Whiners and Slow Learners Could Be Left Behind
by BookieKiller.com's NHL Guru, The Rink Rat !!!
Mario Lemieux leads the National Hockey League in scoring after 20 games. He has gone 11-31-41. In particular, he is feasting on panic-stricken penalty killing units around the league. He has 25 of his 41 points on Pittsburgh's power play. The Penguins have scored precisely 50% of their goals (31/62) with the man- advantage. Such a dependence on one aspect of the game suggests Pittsburgh is riding its luck at the moment. No other team depends on their power play to such an extent - only Ottawa (24/52) and Nashville (19/39) come close. But if the Penguins are spending generous dollops of time with a man advantage, then someone else has to be lounging in a penalty box. So the question is, who is taking all those penalties? And, just for fun, who isn't?
We have seen that the hurry-up face-off has cut down on chirping from the likes of Matthew Barnaby, resulting in fewer fighting majors, yet team penalty minutes per game is as high as ever. That leads the Rat to conclude the difference is made up by the rash of interference penalties. Fair enough. Players, particularly those who wish to rub up snugly to Mario, are moaning into every available microphone that the refereeing is terrible, the crackdown is ruining the game, fill in your own favourite complaint here. After nearly two months, teams often have 8-10 power play opportunities per game. Someone isn't paying attention.
Strangely enough, one of the teams not listening is those noisy, whineing Penguins. They have been handed 66 interference penalties which, along with Columbus, is the worst in the NHL. In the Eastern Conference, Pittsburgh (66), Carolina (63), Rangers (61), and Toronto (61) are the four worst teams for interference. The four least penalized teams are New Jersey (35), Philadelphia (40), Islanders (44), and Montreal (46). Over in the West, the four best teams are Minnesota (33), Detroit (44), Vancouver (45), and Edmonton (47). The worst are Columbus (66), Nashville (64), Phoenix and the L.A. Kings (both with 61). There does seem to be a hint of a pattern here.
The Devils, Flyers and Wild have hard-nosed, defense-first coaches who view lapses of discipline as benching offenses. The Red Wings are still profiting from the legacy of coach Scotty Bowman, who was a stickler too. The Canucks are a team predicated on skating and speed, little wonder they don't take many interference penalties. As for the teams taking too many interference penalties, at least six of the eight will have trouble reaching the play-offs. Pittsburgh has a playoff position now but if five-on-five hockey becomes dominant, they could have troubles too.
Looking down rosters, no-one stands out as being a particular transgressor. But a quick check of a three senior citizens, players who might because of their age and years in the league have problems adjusting, shows a surprising result. Detroit's Chris Chelios has been perhaps the most combative player the NHL has ever seen, considering also the length of his career. He has nearly 2600 penalty minutes, which averages out to about 160 minutes per season. This year he has 36 minutes in 20 games, which works out to about 144 minutes for the year. Do you think he's having troubles adjusting? Al MacInnis in St. Louis has spent the past two months holding that team together as they've had terrible injury problems. He plays better than 26 minutes a night and has 10 penalty minutes. No problems here. And finally, there is Lyle Odelein in Chicago, an honest, hardworking guy who plays hard night after night. Not noted for great skill, a decent skater, and maybe more than two brain cells working on a regular basis. How does the Rat know? Odelein has 13 penalty minutes, he's got it figured out.
Well coached teams and smart players have adjusted to the NHL's new policies. Let's hope the bonehead Pittsburgh Penguins and the other slow-learners absorb the message soon. For one or two of them, non-compliance could translate into non-playoff.
www.bookiekiller.com rsbookiekiller@hotmail.com
by BookieKiller.com's NHL Guru, The Rink Rat !!!
Mario Lemieux leads the National Hockey League in scoring after 20 games. He has gone 11-31-41. In particular, he is feasting on panic-stricken penalty killing units around the league. He has 25 of his 41 points on Pittsburgh's power play. The Penguins have scored precisely 50% of their goals (31/62) with the man- advantage. Such a dependence on one aspect of the game suggests Pittsburgh is riding its luck at the moment. No other team depends on their power play to such an extent - only Ottawa (24/52) and Nashville (19/39) come close. But if the Penguins are spending generous dollops of time with a man advantage, then someone else has to be lounging in a penalty box. So the question is, who is taking all those penalties? And, just for fun, who isn't?
We have seen that the hurry-up face-off has cut down on chirping from the likes of Matthew Barnaby, resulting in fewer fighting majors, yet team penalty minutes per game is as high as ever. That leads the Rat to conclude the difference is made up by the rash of interference penalties. Fair enough. Players, particularly those who wish to rub up snugly to Mario, are moaning into every available microphone that the refereeing is terrible, the crackdown is ruining the game, fill in your own favourite complaint here. After nearly two months, teams often have 8-10 power play opportunities per game. Someone isn't paying attention.
Strangely enough, one of the teams not listening is those noisy, whineing Penguins. They have been handed 66 interference penalties which, along with Columbus, is the worst in the NHL. In the Eastern Conference, Pittsburgh (66), Carolina (63), Rangers (61), and Toronto (61) are the four worst teams for interference. The four least penalized teams are New Jersey (35), Philadelphia (40), Islanders (44), and Montreal (46). Over in the West, the four best teams are Minnesota (33), Detroit (44), Vancouver (45), and Edmonton (47). The worst are Columbus (66), Nashville (64), Phoenix and the L.A. Kings (both with 61). There does seem to be a hint of a pattern here.
The Devils, Flyers and Wild have hard-nosed, defense-first coaches who view lapses of discipline as benching offenses. The Red Wings are still profiting from the legacy of coach Scotty Bowman, who was a stickler too. The Canucks are a team predicated on skating and speed, little wonder they don't take many interference penalties. As for the teams taking too many interference penalties, at least six of the eight will have trouble reaching the play-offs. Pittsburgh has a playoff position now but if five-on-five hockey becomes dominant, they could have troubles too.
Looking down rosters, no-one stands out as being a particular transgressor. But a quick check of a three senior citizens, players who might because of their age and years in the league have problems adjusting, shows a surprising result. Detroit's Chris Chelios has been perhaps the most combative player the NHL has ever seen, considering also the length of his career. He has nearly 2600 penalty minutes, which averages out to about 160 minutes per season. This year he has 36 minutes in 20 games, which works out to about 144 minutes for the year. Do you think he's having troubles adjusting? Al MacInnis in St. Louis has spent the past two months holding that team together as they've had terrible injury problems. He plays better than 26 minutes a night and has 10 penalty minutes. No problems here. And finally, there is Lyle Odelein in Chicago, an honest, hardworking guy who plays hard night after night. Not noted for great skill, a decent skater, and maybe more than two brain cells working on a regular basis. How does the Rat know? Odelein has 13 penalty minutes, he's got it figured out.
Well coached teams and smart players have adjusted to the NHL's new policies. Let's hope the bonehead Pittsburgh Penguins and the other slow-learners absorb the message soon. For one or two of them, non-compliance could translate into non-playoff.
www.bookiekiller.com rsbookiekiller@hotmail.com
