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Game #33 – Wild vs. Hawks: Q&A with Ben Remington

By Sam Fels 1899 0

Once again we dig out Ben Remington of ZoneCoverage.com from under the usual mountain of snow in Minnesota to inform us about the Wild. Follow him on Twitter @BenRemington. 

The Wild have won four in a row, and five of six, though four of those have come after the 60 minutes. Any big changes during this streak or just a bounce or two in overtime?
Little bit of both. They were having a hard time putting things together before that, and Kyle Quincey was somehow tanking this team singlehandedly, which is a fitting tribute to just how bad he really was. Since he was jettisoned they’ve been winning, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence. Part of the overtime success is a change in philosophy, directly from the analytics department, the former War on Ice folks. I was at the Devils-Wild game when they got destroyed with a slow lineup on the ice in the first minute of overtime, after that, Boudreau has prioritized putting the young faster players on the ice in OT more, and it’s paid huge dividends. They were 5-17 in 3-on-3 overtime games all time before the change and 4-0 since. So I guess you could say things are getting pretty serious.
How has the Matt Dumba thing going lately?
Pretty good. Two of those OT winners came from Mr. Dumba. He’s a classic risk/reward player, like a Burns Lite, so if he can get someone to cover his tuchus, he excels. Well, Boudreau has finally paired him with the painfully responsible Suter after Spurgeon’s groin injury, and it’s worked like gangbusters. He’s still going to have some frustrating moments in the neutral zone and his own end, but he can make up for it on the other end. After being the favorite whipping boy of Wild fans to start the season, his loudest critics have promptly STFU.
Jason Zucker is well on his way to a career-high in points and goals. Anything different about his game this year, other than his impending new contract?
There’s been a few analytic articles on him this year locally that have highlighted his improved playmaking ability, so that’s definitely a thing. Before he was more of a pure scorer, but he’s used his speed to set up some beauties this season now that he’s garnering a little more attention. As far as his contract situation goes, it’s a little bit of a worst-case for Chuck Fletcher that he’s really tearing it up this year as a pending RFA, and it might be yet another Fletcher failure from this summer that he didn’t give him an extension before the season started.
What’s been Devan Dubnyk’s problem?
Well, he’s dinged up with a knee issue right now, but otherwise he’s just been inconsistent, which is kind of his M.O. He strung together three straight shutouts in between some pretty bad stretches, but hasn’t looked terrible lately, and I think he was just as much of a victim of Kyle Quincey as the team on the whole was. Dubnyk usually heats up pretty good in December, .937 sv% in seasons past with the Wild, so he really got hurt at the worst time. Luckily, the Wild have a semblance of a back up this season in Alex Stalock, who’s playing well, so you’ll probably see the former Duluth Bulldog Sunday night.
What do the Wild need to add to get out of the muck in the Central?
The Wild have been as inconsistent as Dubnyk in years past, not coincidentally, so they need a hot streak something fierce. It’s easy to forget that this team won 12 games straight last December because of how horribly the season ended, but they’re capable of that kind of stretch if they get decent goaltending. Also, pin cushion Parise may return soon, which should help the overall depth of this team, and get some guys who should be playing in Iowa off the big sheet of ice. All of that and a sniper at the next Perds-Blyeos game might get us somewhere.
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Game #33 – Wild vs. Hawks: Douchebag Du Jour – Welcome, Mikko Koivu…

By Sam Fels 3198 0

His candidacy has been around for years, but we’re finally ready to announce our latest member of the “Team Photo Looks Like It Was Taken After He Was Caught Masturbating” Hall of Fame…

Mikko Koivu

Congratulations, Mikko. You join such luminaries as Cam Barker and… well, that’s the only one we remember but we’re sure there are a few others.

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Game #33 – Wild vs. Hawks: I Make A Lot Of Graphs

By Sam Fels 1497 0

All stats at even-strength unless noted. Courtesy of Corsica.hockey. 

Key: CF/60 – shot attempts for per 60 minutes

CA/60 – shot attempts against per 60

CF% – ratio of shot attempts for and against

G/60, GA/60, GF% – goals scored, allowed, and ratio of per 60 minutes

xGF/60, xGA/60, xGF% – “expected goals” i.e. goals team “should” have scored and allowed based on amount and types of chances and attempts created and allowed given neutral goaltending. 

PDO – shooting percentage plus save percentage, used to measure luck. 100 is average.

Time On Ice Percentage – amount of even-strength time player skates

Off. Zone Start Ratio – percentage of shifts started in offensive zone

TOI% of Competition: percentage of even-strength time opponent takes of his team player skates against

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Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight – December 15

By John Pullega 1551 0

First Screen Viewing

Stars at Devils (6 p.m.)

Even though the Blackhawks are hopelessly eliminated from any shot at the playoffs by virtue of their inability to inhabit a playoff spot by the time the turkeys were pardoned (yes, I’m kidding), we’d be remiss not to watch the team mockingly flailing its collective scrotum in our faces in the standings. The Stars stand to leapfrog the Wild in the Wild Card standings with a point tonight, albeit with two extra games played. They’ll also look to get Jabba the Hitch his 800th win tonight, which is fitting, given that everyone in America is moonlighting as Annyong Bluth and seeing whichever iteration of a Star War we’re on now. They’ll start Kari Lehtonen and face a Taylor Hall-less (knee ouchie) Devils squad that’s lost three of their last four (1-2-1).

Second Screen Viewing

Maple Leafs at Red Wings (6:30 p.m.)

You watch this game for never-ending Schadenfreude of watching the Red Wings flounder. And the hope that Cock BabMike offers no quarter against his former squad. Plus the Leafs are probably top three in the best-looking sweaters department. The Leafs sans Auston Matthews, who misses his fourth straight game with a head injury, will face Jimmy Two First Names in net, as he and his 90.6 SV% try to end the Wings’s 1-5-5 skid over the last 11 games. Again, the Red Wings have lost 10 of their last 11. Not sure why they called it Little Caesers Arena, since the Wings are neither hot, ready, nor worth even the $5 their stadium’s namesake charges for pizza of a quality that you can find running through a box factory with dog shit on your shoes.

Other Games

Carolina at Buffalo (6 p.m.)

Los Angeles at New York (6 p.m.)

San Jose at Vancouver (9 p.m.)

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Game #32 – I’m Gonna Hit That Line Like Old Dick Trickle – Hawks 5, Jets 1

By John Pullega 2699 0

Box Score

Hockey Stats

Natural Stat Trick

Like a frozen Reese’s with an Irish coffee, this game was good, especially coming against one of the better teams in the West. To the bullets.

– The Hawks marveled us with the best period of hockey they’ve played since Game #1. First, on Sharp’s steal at the oZ blue line, followed by a perfect pass to a thirsty Hinostroza. The obscenity of Vinnie’s release will make it impossible to analyze, since it shouldn’t be allowed on television again. The second goal was a bit more avant garde, with Bouma fat fingering a pass from behind the goal line, only to recover his turnover and hit Wingels in what Steve Konroyd and Pat Boyle continued to call “a quiet spot on the ice,” which I guess is the new preferred nomenclature for the high slot. Then, to spite the Fels/McClure motherfuck, which is the hockey equivalent of a Lennon/McCartney these days, Schmaltz took a Keith laser by the foreskin and just snipped by an overmatched Hellebuyck. Between three solid goals and devil’s food 66.66 CF%, this looked like the Hawks of old.

– I know the last time you and I talked about a Hawks postgame, I made a comment about Schmaltz needing to take more shots. After the sorcery he conjured on Kane’s goal in the second period, I won’t be upset if he never tries to shoot again. You simply can’t teach that kind of awareness. When he does things that flood the blood into all the fun parts of your body, it makes it hard (GET IT?) to remember that he’s just barely old enough to drink.

– The most fun thing to watch about this game was Connor Murphy’s unbridled confidence. It was his big shot that rebounded off of Hellebuyck and led to the Schmaltz–Kane connection. It was Murphy standing firm at his own blue line several times to break up potential odd-man rushes. It was Murphy moving back to the right side after his unforeseen success on his off side so that Kempný could slot back in. He’s turning into a best-case scenario right in front of our eyes, and it’s a joy to watch.

– And how about that Michal Kempný? He was the only Hawks D-man on the positive side of the possession ledger, though that’s probably a bit misleading, as the Hawks packed it in after the first period, with respective 39+ and 28+ CF%s. But he managed to make Brent Seabrook look good out there, which on its own should warrant more playing time. And that unapologetic slapper to put the Hawks back up four is the kind of thing that makes you tear your hair out when you think about how he’s sat in favor of Franson and an increasingly tired-looking Rutta. Hawks beat writer Mark Lazerus posed a question along the lines of, “For everyone clamoring for Kempný, who do you sit for him?” Sample sizes be damned, you go ahead and let Rutta and Franson heal up for as long as Kempný stays noticeable.

– I made fun of him a whole bunch at the beginning of the year, but if Jordan Oesterle wants to keep playing relatively well, I’m fine being wrong. I still think Murphy belongs with Keith, but I get not wanting to futz with what works. I don’t see Oesterle as a long-term answer to any question, but he was fine tonight. You’ll take that from him.

– It’s probably getting old, but I’m trying to make up for all the undue shit Crawford has gotten over his career: Corey did just about everything right tonight. He kept the Jets from getting back into it in the third with two huge saves in high-danger zones. I’m not even sure you can blame the one goal on him, though I suppose you want anything on the short side stuffed. Still, with Seabrook inadvertently screening the shot and being on the PK, it’s a bit more forgivable.

– If you want to be a stickler, you could easily say that Forsling didn’t look great in his own zone (a revelation, I know). He got beaten on iced pucks twice in the first, once by Perreault and then again by Tanev. Perreault blew by him again at the beginning of the second, and then he had a horrifically putrid dZ turnover late in the third in a high-danger zone. But this isn’t anything new. It was just especially noticeable tonight with everything else clicking so well.

– While the power play didn’t score (against one of the worst PKs out there), they weren’t a complete flaming bag of dog shit either. The last two PPs had sustained pressure but nothing to show for it. I guess you take that as a positive.

Eight points in four games is a streak. A win against Minnesota on Sunday goes a long way in the slog toward a wild card spot. If Kempný isn’t in the lineup, I’ll scream.

Forward, not backward. Upward, not forward. And always twirling, Twirling, TWIRLING toward freedom.

Beer du Jour: Tommyknocker Blood Orange IPA

Line of the Night: “He would purposely hold on to [the puck] to let the boos go. He looked like a WWE villain.” –Foley on Kane getting booed by Jets fans years ago.

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Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight – December 14th

By Sam Fels 1302 0

First Screen Viewing

Sharks vs. Flames – 8pm

It’s a heavy slate tonight in the N but there isn’t a real standout game. So we’ll go with this one as two teams fighting to be in the Kings and Knights wake square off at Saddledome. The Sharks have been effective enough but boring as fucking sin. The Flames have two great lines that are tons of fun to watch but after that it gets a little hairy. Tune in to watch Travis Hamonic and TJ Brodie decompose right before your eyes.

Second Screen Viewing

Maple Leafs vs. Wild – 7pm

Well, the Wild are never boring. And you can watch Mike Babcock dance on Bruce Boudreau’s head for a whole. Auston Matthews is still out but you know the Leafs  have more than enough to get by. And considering how things are going for the Wild at the moment, you know there will be goals. Chance for the Hawks to make up some ground on the Wild as well.

Other Games

Capitals vs. Bruins – 6pm

Sabres vs. Flyers – 6pm

Islanders vs. Blue Jackets – 6pm

Devils vs. Canadiens – 6:30

Ducks vs. Blues – 7pm

Panthers vs. Avalanche – 8pm

Predators vs. Oilers – 8pm

Lightning vs. Coyotes – 8pm

Penguins vs. Knights – 9pm

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Game #32 – Hawks vs. Jets Preview, Food Drive – Cop Just Out Of Frame

By Matt McClure 2087 0

 at 

Game Time: 7:00PM CST
TV/Radio: NBC Sports Chicago, WGN-AM 720
God Save The Queen: Arctic Ice Hockey, Jets Nation

Fresh off three somewhat palate-cleansing barely-wins against the absolute dregs of the league at home in Buffalo, Arizona, and Florida, the Hawks face a far sterner test tonight in The Peg, where the Jets at least kind of look like they have finally gotten their shit together.

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Game #32 – Hawks vs. Jets: Spotlight – The Art of Falling Upwards, by Paul Maurice

By Sam Fels 1934 0

It’s hard to wrap your mind around, but Paul Maurice is in his 20th year as an NHL head coach. He’s only 51. Yes, this is what happens when you’re hired at age 29 to coach a team, as Maurice was in Hartford. He’s coached the 8th most seasons in NHL history. This year he will pass Pat Quinn in number of games coached. He’s coached more games than Mike Keenan and Jacques Lemaire, Jacques Martin, and Darryl Sutter, if you can believe it.

And what makes it more shocking is that he’s no damn good at it.

In those 20 seasons, Maurice’s teams have reached the playoffs five times. They’ve won a round just twice, both in Carolina as he led them to a Final in 2002 and then came back to relieve Peter Laviolette and got them to a conference Final in ’09. That’s it. Three first round exits, and hasn’t even won a playoff game since 2009. Of the coaches with the 20 longest tenures by seasons, Maurice’s 57 total playoff games is by far the lowest. The next on the list is Art Ross, who stopped coaching in 1945 and whose teams could only play 14 playoff games at most per year.

What made Maurice’s continued employment in Winnipeg even more infuriating was how much talent he was wasting. Wheeler, Scheifele, Laine, Little, Ehlers, Byfuglien, Trouba and we could go on. Yes, the Jets and Maurice were let down by their goaltending, but it was Maurice who also kept tossing Ondrej Pavelec out there. The Jets should have been at the top of the Central or approaching for at least the last three years.

More grating was that the past three years the Jets finished in the top six in penalty minutes per game. This is a team with so much firepower you’d think they’d want to spend as much time at evens or on the power play as they could. And yet Maurice continued to push a style and attitude that was hellbent on dick-measuring, and because of the goaltending and system their penalty killing was always substandard. It helped sink those seasons when they could have been so much more, even with the shoddy goaltending.

It’s seemingly taken only 20 years, but Maurice appears to have finally gotten it. The Jets are now middle of the pack in terms of penalties per game. The penalty kill still isn’t good, but at least they’re on it less.

It’s not all roses for Maurice, though. So far this season is the third consecutive where their metrics have gotten worse. This is a team that’s far too skilled to be on the negative side of possession or expected goals, and yet here they are. And this actually isn’t the best goaltending Maurice has gotten at even-strength, as his last playoff team got a spasm of good keeping from Pavelec before he crashed to Earth and the Ducks summarily eviscerated them in the playoffs.

Given the scoring talent the Jets have, they can always outshoot some of their underlying numbers. And there’s no crime against getting good goaltending. It’s just a mark of how the NHL works that someone like Maurice, who hasn’t proven he’s really good at anything behind the bench other than squandering talent, can be employed this long. If you want to know why you never really see anything that innovative or creative in hockey, here’s an excellent reason why. It’s almost if Maurice kept getting work because GMs saw that others hired him and figured, “Well he must do something.”

And he doesn’t.

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Game #32 – Hawks vs. Jets: Q&A With Cara T And Derek Gagnon

By Sam Fels 1925 0

Cara And Derek are two of the writers on staff at ArcticIceHockey.com. You can follow them on Twitter @HappyCaraT and @DerekGagnon1.

Let’s start at the top. Maybe because it took a few years. Maybe because of where he plays. But this is Mark Scheifele’s second straight year of being a point-per-game. Isn’t it time his name is mentioned in the same class as the top centers in the game?

Cara: Absolutely it is time to consider Scheifele a top centre in the league. The thing to remember about him is he was a late bloomer in junior and really came out of his shell in his draft year after playing in Junior A the previous season. It is no wonder it took him a little bit of time to really show the NHL his skill.

Derek: I do find it strange that he, and linemate Blake Wheeler, can experience repeated success without getting much praise. Playing in Winnipeg definitely plays a slight role in his lack of press in other markets, but I do believe it is time for his name to be mentioned more often. His numbers in the past two seasons have far surpassed others drafted ahead of him, and at this point I’d say he’s the second best player to come out of his draft class (Kucherov being better).

How much of the Jets’ success should be pinned on the revitalization of Connor Hellebuyck?

The Jets have never had consistently good goaltending until this year. This is remarkable and sad all the same. A lot of their success is owed to Hellebuyck, especially early on. Let’s just hope that he remains the goalie who was coached by not-Wade Flaherty this summer and not the goalie coached by Wade Flaherty.

Lots? The recent slide in performance aside, Hellebuyck is the biggest reason the Jets find themselves where they are in the standings. Reliable goaltending has been non-existent in Winnipeg since 2011, with Michael Hutchinson dominating the Blackhawks being an exception. His record at home has been particular dominant, picking up 23 of a possible 24 points in starts at Bell MTS Place. It has been said for some time that the Jets are a playoff team with average goaltending, and they’ve gotten better than average play from Hellebuyck thus far.

How much of the Jets’ success should be pinned on no longer being the dumbest team in the league and curtailing their penalties per game to middle of the pack?

The Jets may still have some very dumb games, but getting rid of Mark Stuart and Chris Thorburn this summer has probably helped get some of the dumb out of their game. In general, the Jets really put an emphasis on taking less penalties this season and playing the game five on five has helped them a lot because they are still not great at killing penalties.

Certainly this has helped. The penalty kill has also improved its performance. The Jets brought former referee Paul Devorski in to work with the team during training camp to help cut down on the penalties, and it seems to be paying off. Staying with special teams, the Jets now have a top five power play to use as well.

Once again, according to the metrics. Matthieu Perreault is one of the most underrated players in the league. What makes him an analytic darling and is he well appreciated up there?

You are taking about Fourth Line Hero Matty P. He is genuinely a fourth line hero on the Jets since his injuries and people are really loving him there because he is able to have less wear and tear on his body while still being great offensively. In short, people love his style of play and are fine with his usage because he drags the fourth line to respectability all by himself.

Every time he gets hurt, people slam Mathieu Perreault, but the fact is he’s a very good player. I fully expected him to be picked up by Vegas last summer, and was quite happy to see him stick around when the Jets opted to protect 7-3-1. When healthy, he can contribute in any of the 12 forward positions, and is currently occupying a fourth line spot while getting power play time. He’s a very smart player, and I don’t think I can stress that enough. His positioning and awareness on the ice is great, and he makes players around him better. So is he appreciated? Yes, but not as much as he could be.

Is this all for real? How far can the Jets go?
I think this is for real and as far as Hellebuyck can take them.
I think this can be a playoff team, because of the number of skilled players. The Jets boast one of the top few top 6 forward groups in the NHL, and some talented young defenders in Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey. Combined with decent goaltending, they’re top-eight in the West. 
I was hesitant at first, but the longer it goes the more it seems that it might be a second trip to the post-season since relocating from Atlanta in 2011. My father projects that somehow the Jets will make it to the Western Conference Final before losing to Nashville. So yea, I’ll go with that.