MEN at WORK Hasn’T Quite Fit All Together Yet, Has It? Be? Or, If the NHL Had a Standings System That Made Paul Either
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Walking With The Ghost The REAL Fan’s Program Only NovemberDATE, 2nd, $3 2015 TheCommittedIndian.com @RealFansProgram on Twitter [email protected] Jon Fromi: Find Me Vets An$e Kopitar The Week In Icehogs - page 8 - - page 10 - - page 12 - MEN AT WORK Hasn’t quite fit all together yet, has it? be? Or, if the NHL had a standings system that made Paul either. So are they a team with bigger flaws than Since we last got together at this abstract AA meet- sense at all with ties, the Hawks would be 3-5-3, which we’re used to seeing? Really suffering without Duncan ing, the Hawks were able to pull out two points after looks a hell of a lot worse than 6-5-0, doesn’t it? Luckily Keith who is the key log? Or are they just unlucky right being pretty heavily outplayed by the currently luckless for them, the NHL is insistent on settling games with now and things will be okay when the percentages even Ducks, and then lost to the Jets and the Wild. They gimmicks and carnival games. out a bit? only have one win on the road this season out of five Though how the Hawks got that record is up for Yes. tries, and that one came on an overtime power play in something of a debate. They were superior to the All of these can be correct, which makes it all kind Brooklyn. In the three games this past week, the Hawks Lightning, they tossed a ton of shots at the Jets, but just of bewildering. The Hawks are shooting below 4% at have managed all of two even-strength goals. Boy, if the didn’t score thanks to The Devil Inside Michael Hutchin- even-strength. Even when the Hawks were a pretty un- power play wasn’t somewhat working where would they son. But they didn’t really deserve to get much out of St. lucky team for all of last year, they shot 7.1% at evens which was third-worst in the league. They almost have to get twice as lucky (don’t we all?) just to be average at this point. So some of this is dependent on market correction. But not all the numbers are so kind if you’re looking for salvation from math (you should know that from high school, dummy). The Hawks are 13th in the league in Corsi-percentage after you adjust for score, which is way below where you’re used to seeing them. They’re behind such luminaries as Buffalo and Toronto. They’re only averaging 27 shots per 60 minutes at even-strength, which is in the bottom half of the league. They’re not hurling a bunch of rubber at goalies on the reg. So while you can expect a slight uptick in their scor- ing simply due to the laws of nature, there isn’t much to suggest it’s going to be an avalanche unless they swing wildly to the other side of Lady Luck (insert your puerile joke here). Their shot-suppression has been better than it was since the middle of last year, but it’s still not in Kings or Blues territory and is probably not going to be until Keith returns. And even then, given that the blue line is under the “Thinner” curse (there’s a reference for you), it’s probably not going to get that low. At this point, the defense is what it is. Past Seabrook and Hjalmarsson, none of the flotsam and jetsam is Caption continued on page 14 - page 2 - FROM THE EDITOR VOL. VIII, Issue #7 I don’t think it’s happened in a Hawks’ game you’re calling for a review you’ve already been scored yet this season, but along with 3-on-3 overtime the on, or possibly have, and that could be compounded other big change for this season was the installation by immediately being shorthanded? That seems The Committed Indian of a “Coach’s Challenge,” where coaches can have harsh. Established Oct. 31st, 2008 refs check to see if a goal should have counted or I like the idea that offsides can be looked at, but www.TheCommittedIndian.com whether interference with the goalie or offsides or a that only works one way, doesn’t it? Rushes that aren’t couple other things took place. And you might not be offside but are whistled down for it can’t be reviewed, www.twitter.com/RealFansProgram surprised to find out I’m not much more enamored and we’ll never know how they would have gone. Refs with this than I am with the new overtime format. Yes, are almost better off letting any close call go onside, Publisher & Editor-In-Chief I’m progressing toward “Get off my lawn.” and then having it reviewed later. This is the problem Sam “Muscle Hamster” Fels First, I’m not a fan of a “challenge” system in in football with turnovers being automatically reviewed any sport. I think it’s stupid. A coach or manager has but those that aren’t originally called turnovers but Columnists enough to worry about without “calling his own lines.” are and thus cost a team a challenge. If everything Chris Block And it takes too long. We have to wait for a coach to just came from a replay official, we wouldn’t have this pause the action, so his people who are watching the problem. They would just call down on any question- The Fifth Feather TV feed can get a look, and then phone down to him able call. or however they do it. I know football loves its reviews because it allows TheCommittedIndian.com A much more streamlined system is to just them to run more ads, and don’t let anyone tell you Matt McClure have an additional member of the referee crew in a different. But hockey doesn’t have any interest like Matthew Killion pressbox or suite with a couple that to not do it right. TVs watching along with the action. Some will argue that this is a We have radio/cellular technology, slippery slope to having all penal- Contributors if you can believe it, and he can ties reviewed as well. I could see Jeff Bartl be in constant touch with the refs that, and that could take forever. on the ice the entire time. If you And as we know, what one referee Jake Berlin watched any of the rugby world sees as a hook another doesn’t, Andrew Cieslak cup (and I know you did), this is which is certainly annoying for fans. Forklift how they do it. There’s a specific But high-sticking calls, penalty Adam Hacker “video ref” and he simply radios shots, hits from behind or to the Ali Lawrence the on-field ref when he wants to head, these could certainly be Ashley Mandel take a longer look at something. reviewed. Those kinds of calls There’s no screens, no going over can change games, and the NHL Sam Fels Consigliere to a special place for headphones, should want to get those right as 326 Bureau Chief they’re constantly connected. How much as they can. hard is this? But then again, the NHL doing anything logical is a The difference between football and hockey is that horse I stopped betting on long ago. Ombudsman In Perpetuum in hockey coaches only get one timeout. That’s a lot to Adam Fels risk on a call, and I wonder if we’ll ever see Quenn- -A word on the closing of Grantland.com here. eville sacrifice one of his favorite toys. The other side While Down Goes Brown was their only hockey Layout effect is that coaches are calling for a review when contributor, with occasionally friend of the program Ka- John Schultz they want to slow things down after a goal against tie Baker chiming in, it’s truly sad that any site where when they would have called a timeout anyway. And writers were allowed to try and find shades of gray is Cartoonist they get twice the break that way. That’s not in the going away. ESPN is the biggest culprit in reducing Jim Siergey spirit of the new rule. sports conversations to one side vs. the other side, Sure, with only one timeout that makes it quite the and things rarely work like that. But it makes it easier decision for coaches and I guess that makes it more to shout stuff and rank stuff that way. Grantland’s Rights & Permissions strategic. But in the end, timeouts in hockey aren’t staff at least tried to find nuance and detail, as well as All material printed herein is really as important as they are in football, so is it really display an immense amount of talent. I know I took a copyrighted and protected. Do worth that much of a risk? lot of cues from that site on how to try and do things not reprint without expressed, Down Goes Brown, formerly of Grantland and now here. There are less and less outlets for basic intel- written permission from a vagabond like the rest of us, suggests a challenge ligence and analysis these days, and I’m disappointed Committed Indian Publishing. should be the same as a stick curve measurement, it’s going to keep going that way. where if you call for one and are wrong it’s a delay of game penalty.