Plus/Minus at the Break

[Dennis Bonvie]

Top 5:

Kevan Miller +6

Marchand +5

Bergeron +5

Pasta +4

McAvoy +4

Bottom 5:

Donato -9

Acciari -6

Kampfer -6

Wagner, Backes, Debrusk, Krug -4

Not the usual huge difference from Top to Bottom, probably because PP is very good, PK not very good.

Halak Bruins MVP at this point.

High praise for Cassidy and his coaching staff for having the team where it is.

Click to read more...

 

[s3antana5757]

Top 5:

Kevan Miller +6

Marchand +5

Bergeron +5

Pasta +4

McAvoy +4

Bottom 5:

Donato -9

Acciari -6

Kampfer -6

Wagner, Backes, Debrusk, Krug -4

Not the usual huge difference from Top to Bottom, probably because PP is very good, PK not very good.

Halak Bruins MVP at this point.

High praise for Cassidy and his coaching staff for having the team where it is.

No real surprises here. Top line and elite D are having good seasons.

Bottom 6 and particularly the 4th liners have not been good. Same story every year with Krug. Good on PP, bad at ES.

DeBrusk is a surprise.

 

[DominicT]

Not the usual huge difference from Top to Bottom, probably because PP is very good, PK not very good.

Except the PP and PK don't effect plus/minus.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Except the PP and PK don't effect plus/minus.

Well, technically they don't.

But if a team has a great power play but bad penalty kill, the plus minus numbers are bound to be much worse than if the opposite is true.

 

[bme44]

No real surprises here. Top line and elite D are having good seasons.

Bottom 6 and particularly the 4th liners have not been good. Same story every year with Krug. Good on PP, bad at ES.

DeBrusk is a surprise.

Kevan Miller is a long way from elite. In fact not sure he is in our top six D

 

[PB37]

Except the PP and PK don't effect plus/minus.

If Team A scores a shorthanded goal, Team B that was on the PP gets a minus. Team A also gets a plus in this scenario.

 

[Glove Malfunction]

Except the PP and PK don't effect plus/minus.

Only if you get scored on shorthanded. The worst kind of minus.

 

[DarrenBanks56]

Only if you get scored on shorthanded. The worst kind of minus.

you should get a -2 for that

 

[Glove Malfunction]

you should get a -2 for that

Oh Goodness. *I* knew what I was trying to say. Holy crow. meant when you allow a shorthanded goal. That's what I meant to say.

I go to box. Two Minutes. Feel shame.

 

[s3antana5757]

Kevan Miller is a long way from elite. In fact not sure he is in our top six D

I was referring to McAvoy. I didn't address Miller since he's missed quite a long time.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

If Team A scores a shorthanded goal, Team B that was on the PP gets a minus. Team A also gets a plus in this scenario.

This is true.

 

[Bruinswillwin77]

Far cry from like 5 years ago when our best players were like +30.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

Except the PP and PK don't effect plus/minus.

I think sh goals for and against count... so it could have a small impact

I think empty net goals against also count

The stat is imperfect and downright flawed so anyone wishing to attatch value to it needs to factor this in and use common sense to weight their judgement

Sometimes plus minus is a great stat to confirm to us what we already knew watching the game with our eyes

 

[Bumper]

oh, wow. "plus/minus is trash unless it confirms my biases?" gotcha. color me glad that staff at our favorite team has not seemed to feel the same way over the past decade or so.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

oh, wow. "plus/minus is trash unless it confirms my biases?" gotcha. color me glad that staff at our favorite team has not seemed to feel the same way over the past decade or so.

its a lot like the stat for game winning goals.

if you actually pay attention... there are a few very strong players who score a lot of big time goals. they will do it this year. they did it last year. they did it the year before. for a few players... game winning goals is a stat that has significance. there are some players worthy of being considered 'big moment players' who will see the moment and elevate their game

and then... theres always someone that managed to scored the 4th goal in a 7-3 win when the score was 4-0 and got credit for a game winning goal. and maybe dumb luck saw them do it a couple times in this season. and maybe they ended up near the top of the game winning goal list for this year... but they never were known for big goals before. they aren't special. dumb luck was what created their stat

so now you might have to offer a contract to this dumb luck player... do you pay him extra for leading the league in game winning goals last year???

you honestly have to watch the game with your eyes before some of these stats end up meaning a damn thing. even the most useless stat might mean something if you understand the context. but even the best stat in the world is pretty much straight up garbage if you ignore the context.

plus/minus happens to be one that has almost zero value unless you are using it to confirm what you already know. by itself it tells you almost next to nothing but as a research tool I have found it useful over the last 40 years ive been a fan of the game

 

[Tbrady12]

No real surprises here. Top line and elite D are having good seasons.

Bottom 6 and particularly the 4th liners have not been good. Same story every year with Krug. Good on PP, bad at ES.

DeBrusk is a surprise.

The 4th line gets D zone face-offs against the other teams top lines and almost never an O zone face off. Naturally they are going to be minus's. I think their numbers are pretty good.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

its a lot like the stat for game winning goals.

if you actually pay attention... there are a few very strong players who score a lot of big time goals. they will do it this year. they did it last year. they did it the year before. for a few players... game winning goals is a stat that has significance. there are some players worthy of being considered 'big moment players' who will see the moment and elevate their game

and then... theres always someone that managed to scored the 4th goal in a 7-3 win when the score was 4-0 and got credit for a game winning goal. and maybe dumb luck saw them do it a couple times in this season. and maybe they ended up near the top of the game winning goal list for this year... but they never were known for big goals before. they aren't special. dumb luck was what created their stat

so now you might have to offer a contract to this dumb luck player... do you pay him extra for leading the league in game winning goals last year???

you honestly have to watch the game with your eyes before some of these stats end up meaning a damn thing. even the most useless stat might mean something if you understand the context. but even the best stat in the world is pretty much straight up garbage if you ignore the context.

plus/minus happens to be one that has almost zero value unless you are using it to confirm what you already know. by itself it tells you almost next to nothing but as a research tool I have found it useful over the last 40 years ive been a fan of the game

Since you bring up the case of game winning goals; are goals and assists themselves any more valuable without content?

If a player has a clearly bad night but gets hit with a shot that bounces in off his butt late in the game, did he really have a productive game? Teuvo Teravainen had a 2 goal game for the Canes last game. McAvoy gloved one in, Rask handed him another.

Coaches have been using plus/minus going back to the Canadiens in the 1950's. Probably as a tool for player motivation as much as player evaluation.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

Since you bring up the case of game winning goals; are goals and assists themselves any more valuable without content?

If a player has a clearly bad night but gets hit with a shot that bounces in off his butt late in the game, did he really have a productive game? Teuvo Teravainen had a 2 goal game for the Canes last game. McAvoy gloved one in, Rask handed him another.

Coaches have been using plus/minus going back to the Canadiens in the 1950's. Probably as a tool for player motivation as much as player evaluation.

I think most stats gain relevance over time. a decision made of stats is weaker the smaller the data pool being studied

goals and assists by themselves don't impress me much. someone can tell me ken hodge jr scored 30 goals as a rookie. I cant be very impressed by that

but if jake debrusk gets 15 last year and 15 this year and 20 next year and 25 the year after that... I would be more impressed im sure. im sure that those 'stats' would have more meaning

ultimately id have to use the eye test on ken hodge and jake debrusk and let that be my main decider... but you can use the goals and assists to confirm it

theres no single stat I ever use to make a decision without giving it context first

 

[Blowfish]

Top 5:

Kevan Miller +6

Marchand +5

Bergeron +5

Pasta +4

McAvoy +4

Bottom 5:

Donato -9

Acciari -6

Kampfer -6

Wagner, Backes, Debrusk, Krug -4

Not the usual huge difference from Top to Bottom, probably because PP is very good, PK not very good.

Halak Bruins MVP at this point.

High praise for Cassidy and his coaching staff for having the team where it is.

Nice post.

Agree Cassidy / Halak are MVPs but I will add

Nordstrom, first line, and young D stepping up.

 

[Blowfish]

Except the PP and PK don't effect plus/minus.

And with that...Donato should be the dude returning to the AHL when Debrusk is back.