Miscellaneous NHL Discussion LX: Covid Cup II nears its finale

[DancingPanther]

Umpire performance matters more than you might think. You can have games with ~85% ball/strike accuracy at the low end.

Here's Joe West this year for example.

That one kid who threw the bat at Jose Abreu had a ludicrously low accuracy behind the plate a few weeks ago. I'll try to track it down.

In conclusion: umpires suck

 

[CanadianFlyer88]

The NFL doesn't surprise me at all because of the single game format, but MLB does surprise me a lot.

Baseball I get to a certain extent, as well, because pitching is such a premium in the playoffs. But, if a star pitcher has one or two bad games in a row in the playoffs, his team probably doesn't advance.

Playoff margins in the NHL, NFL, and MLB are extremely thin.

NBA is a bit different because the star players play 75%+ of any playoff game, something that doesn't happen in the NHL and NFL. In baseball, your star pitchers only pitch every 3-4 games.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

But outmatched. Tampa isles last year was underwhelming and it could again. They are better this year with more depth but I still see a similar outcome. Vegas will run over Habs…

I don’t think it will be underwhelming. Both barns are going to be pretty much full. Teams feed off the energy of their fans.

 

[DancingPanther]

That one kid who threw the bat at Jose Abreu had a ludicrously low accuracy behind the plate a few weeks ago. I'll try to track it down.

In conclusion: umpires suck

Tremendous. According to UmpScorecards, so far this year there are THIRTY umpires with a run impact of +1.5 or more. 12 of those 30 gave a run impact of +1.75, and 3 of those 12 are +2 or more. Tre. Mendous.

 

[StarterHart]

Tremendous. According to UmpScorecards, so far this year there are THIRTY umpires with a run impact of +1.5 or more. 12 of those 30 gave a run impact of +1.75, and 3 of those 12 are +2 or more. Tre. Mendous.

It's actually hilarious considering they're fighting tooth and nail to keep pitch calling part of their job against the growing momentum to automate it. They are literally scoring in their own goal this year.

 

[deadhead]

I have no idea why they don't automate pitch calling, with the technology they have, all it does is highlight the fallibility of human pitch calling.
At some point, you have to bite the bullet and do it - and it would improve the game - with a predictable strike zone players would be able to sharpen their skills, both pitch location and hitters knowing what to swing at.

 

[wankstifier]

Tremendous. According to UmpScorecards, so far this year there are THIRTY umpires with a run impact of +1.5 or more. 12 of those 30 gave a run impact of +1.75, and 3 of those 12 are +2 or more. Tre. Mendous.

Bacchus is an apt surname

 

[DancingPanther]

Tremendous. According to UmpScorecards, so far this year there are THIRTY umpires with a run impact of +1.5 or more. 12 of those 30 gave a run impact of +1.75, and 3 of those 12 are +2 or more. Tre. Mendous.

Not trying to derail the discussion at hand, just illustrating how much of an impact umpiring can have as I'm in agreement with @JojoTheWhale

4 of the top 10 active umpires with the most playoff experience have a +1.5 run impact this season if I counted right. For reference, there are 93 umps tracked, so the +1.5 threshold puts these guys in the lower 3rd

So almost half of the most used playoff umps have some of the largest game impact

 

[GKJ]

Why is the conference finals Game one a 3:00 start?

NBC has Olympic trials at night and they don’t show NHL on the big network on Sunday night anyways.

 

[flyersnorth]

Could you be referring to a study that answered a slightly different question, probably one about game-to-game results? It has the feel of one of those situations where nuance changes the answer significantly and everyone is actually correct.

In the Lopez example, he's only referring to playoff outcomes. This means that you're comparing Best-of-7 NHL series to single elimination NFL tournaments among other issues.

I think it was an excerpt / summary from this book -> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A07FR4...scsubtag=[]vx[p]15504673[t]w[r]google.com[d]D

Here's what his chart looks like -

The distinction between the regular season and playoffs is an important one and I'd actually like to see a head on comparison between the two 'modes' within the same sport, across all sports.

 

[flyersnorth]

Not trying to derail the discussion at hand, just illustrating how much of an impact umpiring can have as I'm in agreement with @JojoTheWhale

4 of the top 10 active umpires with the most playoff experience have a +1.5 run impact this season if I counted right. For reference, there are 93 umps tracked, so the +1.5 threshold puts these guys in the lower 3rd

So almost half of the most used playoff umps have some of the largest game impact

Do you know if this has ever been measured for hockey? It would quite difficult, I imagine, but that's the point - refereeing probably has a huge impact on hockey outcomes, even moreso when you add in inconsistent supplementary discipline like Wilson, Kadri, and Scheifele.

 

[Tripod]

Rask with a torn labrum...out till January.

Expect a Halak re-signing for 1 year?

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

Who needs more reasons to hate on Vegas?

 

[BritainStix]

Who needs more reasons to hate on Vegas?

Assholes

 

[FlyerNutter]

Who needs more reasons to hate on Vegas?

I agree with the very end, and the comment of “where is security”

Stupid shit happens, and while I don’t excuse the stupid behaviour - wearing opposing colours in a playoff game is a choice I just wouldn’t make.

They hopefully at least get their money back they spent on tickets, and a few of those home fans should be banned.

Less stuff happens if security does their job.

 

[DancingPanther]

Who needs more reasons to hate on Vegas?

Vuck fegas

 

[FLYguy3911]

That would never happen in Philly.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

Rask with a torn labrum...out till January.

Expect a Halak re-signing for 1 year?

I would love for the Flyers to bring in Halak. He would be the perfect guy to tandem with Hart.
Has Rask given any indication he wants to stay in Boston?

 

[C0DITH]

I would love for the Flyers to bring in Halak. He would be the perfect guy to tandem with Hart.
Has Rask given any indication he wants to stay in Boston?

I feel like Boston will snag one of the better Goalies available, run with them and Sway. I too would love to have Halak. If he's free, he would be my top goalie target.

 

[GKJ]

I feel like Boston will snag one of the better Goalies available, run with them and Sway. I too would love to have Halak. If he's free, he would be my top goalie target.

He's saying he's not leaving Boston, so doesn't seem to be in the cards.

 

[Hollywood Cannon]

Friggin Philly fans dressed as Golden Knights fans. Will they ever stop being scumbags?!

 

[kudymen]

Friggin Philly fans dressed as Golden Knights fans. Will they ever stop being scumbags?!

Suspend TK for 100 games

 

[JojoTheWhale]

I haven't been plugged in recently, but I wonder if Vegas winning a Cup would do anything to budge the idea that you need elite Centers to win.

Winning or losing a Finals shouldn't be the deciding factor, but that's often how it works.

 

[ajgoal]

I haven't been plugged in recently, but I wonder if Vegas winning a Cup would do anything to budge the idea that you need elite Centers to win.

Winning or losing a Finals shouldn't be the deciding factor, but that's often how it works.

What if Montreal wins?

 

[Beef Invictus]

What if Montreal wins?

Then maybe copycat teams will get way more serious about giving young players a shot.