GDT: Game 3 Vancouver @ LA Kings - April 15 7:30pm - CBC

[CorranHorn]

Didn't read this whole thread, but didn't anyone else comment about how the Ballard Tanev pairing were the best last night at controlling the play and making a GOOD first past out of the zone(for the most part)?

[RoyalDude]

Over the 3 games, Vancouver's even strength puck possession stats are 60%. They turned LA into a 60% fenwick team since the deadline into a 40% team. Vancouver is dominating a team 5 on 5 that was itself dominating through March and April.

Gillis and Vigneault talk about "the process". This is the process, control the puck more than the other team and give yourself better percentages to win. Brain dead plays by Edler that end up in the net or unlucky bounces on special teams that end up in the net have been the difference. Coaching or the process has not.

Over the course of a season, with possession stats like that, Vancouver would win another presidents trophy and LA would be 30th overall. However, Quick has had a lucky/unsustainable/hot run over the very small 3 game sample and here Vancouver sits 3 buzz. You can criticize Vancouver's inabilities to score, but I'll point out other other team, including it's goalie has alot to say about your scoring as well.

Quick's regular season save percentage was .929. Vancouver had 99 shots over the last 2 games. If Quick plays only up to his Vezina calibre regular season level, instead of a .980 level, Vancouver would have scored 5 more goals in the last 2 games. That would probably mean 2 wins instead of two losses.

I'll throw this quote out there one more time

"Hockey is a little bit schizophrenic in this way. It holds two mutually contradictory values, the short-term and the long-term, and this is reflected in the structure of the season itself. The regular season is constructed to prize durable, sustainable talents, to average out streaks and slumps and give the favorable position to the most consistent teams. But then that reward is followed up by a tournament of ridiculously small sample sizes where any little surge of awesomeness, from anyone, no matter what their true talent level, might make the difference between a Cup ring and a golf cart. The game is designed, in the end, to give out its highest prizes based on unsustainable streaks."

Larry, you think too much. The number crunching is crazy, over analyzing. Strip it down to it's simplest form, and you might notice that it's just 10 men (made up of two teams, 5 aside) with sticks chasing a small, flat black object around an ice surface while wearing shoes attached to a sharp piece of medal to help them glide while trying to put the flat, black object it into the opposing teams net that is being protected by a human being standing in front of it called a goalie. May the best man win, or should I say team.

[Strangelove]

I'm looking forward to the unveiling of the Switch Flip tonight. About freakin' time. 3 PP goals tonight. 5 -1 Vancouver

No such luck Dude, perhaps Wednesday?

[RoyalDude]

No matter who the hell is between the pipes you aren't winning at a 1.1 goal per game pace.

It's quite amazing how many people in this city do not realize that. Listening to 1040 all day, as people tried to figure out what has gone wrong, "blame the coach, blame this, blame that". It's quite simple, we can't score. Yes, I know Daniel is hurt but we couldn't even score when he was in the line-up, hence only scoring 16 PP goals over the last 3 months of the regular season, worst in the league. Which made even more sense to trade Hodgson at the deadline for a minor league project that may or may not turn out in 2 or 3 years and add another defensive centre-man. Where and why did this team decide to go from a high octane offensive system to a shut down system??? Where is Gillis in all this? He's the man, the buck stops at him, regarding player personal. He's the one that puts the team in place for the coach to coach. All I see is a team of forwards, outside of the Sedin line who are not offensively gifted. Kesler was suppose to be the guy to lead the charge on the 2nd line but the dude is playing by himself, if he takes that wrister again when he crosses the blueline, AV should park his ass at the end of the bench. He is not playing the way a true centre should play and explain this - Why did they not try CoHo at centre and move Kesler to CoHo's wing? The way Kesler is playing, he's playing like a puck hogging, winger with Blinders on. Maybe with CoHo stuffed between Booth and Kesler you would at least have somebody to dish the puck to those two blind fools, having somebody on that line that is actually looking around, maintaining puck possession, looking to set up line-mates. actually, to be honest. I just get a laugh at everyone suggesting bringing back the AMEX line, who the fuck is doing the passing on that line? Certainly not Higgins, who is just a glorified checker who can chip in the odd goal.

Anyhow, we can't score, bottom line. Dice it up anyway you want. We don't have the guns outside of Hank, Dank and Burr.

[RoyalDude]

I see Tony "I hate Coaches' Gallagher is already leading the "Fire AV Campaign".

[RoyalDude]

Can we please save the trade the whole team talk until after the series?

Trade Malkin! Trade Crosby! Trade Fleury! Trade Letang! That'll fix everything.


Things are fucked if you are the voice of reason.

Unfortunately for the Penguins, their problem is the opposite of ours, they can score but they can't keep the puck out of their net.

[Blob Mckenzie]

You're right dude we should just say fuck this team and hump a transvestite cyclist. That will make us a lot smarter. That or blaming David Booth and Zack Kassian for everything.

I will say something..... you have SKYO and Bersnoozi fighting over your arse hair.

[RoyalDude]

I put the goal on Edler for leaving Brown wide open. A Ginger can only do so much.

Was it Edler? I thought it was Pahlsson (sp?) who by the way seems to not be the same guy who played for the Ducks in their cup year...

It was Pahlsson, not Edler.

[RoyalDude]

You're right dude we should just say fuck this team and hump a transvestite cyclist. That will make us a lot smarter. That or blaming David Booth and Zack Kassian for everything.

I will say something..... you have SKYO and Bersnoozi fighting over your arse hair.

Booth and Kassian are just pawns, it's that idiot (Gillis) who is the one playing chess and getting rooked.

[Blob Mckenzie]

You're right dude we should just say fuck this team and hump a transvestite cyclist. That will make us a lot smarter. That or blaming David Booth and Zack Kassian for everything.

I will say something..... you have SKYO and Bersnoozi fighting over your arse hair.

Booth and Kassian are just pawns, it's that idiot (Gillis) who is the one playing chess and getting rooked.

I wish Randy from Trailer Park Boys was still the manager.

Or maybe Brain Burke. He's the best manager in the game......if you don't believe him just ask him.

[RoyalDude]

You're right dude we should just say fuck this team and hump a transvestite cyclist. That will make us a lot smarter. That or blaming David Booth and Zack Kassian for everything.

I will say something..... you have SKYO and Bersnoozi fighting over your arse hair.

Booth and Kassian are just pawns, it's that idiot (Gillis) who is the one playing chess and getting rooked.

I wish Randy from Trailer Park Boys was still the manager.

Or maybe Brain Burke. He's the best manager in the game......if you don't believe him just ask him.

Well Burkie did leave Gillis the Sedin twins, the only people with any decent amount of offensive ability on this team.

[Farhan Lalji]

I did find one of Royaldude's comments to be interesting......

The one about how the Flyers, after getting a facial last year from Boston in the 2nd round, had the guts to trade away two of their best players and spruce things up.

I'm not necessarily advocating the idea of that, but I wonder if it's in our best interests to do it if the Canucks don't pull off the miracle over the next 8-10 days.

Think back to 2004 when the Canucks lost to the Calgary Flames...........and how "illogical" and "irrational" it would have been to even think about trading Naslund, Bertuzzi, Morrison, and Jovanovski. However - wouldn't the 2006 version of ourselves wished that we could have gone back to 2004 and executed those deals?

I'm just saying.....

If our core, on average, was 4-5 years younger, then this discussion would have no merit whatsoever.

However - given the age of our core, where we're at, and what we can possibly get (given the fact that we've won back to back Presidents' trophies), perhaps it isn't completely proposterous to suggest the idea of pulling a Philadelphia Flyers?

Buy low sell high?

[Strangelove]

[ukcanuck]

No matter who the hell is between the pipes you aren't winning at a 1.1 goal per game pace.

Anyhow, we can't score, bottom line. Dice it up anyway you want. We don't have the guns outside of Hank, Dank and Burr.

I'll give you that the goals dried up somewhere in San Jose last year, but had Daniel been in the line up this series and had potted a couple of goals in the three games we aren't here complaining because the series would be at least 2-1 for the good guys...(well you wouldn't be anyway )

[Larry Goodenough]

Quick's regular season save percentage was .929. Vancouver had 99 shots over the last 2 games. If Quick plays only up to his Vezina calibre regular season level, instead of a .980 level, Vancouver would have scored 5 more goals in the last 2 games. That would probably mean 2 wins instead of two losses.

Interesting. I wonder if there's any way of finding out how many of those shots had traffic in front, or came from outside the circles or randomly thrown on net? The Canucks may have a shitpile of shots, but it I don't think Quick is playing out-of-his mind, Tim Thomas hockey. The Canucks are generating very few scoring chances. I think they might be skewing the statistics by getting shitty shots on goal.

Yes, they have possession much of the time. They're also doing almost dick-all with it, and they have easily given up the better chances.

Well, I'd suggest LA had the same talent in front of Quick all season as they had last night.

I'd also suggest LA has played the same defensive system last night that they played all year.

Finally, LA played alot of games against offensive weaklings during the regular season, who most likely got off hundreds of even shittier shots. Yet, Quick's save percentage was still .929 during the large regular season sample vs .980 over the last 2 games.

In the end, with a big regular season sample, quality shots vs shitty shots and lucky bounces vs unlucky bounces will even out and you're left with a clear save percentage that quite closely reflects a goalie's repeatable talent.

Quick is winning the series, Vancouver is not losing it.

Shots