If Every Game In The NHL Were Worth 3 Points - Week 10

It's time once again to look at the alternate universe were a win in regulation gets you 3 points, a win in extra time/the shoot out gets you 2 points, and a loss in extra time gets you one point. So as of the completion of tonight's, Sunday, December 7th (Pearl Harbor Day) games here's what the standings would look like.

Eastern Conference:

Western Conference:

So where's the differences?

Well in the Eastern Conference, the Caps would still be leading the Conference and the Southeastern Division, and Pittsburgh would still be in second and leading the Atlantic Division, Sabres would be in third by virtue of leading the Northeast Division, instead of the Bruins who only have won 9 of their 16 games in regulation. The Devils would still be in fourth and the Atlanta Thrashers would be in 5th place instead of 6th while the previously mentioned Bruins would be in sixth. In 7th and 8th in the Every Game is 3 standings we have Ottawa and the NY Rangers, instead of Ottawa and Tampa Bay.

In the Western Conference, San Jose still leads the League, Conference and the Pacific Division, however, in second we have Colorado vice Chicago or Calgary by virtue of the 14 wins in regulation for the full 3 points. So in the three point standings its 1) San Jose, 2) Colorado, 3) Chicago and 4) Calgary vice the current method where it's 1) SJ, 2) Chicago, 3) Calgary, and 4) Colorado. In both the three point and real standings 5th and 6th place in the West are: Los Angeles and Phoenix. However 7th and 8th in the 3 point standings are 7) Vancouver 8) Nashville, but the current official standings are 7) Nashville and 8) Dallas. The cause of the juxtaposition being Vancouver's 14 wins in regulation which are as many as anybody else in the league.

So doesn't this scoring system make more sense to you than the current system? Sure does to me.

Next up for the Washington Capitals will be Tampa Bay for the first time this season at the Saint Pete Times Forum tomorrow night.

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Wow - December Started With A Bang and Now Philly, Laviolette and Snow...

So I know I'm a little late with this but I have to get this in, Thursday night at Verizon it was a great night to be a Capitals fan. Further if you can imagine anything that would make it better, wouldn't it be watching one of your favorite players have a 4 point night, while sitting close enough to his mother so you could get a high five from her when he scored his two goals? Well if that isn't worth the price of admission, you have much, much higher standards that me. I'm just going to give a big Jim Cramer-esque "BOOO - YAA" to a) Alexander Semin, b) Semyon Varlamov, c) the entire experience. It was a well played game the only very minor down point was when Weiss scored and broke the chance for Varly to get his second shut out of the season as I think it would have propelled him right into the thick of Calder Trophy discussions.


The game has been well re-capped and fully discussed here in the blogsphere as well as the main stream media but I just have to say there were good games turned in by everyone on the team from my vantage point. I'll only comment on the performances of five other players at Thursday night's game: David Steckel, Keith Ballard, Stephen Weiss, Alexandre Giroux, and Mike Duco.

David Steckel: A solid game, but he really just needs to relax, this goal drought will end soon enough, he's just getting too many good chances for some of these pucks not to bounce his way. Also I'd like to see him get a few power play minutes out there with the first unit in the role of being in front of the net while Knuble, spelling Brooks Laich is still out if there is another looooonnngg power play. I'm thinking a double minor type of thing as I don't foresee too many more 7:00 power plays this season. That was simply amazing - amazingly stupid on Duco's part but more on that later.

Keith Ballard: This guy should have gotten at least three minor penalties and is clearly playing frustrated. Seriously, he laid a cross check on Alexander Semin behind the Panther's net at the end of the first period that should have been called but wasn't, and he hacked several other guys through the second and third that I venture to say if the Caps hadn't been leading by 3 or more goals on each occurrence would have been called. He clearly wants to make up for his bone-head move earlier this week but playing as he did Thursday night wont cut it. In a game where the majority of the team is outplayed it won't matter but in a close game it will. Ballard is too good and too experienced a player to not get it, he needs to watch the tape of this game and start playing more disciplined hockey.

Stephen Weiss: This guy is good. In a game where the rest of the team was being outplayed, there were numerous times when Weiss and his line were on the ice that I worried Varly's shutout was at risk. The goal he scored to put the Panthers on the board in the third period was a solid one and not of the type a goaltender would usually "want back" as it was a laser shot through a screen. Weiss is a pretty unassuming name around the league but I think he's the kind of guy that is part of a solid foundation to build a team around, Thursday's game only solidified that in my opinion.

Alexandre Giroux: Giroux's statistic line in the game is pretty empty from Thursday's game. A solid example that as I am often reminded statistics aren't everything. Giroux had no points, finished +/- even and in 13:39 TOI his only stat line entries are 6 shots on goal, 2 attempts blocked, 1 miss and 3 hits. Of course one of his three hits was the Elin Nordegrin Woods Hit of the Game on Dmitry Kulikov that led to the 7:00 power play prompted by Mike Duco's retaliation. From our vantage point in section 103 I can tell you the hit was a solid, totally legal one, and one if you are a coach you want a forechecking wing to make EVERY time. That Giroux wasn't able to score after knocking Kulikov off the puck on that play is the only thing that didn't go the way you'd want if you were a coach. Kulikov is a fine young player and I expect will be a solid NHL defenseman for years to come. But on the play, the 19 year old Russian did so many wrong things you can't keep count but lets start with 1) where he was on the ice, why wasn't he stopped firmly behind the middle of the net instead of slightly behind the left post off to the side, just begging a forechecker to try and take the puck away? 2) If you are putting yourself in such a vulnerable position why do you alternate from looking down at the puck to the back of your own goaltender, especially when you apparently didn't have your feet in a nice well balanced base position? If you were Bruce Boudreau and Giroux hadn't at least tried to knock the guy of the puck in that play you'd probably want to drive him back to Hershey yourself on Thursday night before going home to sleep. Seriously, the fact that Giroux responded with a very solid, totally legal hit is a compliment to him and I hope that it means he gets another chance to show all the haters wrong. Giroux had a great game and whether it was because of discipline or just total shock that he didn't respond to Duco's retaliation, the result was awesome and just helped "seal the deal" on Thursday.

Mike Duco: Short and sweet - Bonehead award of the Game! I don't know what set this guy in his second NHL game but his reaction to Giroux was unfounded. Seriously is there some history between the two from last years AHL season? If Duco was trying to make an impression, I guess he did. The penalty he took put his team a man down for 7:00 minutes. One of the funniest images I'll remember from Thursday night's game was Ref Kerry Fraser using his fingers counting off the penalties while explaining the result to Capitals Captain Chris Clark and then seeing the 7:00 pop up next to #68 on the scoreboard. No doubt the results from Thursday's game will further skew the data about a home ice advantage for penalty minutes, even in spite of the 4:00/2 calls I thought were pretty blatant make-up/try and keep things even calls against the Caps. I'm all for old tyme hockey, but I want to be clear I don't consider Mike Duco, or anybody else's retaliation against a totally warranted, clean, legal HARD hit - Old Tyme Hockey. The resulting penalties and 7:00 man advantage for the Caps was warranted and exactly why bench clearing brawls are no longer the de-rigor in the NHL. If Duco was smart once he jumped Giroux and had him on the ice he'd have just stopped instead of punching him several times. That Giroux wasn't bloodied in any way shows he knows how to cover up pretty fast and I believe understood the best thing he could do at that time was "take one or three" for the team.

So on to looking ahead to tonight's game in Philly. Well the big news is the Flyers have a new coach - Peter Laviolette. If the name sounds familiar it should be, as most fans know Laviolette last coaching job was at the helm in Carolina, since then he's been a TV commentator for the most part. So the Flyers have a coach who definitely is familiar with the Capitals. The replacement of John Stevens is in response to a season start that has been underwhelming to say the least. Laviolette, 45, has a record of 244-184-59 in 487 games over seven seasons with the New York Islanders (2001-03) and Hurricanes (2003-09). He also coached the Providence Bruins to the 1999 Calder Cup championship, and coached the U.S. at the 2006 Olympics. Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said he came to the decision to dismiss Stevens not long after Thursday's 3-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. It was the second-straight game the Flyers have been shut out, the first time that's happened since February 2003.

The Flyers come into tonight's game 3-7-0 in their last ten games and looking to break a 3 game loosing streak. The Capitals come into tonight's game 6-2-2 in their last ten and looking to extend a four game winning streak. This is the second of six games in 10 days for the Caps and the second game of a equally very busy December 13 game schedule for the Flyers. So far this season the Caps and Flyers have met twice. The Caps are 1-0-1 and the Flyers are 1 - 1 - 0 in those meetings. Both teams have won their games at home, though the last time they played in Philadelphia it took overtime for the Flyers to gain a 6-5 victory. It should be an interesting game, which Coach Laviollete hasn't been on board long enough to make any significant changes to the Flyers game plans, the Flyers reaction to being put on notice by recent statements from GM Holmgren and the basic understanding that Laviollete generally prefers a more up tempo pace and game to what Stevens preached will bear watching. Make no mistake, in spite of the fact the Caps are in first place in the Conference with 40 points and the Flyers are in 11th place with 27 points, this will be a hard fought game.

I won't be watching much, if any of this game as we will be at a friend's holiday party tonight. Tomorrow I'll put together and present the "If Every NHL Game Were Worth Three Points" Week 11 Standings, and perhaps some summary reaction to the highlights and other thoughts on the four games the Caps will play next week.

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Dollar Dogs!!! Dollar Dogs!!! and the LitterBox Kittys...

Whhhoooo Who! It's dollar dog night at Verizon Center tonigh and I'm a going. I'm a going to Dollar Dog night at Verizon Center tonight. Sooo cool.


Sorry for the digression and I don't know why I always seem to really like this promotion. Yes, I'm "okay:" with Esskay frankfurters but I'm not crazy, I'll have two and be very satisfied and happy but I'm not a maniac during these nights like I see some folks with four or so of the little beasties. I guess it's just knowing that I'm inside a sports venue and actually paying less for somethign to eat then I would normally pay for it outside the venue - that could be considered a sad commentary on my now middle aged existance I suppose. It's not that I'm cheap or not cheap, I prefer to think of myself as thrifty vs. "cheap" these days vice the "proflagate" I was in younger days so I suppose that's part of it but a very small part. No I think it's just appreciating this particular promotion and the fact everyone in the phone booth seems to enjoy it. Kids get hot dogs from their folks who might not otherwise spend the money for the dog so they seem happier. Their parents seem happier I suppose because the kids are happier. And I just appreciate the whole thing so want to really enjoy the game.


About the game, it's against the Florida Panthers. a Southeast division "rival" if there are such things in the NHL's "youngest division". The Panters are in 13th place in the Eastern Conference, the Caps are in first place. The Caps are 16-5-6 overall; 8-2-3 at home and 6-2-2 in their last 10 games. The Panthers are 11-12-4 overall; 7-6-1 on the road, and 4-3-3 in their last 10 games. The Caps average 3.48 GF/game and 2.89 GA per game (+0.59 G/Gm); the Panthers average 2.85 GF/game and 3.41 GA/game (-0.56 G/gm). This should be solid outing for the Capitals but the Panthers are often decieving, first thing to note is the Panthers record this season so far is much better on the road then at home, The second is that Panthers Tomas Vokoun has been known to steal an occassional game though he needs to get a better warning from his team mates the next time teammate Keith Ballard decides to immitate this guy:

However he need not worry, I had an extra ticket tonight and since there isn't an LA Lakers Home game the older guy said he'd come with me to the game in case his services and expertese are needed:

I ran across this guy and thought he was a swami so he and I meditated on it and our prediction for tonight is:

Caps 4, Panthers 2.

Even though without seeing who actually is going to play that's nothing but a WAG. See you at VC in an hour.

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Ovechkin's Two Game Suspension - On Contemplation Probably About Right ...

Since it seems obligatory that if you have a blog or other outlet to express your thoughts and you are a Caps fan, you absolutely must publish your reaction to the 2 game suspension of Alexander Ovechkin in response to his 5 minute major for kneeing Tim Gleason, here's mine...

So to have a considered reaction to the result I personally must first get over and ignore the fact I don't think a 5 minute major was warranted for this particular hit, which I will now do, only to probably come back to this after my reaction to the suspension.

So upon contemplating the data at hand and trying to put myself in Colin Campbell's position in the League offices I think the suspension is fair and basically necessary. Here's the data I'm looking at I have a player who in the span of a week has gotten two 5 minute majors and in the "new, improved" NHL I must review every major penalty and consider possible additional disciplinary action. I don't know what the league officials supplied Campbell but I have to believe that whatever the referee(s) saw at the game that they felt warranted the major penalty was well documented and given the situation probably a little amplified since they knew a major penalty to a 2 time Hart Trophy winner would be scrutinized by all. I can either back up my officials and looking at the tape I have to agree it was a knee on knee hit and that Ovechkin was the hitter and Gleason the hitee. It looks on tape like Gleason made a defensive move to try and avoid the hit and that it's very possible, even probable that Ovechkin didn't mean to hit him knee on knee (my basis of that conclusion is at this point it's clear Ovechkin took the worst of the hit). That said, Ovechkin wasn't able to avoid hitting Gleason knee on knee and has to bear some responsibility for it all.

He also has in the past been involved in similar situations. Since I'm going to accept that the 2 time Hart Trophy winner is one of the most talented players in the game today, I'm going to say the only one who can ensure that similar collisions and potential injuries to other players are Ovechkin himself, I have to conclude he needs to feel some repercussions from the issue to ensure he thinks at least a little about it in the future. So I'm going to issue a 2 game suspension to put him on notice that he is now officially "a one time offender" and that while he is indeed an exciting player and free to play the game as he sees fit, just like an expert skier on the slopes, he needs to be in control at all times since 99.x% of the time with his amazing skating abilities and hockey sense he'll be able to avoid situations like this in the future and still "play his game" - a very exciting and fan-friendly brand of hockey.

That's how I have to see it if I were Colin Campbell so I'm okay with this.

However, here's how Mark unabashed Caps fan and total lover of the way Ovechkin plays the game, as well as "Old School" Guy who really is getting dis-heartened by the "wussification" of the NHL as is currently going on sees it.

I watched the game, it was a good move by Gleason and he was looking to draw a penalty on AO - probably for charging or tripping - and that's what should have been called, in this case. That said to be far over the prior two/three seasons the penalty that was called on OV the other night could already have been called many times previously. Hard to take issue with this call now given that. If Ovie hadn't of gotten a major two games prior he probably wouldn't have gotten a major for the Gleason hit, IMO, protestations to the contrary noted and he probably wouldn't have gotten the two game suspension.

I don't think the call on Ovie was either inconsistent with current practice or excessive in light of how things are done today, I just think they are wrong the call the other night to some degree and the way the game is "policed" as well as the rules today in their entirety. To me the inconsistency is the rules get changed to speed up the game in just about every facet and now the League and some fans who don't have big, extremely, fast tough guys on their team like Ovechkin (6-2, 225#), Malkin (6-3, 195#), Brown (6-0, 207#),and Richards (5-11, 195#) , complain when those guys use a combination of their speed, skill, physicallity and the "improved" equipment in today's game to their advantage and "play with an edge." That said if everyone stepped back and looked at why they play the way they do it's a combination of things but all originate with the changes to the game and rules over the past 5 years. That's why commentators such as HOF member Dennis Potvin have pointed out, albeit in relatively muted tones, a contributory thing is the lack of "immediate justice and accountability" since there really can be no retribution. That's why an increasing number of teams are going without an "enforcer" and frankly the ones that have them often participate in games that seem really funny in a weird way and seem to contain staged fights almost as "stilted" as some WWE events.

Because of rule changes and this focus on removing obstructionism and fighting from the game to speed things up and make it "better" to watch, it seems to me, fan posts to blogs and even the occasional player post game comments start to sound like lawyers discussing issues. Comments and discussions ranging from this one above to the post of how so and so ought to be considered a repeat offender or "why didn't so and so get an instigator penalty, he dropped the gloves and the other guy skated away" yadi, yadi, yada. In any case we could discuss the what would have happened in the old days, etc. till the cows come home but isn't the bottom line answer to the question that Potvin and others have quietly posed somewhat rhetorically "Why do these guys often play like there are no repercussions from their actions on the ice?" because as they are leading us, the answer is, "Because 9+ times out of 10 there aren't any?"

Was the NHL really worse to watch back in those bad old days of brawling and "obstructionist" plays? From my perspective, no it wasn't. If you want more goals limit the size of goalie pads, etc in a more constrictive fashion, but the changes to the rules that have and continue to further "wussify" the speed in attempts to speed things up will:

1) Only lead to more and more opportunities for high speed collisions, some of which will undoubtedly be knee -on - knee hits or even worse.

2) Only continue to provide more and more opportunities for skaters to run at goalies rather then be tied up by defensemen in the low slot.

and

3) Only create situations where "new fans" think hockey is more like basketball and squash then what it was meant to be and debate whether or not their favorites are handsome and cool instead of rugged, tough and get it done kind of guys.

Hey in the end you had to know that like any of the other few things I don't like about the NHL and Hockey I was going to find a way to trace blame for this onto the one thing I most don't like about today's NHL: