1. Not sure if anybody heard, Jason Robertson was left off of the US Olympic hockey team. A couple of other notables were also left off, in lieu of some questionables. This list should not make you feel better if you root USA.
Points/60 mins. - NHL Rank (min. 400 minutes played)
15. Jason Robertson (G/60 - 4th)
27. Cole Caufield
38. Troy Terry
85. Brock Nelson
116. Vincent Trocheck
201*. JT Miller (G/60 - 140th)
* I had to look this up three times to make sure I wasn’t making some sort of terrible error
The only player USA player with a higher P/60 rank than Robertson's 15 is Jack Eichel, ranked 14th. The only USA players with a higher P/60 rank than Miller, haven’t been shitting the bed all season.
It turns out, the only terrible error is opting for Miller over Robertson.
2. USA hockey is not the only country with a management group stuck in a mind loop. Canada chose Jordan Binnington as one of their goalies over Mackenzie Blackwood. The reasoning is something like: Binnington played quite well in one game a year ago and, he hasn't been a total jerk since he tried to steal Ovechkin's record- breaking puck. I mean I'm sure he has been a jerk since then. We just don't have it on video.
Here are Mackenzie Blackwood’s rankings out of 64 goalies who have played at least 10 games. Binnington's ranks are in parentheses.
Goals Saved Above Expected/60 mins: 4th (61st)
% xGoals Saved Above Average: 2nd (58th)
Save % Above Expected: 3rd (59th)
Wins Above Replacement 8th (63rd)
This is out if 64! NHL goalies. You can't make this stuff up.
3. I wouldn't be surprised if the hockey gods smite one or both of these teams for their roster-selection insolence and heresy.
4. I was told score effects at 5V5 were still a thing. Was I lied to? Because I haven't seen any in last several games with the Stars trailing other than when they pull the goalie.
5. Blackhawks game: Stars fans are lucky to have Razor and Josh as a broadcast team who do their work with relative impartiality. Late in the game Chicago game, Heiskanen tried to keep the puck in at the blue line but it went for a Blackhawks icing. On the Chicago feed, the color lady (Tyler Bertuzzi's mom, I think) chimed in with, "OOOOOH! I was hoping it would have ticked off the stick of Heiskanen...but it didn't." 😥
6. Blackhawks game: The Stars put 25 pucks on goal which is not a low number. For the Stars. At least that's something they can hang their boy-did-we-play-like-crap hats on.
I was putting together a comment about shooting and shots after Robert's article when he discussed the topic with Gulutzan earlier this week. But it turned into a 7-page document that would crash this site so I deferred posting it. Thanks a lot for bringing the topic up making me go down a wormhole, wasting hours of my life, Robert! I might post it just to smite you and get you in trouble with Substack management.
7. Canadiens Game: On the Benn play where smacked his face on the ice, the refs originally called a four-minute minor and then reviewed it only because there was blood. Upon review, they established there was no foul and so there was no penalty at all.
My question is if they didn't see what happened, what was the 4-minute penalty going to be for?
"Montreal, 4-minute minor for being in the vicinity of a Dallas player whose bodily fluids were spilt onto the playing surface."
Also, it should have been an interference call against Benn. If the refs had actually been watching, you know, the vicinity of the hockey happening directly around the puck, it might have been called. Whattyagonna do?
8. The Benn incident also brings up a philosophical issue.
If there was no blood, there would have been no penalty. But there was blood, so there was a penalty. The penalty was reviewed only because there was blood, only to find no penalty.
Are we now forever stuck in a time loop like the management of the American and Canadian Olympic teams?
Which came first, the penalty or the blood?
By
9. Canadiens Game: the Stars again got 25 shots on goal. Once again above their season average of 24. They are up to 24.94 now. Bay steps, boys, baby steps.
After looking at shots and shooting comparisons way too much this week, I’ve come to the miraculous conclusion the Stars should probably try to get more shots on goal. (And no, I'm not kidding. 7 pages - 3,000 words.) Ughh!
10. Team Canada announced their Olympic roster the morning of New year's Eve. That night, the Avalanche scored four goals in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the game on Jordan Binnington. Mackenzie Blackwood was in net for the Avalanche.
I don’t like losing, not even in OT. The most disappointing part of this game, or most of it anyway: the Stars did not make the Canadiens look like the team who was playing the second game of a back to back. The line combinations just aren’t working as well as they should. Maybe they are starting really to miss Tyler Seguin.
This feels a bit cherry picked, and missing context. Robo and Hintz have played well with multiple SKILLED RWs…Seguin was one of the most skilled players on the team, great playmaker, who can also score efficiently. Also, Robo was on a heater at this time…He was on a heater before Hintz came back from injury, with him-Johnston-Rantanen looking like a top 5 line in hockey, during their limited time together. Borque is a skilled player, decent forechecker, etc. I also think that Gulutzan has been much quicker to make changes with this group, when things aren’t working. IE. When Seguin went down with an injury, he moved Benn into his spot; and then after the early juice from Benn waned, Gulutzan, after just a few games of stale play it seemed, moved Borque up. Wyatt and Rantanen, on the other hand got Steel for nearly 200 minutes, and a Duchene still working his way back from injury after missing 25 games, and several weeks, of action due to a severe concussion.
I like Steel as a 4th liner but he isn’t skilled enough to play a top 6 position…great defensively but not really known for his finishing prowess, nor is he a set up man. Hence why he has less than 15 points, despite playing a top 6 role for much of the season. (He’s played with Robo, Seguin, Rantanen, Johnston). Duchene only recently has started to play a bit more like himself. That line had an XG% of 83% tonight but, also important to point out that tonight was one of the few games they actually played together for the entire game. And weren’t just put together the last period or so in some last minute desperation from the coaching staff, or at different intervals throughout the game.
We’ll see what happens with the line, personally I would prefer to see Wyatt move to LW and Duchene to the middle…but, I think they deserve a bit more rope. If Sam Steel can get 170+ minutes of ice time with the top line, then I think we can give Duchene a few more full games, before rendering a verdict. Clearly not a long term solution because Duchene isn’t a LW and operates much best as a floor general from the center position…but for now at least, happier to see that, then what we had previously.
I think it’s fair to question sample size here, for sure. The 95/53/96 trio did have a good game tonight, but my point is mainly that they probably haven’t found their long-term solution for the top duo yet. Duchene, Steel, etc. are all temporary solutions because they’re short on wingers. It’s not really intended as a criticism of anyone in particular, but I may not have phrased it well.
It was something I looked at, but I'll be at a couple of west coast games right afterward, so I had opt out of Raleigh this time around. But hey, maybe the Stanley Cup Final, right?
10 Randomly Random Rambles
1. Not sure if anybody heard, Jason Robertson was left off of the US Olympic hockey team. A couple of other notables were also left off, in lieu of some questionables. This list should not make you feel better if you root USA.
Points/60 mins. - NHL Rank (min. 400 minutes played)
15. Jason Robertson (G/60 - 4th)
27. Cole Caufield
38. Troy Terry
85. Brock Nelson
116. Vincent Trocheck
201*. JT Miller (G/60 - 140th)
* I had to look this up three times to make sure I wasn’t making some sort of terrible error
The only player USA player with a higher P/60 rank than Robertson's 15 is Jack Eichel, ranked 14th. The only USA players with a higher P/60 rank than Miller, haven’t been shitting the bed all season.
It turns out, the only terrible error is opting for Miller over Robertson.
2. USA hockey is not the only country with a management group stuck in a mind loop. Canada chose Jordan Binnington as one of their goalies over Mackenzie Blackwood. The reasoning is something like: Binnington played quite well in one game a year ago and, he hasn't been a total jerk since he tried to steal Ovechkin's record- breaking puck. I mean I'm sure he has been a jerk since then. We just don't have it on video.
Here are Mackenzie Blackwood’s rankings out of 64 goalies who have played at least 10 games. Binnington's ranks are in parentheses.
Goals Saved Above Expected/60 mins: 4th (61st)
% xGoals Saved Above Average: 2nd (58th)
Save % Above Expected: 3rd (59th)
Wins Above Replacement 8th (63rd)
This is out if 64! NHL goalies. You can't make this stuff up.
3. I wouldn't be surprised if the hockey gods smite one or both of these teams for their roster-selection insolence and heresy.
4. I was told score effects at 5V5 were still a thing. Was I lied to? Because I haven't seen any in last several games with the Stars trailing other than when they pull the goalie.
5. Blackhawks game: Stars fans are lucky to have Razor and Josh as a broadcast team who do their work with relative impartiality. Late in the game Chicago game, Heiskanen tried to keep the puck in at the blue line but it went for a Blackhawks icing. On the Chicago feed, the color lady (Tyler Bertuzzi's mom, I think) chimed in with, "OOOOOH! I was hoping it would have ticked off the stick of Heiskanen...but it didn't." 😥
6. Blackhawks game: The Stars put 25 pucks on goal which is not a low number. For the Stars. At least that's something they can hang their boy-did-we-play-like-crap hats on.
I was putting together a comment about shooting and shots after Robert's article when he discussed the topic with Gulutzan earlier this week. But it turned into a 7-page document that would crash this site so I deferred posting it. Thanks a lot for bringing the topic up making me go down a wormhole, wasting hours of my life, Robert! I might post it just to smite you and get you in trouble with Substack management.
7. Canadiens Game: On the Benn play where smacked his face on the ice, the refs originally called a four-minute minor and then reviewed it only because there was blood. Upon review, they established there was no foul and so there was no penalty at all.
My question is if they didn't see what happened, what was the 4-minute penalty going to be for?
"Montreal, 4-minute minor for being in the vicinity of a Dallas player whose bodily fluids were spilt onto the playing surface."
Also, it should have been an interference call against Benn. If the refs had actually been watching, you know, the vicinity of the hockey happening directly around the puck, it might have been called. Whattyagonna do?
8. The Benn incident also brings up a philosophical issue.
If there was no blood, there would have been no penalty. But there was blood, so there was a penalty. The penalty was reviewed only because there was blood, only to find no penalty.
Are we now forever stuck in a time loop like the management of the American and Canadian Olympic teams?
Which came first, the penalty or the blood?
By
9. Canadiens Game: the Stars again got 25 shots on goal. Once again above their season average of 24. They are up to 24.94 now. Bay steps, boys, baby steps.
After looking at shots and shooting comparisons way too much this week, I’ve come to the miraculous conclusion the Stars should probably try to get more shots on goal. (And no, I'm not kidding. 7 pages - 3,000 words.) Ughh!
10. Team Canada announced their Olympic roster the morning of New year's Eve. That night, the Avalanche scored four goals in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the game on Jordan Binnington. Mackenzie Blackwood was in net for the Avalanche.
Let the smitings commence.
I mean this is only one sense: I don’t deserve readers like you.
I don’t like losing, not even in OT. The most disappointing part of this game, or most of it anyway: the Stars did not make the Canadiens look like the team who was playing the second game of a back to back. The line combinations just aren’t working as well as they should. Maybe they are starting really to miss Tyler Seguin.
This feels a bit cherry picked, and missing context. Robo and Hintz have played well with multiple SKILLED RWs…Seguin was one of the most skilled players on the team, great playmaker, who can also score efficiently. Also, Robo was on a heater at this time…He was on a heater before Hintz came back from injury, with him-Johnston-Rantanen looking like a top 5 line in hockey, during their limited time together. Borque is a skilled player, decent forechecker, etc. I also think that Gulutzan has been much quicker to make changes with this group, when things aren’t working. IE. When Seguin went down with an injury, he moved Benn into his spot; and then after the early juice from Benn waned, Gulutzan, after just a few games of stale play it seemed, moved Borque up. Wyatt and Rantanen, on the other hand got Steel for nearly 200 minutes, and a Duchene still working his way back from injury after missing 25 games, and several weeks, of action due to a severe concussion.
I like Steel as a 4th liner but he isn’t skilled enough to play a top 6 position…great defensively but not really known for his finishing prowess, nor is he a set up man. Hence why he has less than 15 points, despite playing a top 6 role for much of the season. (He’s played with Robo, Seguin, Rantanen, Johnston). Duchene only recently has started to play a bit more like himself. That line had an XG% of 83% tonight but, also important to point out that tonight was one of the few games they actually played together for the entire game. And weren’t just put together the last period or so in some last minute desperation from the coaching staff, or at different intervals throughout the game.
We’ll see what happens with the line, personally I would prefer to see Wyatt move to LW and Duchene to the middle…but, I think they deserve a bit more rope. If Sam Steel can get 170+ minutes of ice time with the top line, then I think we can give Duchene a few more full games, before rendering a verdict. Clearly not a long term solution because Duchene isn’t a LW and operates much best as a floor general from the center position…but for now at least, happier to see that, then what we had previously.
I think it’s fair to question sample size here, for sure. The 95/53/96 trio did have a good game tonight, but my point is mainly that they probably haven’t found their long-term solution for the top duo yet. Duchene, Steel, etc. are all temporary solutions because they’re short on wingers. It’s not really intended as a criticism of anyone in particular, but I may not have phrased it well.
Robert, if you're making the trip to Raleigh, let me know and I'll find you. I'll be in the building. :)
It was something I looked at, but I'll be at a couple of west coast games right afterward, so I had opt out of Raleigh this time around. But hey, maybe the Stanley Cup Final, right?
We can hope!