overpass
Registered User
- Jun 7, 2007
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People here might be interested to know that an Oiler blogger, Pat McLean of Black Dog Hates Skunks, is watching the DVD of the 1972 Summit Series and counting scoring chances for both teams. He's also recording which Canadian players were on the ice for each scoring chance, so at the end of the game you can see for how many scoring chances for and against each player was on the ice.
He's also recording shots on net, shots directed at net, and keeping track of each player's Corsi number (shot differential directed at net while on the ice), and faceoff locations.
It's not complete, but the first two entries are here: Game 1 and Game 2.
He also posted a ton of observations on each game, so there's a lot more than just the stats. When tracking stats in detail like this you tend to pick up on a lot of things, and he has a lot of interesting observations on the players and how the coaches used them.
A few quotes from there to kick off some discussion here:
Game 1:
and game 2:
He's also recording shots on net, shots directed at net, and keeping track of each player's Corsi number (shot differential directed at net while on the ice), and faceoff locations.
It's not complete, but the first two entries are here: Game 1 and Game 2.
He also posted a ton of observations on each game, so there's a lot more than just the stats. When tracking stats in detail like this you tend to pick up on a lot of things, and he has a lot of interesting observations on the players and how the coaches used them.
A few quotes from there to kick off some discussion here:
Game 1:
Overall Canada did outchance the Russians at EV and on special teams, though not by a huge margin but a combination of puck luck (at one point Hewitt makes a point of noting that Frank Mahovlich would have scored on a few chances but was showing rust) and poor goaltending by Dryden makes the difference. The goaltending battle was interesting. Tretiak's positioning was excellent and the reality is that he makes very few fivebell saves. The puck just hits him. He looks the modern goaltender. All angles covered and no holes. Dryden on the other hand scrambles everywhere. On a few of the goals he has little chance but then again he never stops anything. Russians score seven goals on twenty two chances. And we're not talking tap ins. They shoot it, Dryden is moving and it goes through him.
The Esposito line got dinged at the end of the game but overall they are absolutely dominant. They are pressing and then they get scored on and then they remain on the ice (this happens all of the time, a line gets scored on and Sinden leaves them on) and they get weary and the Russians bring it down the ice and score again. And then they are on for the last shift when Lapointe goes a little bananas (there's actually a throat slash gesture, perhaps the first) and they have five events against. Even with those two shifts they are positive for scoring chances by a big margin and also in Corsi (except Esposito who is a minus three). Throw out those two shifts (-5 SC, -9 Corsi) and they post the following:
Mahovlich SC +13 -1 Corsi +23 -10, Esposito SC +12 -2, Corsi +20 -14, Cournoyer SC +9 -1, Corsi +19 -7
Pretty damn impressive. They carry the play all night and Mahovlich is Canada's best player by far.
and game 2:
In any case it is obvious that Canada has learned from game one. There is the odd longer shift but for the most part they are short. When the Mikita line hits the ice at the four minute mark it is the sixth Canadian forward shift of the game, its absolutely modern. At the same time in game one I would guess the second line was working on their first shift still.
There is linematching going on. Sinden tries to get Clarke out against the Russian star Kharlamov and the Russians are also trying to work their own matchups out. And, by my eye, there is some early juggling by Sinden when it comes to faceoffs. He favours the Clarke line for defensive zone draws and the Mikita line is sheltered early in the game as are White and Stapleton.
The real revelation though is the Savard/Lapointe pairing. When they are on the ice the Russians do not threaten. Their Corsi numbers are fabulous and they come out on top in scoring chances as well. Lapointe, the spare in game one, plays the PP and when the game is on the line it is he and White who get sent out to kill the penalty.
And Savard? Think Duncan Keith if you're looking for a style of play. Effortless, he skates miles and miles, relieving the Russians of the puck time and time again, spinning away from them easily, moving it up ice. Watching him and Lapointe and knowing that Larry Robinson will join them on the blue in Montreal you realize how their club was so dominant for years.
Finally we come to the Clarke line. In game one their Corsi numbers were not great but they were pretty solid. They gave up few chances and invariably got the puck moving in the right direction. Tonight they are killer. No reward on the scoresheet but without them its probably a different game. In the first two periods they get the bulk of the Dzone assignments (there are few of course) and they invariably finish in the Russian end. Their scoring chance numbers lead the team, both by raw numbers and differential, and their Corsi numbers are over the top. They are dominant. A fantastic game by all three. And this mostly against Kharlamov who is not a factor and ends up sitting for nearly the entire first half of the third, when the game is decided, as he garners a misconduct after freaking out after Clarke abuses him rather vigorously at the end of the second.
