick Barnes got the other two. In their voting, Big 12 coaches also tabbed Ejim as top player, Kane top newcomer and Wiggins as the leagues outstanding freshman. They differed on the top coach, selecting Barnes. 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