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"Shoot the Puck!" Or...Don't? An NHL Analysis

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As a young hockey player growing up, I was always instructed to “shoot the puck!” So, I did. But I didn’t always score. Was there a chance I’d score? Sure, there was. But one thing I always noticed but, apparently, coaches never did was it wasn’t always about how much you shot, but when you shot. Or how . Or where . Case in point: Sunday’s Detroit Red Wings vs. Los Angeles Kings game. The LA Kings fired 47 shots at Red Wings netminder Jimmy Howard. He stopped 45 of them. The Red Wings, on the other hand, only shot the puck 31 times. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick stopped 28 of them. That’s a Kings loss. So, how much does a large number of shots really matter? Now, some people might say that a little luck was involved with the win – posts were hit, the Wings’ winning goal barely snuck over the line, etc. But the bottom line is this: the team that shoots the most doesn’t always win. In fact, when you look at the numbers, there’s a really no correlation between the number of
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Red Wings Three-Week Check-Up

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Well, kids, here we are.  Three weeks (that's it!?!) into the 2012- 2013 NHL season.  There have already been a number of highlight moments.  5 point nights from Thomas Vanek.  An incredible, acrobatic save-of-the-year-candidate save from Kari Lehtonen.  The return of a healthy Sidney Crosby, and the Houdini act, and not in a good way, of Alex Ovechkin. Through the first three weeks, the NHL's Central Division has proven that it will be a dogfight until the very end.  There are a lot - and I mean A LOT - of good teams in the Western Conference.  At this point, it seems very unlikely that 4 teams from the Central will make the playoffs.  Given that there are 5 teams in the division, and given that Columbus is a perennial dumpster fire, that means that one of Chicago, Detroit, Nashville, and St. Louis may finish the year on the outside looking in. The Red Wings have taken the "hard road" to third in the division.  Now, that may seem like an outlandish statement, giv
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Welcome Back!

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Welcome back! It's been a while. The last time we met, we hadn't yet elected a President. We hadn't yet seen the (sad) departure of Nick Lidstrom, otherwise known as The Perfect Human. We hadn't yet turned the page over to 2013. You thought I was talking about the National Hockey League, didn't you? NO! Of course not. I'm talking about you. My loyal, scarce reader.  Now, for a bit of an update. I'm at a new stage in my life. I'm living in San Diego, CA attending San Diego State University studying towards a Sports Management MBA. It's exciting, that's for sure. It's warm, it's sunny, and it's not cold and snowing. Major plus. School is going to take up a lot of my time, but I'm finally back able to write about my first love - the Detroit Red Wings. So, I'll be updating this as much as I can - at least once a week, mainly on Fridays (day off of school! woooo). I'll also throw some tidbits here and there
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Opening Night

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Firsts. They all mean something special. First steps. First words. First kisses. First cars. To every individual, the meaning of firsts is different. For the players in the NHL, the first game could mean anything. The first game overseas. First game back in a homeland in so many years. First shot to make an impression in the NHL. Tonight, the Detroit Red Wings will embark on their 2011-2012 journey. It will be the first of 82 games. There are quite a few firsts for this team, despite its very veteran status. The first game behind the Hockeytown benches for both Jeff Blashill and Bill Peters. First game in red and white for new Wings Fabian Brunnstrom and Ian White. The first game of the (possibly) last season for one of the best defensemen of all-time. First year no members of the Grind Line will suit up. First year without the Wizard of Os(good). As stupid as it is, the first game with numbers on the front of the helmets. The first game after a disappointing end to l
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EuroTrip Adventure Recap - Picture Post

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Ok, so apparently I didn't take any pictures in Cologne, Brussels, Munich, or the Alpine Center. But here's what I've got from the various cities: Paris Versailles Amsterdam/Edam/Volderdam Heidelberg For reference, that's a person at the bottom (sorry it's a bit blurry) Lucerne
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EuroTrip Adventure Recap - Continued

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Day 12 - Lucerne After waiting for Mad Mike for about 15 minutes because he overslept, we headed to Heidelberg Castle. Inside, there is the largest wine barrel in the world. It took a couple flights of stairs to get on top of it. Very cool. We then headed to the Black Forest and the Rheinfalls. On the way, though, we hit a traffic jam. We ended up sitting at a dead stop for over 2 hours. We later found out a truck had gotten in a major accident. So we ended up missing both the Rheinfalls and the Black Forest. After arriving in Lucerne, Shannon and I got dinner at a riverside pub. Lucerne was simply beautiful. Everywhere you looked was like a postcard. We ended the night with the Roadhouse bar, around the corner from the hotel. Kathi made a rare late-night appearance, which made it even better. Day 13 - Mt. Pilatus and Swiss Dinner We finally got to sleep in for a change. After waking, we went into town and Shannon bought a Swiss Army Knife. We met the rest of
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EuroTrip Adventure Recap - Continued

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OK, so from here on out, I'm going to just do written descriptions, and then will make one entire post dedicated to pictures. Sorry for the shift in philosophy. Day 7- Paris City Tour After waking up early, we bussed into Paris and went to a perfume museum. In addition to smelling of a smorgasbord of different perfumes, it wasn't really that cool, but we did see a random female tennis player shooting a commercial or something for her new scent. We bussed around the city with a guide, first stopping briefly at the Eiffel Tower for pictures. We continued on and saw a lot of the major sights. We ended at Notre Dame and had plenty of time to roam around. After lunch at a roadside café, we visited a small, cool bookstore that sold mainly books in English. We then walked back to Notre Dame and toured the inside, even stopping to sign the guest book. After Notre Dame was the Louvre. We didn't go inside but took pictures outside and explored the gardens. At the end
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