It's not been officially announced yet, but when they get the chance the Canadiens will announce they are giving to the Molson Cup for November to guess who? Who else?
The fan vote actually kept it close this time with 14 star points for Price over Gionta and Cole (with 13 and 12 respectively). If it were up to the media, Price won this outright with 23 star points on 7 selections, his next nearest media darlings Cole and Pacioretty with 8 each. Gionta? The media star selectors didn't like his month much.
We've been over how this is geared to goalies, especially those that play 60 minutes of all but 3 games in a month. It's almost a win he's in mentality for the star selectors, fans or not.
As you know from recent posts, goalies can take no such thing for granted with us. We prefer to see what all systems cough up for candidates and decide from a short list.
So, there you have it: Lion of the Month.
Cole
From zero to hero, literally for Erik Cole this year. An absolute non-factor in training camp and the first several games of the season. Given how much of a factor he is game in, game out now it seems absurd to even think about that.
The flag goes up for Erik because over 14 November games, he managed to stand out enough to get 10 nods for the dome and 4 player of the game pucks. As forward performances go, this is outstanding. It shows he both stood out in wins and was providing good performances in losses.
Stats-wise, it's easy to dismiss his 5 goals and 5 assists off-hand. After all it's on a pace for 30 goals and 60 points (not exactly rampant for a good month). But a deeper look reveals little intricacies. 4 of his goals were first goals (so critical to Canadiens success) and another was a gamewinner.
He also drove play and good play for much of the month. He was on the ice for a team high 101 scoring chances, 71 of which were on net (not misses). He seemed the main engine of that in fact, with an impressive 32 scoring chances of his own over the month. This is made more impressive by the fact that his line was doing so much attacking they had relatively little defending to do, 56 scoring chances against, 41 on target. Shows that he worked for his excellent GF/60 (3.58) and GA/60 (1.79) ratings.
Not that it's the right time to highlight the PP (Anaheim looms large), but you should only have nightmares imagining where it would be without Cole. On for 4 PP goals, 2 of which were his own, he topped all in effectiveness by time but Kostitsyn who didn't really play this month anyway.
Price
It was very much a rebound month for Price. Coming from a 0.900 he could have followed his teammates into further mediocrity. He didn't.
Instead, he posted a great month where he was twice the NHL player of the week, grabbed 2 shutouts and gained loads of ground on the rest of the NHL goalies in the leaderboards. Overall for the month he was a cool 0.929 with a 1.97 GAA. As is often the case with the Habs, the goalie did not sync with the team, so the win-loss of 5-4-2 doesn't look great, but that shouldn't reflect on him.
Price also made an impression in the dome/puck standings. 10 domes from 11 starts (with the missed dome very much in dispute), he couldn't seem to have done much more. He also picked up 2 game pucks along the way making him the clear second by some margin in those standings.
Perhaps more outstanding than any other stat for Carey though is his 0.980 save percentage while shorthanded. Facing 49 PP shots, he turned a full 48 away. It's no cliche that that the goalie is the best penalty killer when you see numbers like that.
Lion of November: Carey Price
I'd say it's closer than the media had it, but in an up and down month a few star selections can really skew a picture that way. Even so, I have to say that both media and fans got it right in November. I am going to override the dome/puck scores this time and say Carey Price was the player of the month.
If you look back at November, the notable achievements were two shutout wins and incredible penalty killing efficiency. Carey Price had a huge hand in both. What's more, one could argue that without this kind of month from him, the team would have slipped into a position with no escape route. As it is they're in the thick of things due to the play of their goalie and a few others.
Showing posts with label 3 stars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3 stars. Show all posts
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Lion of October
The Real Player of the Month
It's not Carey Price's fault that the Molson Cup system is flawed, but it is. One has to retain the Molson Cup as a goalie, rather than win it, because the points work that way.
A forward has to win the accolade, and a defenceman would have to raise heaven and earth to get the nod.
The last 12 years in Montreal saw ten goalies get the annual prize, only interrupted by Koivu in 05-06 and Kovalev in 07-08. The last defenceman to win in Montreal: Larry Robinson, 1981.
This isn't unique to the Habs. Such luminaries as Martin Gerber, Ottawa, Vesa Toskala, Toronto and Alex Auld, Vancouver have won the Molson Cup; they're in the net for 60 minutes and are making 90% of saves in most wins, they are top of mind for star selectors.
I don't have a mission to change the Molson Cup. The fans seem to like it (all 200 that vote each game). Rather, I think it only fair that when a player misses out for the recognition he probably deserved over a given month, that he be recognized somewhere.
So, there you have it: Lion of the Month.
With all due respect to Carey Price, who did earn his three star selections, a 4-4-2 record with a 0.900 save percentage and a 2.59 GAA doesn't flatter the team. It leads me to think that perhaps someone was better.
The other candidates: Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec
Pacioretty
Pacioretty jumps out as a choice because we've taken note of his play on this site. 3 times he was named player of the game by us (without significant disagreement) and 5 times he made the dome. A case could have been made for more domes, which is not necessarily the case for Carey Price (who had 7).
His success was recorded in more than our own observations. Max led the team in almost every offensive category in October. He is tied for first in goals (4) and points (9) with Pleks for a start. He's second on the team in total goals created since the start and is first if you pro-rate by minutes played. he's also by far and away the leader at creating goals at even strength.
And for all those who believe that shots drive the whole game, it's worth noting that max is leading the team with shots on net and scoring chances, and is second in overall attempts on net.
In short, he's been "the" offensive catalyst for the team most nights.
Plekanec
Plekanec has quietly crept up the rankings in most of the statistics as well. He currently sits tied for the lead in points and goals as mentioned and leads the team in goals created. Though he was slow off the mark (or a bit unlucky) to start, he now leads the team in goals created on the PP and is showing he might get used to controlling the point of the PP given enough chance to settle in.
Of course we know that in addition to leading the PP, he also takes tough checking assignments and plays a lot of PK. This might not be a plus for him at this point, however.
Pleks has scored more important goals than anyone also. 2 gamewinners of 4 and last game's empty netter saved some blushes that looked to be around the corner.
Price
My low down on Price is that he has had 3 excellent games, 1 very good game, 3 average games and 3 below average ones. This averages out to above average in games, and that's why he led in star points, of course.
However, 10 starts in 11 games gave him much more ice time to get these nods than anyone else, and if this use level continues, pretty much regardless of results, he'll win the Molson Cup.
Because I keep some deeper stats, I know that Price has allowed a goal by the time the other team has had a mere 3.7 scoring chances on average. Knowing how the team in front of him has trouble coming back (not recently), allowing a goal on the first or second scoring chance on net on 6 of 10 occasions counts as a minus for me.
Lion of October: Max Pacioretty
A close race, but on balance, I'd have to rate Pacioretty as the player of October. This is entirely on the merit of his play on the ice and his production of offense for the team. It's entirely reasonable that people want to focus on the recent wins, but Pacioretty as the strongest player in all the losses represented October's positives better than anyone else.
Remarkable to think then that he is also coming back from a broken neck and concussion. Remarkable also that he carried his streaky form from January and February of last season, when such an injury could have easily seen him revert to Max 1.0.
A forward has to win the accolade, and a defenceman would have to raise heaven and earth to get the nod.
The last 12 years in Montreal saw ten goalies get the annual prize, only interrupted by Koivu in 05-06 and Kovalev in 07-08. The last defenceman to win in Montreal: Larry Robinson, 1981.
This isn't unique to the Habs. Such luminaries as Martin Gerber, Ottawa, Vesa Toskala, Toronto and Alex Auld, Vancouver have won the Molson Cup; they're in the net for 60 minutes and are making 90% of saves in most wins, they are top of mind for star selectors.
I don't have a mission to change the Molson Cup. The fans seem to like it (all 200 that vote each game). Rather, I think it only fair that when a player misses out for the recognition he probably deserved over a given month, that he be recognized somewhere.
So, there you have it: Lion of the Month.
With all due respect to Carey Price, who did earn his three star selections, a 4-4-2 record with a 0.900 save percentage and a 2.59 GAA doesn't flatter the team. It leads me to think that perhaps someone was better.
The other candidates: Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec
Pacioretty
Pacioretty jumps out as a choice because we've taken note of his play on this site. 3 times he was named player of the game by us (without significant disagreement) and 5 times he made the dome. A case could have been made for more domes, which is not necessarily the case for Carey Price (who had 7).
His success was recorded in more than our own observations. Max led the team in almost every offensive category in October. He is tied for first in goals (4) and points (9) with Pleks for a start. He's second on the team in total goals created since the start and is first if you pro-rate by minutes played. he's also by far and away the leader at creating goals at even strength.
And for all those who believe that shots drive the whole game, it's worth noting that max is leading the team with shots on net and scoring chances, and is second in overall attempts on net.
In short, he's been "the" offensive catalyst for the team most nights.
Plekanec
Plekanec has quietly crept up the rankings in most of the statistics as well. He currently sits tied for the lead in points and goals as mentioned and leads the team in goals created. Though he was slow off the mark (or a bit unlucky) to start, he now leads the team in goals created on the PP and is showing he might get used to controlling the point of the PP given enough chance to settle in.
Of course we know that in addition to leading the PP, he also takes tough checking assignments and plays a lot of PK. This might not be a plus for him at this point, however.
Pleks has scored more important goals than anyone also. 2 gamewinners of 4 and last game's empty netter saved some blushes that looked to be around the corner.
Price
My low down on Price is that he has had 3 excellent games, 1 very good game, 3 average games and 3 below average ones. This averages out to above average in games, and that's why he led in star points, of course.
However, 10 starts in 11 games gave him much more ice time to get these nods than anyone else, and if this use level continues, pretty much regardless of results, he'll win the Molson Cup.
Because I keep some deeper stats, I know that Price has allowed a goal by the time the other team has had a mere 3.7 scoring chances on average. Knowing how the team in front of him has trouble coming back (not recently), allowing a goal on the first or second scoring chance on net on 6 of 10 occasions counts as a minus for me.
Lion of October: Max Pacioretty
A close race, but on balance, I'd have to rate Pacioretty as the player of October. This is entirely on the merit of his play on the ice and his production of offense for the team. It's entirely reasonable that people want to focus on the recent wins, but Pacioretty as the strongest player in all the losses represented October's positives better than anyone else.
Remarkable to think then that he is also coming back from a broken neck and concussion. Remarkable also that he carried his streaky form from January and February of last season, when such an injury could have easily seen him revert to Max 1.0.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Three Star Search
Ooh they're seething in the press gallery these days. The Montreal Canadiens have teamed with Bell to usurp one of the cherished duties of the Montreal media. The three stars are to be chosen from now by the fans.
Mike Boone says he prefers the old system. Dave Stubbs isn’t quite so straight-ahead, but adds more than a tinge of lament to his article on tradition lost today.
At least Stubbs was civil. Mike Boone, as he often does, repeatedly refers to Canadiens fans as a group encompassing a significant number of “goobers” and “knuckle draggers”. At least he didn’t try to hide his elitism.
I am not altogether opposed to Boone’s position. And, I admit to being elitist enough myself to think that a fan vote in answer to the very inadequate question: “Who do you think will win the three star poll?” will undoubtedly turn up some strange vote leaders.
And the votes are bound to be very strange indeed because the question being asked isn’t the only absurdity. The system is flawed at this stage. The three stars are decided by total votes. Fans are only voting for a single player, so a unanimous choice is bound to be accompanied by some interesting third stars. Unaware, Bell seems, of the advances in online technology that allow for multiple selections.
Then there’s the game-winning goalscorer clause. The Canadiens “reserves the right to award the first star of the game to a player scoring the game-winning goal with less than minute to play in regulation time, in overtime or in a shootout.” A shootout goal? Great. Nothing like automatic selections to stir the pot a bit.
So Boone may well have a point.
But really what’s been lost?
Stubbs notes how this tradition has evolved and tells at length the road it has taken pass from media to fans. Boone again is less the diplomat. He suggests the choice has been stripped from expert hands (given to people who don't know o=hockey as well as he and his brethren). The media he says provide:
Understanding of hockey (people who do, media, people who don’t, fans)
Guaranteed expertise
Guaranteed objectivity
I’ll pause to let you recover your breath.
I think the explosion in blogging and everything else in the Habs new media world might have helped the lesson on media limits to be learned. And, if the fan vote makes the three star voting an irrelevant appendix to the game. I would suggest this continues an established tradition, rather than establishing a new one.
Let’s take last season as a mere glimpse into the guaranteed hockey expertise and objectivity employed by the former three star selectors.
The Molson Cup standing are based on home games only, keep that in mind. Keep in mind also, these results, strange as they may be, all came from media selection, no fan input.
First over the season was Jaroslav Halak, who played in 22 different home games. His statistics at home included 14-6-2, 2.32 GAA and 0.917 Save %. Not shabby. For this he garnered no less than 15 star selections, missing out seven times only.
Carey Price is even more informative. He placed second in Molson Cup standing (we know). He starred in 20 games for the Habs last season in Montreal pulling an unlikely 14 star selections from the hat to go with 6 games in which he missed. His stats were 6-10-3, 2.76 GAA and a 0.904 Save%.
We had Brian Gionta down for 12 game pucks in the regular season to go with 42 domes in 61 games played. He was not in our opinion the 4th best player on the team last season behind both goalies, no less. But then maybe that’s our elitism talking.
It strikes me that maybe their guaranteed objectivity comes only after making sure they select a goalie first. Oh, and they they abide by the OT scorer rule too. Heaven forbid hockey knowledge ever acknowledges a defensive player.
Carey Price will win anyway
Besides, what’s all the fuss about anyway?
Between the ineptly worded question, the formula, the expertise and the objectivity, I think we all know the goalie fetish in Montreal will win all. Last season’s back and forth in the three stars battle of I’m right/you’re wrong choices isn’t evaporated yet. And voters have already proven that a whiff of 0.910 is enough to bring in the votes.
He nearly won last year. With starts and the inevitable increase in wins, he’s bound to pull in votes. The fans have picked the goalie. The press have picked the goalie. Both or either will continue to do so. So let's not pretend this change matters more than it does. If you still long for definitive picks based on individual preferences and whims, then you'll always have our Domes and Game Pucks to satiate your appetite.
As for the press, they actually gain. Now in addition to locker room drivel they will have fan delusion to discuss after games. It’s actually set to be a boon to show their objectivity and expertise. Maybe they’ll see that when they’ve simmered down a bit.
Mike Boone says he prefers the old system. Dave Stubbs isn’t quite so straight-ahead, but adds more than a tinge of lament to his article on tradition lost today.
At least Stubbs was civil. Mike Boone, as he often does, repeatedly refers to Canadiens fans as a group encompassing a significant number of “goobers” and “knuckle draggers”. At least he didn’t try to hide his elitism.
I am not altogether opposed to Boone’s position. And, I admit to being elitist enough myself to think that a fan vote in answer to the very inadequate question: “Who do you think will win the three star poll?” will undoubtedly turn up some strange vote leaders.
And the votes are bound to be very strange indeed because the question being asked isn’t the only absurdity. The system is flawed at this stage. The three stars are decided by total votes. Fans are only voting for a single player, so a unanimous choice is bound to be accompanied by some interesting third stars. Unaware, Bell seems, of the advances in online technology that allow for multiple selections.
Then there’s the game-winning goalscorer clause. The Canadiens “reserves the right to award the first star of the game to a player scoring the game-winning goal with less than minute to play in regulation time, in overtime or in a shootout.” A shootout goal? Great. Nothing like automatic selections to stir the pot a bit.
So Boone may well have a point.
But really what’s been lost?
Stubbs notes how this tradition has evolved and tells at length the road it has taken pass from media to fans. Boone again is less the diplomat. He suggests the choice has been stripped from expert hands (given to people who don't know o=hockey as well as he and his brethren). The media he says provide:
Understanding of hockey (people who do, media, people who don’t, fans)
Guaranteed expertise
Guaranteed objectivity
I’ll pause to let you recover your breath.
I think the explosion in blogging and everything else in the Habs new media world might have helped the lesson on media limits to be learned. And, if the fan vote makes the three star voting an irrelevant appendix to the game. I would suggest this continues an established tradition, rather than establishing a new one.
Let’s take last season as a mere glimpse into the guaranteed hockey expertise and objectivity employed by the former three star selectors.
The Molson Cup standing are based on home games only, keep that in mind. Keep in mind also, these results, strange as they may be, all came from media selection, no fan input.
First over the season was Jaroslav Halak, who played in 22 different home games. His statistics at home included 14-6-2, 2.32 GAA and 0.917 Save %. Not shabby. For this he garnered no less than 15 star selections, missing out seven times only.
Carey Price is even more informative. He placed second in Molson Cup standing (we know). He starred in 20 games for the Habs last season in Montreal pulling an unlikely 14 star selections from the hat to go with 6 games in which he missed. His stats were 6-10-3, 2.76 GAA and a 0.904 Save%.
We had Brian Gionta down for 12 game pucks in the regular season to go with 42 domes in 61 games played. He was not in our opinion the 4th best player on the team last season behind both goalies, no less. But then maybe that’s our elitism talking.
It strikes me that maybe their guaranteed objectivity comes only after making sure they select a goalie first. Oh, and they they abide by the OT scorer rule too. Heaven forbid hockey knowledge ever acknowledges a defensive player.
Carey Price will win anyway
Besides, what’s all the fuss about anyway?
Between the ineptly worded question, the formula, the expertise and the objectivity, I think we all know the goalie fetish in Montreal will win all. Last season’s back and forth in the three stars battle of I’m right/you’re wrong choices isn’t evaporated yet. And voters have already proven that a whiff of 0.910 is enough to bring in the votes.
He nearly won last year. With starts and the inevitable increase in wins, he’s bound to pull in votes. The fans have picked the goalie. The press have picked the goalie. Both or either will continue to do so. So let's not pretend this change matters more than it does. If you still long for definitive picks based on individual preferences and whims, then you'll always have our Domes and Game Pucks to satiate your appetite.
As for the press, they actually gain. Now in addition to locker room drivel they will have fan delusion to discuss after games. It’s actually set to be a boon to show their objectivity and expertise. Maybe they’ll see that when they’ve simmered down a bit.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
This Should Be Fun
Ever wonder how certain players won the Molson Cup in a given month?
Get set for a lot more questioning. Apparently someone thought it was a good idea to apply the booing democracy's choices to the Molson Cup.
Hey, at least Dome vs. Fan 3 Stars should prove interesting...
Get set for a lot more questioning. Apparently someone thought it was a good idea to apply the booing democracy's choices to the Molson Cup.
Hey, at least Dome vs. Fan 3 Stars should prove interesting...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)