Of course, the one time I'm in San Jose when the 'Nucks go head to head with the Sharkies, the game is in Vancouver. Blast!!! At least my boys showed why Killer Whales are better than Sharks, busting San Jose hardcore 6-1 at the Roger.
How about Mikael Samuelsson coming out of nowhere to get himself two goals? That was a pleasant surprise to the home crowd. Add to that unlikely goals from Alex Burrows (um, welcome back?), Raffi Torres (man, I remember you scoring...10 games ago), Jeff Tambellini (underrated stud), and Keith Ballard (aren't you injured?), and you have an unlikely cast of characters who got it done by the Orca. It was the most goals scored by the Canucks against San Jose since December 30, 2000. Can you believe that? This was a historic blow out! And coming off that "turn things around win" against Colorado the previous time out, things are starting to click.
Despite getting outshot 32-33, the Canucks won 57% of the faceoffs, and this was essential for getting our goals. I wonder if seeing Niemi give up 6 goals on 32 shots helps to make Jon feel better about the goalie being let go by the Hawks (who lost to the Sharks 2-5 in San Jose on Thanksgiving Eve). On a night of an offensive explosion, it was nice to see Roberto Luongo make the top 3 stars. The "real" media gives us Mikael Samuelsson (2 goals, +3), Roberto Luongo (32 stops on 33 shots), and Jannik "The Great Dane" Hansen (1 assist, +1). I think Christian "The Fuhr" Ehrhoff makes an easy choice for the "LSF Top Star Who Didn't Score a Point." Ehrhoff may have been pointless, but he was a strong +3 in his 20+ minutes on ice, taking 2 shots. Ehrhoff is a freaking stud at the blue line.
At 12-7-3, the Canucks are still doing pretty darn well. We're deadlocked with the Colorado Avalanche at the top of the division with 27 points. Behind us, Minnesota is -3, Calgary is -5, and Edmonton is -9. The Oilers are nearly a bizarro Canucks, sitting at 7-12-4. I love that. Overall in the West, the Vannies are #3, -2 on the second place Stars, and -5 on the Conference leading Detroit Red Wings. The #4 Blue Jackets have one more point than we do, which I always find funny. The Orca have a +9 goal differential, sitting 11th in goals scored and a solid 8th in goals allowed. Our SRS, a stat I love, is +0.36 (9th out of the 30 NHL teams), while our strength of schedule is still below average at -0.05 (23rd).
While Daniel and Henrik didn't make the goal scoring sheet in the game against the Sharkies, they both still lead the team in points (27 each). It makes me wonder, because of their differing talents, if we consider goals better than assists. Are goals better than assists in determining who is better?
Daniel: 13 goals, 14 assists, +3, 22 S%
Henrik: 2 goals, 25 assists, +3, 4.7 S%
How about taking that and seeing how things look a little more in depth, particularly in terms of "adjusted" goals created, which attempts to show goals created adjusted to an 82 game season.
Daniel: 41 Adjusted Goals Created
Henrik: 30 Adjusted Goals Created
So, are goals better than assists? Well, in terms of getting a higher number on the board, surely. But, do goals help determine that a player is better than another, when compared to assists? This is a tough question to answer. However, despite their even point tally so far this season, I'd have to lean toward the non-Captain Sedin as having the better first 22 games here in 2010/2011.
Tomorrow night we get Calgary. Bring it! The Flamers may be 10-12-2, but this is an intense rivalry no matter the records. Would you believe this is the first battle between these two squads this season? It is. And, it is the first of six chances for Brendan Morrison to remind us of our horrible choice to give him up. Mikka Kiprusoff will be in goal, and we've kind of been all over him lately. In six games last year, he had a 4.69 GAA against Vancouver, and got pulled in 3 of his final 4 starts against us. Meanwhile, Bobby Lu has a 1.72 GAA in his last four against Calgary and is undefeated in those games (3-0-1). Hopefully we can continue those trends.
Go Canucks Go.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
It's kind of hard to recap, a game like that. It's three days later, and I'm still riding high. Notre Dame made tons of mistakes, to be sure, but they stepped it up when they needed to, and pulled off the moderate shocker. I don't think enough good things can be said about Tommy Rees, Robert Hughes, Duval Kamara, the defense, or the amazing rain (which helped to break up two possible SC TD passes late). This is one that we won't soon forget.
8 years of suffering at the hands of those pretty boy SC fans has come to a close. We all watched the game, so I'll try and keep my thoughts as interesting/brief as possible. How amazing was the ND defense? They kept us in the game by thwarting the USC red zone offense turnover after turnover. It would have been an obvious Irish loss if not for the likes of Manti Te'o, Darius Flemming, and company. They were amazing out there. SC was held to just 80 rushing yards. The Trojans did their best to choke after every chance we gave them. Not only did we hand them four turnovers (to their one) that they did little with, but they got flagged for eight penalties (to our one), and of course saw Ronald Johnson drop the potential game winning TD pass as time ticked down. Blame it on the rain, whoa, whoa. It was so enjoyable for me to watch Lane Kiffin look so lost on the side line. I tried to expose Trojan fan's fake faith in him, and I think it shined like a lighthouse on Saturday. He's a joke, and now they're all left to try and come to terms with it.
We may have seen a sign that shows Brian Kelly will be an amazing ND coach. The last Irish coach to beat USC on his first try? Lou Holtz in 1986. You've got to be kidding me. Now, let's take a very brief moment to be realistic. Notre Dame hit USC at the right time. They are having a down year, their starting QB was out (probably a cry that most Trojan apologists will throw at you), and their coach is a bum. However, the win isn't diminished by any of these excuses. Look at us! We are having another down year (Tulsa beat us), our starting QB was out (but was next year's surprise starter was in?), and our coach would have been considered a bum in his first year if he wouldn't have beaten USC.
USC's streak of 19 straight non-conference victories has ended. Their streak of 15 straight home wins has ended. Their streak of 8 straight wins over the Irish has ended. Unbelievable.
The funny thing was that Tommy Rees has flat out bad, especially stats-wisw 20/32 for 149, 2 TDs, and 3 INTs. However, the freshman QB held his ground. He didn't let his mistakes send him into a tail spin a la John Lackey. He kept his head on straight, and marched a 77 yard game winning drive down the field. Throwing 3 picks doesn't define a QB. It's what he does after throwing 3 picks that makes a QB. Cierre Wood was flashy, making huge yards on shotgun draw plays, for 89 yards. Meanwhile, Robert Hughes was a work horse, running 11 times for 69 yards (including a TD). Michael Floyd had 86 yards in the air, and a whole mess of blocks that don't show up on the box score. Meanwhile, Duval Kamara had 1 catch for 1 yard, but it sure was a big one.
So, at the end of this whole roller coaster of a regular season, we finish 7-5. 2 games off of my 9-3 predictions. We're not headed to the BCS like I hoped, but we are Bowl eligible, and after Saturday's win, I'm pumped as heck about it. Champ's Sports Bowl, here we come. According to multiple source, this seems to be our most likely bowl destination. The bad guys in the Orlando clash would be the #3 team from the ACC. It looks like that could end up being either NC State or Maryland. There are other options floating around, as the Las Vegas Bowl sent a scout to watch Notre Dame play, and a crazy PAC-10 mess scenario could send the Irish to Holiday Bowl or the Sun Bowl (due to a possible lack of bowl eligible teams after Oregon and Stanford from the PAC-10).
So what do you want? Orlando? Las Vegas? El Paso? San Diego?
Let's make the trip!
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
The C's took a step back in the right direction last night, as they just completely crushed the Atlanta Hawks 99-76. Playing back to back games on the road, the Celtics looked like an amazingly fresh squad, as they jumped out to a 39-13 first quarter lead, and cruised from there on out.
With Rajon Rondo off to injury, Nate Robinson had to fill in, and did he ever! Donkey had 16 points and 10 assists, doing his best Rondo impression. All of that, along with Atlanta missing five of six shots to start the game, led to the C's getting a double digit lead before the game was even 4 minutes old. After falling by a single point to the Raps the night before, the Green Army were out to make a statement. This was the third time this season that the Hawks have been routed at home by a team coming in off a game the night before. That's a serious problem, eh boys?
Shooting 53% from the field and 45% from beyond the arc, the C's were doing just enough to put a big run on Atlanta. We also were +20 rebounds on the Hawks, and that helped maintain possession and maintain the flow of the game. KG was the man in charge last night, leading the team with 17 points and 11 boards, looking at the top of his game. He was joined by Pierce (13), Shaq (13 and 11 boards), and the aforementioned Nate Dawg (16) in the double digit zone. Adding to the studliness of the starters, the bench busted out with 31 points to lead us onward to the blowout.
At 10-4, the Celtics lead the division by 4 games over the Knicks, and in the conference we're #1. The 0.5 game lead over the Magic is tight, but the lead over the Miami Mega Heat (2 games) has me feeling pretty happy. Speaking of feeling happy about being better than others, the 2-13 Clippers are in last place in the West (11 back) and 8.5 back of the big Green Army in the greatest rivalry in all of sports. The Celtics have a +10 point differential per game, ranking 12th offensively and 6th defensively. Our SRS is a nice +7.33 (4th out of the 30 NBA teams), all while our PACE (estimate of the number of possessions per 48 minutes by a team) sits at a subpar 90.6 (26th).
With Rajon Rondo resting that strained left hammy, we've got a little PG controversy on our hands, eh? Nate Robinson tried to put an end to it with his impressive play last night, but wouldn't it be cool to see Delonte West come back and lead this team while Rajon is out? Let's compare our two point guards ready to take command.
Points per game:
Robinson- 7.9
West- 7.5
PER (Player Efficiency Rating, where 15 is league average):
West- 16.9
Robinson- 15.5
WS/48 (Win Shares per 48 minutes)
West- 0.158
Robinson- 0.139
USG% (estimate of percentage of team plays using a player while on the floor):
Robinson- 23.9
West- 17.5
Assists per game:
Robinson- 2.2
West- 2.0
So, it's kind of a toss up. With Delonte being the new guy, thanks to his return to the Celtics, I guess Nate gets the nod as we've seen so far. But, it's tough to argue with those PER and WS/48 numbers when the PPG and APG are so close. I just wish West could get a shot for one game so we could see what he's able to do these days as a starter. But, that's why Doc is the coach, and I'm not.
Maybe Delonte will get a shot at the starting point guard role tomorrow night against New Jersey, if Doc Rivers reads the blog. The 4-9 Nets come in with Brook Lopez leading the way, and for some reason a team 5 games under .500 with a girl as their leading scoring doesn't make me intimidated.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Sam Bradford broke a rookie record, the Rams defense only allowed a single touchdown in the first half, and we still lost. The Falcons played a grinding style of football, and bested the Boys in Horns 17-34 on Sunday. The loss is the second in a row for St. Louis, and the third in the last five games. We may have led 10-3 early in the second quarter, but the better team won, and we were overpowered.
Things started out well, as Bradford hit Hoomanawanui for a huge 25 yard TD pass, but the Falcons would come back slowly and surely. While the Rams defense was able to hold Atlanta back somewhat, the Falcons ability to march down the field and bury field goals did enough to turn the tide. They would finish with 12 points off the foot of their kicker. The kicker for the Rams came with about 3:24 to go, when Bradford's shovel pass was picked off at the two yard line. A score for the Rams would have made it a one score game heading into the closing minutes. Instead, Atlanta's defense ended Sam Bradford's record breaking streak of 169 consecutive passes without an INT, and ended the Rams chances of winning the game.
The Rams were a pathetic 1 for 10 on third downs, and there is just no way you can win a game with numbers like that. Add 7 penalties and about 11 minutes less possession, and you have a recipe for disaster. Bradford finished the game 27 for 42 for 233 yards, 2 TDs, and that horrible INT. His favorite targets were Danny Amendola (63), Laurent Robinson (55), and Hoomanawauni (46). On the ground, Steven Jackson had just 11 carries for 54 yards. He's just not getting used very well. The defense was again led by Laurinitis, with his 11 tackles, but overall, the pressure lacked and we didn't get to Matt Ryan even once.
So, at 4-6, the Rams have come crashing back down to Earth. Luckily for us, the whole NFC West still sucks, and we're somehow just 1 GB of the first place Seahawks (5-5). We lead 3-7 San Francisco and Arizona by a game. It's great how you can be playing at a sub-.500 level well into the second half of the season, and still have a pretty good shot at the playoffs. Now I know what NL West fans must feel like. The Rams have a point differential of -21, or -2.1/game, which ranks 19th in the NFL. But, our defense is ranked 8th overall, giving up less than 20 per game. The takeaway/giveaway ratio is looking pretty good at +2 this season (14th), but we have to keep in mind that we have a below average strength of schedule (rated -3.9 against a 0.0 league average).
To help myself feel a little more positive about Sam Bradford and his 28th ranked offense (out of 32 teams), I figured it was a good time to compare him to the other top QBs who came out of his draft class. We'll look at the "Top 5 Rookie QBs" from a Yahoo! Sports column back in May, and compare them using Y/A+ (yards/attempt placed on an index where 100 is average), Rate+ (passer rating placed on an index where 100 is average), and for all you geeks out there, FantPt (Fantasy Points earned).
Sam Bradford: 77 Y/A+, 94 Rate+, and 157 FantPt.
Jimmy Clausen: 64 Y/A+, 67 Rate+, and 30 FantPt.
Colt McCoy: 112 Y/A+, 101 Rate+, and 67 FantPt.
John Skelton: 0 Y/A+, 0 Rate+, and 0 FantPt (hasn't played a game).
Tim Tebow: 0 Y/A+, 0 Rate+, and 27 FantPt (only thrown one pass, which doesn't qualify for "+" stats).
So, out of the preseason picked top 5 rookie NFL QBs, where does Bradford rank? Obviously he's done more for his team than El Paso native John Skelton or Über Protestant Timothy Tebow. He's clearly outperformed Jimmy Clausen, which makes me so very happy. But what about Colt McCoy? McCoy has played in 5 games for the Browns, half that of Bradford in St. Louis, but he's done pretty well. However, if you adjusted McCoy's passing yards and TDs for 10 games, he would have put up 1,950 and 6 TD type numbers. Bradford has thrown for 2,158 and 14 TDs. I'm convinced. Sam is by far the best rookie QB out of the draft. But, can he get this team back on track?
Three days after Thanksgiving dinner, we'll find out. The Rams come out West to face off with the 3-7 Denver Broncos. This kind of feels like a game we have to win. Denver is actually favored by 4 points, led by Kyle Orton and Knowshon Moreno. But why is this cellar dwelling AFC West team slated to beat us, according to Las Vegas? They just got busted by San Diego, a team we beat, 35-14. They've already lost to San Francisco and Oakland. They just don't seem to have the skills. This game is a great opportunity for the Rams to regain control. The Seahawks may be challenged by 6-4 Kansas City, which could open the door to a first place tie if the Ramies can top the Ponies.
Let's bust these Broncos.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
The guys in the picture aren't Canadian Veteran's being honored at the game, they are actually a covert ops group who have stolen the Canucks talent. It seems like we just can't win all of the sudden. After losing in OT to Brandon's Sabres back on the 15th, we lost to the 'Guins, got laughed out of LSF NHL Week by Jon's Hakws, and now dropped one to the Phoenix Coyotes. The latest debacle, a 2-3 loss to the Dogs, is just another example of how Vancouver has seemed like two completely different teams this month.
Damn you Taylor Pyatt! The former Canuck not only scored a goal that made it 2-0 in favor of the 'Yotes, but he also accidentally scored the game winner after the 'Nucks tried to come back. Taylor doubled up Phoenix's lead after Scottie Upshall got it going in the second (both on rebounds off Luongo), only to have the Vannies charge back. Christian Ehrhoff cut the lead in half on a deep slapper from in between the two circles at 8:51 of the second, and Tanner Glass tied the game up about five minutes later. But, in a hard fought third period, the Coyotes would prevail. Keith Yandle skated into the high slot, completely unchallenged by any Vancouver defenders, and blasted a shot. His shot bounced off of Pyatt and under Luongo's arm for the game winning goal. The Canucks just looked flat and uninspired for most of the game. The lack of a single power play may have been to blame.
The "real" media picked their three stars as follows: Taylor Pyatt (2 goals, +1), Christian Ehrhoff (1 goal, +1), and Keith Yandle (1 assist, even). That brings us to the "LSF Top Star Who Didn't Score A Point," Ryan Kesler. Nice to see the video game cover boy get another honor. Kes went +1 on the game, posting 3 shots, 1 minor penalty, and 18:53 of ice time. Now, if only he could have scored...
At 10-7-3, the Canucks are falling fast as the month of the American Turkey closes out. We've fallen right out of the division lead, as we're now -2 on Colorado, only +1 on Minnesota, +8 on Calgary, and +11 on Edmonton. Of course, that means things aren't so hot in the overall Western picture, either. We're now #8, and we're tied points-wise with the #9 Ducks. That really isn't a very comfortable spot to be in. Keep in mind, though, that only 5 points separate #1 and #8 in the West (while it's 9 in the East). Our goal differential is now just +2, as we're ranked 12th in goals scored and 14th in goals allowed. The SRS has dropped to +0.06, which ranks 15th in the league, and that's all with the 10th easiest schedule around. Man, that was a rough weekend.
It may have been more rough for former captain Roberto Luongo than anyone else. He was pulled against the hated Blackhawks, and then lost in what is usually a solid bounce back game after getting pulled. Is Luongo ever going to be a great NHL goalie? Where does he rank right now? Let's explore how he's doing this season. First, we'll compare GAA, SV%, and W against his five previous years (adjusted wins for 82 games). Then, we'll compare his SV% with that of other top goalies in the NHL here in 2010.
2006: 2.29 GAA, .921 SV%, 51 aW
2007: 2.38 GAA, .917 SV%, 39 aW
2008: 2.34 GAA, .920 SV%, 50 aW
2009: 2.57 GAA, .913 SV%, 48 aW
2010: 2.88 GAA, .907 SV%, 36 aW
Even I'm surprised by the above comparison. This season, just 20 games in, is looking like Luongo's worst since joining the Canucks in every major statistical category. But, maybe it's a NHL wide thing. How is he comparing in SV% with the other top goalies in the league?
Garon: .961
Thomas: .954
Pavelec: .939
Quick: .935
Price/Backstrom: .932
I'll stop there. Hockey Reference only ranks the top 20 in any NHL stat category, and in SV%, #20 is Dwayne Roloson from the Islanders (.912). Meanwhile, as stated above, Bobby Lu is floundering (.907). How did this happen? How did our franchise goalie suddenly become only around the 25th best goalie in the league? You can blame blue line injuries. You can blame a change in goalie coaches. But, sooner or later, the blame has to come back to Luongo. I can only hope that he can turn things around.
His first chance to do so will be at home against the division leading Colorado Avalanche on American Thanksgiving Eve. Chris Stewart and the Avs are coming to the Roger for just about as important a match as there can be in November in the NHL. The game will determine who has what it takes to head into the new month with the division lead.
Let's rise above the snow, and get this win.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
How about that alliteration? Good stuff. Notre Dame's effort against Army on Saturday night in New York was good stuff as well. The Irish recovered from a tough opening sequence, and put forth another strong game. The defense held the bad guys to just 3 points for the second straight game, and the offense did their job as well. In the end, the wet Yankee Stadium crowd went home happy (assuming they were Notre Dame supporters), with a 27-3 ND victory.
To open the game, the Irish had a nice drive end by getting picked in the end zone. Army responded to that with an 8:45, 77 yard drive that resulted in a field goal. With about 2 minutes left in the opening quarter, things weren't looking good. I looked over at my Dad on the couch across the room and cringed. Luckily, we weren't in for the long, scary night that we imagined. Notre Dame would shut Army out for the remainder of the game with some unbelievable defense, and the offesne under freshman Tommy Rees responded as well. Early in the second, we tied things up with a field goal, and the half closed out with drives ending in a Robert Hughes TD run and a Tyler Eifert 31 yard TD pass (Eifert almost scored the first one too, but was ruled to have had his knee down at the one after laying out for the catch). We were happy with that, but it just got better. An interception by Walls, just one minute into the second half, was taken 42 yards back for a TD. The game would kind of play out slowly from there, with Army getting stuffed, ND getting one more field goal, and Nate Montana getting in for one play to kneel the game out. All in all, it was an impressive victory for our Irish.
The win also secured at least a 6-6 record, which makes us bowl eligible after the season. Good news for us. The better news, though, is that this team is playing so much better as of late. 8 for 14 on third downs. 369 yard of total offense, with 155 of it coming on the ground. 2 more minutes of possession. A +1 turnover differential. It all maps out to a good game for ND. Freshman Tommy Rees was 13/20 for 214, 1 TD, and 1 INT. He looked pretty on par with his Utah game, and I was happy to see him make solid decisions when things didn't go well (one really low snap, and a play where there was no RB to hand the ball off to in the backfield). He looked smart and calm out there. Of course, it helps that Cierre Woods was just awesome again. 88 yards on 14 carries, complimented nicely by 39 yards from Robert Hughes, and 22 by Jonas Gray. Even Floyd had 9 ground yards on a sweet little reverse play. Eifert led with 78 in the air, and was joined by Floyd (63), and Toma (63) as Rees' top targets. But, the defense was the story, again. Army was held to just 174 total yards of offense, and just 39 of that was through the air. Despite breaking his nose, Te'o led the team with 9 tackles (and should still be able to play against SC). And, despite not getting any sacks, the ND pressure was enough to cause two INTs. It was a great defensive game.
Now at 6-5, Brian Kelly's first year is completely up in the air. It all depends on next week's clash against USC. Beat USC, and your 7-5 start is hailed as a turning point for the school. Lose to the Trojans, you finish 6-6, and fans are left wondering why we didn't just keep Charlie Weis. The stakes are high against USC this year, and I sure hope to see my Irish pull off the shocker while stuffing down some leftover stuffing.
Usually at this point, I'll highlight a player and focus on some stats to get my point across. However, I think I have to address the off-the-field issues of the Irish this time around. While plenty has been said about Notre Dame's season being somewhat disappointing, not much (or should I say, not enough) has been said about our off field issues. First was the death of Declan Sullivan back on October 27. The school has admitted complete responsibilty in his death, and Brian Kelly has publicly stated that the time following Declan's death has been the most difficult time of his life. He, personally, felt responsible for his death, after deciding to hold practice and have it filmed despite high winds. It was a truly horrible situation.
Now, there are reports that a recent suicide by a freshman at near by St. Mary's College was brought on because of a sexual assault perpetrated by a Notre Dame football player. The player's name has yet to be released, because he hasn't been charged with a crime yet, but this is really awful news. And, Brian Kelly isn't handling it as well as he did the previous tragic situation. He hasn't even looked into the issue, has stated that it is a "University" decision to investigate, and seems rather dismisive about the whole situation. Now, reports are out that the female student, age 19, had suffered from depression in the past. However, it seems pretty clear from reports that the sexual assult pushed her over the edge, and led to her overdosing on prescription medication, which took her life. This is a horrible, horrible situation, and the ND player responsible for the assault, if it is true, should not only not be playing, but should be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. This is just another awful situation, hurting this wondeful University. If we can't get good character players on this team, we shouldn't be playing at all. So, Coach Kelly, do the right thing. You know who the player is. Don't wait for the University to force you to do something. Sit him for the USC game, at least. I don't care if he's innocent, or guilty. Some action needs to be taken to show compassion for this serious situation.
For now, I'll get off my high horse, and just start praying that we can beat that Trojan Horse next weekend.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Doesn't it seem like all of my "5 Reasons" posts seem to be about the Canucks and the Blackhawks? I love this rivalry, and after the last two games (OT loss to Buffalo and first regulation loss to Pittsburgh in 10 years), I'm ready for a big win. So, without hesitation, here are my five reasons the Canucks will beat the Blackhawks tomorrow night:
1. Daniel is greater than Patrick: While P-Sharp may be the sharpest tool in the Hawks offensive shed, he is no Daniel Sedin. Our beloved #22 has 12 goals and 24 points this season, edging out Sharp's team leading 11 goals and 21 points. Daniel is a +2 on the ice this season, and Jon's friend Patrick is a staggering -10! A -10 rating for your top scoring player? Ouch. Let's not even get into Daniel's FAR superior shooting percentage. The view is better at the top, my friends.
2. What have they done for Jon lately?: In the month of November, the Chicago squad has been pretty bad. They are 3-4-1 this month, and if you look at their wins, it's even less impressive. They needed a shootout to beat a sub-.500 Atlanta team, needed OT to beat an overrated Anaheim squad, and only beat the lowly Oilers in regulation during the entire month. Meanwhile, their losses this month have come at the hands of some less than impressive squads. The aforementioned Edmonton squad beat them, a 5-12 New Jersey team wrecked them, and even an overrated Preds outfit beat them. Meanwhile, the Canucks are hot, outside of the last 2 games. We're 6-2-1 during November. It's all about "The Big Mo."
3. Depth: While we may have been beaten last season in the playoffs because of the Hawks third line depth, things certainly have changed, haven't they? Most analysts around the NHL love to talk about how the Canucks have the best third line in the game, and I'd have to agree with them. Just look at Manny Malhotra's third line numbers: 4 G, 6 A, +4. I'm not exactly sure who the Hawks have at third line center, but I assume that it's either Dave Bolland or Tomas Kopecky. Bolland has just a goal and two assists, and Kopecky is a -10 on the ice this year. Uh oh, that famed Chicago depth is a thing of the past. We've got you little jerks there.
4. The blueline battle: Everyone made a big deal about how the Canucks upgraded the defense this last offseason, and this is definitely an area where we are better than Chicago, even with Salo being MIA. We'll compare with a total defensive +/- for both teams. The Canucks blue liners combine for a absolute 0 in the +/- world, while the Hawks are running at a -7 level. Your defense can't step to ours, and that's a good thing because Turco is playing better than Luongo this season.
5. Strength of schedule: I've saved the best for last. The Canucks are sitting on a 10-5-3 record, with 23 points, and a +9 goal differential. Meanwhile, Chicago are 10-9-2, with 22 points, and just a +3 goal differential. Why is this so impressive? Well, it's because the Canucks are playing with the 19th most difficult schedule in the NHL (a -0.06 rating), and the Hawks strength of schedule is ranked 30th (a -0.24 rating). You do know how many teams are in the NHL, right? Yeah, just 30. The Hawks have the weakest schedule in the entire NHL, and they are playing nearly .500 hockey? Let's wake up, people, the Canucks are better than the Blackhawks.
So, I've laid it out. After reading this, I'm assuming even the most die hard Hawks fan is feeling that their team is going to fall on Saturday night. At the very least, I'm sure I've convinced Jon. Right, buddy?
Go Canucks Go.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Thanks to covering at Aliso Viejo, I missed out on posting a couple of things. I wanted to write about Newcastle and Celtic's weekends and I wanted to cover the UCSB 2 point loss to Oregon. But, you know, they are paying me to work, not blog. So, now that I'm back to my usual low-work worksite, I'll try and cover a couple of things today.
How about those Celtics? A 114-83 victory over the Wizards at home sure was nice. The funny thing was that our early lead was mostly thanks to Shaq just not being stopped by the Wiz Kids. In fact, O'Neal finished with 13 points in 22 minutes, as the C's bench found a way to lead the squad yet again. At one point, the "B" squad expanded a 20 point lead into a 37 point lead. You know how much I loved that.
This blowout had it all. The return of Delonte West was really enjoyable for me, as D-Dub put up 12 points with 5 rebounds and 4 assists (and a block). Hopefully he'll continue to fit in during his return campaign in Green & White. Rajon Rondo was his usual self (12 points and 13 assists), showing that he has reached another level this year. It's called "consistency," people. They were joined in the double digit scoring world by KG (18), the aforementioned Shaq (13), Pierce (23), and Ray Ray (11). Even more impressive is that we shot 66% from the floor, 62% from beyond the arc, and led with 40 boards. I know it's just Washington (3-7), but it was nice to see us firing on all cylinders.
At 9-2, we lead the division by 5 games over New Jersey (4-7), and are now also first place in the Eastern Conference (1 game up on the 8-3 Magic). Domination is spelled C-E-L-T-I-C-S. Meanwhile, our most hated rivals from Los Angeles are somehow 1-12. I don't even feel like making fun of them. It'll just make me sad.
When we signed Shaq, we all knew we were getting a big dude who was way past his prime. However, outside of his injury, I feel like he's been doing really well this season. It made me wonder if maybe we're getting Shaq's best season in recent memory. We'll compare total points, field goal percentage, and WS/48 over his last 5 years to see if we got a steal when we signed him for the veteran's minimum (we'll adjust all points for 82 games played per season).
2006: 1,414 PTSa, .591 FG%, 0.119 WS/48
2007: 1,118 PTSa, .593 FG%, 0.078 WS/48
2008: 1,457 PTSa, .609 FG%, 0.166 WS/48
2009: 984 PTSa, .566 FG%, 0.119 WS/48
2010: 847 PTSa, .641 FG%, 0.154 WS/48
In my opinion, it's kind of a toss up. While his '10/'11 numbers see a serious decline in total adjusted points when compared to the last five years, his choice of shot (FG%) is significantly better (in fact, a .641 FG% mark is the best in his entire career), and his win shares per 48 minutes played is right up there with 2008 (and the highest, outside of 2008, since he won the title with the Miami Heat). While we may not be getting a 100% better Shaq than at any point over the last 5 years (although, I still think that's debatable), we are clearly getting more from Shaq than we (or ESPN) imagined when we signed him. Keep it up, Diesel.
Tonight we put the 5-0 home start to the test in a rematch with Durant at the OKC Thunder. We busted them earlier this season, despite Durant having a solid game, and hopes are high for a repeat performance.
Let's silence the storm.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
First off, my apologies for the lack of posts coming your way on Wednesdays and Thursdays now. My work has me covering at a clinic in Aliso Viejo on those days, and I'm actually having to do work, which cuts into the blogging. Stay with me, though.
Last night, the Gaybe Blue (by the way, what was with that?) Pittsburgh Penguins upended my Cancuks 1-3 in Pittsburgh. It ended an amazing Vannie streak against the flightless birds. In fact, we were 7-0-1 against the Pens since November 3, 2000 (my negative 7 year anniversary). That hot streak all ended last night, though, as those cutie pies in their new arena busted our collective faces up.
What the heck happened to our Power Play? We went 0 for 5 after averaging nearly 1 goal in every 3 man-advantages. Sidney Crosby even got popped twice, and still we got nothing. That little punk even scored the opening goal, right as he jumped out of the sin bin, just 16:43 into the game. The Pens kept it coming, going up 3-0 before the halfway point of the game. While Dan Hamhuis was able to connect on a beautiful (and selfless) pass across the crease from Henrik Sedin (9:28 into the second), it was pretty much shut down night for Fleury and the Pens for the whole 60.
As chosen by the media, Fleury, Talbot, and Cros-bitch ensure an Orca-less 3 stars. The "LSF Top Star Who Didn't Score A Point" goes to Kevin Bieksa. Sure, he didn't have a good game, but he used part of his 16+ minutes of ice time to beat the crap out of Craig Adams for bumping into Luongo in the first. That's the kind of thing I respect.
Despite falling to 10-5-3, the Canucks are still on top of the division. We're +2 on Colorado, +3 on Minnie, +9 on Calgary, and +12 on Edmonton. We're still 3rd in the West, two back of Conference leading Detroit, and one back of #2 LA. I knew the Blues would start to fade.
Sorry for the brief post, but the aforementioned work at Aliso Viejo is calling. I'll bring a preview of the final game of LSF NHL Week (against the hated Hawks) tomorrow with a "My 5 Reasons" post. You're going down, Jon.
Go Canucks Go.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Cory Schneider was excited to play against his hero, Ryan Miller. He took Miller and the Sabres all the way to overtime, but in the end, Buffalo tallied the extra session netter and won the game 4-3. Losing a game during "LSF NHL Week" is a new feeling for this Canuck fan, but at least we got a point. I'll bet Brandon is feeling pretty good about all these OT heroics his boys have been pulling off as of late.
The problem I had with the game was that the Canucks basically gave Buffalo three of their goals. Tyler Enis opened the scoring 8:22 into the game, after a failed attempt to clear the puck by Manny Malhotra led to a chance for the home team. Just under 9 minutes later, Cody McCormick scored a goal on a shot that Cory Schneider stopped, but allowed in after he was bumped in the crease. All the while, Ryan Miller was making thrilling stop after thrilling stop.
In the second, Daniel would get us on the board with a power play goal. Some nifty passing saw Christian Ehrhoff eventually feed Sedin at the top of the right circle, and Daniel promptly blasted a slapper into the net. Buffalo wanted to make sure we knew they weren't just going to let us back in, though, as Montador answered 6+ minutes later. Montador's goal was set up by some amazing puck handling by Vanek. Vanek just kind of skated around as if he had the puck on a string before feeding Roy, who set up Montador for a deep slapper. This was about the time when I posted that I was praying for a Canucks comeback.
My prayers were answered, sort of. Alex Edler scored a power play goal about 5 minutes into the 3rd, thanks to a screen by Ryan Kesler on Ryan Miller allowing his slap shot to fly by. Less than 5 minutes later, Mikael Samuelsson would put the puck into the wide open side of the net to tie it up. Henrik stole the puck at the point and slap passed it to his brother on the left side of Miller, who fed Samuelsson on the right side of Miller, and the Sweish trio had us tied.
Schneider would turn it up, especially on the PK, with some heart stopping saves, and we were headed to OT. Dangerous territory against a team like Buffalo. Early on, Alex Burrows tested Miller with a huge chance, but the US goalie held strong. Then, with about 30 seconds to go, Dan Hamhuis tried to clear a puck from out in front of Schneider, but really just fed Tyler Myers in the high slot for the game winner. A horrible turnover finished us off, much like how a horrible turnover started Buffalo's night 65 minutes of game time earlier. Welcome back, Hammer.
Schneider will have to wait another day to beat his hero. The "real" media picked their heroes of the game, as they recognized Vanek (2 assists), Daniel Sedin (1 goal and 2 assist), and Myers (game winner) as their three stars. Which brings us to our "LSF Top Star Who Didn't Score A Point," and I'm giving that honor to Dan Hamhuis for his assist on the game winning goal. No, just kidding. Ryan Kesler gets the nod. His screen on the Edler PP goal would have gone down as an assist in a perfect world. We're giving you some serious love for it, buddy, whatever that's worth.
At 10-4-3 (23 points), the Canucks continue to lead the division over Colorado (-4), Minnesota (-5), Calgary (-9), and Edmonton (-12). In the Conference, our grasp on that 3 spot continues, although we're now tied with #2 Detroit points-wise, and trail #1 LA by just 1. After the tight loss, our goal differential is now +11, as we're ranked 8th in goals scored and 11th in goals allowed. Our SRS is a nice +0.57 (6th in the league), while our Strength of Schedule still trails the average at -0.07 (20th). With the upcoming couple of games, though, that should go up. With the success last night, our PP is now +12% on league average, at a stellar 29.23%, while our PK is now +4% on the average.
A lot of people around Orca Nation have been upset with the "lack of production" from Ryan Kesler, as has been pointed out by the announcers the last few games. Sounds like a good time to dig through his numbers, and hopefully prove those haters wrong. With 9 goals and 3 assists so far this year, tied for fourth on the team in points, Kes seems to be doing well enough for me. Let's look at this season's adjusted statistics (extrapolated for 82 games) and compare to the three years before that to see if these haters have a point.
2007: 21 G, 16 A, 19:03 ATOI
2008: 26 G, 33 A, 19:28 ATOI
2009: 25 G, 50 A, 19:38 ATOI
2010: 43 aG, 14 aA, 20:28 ATOI
Or with points (and adjusted points for this season):
2007: 37 P
2008: 59 P
2009: 75 P
2010: 57 aP
The haters must see the argument from the point perspective, as it's the only thing that would make sense. However, we're talking about Kes being on pace for a career year in terms of goals. In fact he'd blow past his top goal scoring year by 17 netters if he keeps this pace up. Kes kind of exploded in points last year with his large number of assist, but I think high-50s is a little more realistic, and thus, Kesler seems to be having a great year for us here in 2010/2011. So, shut up, haters.
After an off day today, the Vannies head to do battle with the Penguins (9-8-2) in their fancy new arena. Despite their new stadium, the Pens are 3-5-1 at home this season, disappointing fans to be sure. The Canucks are just hoping that their luck against Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh continues. The Canucks have won their last four games against the Pens in Pittsburgh, and haven't lost in regulation on the road or at home to their Eastern Conference foes in over 10 years. It's a matchup against an annoying yet talented kid from Canada and former Canuck Matt Cooke, and here I sit, hoping for the best.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
We kind of got ahead of ourselves there, didn't we? Our Rams got to 4-4 at the halfway point, got some love from seriously "real" media sources like ESPN, and we were already thinking Super Bowl...or at the very least, playoffs via a division title. Then, this last weekend, the Rams blew a lead late, showed zero fourth quarter killer instinct, and lost to San Francisco 20-23 in OT.
Ram fans are completelty upset, making wild comments about how we "choked in a huge game," or how we "surprisingly don't know how to play with the lead." Luckily, I can step back from this crazy bandwagon group think and be realistic. The Rams have surprised us with some nice wins this year. We were in first place in the division, which was almost too much for us to handle. But, we have shown that we have difficulty crushing the bad guys late in the game with the lead, and we're still the Rams. Sure, it's been nice, but let's stay realistic and rational here, fans. This loss to the 49'ers isn't like the Pats losing to the Browns, it's more like the Chiefs losing to the Raiders.
I know it hurts to hear, but we straight up can't figure it out on the road (we've lost 20 of our last 22 road games). In the first NFL battle between two Hesiman Trophy winners in six years (the last being Carson Palmer v Vinny Testaverde), the QBs didn't play great. But, Troy Smith's ability to stay agile and make the big passes late was the difference. He piloted two late scoring drives that the Rams fairly weak secondary were helpless to stop, and then pushed his team forward just enough in OT to set up the winning field goal. Bradford led the Rams down the field at the end of regulation to get the field goal that pushed us to the extra session, but after winning the coin toss in OT, we couldn't get a first down. Give credit to Smith, though, as he outplayed Bradford and was clearly the better QB in the game.
It's even easy to say that it could have been much worse, and we maybe shouldn't have even been as close as we were to winning. The 49'ers got penalized 14 times in the game, three times negating scores. That handed us the chance to win things, but we got flagged 12 times and for 30 more yards than SF, which handed it right back. And, speaking of ugly, the Rams went 2 for 14 on third down chances. But, that beat SF's mark of ZERO for 11. Like I said, it was ugly. Bradford finished 30/42 for 251 with a TD and no INTs. Gibson was actually his favorite target, getting 72 yards, and Steven Jackson caught for 67 to add to his 81 on the ground. Danny Amendola, with 7 catches for 51 yards, caught the lone TD. The Rams had 5 sacks on the former Buckeye turned Steve Young wannabe, and Dahl led the way with 13 tackles, but all that pressure came at a price. Leaving less coverage downfield didn't exactly work out.
So, we're 4-5. Is that so bad, considering where we've been the last 3 years? No, it's really, really good. And we still have a shot to win this division. We're currently 1 game back of the 5-4 Seahawks, and 1 game up on SF and Arizona (each 3-6). This division is still completely up in the air. We have a total point differential of -4 (17th in the league), but our improved defense is ranked 6th in points allowed (18.2/game). Our total SRS is -4.7 (remember that 0.0 is the "average" NFL team), but our defense is +1.9. We're +2 on overall TD differential, which again points out just how good our defense has been (until late in the SF game). Meanwhile, our strength of schedule is a lowly -4.2, which means things are probably going to be getting more difficult as we work toward the end of the year.
Since we're so much better than we have been, I thought it would be a good time to assess Steven Jackson's performance. Eric Dickerson said that S-Jack goes unnoticed because he plays on a "bad" team. I'm curious to see how his numbers line up when he's on a really bad team (last 3 years) vs a pretty bad team (2006 and this year). How do his stats compare over the last five seasons? We'll look at Total Yards/Game (Y/G), Rushing & Receiving TDs adjusted to 16 games (RRTDa), and Approximate Value (AV). We'll also see the Rams record (or "on pace record" for this year) to compare how he does on a really bad team vs a pretty bad team.
2006 (8-8): 145.9 Y/G, 16 RRTDa, 19 AV
2007 (3-13): 106.1 Y/G, 8 RRTDa, 8 AV
2008 (2-14): 118.4 Y/G, 10.67 RRTDa, 8 AV
2009 (1-15): 115.9 Y/G, 4.27 RRTDa, 8 AV
2010 (on pace for 7-9): 110.3 Y/G, 5.33 RRTDa, AV to be determined
Clearly, out of these 5 years, Jackson was at his best when the Rams were at their best. Now, this can all be a product of a better offensive line, a better offensive playbook, and/or a healthier Jackson. But, can you say that he has gone unnoticed despite being an amazing RB because he's been on bad teams? Well, I do think he's an amazing RB, but to say he's like the NFL's Zack Greinke (winning the Cy Young with a 16-8 record and a 2.16 ERA on a 65-97 Royals squad) is a bit of a stetch. Jackson just isn't nearly as good when the Rams are having a down year, and I think that's becoming even more clear when you look at his numbers on this 4-5 campaign. It's not a serious knock, because I love the guy, but it's just a fact.
As you are hopefully well aware, thanks to me pointing it out earlier in the post, the season is not going to be getting easier. Sunday afternoon we go toe to toe with the Atlanta Falcons (7-2). I'm still smarting from Michael Vick eliminating us from the playoffs with his fancy footwork so many years ago (I think it was the season I lived with B in the "Woop" house). These Falcons may not have Vick, but they sure are a solid team. After beating the Ravens 26-21, they enjoyed a bye week, and head into the clash at the Ed Jones Dome nice and rested. Although, the Ramies have been sparkling at home this year, they are only 3 point dogs, and crazier things have happened. The Falcons are 2-0 against the NFC West this year, outscoing the Cards and 9'ers by a combined 57-21. Can Spags and the Rams turn that whole thing around and provide us with a shocker?
Probably not, but I'll still be rooting.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
The second annual "LSF NHL Week" (thanks be to the NHL schedulers) kicked off this weekend, as my Canucks started a week where they will face all the other LSF NHL squads. Game one was against Andrew's Toronto Maple Leafs, and while it may have taken some time to get in control, the Vannies worked it out for a 5-3 win. Let's hope the other two tests go as well as this one did.
Of course, it didn't start off well. Toronto busted out two goals within the first 7:39 of the opening period. Sjostrom started the scoring by tipping in a shot from Beauchemin from the right circle. Lu had no chance. That was followed up by Phil Kessel putting a quick shot on from the middle of the left circle after a pass from MacArthur along the boards. Lu had much more of a chance, but to be fair, there were four defensive players just standing around the Leafs forward, none of whom attempted to make a play on it. After that, the Canucks decided they had given the Leafs enough of a head start, and they decided to play some hockey. 9:39 in, on a power play, Alex Edler's blasted blue line slapper that resulted in a Daniel Sedin rebound goal. Less than 8 minutes later, battling well with the puck along the boards, Mikael Samuelsson sent a centering pass to a slightly covered Ryan Kesler, and Kes lifted the puck high and hard to tie things up. His feelings about the goal, are noted in the image above.
56 seconds into the second, Kes would strike again, kind of. The Vannies won the draw in their offensive zone to start a power play, and Christian Ehrhoff sent a cannon of a slap shot in. The puck redirected unintentionally off of Kesler, and into the net, for his 9th of the year and more importantly for the lead. In between that Canucks go ahead goal and the Leafs game re-tying goal 11:44 into the second on a Grabovski coast to coaster (come on defense!), we had a pretty epic fight. I usually don't highlight brawls, but Tanner Glass and Mike Brown were just throwing bombs at each other. Face shot after face shot finally ended when Tanner Glass leveled Brown with three blows that sent him down to the ice. It makes me laugh that Glass and Brown combined for 10 minutes in the box, while combining for only 11 minutes on the ice.
Knotted at 3 and heading to the third, it was time to see who was going to step it up. I'll give you a hint: it was the good guys. 13:36 into the final frame, Mason Raymond skated into the zone after receiving a long pass and took a harmless slap shot on goal from about 50 feet out. To eveyone's surprise, the puck fooled Giguere, slid through the five hole, and changed the game. Despite pulling their goalie late, the Leafs couldn't beat Roberto Luongo. He was challenged like mad at the end, but stood tall, stopping 16 of 16 in the third. Dan Hamhuis would ice it with an empty netter that somehow found the net on a simple icing attempt with less than a minute to go, and it was over. Some way to get your first goal as an Orca, eh Hammer?
Two Canucks made the "official" three stars list, with Kesler (2 goals), the Leafs Grabovski (goal and an assist), and Ma$e (goal and an assist) collecting the honors. That means it's time to recognize the "LSF Top Star Who Didn't Score A Point," and that honor goes to Aaron Rome. Romey not only had the second most ice time in the game (18:42), but also finished a +1 with 2 shots on goal. Wait, Rome is on the ice more than Edler, Ehrhoff, and Bieksa? Someone has been flying under the radar here.
At 10-4-2, the Canucks are back on track and gaining some distance. In the division, we lead Minnesota (-4), Colorado (-5), Calgary (-8), and Edmonton (-11). In the West, we're still ranked third, trailing Los Angeles (+2 on us) and Detroit (+1). We're also tied points-wise with a resurgent Anaheim squad, and just 1 point up on #5 St. Louis. It's tight at the top, and the difference from 1st to 8th is only 6 points (compared to 10 in the East). The Vannies' goal differential is now +12, as we're ranked 8th in goals scored and 10th in goals against (out of the 30 NHL teams). Our SRS is +0.74 (good enough for 5th), but our Strength of Schedule is only ranked 17th (at -0.01). While the schedule gets more difficult, and I'm not thinking of tonight in Buffalo, hopefully our 28.33 PP% can still carry us (+11% of the NHL average). Meanwhile, our PK unit is now rolling at just +3% of league average.
So, my main man Alex Burrows has been back for a little while now. I figured it was time enough to explore how he's doing. In his 6 games back since his recovery from surgery, AB has 1 goal, 1 assist, a +3 rating, and 12 shots, all with an ATOI (average time on ice) of 15:35. If we look at PTS/Total TOI, maybe we can get a better understand of how he's produced since he's been back. Here's a sample list of players based on PTS/Total TOI, which would give us the number of points a player gets per minute of ice time:
1. Daniel: 0.07
2. Henrik: 0.06
3. Bliznak: 0.06
4. Kesler: 0.04
5. Torres: 0.04
6. Edler: 0.03
7. Burrows: 0.02
How about big names on the team doing worse/equal than/to Burrows in this made up stat I invented? Names like Andrew Alberts (0.01), Kevin Bieksa (0.009), Christian Ehrhoff (0.02), and Dan Hamhuis (0.01). Of course, Mario Bliznak's 0.06 is inflated based on him getting a goal in his first game. I'm not exactly sure what my made up stat is supposed to show for AB, but it makes me feel like he's off to an okay start. It may only be a 27 point pace right now (if you extrapolate to 82 games), but it's bound to pick up, and it's not bad considering the injury/comeback.
Tonight we get part two in the three part series known as the second annual "LSF NHL Week" as the Canucks head to Buffalo to face Brandon's Sabres. These expansion cousins have been a part of a great rivalry, only furthered by the LSF aspect. The last time they met, Brandon and I went to Oggi's to watch the battle with my less than a month old son. Now my son is 10 months old, and he's eager to see the undefeated streak of the Canucks over the Sabres during his lifetime contiune. Wouldn't it be sweet?
Let's squash some Slugs!
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
In the final home game of the 2010 season, an unlikely cast of characters exposed "#14" Utah with a surprising 28-3 outcome in favor of the Golden Domers. The game not only turned the average ND fan around on Brian Kelly, but brought hope for a possible resurgence over the final month of the season. If we won out, three big ones to finish the year, how would this season go down in our memories? Okay, slow down. I'm putting a lot on young Tommy Rees' shoulders.
So, the fans stormed the field, exploding in celebration all thanks to a win over Utah? The cynical ND fan would point to our happiness as proof of how far this team has fallen. But let's put Brian Kelly's biggest win as our head coach in perspective to show why we're so happy. This was our first win against a ranked team since 2006, as we failed at all 11 tries since then. This was the first "Senior Day" victory since 2007. This was a win that happened despite not having Kyle Rudolph, Armando Allen, Dayne Crist, TJ Jones, Ian Williams, or Theo Riddick. This was a win in a game where we ran 29 times and passed only 20. This was a win where we owned the trenches, played with a killer instinct, and dominated the game (even in the fourth quarter). Can you see why the win has us a little pumped up?
The stats are all there for you to enjoy. Utah came in averaging 41 points per game, and found themselves unable to do anything against the Irish defense. Te'o managed 9 tackles and a sack, and the D held the Utes to a 26% 3rd down success rate. Utah managed just 71 yards on the ground, coughed up 2 turnovers to ND's zero, and showed their anxiety with 11 penalties for 70 yards. Meanwhile, the Irish ran for 127, averaged 6.9 yards per pass, and did the right things to take the pressure off of our starting true freshman. Tommy Rees finished 13/20 for 129, completing 3 TD passes. Michael Floyd, who led the team with 39 yards caught one on a bullet pass, and Duval Kamara caught the other two (and had 38 total yards). Cierre Wood filled in for Armando Allen, and controlled the tempo of the game. He ran 19 times for 71 yards, and got additional support from Gray (44), and Robert Hughes (21) in the ground attack. Rees and company looked confident and comfortable at times, and that made Notre Dame dangerous.
Maybe it was all those crazy signs with Curious George and Double Mint gum on the sidelines that helped. By the way, nice sign holdng by Nate Montana, right?
Just because his name is Tommy, I want to give Mr. Rees a little more love for leading the team to a win as a starting freshman QB. What follows is a list of starting freshman QBs at Notre Dame (present-1910), and what they were able to do:
1. Tommy Rees: 1-0
2. Jimmy Clausen: 3-6
3. Brady Quinn: 4-5
4. Matt LoVecchio: 7-1
5. Ron Powlus: 6-5-1
6. Paul Failla: 1-0
7. Kent Graham: 1-0
8. Steve Beuerlein: 5-3
9. Blair Kiel: 6-2-1
10. Charles Dorais: 4-1-1
While Rees only has two more chances to make an impact as a freshman starter, he clearly joins an impressive list with Saturday's win. Can you even imagine what we'd feel like if he beats USC in two weeks?
At 5-5, the Irish are just one win away from becoming bowl eligible. Hopefully they'd accept the bid this time around, and bring us a little joy between Christmas and the New Year. Next weekend is the big Yankee Stadium mash up with Army. The Black Knights are 6-4 this season, but they have only beaten A) teams from primarily basketball schools (Duke, Temple) and B) teams you've never heard of (Virginia Military Institute, Eastern Michigan). The fact that this is a big time game at a big time venue may lend well to the Irish, even with all the injuries and fresh meat starting. This game is a huge recruiting opportunity, and with all of those 16 year old eye balls glued to the TV on Saturday night, Notre Dame cannot let this opportunity pass us by.
Let's de-enlist the Army!
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
The streak is over. It all ended in Roberto Luongo's hometown, and it all ended thanks to a kid who grew up cheering for the Canucks. Carey Price rose to the occasion last night, stuffing 34 Orca shots, as he backstopped his Eastern Conference squad to an impressive 0-2 win over the his former hometown heroes.
6:53 into the game, Andrei Markov broke the deadlock. Markov was in close on Bobby Lu when he bashed home the rebound from Gionta's shot. No biggie, though, right? Wrong. The Canucks impressive power play was completely held down by the Habs PK unit, only getting four shots TOTAL on the four power plays. Montreal only got four shots on their three power plays in the game, but the difference is that they scored on one of their four. Cammalleri blasted the puck in, and a favorable bounce off the rear boards (again?!) sent the puck back to Hamrlik, who converted for the PP goal to put the Habs two up, 4:39 into the third. The Canucks kept pounding away, but Price and Montreal were out for a serious stomping, and they got it. 34 shots. No goals. A 0-2 loss.
Despite winning the shot battle (34-29) and the hit battle (29-16), the Canucks lost 57% of the faceoffs. That unusual loss at the faceoff dot may have been part of the difference. Of course, after a game like that, there wasn't a Vannie anywhere near the "official" three stars list (Price, Markov, and Plekanec got the honors). However, my "LSF Top Star Who Didn't Score a Point" will certainly recognize last night's lovable losers. Since not a single player on the squad scored a point, the decision to pick the top star without a point is a little more complicated. I'm going to go with Dan Hamhuis, who in his first game back posted top 3 defender numbers in TOI, mostly paired with Aaron Rome. The fact that Ballard got bounced may have surprised people, but hopefully we can all focus on the good that Hammer can do for this club now that he's back (2 shots, E +/- last night).
At 8-4-2, the Canucks still hold on to the lead in the Northwest. We're +2 on Minnie, +3 on Colorado, +4 on Calgary, and +8 on Edmonton. In the West, we're obviously still third in the Conference, and still two points back of the Blues and Kings. What an unlikely duo at the top of the table. Well, maybe not the Kings, but definitely the Blues. Despite the shutout, the 'Nucks still hold a +6 goal differential, ranked 14th in goals scored, and 9th in goals against. Our Team SRS is still good enough for 6th in the League (+0.47), which makes total sense based on our placement in the standings, but our Strength of Schedule is only 13th in the league (+0.04), which means we should be doing better than we are, I think. Despite going 0 for 4 last night, our power play is still +10% on the league average (at 27.27%), and despite allowing a PP goal to Monteal, our PK is still +2% on league average (at 84.62%).
With all this blue line shuffling going on, I thought it would be a good time to rank our defenders. Ballard going off with the return of Hamhuis may have been unthinkable before the season, but does it make sense at this point? I think +/- may be best stat to rank blue liners, as it shows the goal differential while a defender is on the ice. In fact, this might be what +/- is best suited for. Let's rank 'em!
1. Christian Ehrhoff: +5
2. Andrew Alberts: +3
3. Kevin Bieksa: +3
4. Dan Hamhuis: E
5. Alex Edler: -1
6. Aaron Rome: -2
7. Keith Ballard: -3
8. Ryan Parent: -3
I'm actually kind of surprised that the Canucks clearly got it right. With Parent already off, the return of Hamhuis clearly should have bumped Ballard off, like it did. By the way, these stats also jump at me for a couple more reasons. First, Christian Ehrhoff, as we've pointed out before, is clearly one of the most underrated defenders in the NHL. Second, what are all of the Alberts and Bieksa haters going to say now, when they both dominate Alex Edler in +/-? Interesting stuff. I wonder if "Mr. Glass" Sami Salo is ever going to come back.
Tomorrow night, the Canucks head to Ottawa to do battle with the Senators. At 8-6-1, the Sens are no slouches this year. And, they're riding high off of a 5-2 win over Atlanta in their last game, which was their fourth straight win. Led by Daniel Alfredson, they are perfect in the month of November, outscoring enemies 15-7. Hopefully the Canucks can pop their rapidly growing egos in the Veteran's Day clash.
Following our test against Ottawa, we enter one of the most cherished weeks of the entire NHL regular season. It happened last year, and we are fortunate enough to have it happen again this season. Of course, I'm speaking of "LSF NHL Week." Last year, the Canucks made a clear sweep, beating Toronto, Buffalo, and Chicago. We'll get a chance to repeat the impressive feat again starting on November 13 against Andrew's Leafs. From there, the Canucks will battle Brandon's reeling Sabres on November 15. Finally, after a brief LSF layoff against the Pens, the Canucks finish LSF NHL Week with a November 20 test against Jon's Chicago Blackhawks.
8 days. 3 rivalry games. 1 LSF Champion. Bring it.
As a small post script, thanks to the Veteran's Day holiday, I'm looking at a four day weekend, so this will be the last post until Monday, unless my fellow team bloggers come through with a clutch money post in the mean time. Keep updated on the sports weekend with the "LSF Instant Suffering" feed at the top of the page, though. Have a great weekend.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Not even the most Loony Toony Newcastle fan could have dreamed that we would have pulled it off. And yet, we did. The Magpies topped Arsenal 1-0 over the weekend, shaking things up in the EPL, and further solidifying our shot at being respected once more. Add to that, we did it all at Emirates Stadium, and you have me living a dream.
After getting bashed 0-4 at the SJP by Arsenal in Carling Cup play earlier, Newcastle wanted to make a statement by at least getting a point on the road over the weekend. They topped their expectations. They almost didn't. 11 minutes into the game, Arsenal's Fabregas (former Angel catcher Jorge Fabregas is a cross-sports star?) blasted a 22 yard free kick off the cross bar after it deflected off the wall. Tim Krül, and all Newcastle fans, breathed a sigh of relief. As the first half expired, Joey Barton sent a deep free kick into the box that met with Carroll's head. #9, continuing to put his personal troubles behind him, nodded it home. The Emirates crowd, who anticipated an Arsenal goal on many occasions in the first 45, were left stunned.
As the second half started, the Gunners had another rush. Krül was beaten with the shot, but the ball again rang off the wood work. Thank God for that lovely cross bar. Arsenal continued to pour on the pressure, thanks to substitutions like Robin Van Persie and Andre Arshavin, but Newcastle was a team on a mission. Despite all that the Gunners could throw at us, we held strong. In the 90th, a red was shown to Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny, and their chances to have a comeback came to a close. Newcastle were the shocking winners.
With a little bit of skill and a little bit of luck, Timmy Krül got himself a clean sheet against one of the EPL's best. Can I just say how pleased I am with his play? He has stepped into the spotlight, and outperformed all of our expectations. Michael Williamson has done the same. When Williamson got the nod to be a starter early in the season, I was less than excited. However, he has been a stud on the back line, helping to make it easy for our backup goalie, and he has completely changed my mind about him. In the midfield, Joey Barton has continued to prove that he may be one of the best free kick artists in all of the EPL. Mustache or not, Barton has been spot on. The most love goes to Andy Carroll, though, our lone striker on the night. Carroll has completely turned his life around with his thrilling play on the pitch, and he's prepared to get a National nod against France coming up here real soon.
I know you can barely believe it, but 11 games into the season, Newcastle is ranked #5 in the EPL! At 5-4-2, we have 17 points and a +6 goal differential. The ONLY teams better than us in the top flight are Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal (which is questionable now), and Manchester City. That's it! 15 teams out of 20 are worse than us! I don't want to jinx it, but what a triumphant return to the top.
Today we have a midweek match against #16 Blackburn (3-5-3) before our weekend clash with #13 Fulham (2-2-7). Blackburn, known as the "Rovers" or the "Riversiders," list their top celebrity fan as "the creator of Doctor Who." Nerds. Meanwhile, Fulham, known as the "Cottagers" or the "Lilywhites," list their top celebrity fan as actor Hugh Grant. Dandies.
Let's get a pair of wins, and keep this black and white bandwagon rolling along.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Well, at least we beat the spread. No, no, that's not me. I can't believe that we lost to the Big D on the road last night. I was so sure that we'd be able to bust the Mavs on the road, but I was wrong. Despite having a chance to drill a game winning (or at least game tying) shot as the game ended, it just wasn't meant to be for the C's. Dallas rode a Dirk Nowitzki jumper with 20 seconds left to beat the Bean Town Boys 89-87, and thus broke the Celtics' nice winning streak and perfect November.
Sure, the Mavs built up a 50-40 lead at the half, but we came storming back. A 29-20 third quarter in favor of the C's turned the whole thing around, and I guess that made the result that much more heartbreaking. With 1:58 on the clock, we led the game 87-82, and then it all fell apart. Nowitski hit a layup, Terry hit a three, and then Dirk drilled the eventual game winning shot after a KG brick with 17.6 to go. With a last gasp chance, we just couldn't convert. The Mavs had everyone covered well, and Rajon Rondo ended up with the penultimate shot. He drew iron on his attempt at a game winner. Luckily, Terry fouled the C's as the ball went out, giving us one more chance. Unfortunately, the Mavs gave KG an open look for a fallaway three, and that was all they gave. Of course, you know that's not going to work, and it was game over in favor of Dallas. As Paul Pierce said, "It was a game we just let slip away."
I'd like to blame the injury of Jermaine O'Neal early on, but I don't know if you'll let that fly. O'Neal missed the entire second half after bowing down to a knee injury, only playing 11 minutes (2 points and 3 boards). Despite that, we still led by 4 rebounds overall, and with offense rebounds we dominated the eventual winners (14-4). 41% from the field, and even worse in the first half just isn't going to cut it, even with 50% from beyond the arc. However, we were only handed 7 free throws, while Dallas got 20 charity shots at home. Hm. Maybe my blame game has turned it's sights on the biased refs. 7-20 is a little obvious, isn't it?
The injured Jermaine O'Neal is the only starter who didn't finish in double digits, with KG (18), Pierce (24), Ray Ray (11), and Rondo (11) all cashing in. Garnett's 18 points and 15 boards joined Rajon's 11 points and 15 assists to help power the team in the double-double (animal style) zone. The bench chipped in 21 points and 6 rebounds, but they'll mostly be remembered for Glen Davis getting busted by the Nowitski jumper. But wait, Rondo and Paulie are the only players who got a block? Something is wrong there. Come on KG!
At 6-2, we now lead the division by just 2 games over the 3-3 Knicks. Overall in the East, we're tied for second in the Conference with the 6-2 Hawks, but we trail the 5-1 Magic, who lead the whole thing. The Heat are 5-2...losers. Our point differential per game is now a +5.3 (kind of narrow), as we're 20th in the NBA in scoring but 5th in scoring against. Our SRS is well above average at 7th in the Association at +5.16, while our PACE of 91.3 still stinks it up (26th). We are the #3 defense in the NBA per the DefRtg stat, and I'm loving me that defense. We sure could have used some of that offense last night, though. Just to continue the idea of being shafted by the refs, we are sitting +11 compared to our opponents in personal fouls. Bastards.
After last night, I wanted to call into question how much we're actually losing with the injury to Jermaine O'Neal. When we replace him, are we actually getting an upgrade? Our starting center ranks 7th in minutes played, 10th in field goal percentage, 6th in total rebounds, but 4th in personal fouls. However, in his brief play, he leads the team in blocks. In fact, he has twice as many blocks as #2 Kevin Garnett. So, it's a toss up. While Shaq may be ready to come back, Semih Erden is really the man who will be replacing Jermaine in the coming days. So, what does Turkey Trot bring to the table?
In his 5 games (58 minutes), Erden tops O'Neal in field goal percentage (+.115). If you factor Erden's rebounds to the amount of minutes O'Neal has played, he's at 27.8 (+2.8 on O'Neal). If we bank on the PER stat, Erden is +5 on Jermaine, which is pretty impressive. If you look at TRB% (the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while on the floor), Erden leads O'Neal 13.8-12.4. He also dominates Jermaine in WS/48 at 0.230-0.062. However, to be fair, if you factor in his blocks at the higher MP, he's well below, and if you factor in his personal fouls at the higher MP, he's well above. Again, it's a toss up.
So, will we miss Jermaine at Center? Will Shaq make a triumphant return to take over? Will Semih Erden become a household name thanks to grabbing the Sports Center spotlight as the unlikely hero? I'm going with: No, no, and yes. What do you think?
Thursday is our season opener rematch, and boy are Miami out for revenge. Currently at 5-2, the Heat see our opening day win over them as a huge blemish on their record. They hate us! Their "Big Three" are completely trying to overtake our "Big Three," but thanks to their lopsided spending, they don't have a "Big Bench" like we do. Advantage: us. Another win against the Heat would be huge. Huge doesn't even cover it. Hopefully the Jazz can wear them out tonight.
Alright, Green Army, let's cool off the Heat for the second time this year.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Those of who follow the Scottish Premier League know it. Those who run the Scottish Premier League know it. And, I'm pretty sure everyone who plays in the Scottish Premier League knows it. It's the ones who run the League that don't want the "secret" getting out. The secret? The SPL is a league with two really good teams, and a bunch of pathetic teams with no chance to contend. Celtic and (cough, bitches, cough cough) Rangers are the ONLY good teams in the SPL, and the remainder of the squads wouldn't even be able to hold water in the MLS (no disrespect intended). We all know it! In case we didn't know it, we were pretty much shown that fact last weekend when Celtic embarrassed Aberdeen 9-0. 9 goals to zero goals. Have you ever heard of such a thing? Those running the SPL hope you skimmed past the score without noticing, because it surely makes their overall product (everything outside of the Old Firm Derby) look like garbage.
It would take way too much typing to break down all of the domination, so I'll try and make it brief. Celtic's Gary Hooper (or H88per, if you prefer) and Irish boy Anthony "Just Outside of Dublin" Stokes each had a double in the first half, walking the Hoops to a 4-0 lead after the first 45. Two of the four goals were scored from the penalty spot. In the 25th minute, Sung-Yong Ki blasted a goal bound shot that a Dons defender could only stop with his hands. Obviously, the flag went up, and Stokes blasted the PK home. The Dublin native set up a Hooper goal 3 minutes later with a spot on pass. In the 33rd, Hooper scored again with a nifty pass from Niall McGinn. 7 minutes later, Celtic's Thomas Rogne was sent off for a little shoving (kind of stupid), but Fraser Forsters save on the Aberdeen free kick kept the momentum in the Hoops' favor. Stokes converted another penalty after Shaun Maloney was dragged down in the box, and the Green & White were off and running.
No one would have imagined 5 more Celtic goals were to come, but that's exactly what happened. Stokes and Hooper completed their hat tricks, Joe "The Killer Wale" Ledley added a beautiful stike, Aberdeen helped with an own goal, and my boy and Derry native Paddy "O'Furniture" McCourt drilled a third penalty. After all of that, which was completed by the 84th minute, Aberdeen had to up the effort and get a little bit of good fortune just to keep the day from getting to double digits. It was a dark day for the Dons, and really the SPL as a whole. But, as a Celtic fan, I really enjoyed it. Is it proof that we should get a chance in the EPL, as has so often been talked about before? Not really. But, it does prove that the talent in the SPL just isn't to the level of the top two teams.
Sure, Fraser Forester didn't face much pressure, and could have taken a nap for large portions of the game, but he was tough when he needed to be. He has been impressive in his transition from the backup to the backup role at Newcastle, and has really stepped into the spotlight. Emilio "Izzy" Izaguirre finally got some time at defender, and I think it was a huge decision, as rumors have started to float around about teams wanting to lure him away from Celtic. It was great having Shaun Maloney back out in the midfield, but I think Niall McGinn deserves huge love for being our most underrated middie (and not just because he's Irish...well, Northern Irish, which is like about half as good, if that). He's been hooking up great passes and solid play for a couple of games now, and I've enjoyed the heck out of it. What can you say about the guys up front? Hooper and Stokes crushed it, showing that we are still an impressive top of the table team even with Samaras sitting on the pine.
Speaking of top of the table, we're not there. At 10-1-0 (30 points, +24 GD), we trail Rangers (10-0-1) by a single point. Motherwell still sits 11 back of Celtic in third, with Heart 13 back in fourth. And, Heart of Midlothian is the squad Celtic will be facing in their midweek match tomorrow evening. Heart (5-4-2), also known as the Maroons, the Jam Tarts, the Jambos, and the Famous, are supported (as we've covered before) by fans who do the "twirly" with their scarves prior to the game to the tune of "Hey Jude" by the Beatles. That actually sounds kind of cool. This weekend, Celtic will battle St. Mirren, the club known for being called the "Buddies," and for wearing Newcastle-esque kits. Hopefully we can pick up a couple wins and get the top of the table back.
Briseadh an gcroí!
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Things are heating up in British Columbia. After getting off to their usual slow start, the Canucks appear to be unbeatable as of late, beating Detroit 6-4 over the weekend to increase the winning streak to an impressive six games. On a night where defensive failed to take center stage, one Canuck center rose to the top to save the day. That center? The Magnificent Manny Malhotra, who with his partners on the third line, carried the Canucks to an impressive victory against the NHL's Red Devils.
The games against the Red Wings are always highly anticipated around Orca Nation, as Detroit seems to provide a measuring stick of sorts for teams seeking the Western Conference Crown. Of course, we get even more fired up, knowing that Detroit coming to town also signals the return of Todd Bertuzzi to the greater Vancouver area.
This battle may have been a goal fest, with 10 in all, but the first period certainly didn't start out that way. It took 19:35 for the first goal to be tallied, but a couple players got me excited long before that Daniel Sedin one timer tickled the twine. Andrew Alberts is a blue liner who has been bringing the pain as of late, and his huge hits in the opening frame got me out of my seat. NHL First Star of the Week, Raffi Torres, also saw a lot of battles along the boards, showcasing the reason we signed him: grit (and for loads of goals, as it turns out). Raffi was speeding into the boards, battling for pucks, and making us all proud. As the period came to a close, Alex Edler passed to Daniel Sedin as the Canucks raced into the zone. Daniel tried to hit Edler on the one timer, but the puck went to the rear boards. Edler quickly fed Hank behind the net as he got smashed, Hank immediately fed Daniel along the goal line, and Daniel sent the puck home. Love scoring early and late, eh?
Of course, by looking at the final score, you know that Detroit came back. It started 2:51 into the second, when Keith Ballard fell down at the blue line, allowing Abdelkader to skate in alone. He threw a puck high at a goal crashing Danny Cleary, and Cleary allowed the puck to bounce off his glove and into the net. Now, he may not have moved his hand toward the goal to cause the deflection, but his hockey stop into the goal with his glove perfectly positioned for the deflection was a little suspect. The refs didn't agree. 1:30ish later, the Red Wings got a favorable bounce again. Holmstrom sent a puck in from deep, the puck bounced wildly far back to Kronwall in front of the net, and the Red Wings forward buried it before Luongo knew what happened. Why are our boards giving the bad guys good bounces? Just about a minute later, though, we'd strike back. Ryan Kesler created a turnover in the offensive zone, and fed Tanner Glass. Glass sent a blisering shot in that Mikael Samuelsson deflected for a game tying goal. With about 2 minutes remaining, and after Jannik Hansen was stuffed on a short handed breakaway, it was time for Manny Malhotra to take over. Manny straight up jacked a puck at the blue line, and skated all alone in on goal, converting the shortie to take the lead. Man, breakaways are exciting. About 60 seconds later, though, the Wings would tie it up again, scoring a power play goal on a one timer from the blue line.
Early in the third, Kevin Bieksa failed to clear a puck beyond center ice, and the Wings showed a nice transition game, as Kronwell scored again, this time on a deep wrister as he sped into the zone. But, enough was enough, and the Orca responded. With nearly 4 minutes gone, Malhotra sent a perfect pass to Jannik Hansen, the Great Dane standing right in front of the net. He converted to tie it at 4. On the power play with just under 12 to go in the game, Daniel and Henrik were pulling off some amazing passing, even using the boards for long hook ups. Interestingly, a failed pass to Ryan Kesler in the slot found it's way to Alex Edler, and he bombed a slapper for his first of the year and for the lead in the game. With 11:02 gone by in the third, Manny Malhotra would ice it. Mason Raymond faked a pass that fooled everyone, and then sent his pass to Malhotra in front, who crushed it home to secure the win. It was Manny's second of the game, his fourth of the year, and just another big Vannie victory.
The Canucks dominated in shots (34-28), dominated in faceoffs (37-24), and dominated in hits (28-18). Of course, we weren't perfect, as another too many men on the ice penalty shows. But, we seemed to beat the Wings in every aspect of the game, and that felt good. The "real" media's three stars were Ryan Kesler (2 assists), Manny Malhotra (2 goals, 1 assist), and Nick Kronwall (2 goals, +2). While we held former Canuck Todd Bertuzzi to zero points, he is not the "LSF Top Star Without A Point." That honor belongs to Andrew Alberts. Are you kidding me? AA is playing like a man possessed, including his insane hit on Pavel Datsyuk and his post game comment of, "I don't think he saw me coming." Alberts play definitely raises questions about who will be the top 6 on the blue line when Dan Hamhuis returns. Will Ballard or Bieksa's poor play from last night come back to haunt them?
At 8-3-2, the Canucks continue to lead the Northwest Division outright. In our rear view mirror, we see Minnesota (-2), Colorado (-3), Calgary (-6), and Edmonton (-8). Overall in the West, we're sitting in third place, trailing St. Louis and Los Angeles (20 points each). And don't you worry about the LSF NHL standings, because we're currently crushing there as well. The 'Nucks now have a +8 goal differential, ranked 9th in goals scored and 6th in goals against (out of 30 NHL teams). Our Strength of Schedule rating has climbed to +0.12 (the 7th most difficult schedule in the league), which has helped boost our SRS to +0.74 (good enough for 5th in the NHL). Our power play percentage continues to be awesome (over +12% of NHL average) and our penalty kill is now just +3% on the average NHL mark.
Thanks to his impressive game over the weekend, Manny Malhotra gets our spotlight today. We've already shown how Raffi Torres was an impressive under the radar addition this season, and now Malhotra is showing he's just as impressive (and underrated). In terms of points, Daniel and Henrik lead the team with 16 each, and then Malhotra and Alex Eder sit in second with 10 a piece. His four goals ranks fourth on the team, behind Daniel (9), Raffi (7), and Ryan Kesler (5). His 6 assists also tie him for fourth on the team with Mikael Samuelsson, and he is tied for the +/- lead on the team with Jannik Hansen at +5.
All of this, and we haven't even mentioned that he leads the NHL in faceoff percentage. And this from our third line center? The guy who is supposed to pilot the line that just tries to keep the score where it was when the Twins stepped off the ice? The Mississauga, Ontario native has been quite the pleasant surprise. I mean, I was stoked when he came aboard, but I didn't expect these results.
He's doing all of this with just a 16:23 ATOI (average time on ice), and that makes it all the more impressive. Right now, he's responsible for creating 0.29 goals per game, and his "Adjusted Stats" per Hockey Reference shows us that he's playing at a potential 27 goal (66 point) pace. Again, realize that he's a third line center. Great stuff.
Next up for the red hot Canucks is a road battle with Montreal (8-5-1). With 17 points, they lead their division and sit #3 in the East (-3 on the Caps and Flyers), and are kind of off to a hot start. However, this month they are 1-2, most recently losing 2-3 to Ottawa, and only beating a subpar Buffalo team this month by an opposite 3-2 tally. Kostitsyn and Plekanec are pretty studly, but hopefully their studliness ends tomorrow night with the Orca coming to town.
Vers le bas avec les Habs!
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Sure, it's not the most imaginative post title, but I still like it. Last night, the C's reserves restored order after Durant and the Thunder started their comeback effort, as Glen Davis and Nate Robinson helped to secure the 92-83 victory. In the end, it was the experienced defeating the youth, as Bean Town earned their 5th straight win to keep November perfect. It was also nice to get a regulation win again to help calm the nerves.
The C's led the Thunder by 7 after the first quarter and by 21 after the first half, but a 27-15 OKC third led to a tight finish. With the Thunder's attempt to rally back, the Shrek and Donkey show took center stage. Glen Davis hit three huge jumpers to add to Nate Robinson's strong to the hole layup and Ray Allen's "make it rain" three to help put up a 15-6 run at the end of the game for the C's. As the game was about a minute away from completion, media heartthrob Kevin Durant got into a little fisticuffs with Paulie under the basket. Durant got called for the technical in the scuffle, and both players went to the bench to prevent further business, which is probably a good idea because Pierce would get owned in that fight. For the fourth straight game, the Celtics proved that having Shaq is nice but not necessary for victory.
The Celts shot just 47% from the field, but went 40% from beyond the arc to help the effort. While the teams were dead even in rebounds, the Thunder were -5 in assists, +7 in turnovers, and +5 in foul calls. Pierce (17), Allen (19), and Rondo (10) were the lone double digit scorers, in a game where Rondo also added 10 assist (just another double-double day at the office) and the Celtic bench chipped in 33 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists. Man, I love this B team. Tater Turk, Semih Erden, who impressed in the preseason, finished with 9 points, 4 boards, and an assist, and shot 5 for 5 from the charity stripe. Really, really glad to have him around.
At 6-1, Bean Town now lead the division by 2.5 games over the 3-3 Knicks, and in the East, the C's are deadlocked at #1 with the 6-1 Hawks (where you at, Heat?). Within the greatest rivalry in all of sports, the Bizarro Celtics (aka, the Clippers) continue to be our exact opposite tied for last place in the West at 1-6. After losing to the Jazz by two over the weekend, B's C's battle New Orleans tomorrow. The winning streak for my C's has brought our point differential/game to 6.3, as we are 18th in points scored but 6th in points allowed (out of the 30 NBA squads). Our SRS sits at 4.89, good enough for 7th in the Association, while our 91.6 PACE (24th) only further solidifies our defensive prowess over our offensive abilities. In fact, our defense is rated 3rd in the NBA per Basketball Reference's DefRtg stat. We are, however, shooting .051% better than our opponents this year.
So, why do I like our B team so much better than the A squad? Well, besides the fact that I'm not huge fan of ridiculous free agent acquisitons, they are also way more fun to root for. And how about their stats? Well, let's look at the top 5 players in a couple of stat categories, and see how my bench buddies fit in.
PER (Player Efficiency Rating, with 15 being league average)-
1. Luke Harangody: 50.7 (1 game)
2. Rajon Rondo: 20.6 (7 games)
3. Marquis Daniels: 17.4 (7 games)
4. Paul Pierce: 17.0 (7 games)
5. Glen Davis: 16.1 (7 games)
eFG% (FG% that adjusts for the fact that a 3 is worth more than a 2)-
1. Luke Harangody: 1.000
2. Shaq O'Neal: .611
3. Semih Erden: .600
4. Marquis Daniels: .574
5. Glen Davis: .571
TRB% (an estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while on the floor)-
1. Kevin Garnett: 17.5
2. Semih Erden: 16.1
3. Shaq O'Neal: 15.9
4. Jermaine O'Neal: 12.0
5. Paul Pierce: 10.4
WS/48 (an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player per 48 minutes of playing time)-
1. Luke Harangody: 0.537
2. Semih Erden: 0.246
3. Marquis Daniels: 0.201
4. Glen Davis: 0.199
5. Rajon Rondo: 0.182
While I know that Harangody is rated highly because of his small sample size, I think these stats clearly show how amazing the bench players are on this team. How many teams can boast having so many bench players in the top five of such impressive statistical categories? This is one of the important features of this Bean Town squad that lends well to us going far through the post season. Not to mention that it statiscally shows why I love these guys so much.
Next up is a battle with the Dallas Mavericks (3-2) tonight. For some reason, Vegas has the Mavs as 3 point favorites. However, with the serious rest our first unit picked up in last night's game (KG, Pierce, and Jermaine all had 32 minutes or less), and the fact that we have started 7-1 or better for the last 3 years, make me pretty confident in our chances.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
