twoface - yes, I remember that thread...
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BetCrimes1984
No. Points: 37506
Date Joined: 1/29/2004
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Posted: 4/22/2006 11:55:07 AM
I remember before the 03-04 playoffs got underway, someone posted an article by this old guy about his take on what regular season stats to pay attention to when trying to anticipate post season success stories, and highest on his list was how teams performed in 1-goal-margin games. I subsequently did a thread based on his assertions for that season, with Tampa & Calgary featuring highly in those tables, and what followed we all know. Unfortunately that thread of mine & the one that contained that guy's article is long gone, but I decided to do the leg work to see what this season's, and the last 3 season's, have thrown/threw up. Below are the results and my extrapolations from them...
First, the last 3 seasons results....
01-02
[COLOR=#ff000]Detroit[/COLOR] ........... 20-10 .....
[COLOR=#ff000]66.6%[/COLOR]
Chicago .......... 20-10 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]66.6%[/COLOR]
Los Angeles ..... 17-16 ..... 51.5%
[COLOR=#ff000]Colorado[/COLOR] ......... 16-8 ....... [COLOR=#ff000]66.6%[/COLOR]
S. Louis .......... 15-15 ..... 50.0%
Phoenix .......... 13-11 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]54.1%[/COLOR]
San Jose ........ 11-10 ..... 52.3%
Vancouver ...... 11-15 ..... 42.3%
Detroit beat Colorado in the Western Conference Finals.
New York ......... 20-17 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]54.0%[/COLOR]
Boston ............ 20-19 ..... 51.2%
New Jersey ...... 19-15 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]55.8%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Toronto[/COLOR] ........... 18-12 .....
[COLOR=#ff000]60.0%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Carolina[/COLOR] ......... 16-15 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]51.6%[/COLOR]
Philadelphia ...... 13-13 ..... 50.0%
Montreal .......... 12-12 ..... 50.0%
Ottawa ............ 12-15 ..... 44.4%
Carolina had to beat New Jersey and Toronto (the 2 top % winners) on the way to making the Stanley Cup Finals.
02-03
[COLOR=#ff000]Anaheim[/COLOR] ....... 24-15 ...... [COLOR=#ff000]61.5%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Minnesota[/COLOR] ...... 21-16 ...... 56.7%
Edmonton ...... 19-18 ...... 51.3%
Detroit .......... 18-9 ........
[COLOR=#ff000]66.6%[/COLOR]
S. Louis ......... 15-9 ........ [COLOR=#ff000]62.5%[/COLOR]
Vancouver ..... 15-10 ...... [COLOR=#ff000]60.0%[/COLOR]
Colorado ........ 14-15 ...... 48.2%
Dallas ............ 10-8 ....... 55.5%
Anaheim had to beat Detroit (the top % winner) and Minnesota (who beat Vancouver, who in turn beat S. Louis) on the way to making the Stanley Cup Finals.
[COLOR=#ff000]New Jersey[/COLOR] .... 24-15 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]61.5%[/COLOR]
Toronto .......... 22-14 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]61.1%[/COLOR]
Washington ..... 20-15 ..... 57.1%
Philadelphia ..... 18-9 .......
[COLOR=#ff000]66.6%[/COLOR]
Boston ........... 16-10 ...... [COLOR=#ff000]61.5%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Ottawa[/COLOR] .......... 16-12 ...... 57.1%
New York ........ 11-10 ..... 52.3%
Tampa Bay ...... 11-14 ..... 44.0%
New Jersey had to beat Boston and Ottawa (who beat Philadelphia, who in turn beat Toronto) on the way to making the Stanley Cup Finals.
03-04
S. Louis ........ 23-11 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]67.6%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Calgary[/COLOR] ....... 19-13 ..... 59.3%
[COLOR=#ff000]San Jose[/COLOR] ...... 19-13 ..... 59.3%
Vancouver .... 19-17 ..... 52.7%
Nashville ...... 18-11 ...... [COLOR=#ff000]62.0%[/COLOR]
Detroit ......... 17-8 .......
[COLOR=#ff000]68.0%[/COLOR]
Dallas .......... 15-9 ....... [COLOR=#ff000]62.5%[/COLOR]
Colorado ...... 14-15 ...... 48.2%
Calgary had to beat Detroit (the top % winner, who beat Nashville) and San Jose (who beat S.Louis) on the way to making the Stanley Cup Finals.
Montreal .......... 19-14 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]57.5%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Tampa Bay[/COLOR] ..... 18-14 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]56.2%[/COLOR]
New Jersey ...... 17-12 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]58.6%[/COLOR]
Toronto ........... 15-10 .....
[COLOR=#ff000]60.0%[/COLOR]
Boston ............ 14-32 ..... 30.4%
[COLOR=#ff000]Philadelphia[/COLOR] ...... 12-12 ..... 50.0%
Ottawa ............. 9-17 ...... 34.6%
New York .......... 8-16 ...... 33.3%
Tampa had to beat Montreal (the top 1 goal game winner) and Philadelphia (who beat Toronto and New Jersey) on the way to making the Stanley Cup Finals.
From the above tables, its clear that the eventual Stanley Cup Finalists were amongst the top 1 goal game winners and/or the highest % of 1 goal game winners - 3 first places and 2 seconds for total 1 goal games won, with Carolina providing the 1 exception (but in being so, still had to personally go through the 2 highest % winners who were also 3rd & 4th for overall wins, and as that exception was the 1 side who failed to win more than 1 game in the actual Finals).
As for the finals themselves, if whats then looked at is how the Finalists performed in 1 goal games against all other (eventual) playoff teams during the regular season, this is what is found....
01-02
[COLOR=#ff000]Detroit[/COLOR] .......... 10-5 .....
[COLOR=#ff000]66.6%[/COLOR]
Carolina .......... 7-13 ..... 35.0%
02-03
[COLOR=#ff000]New Jersey[/COLOR] ... 10-9 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]52.6%[/COLOR]
Anaheim ......... 7-11 ..... 38.8%
03-04
[COLOR=#ff000]Tampa Bay[/COLOR] .... 7-7 ....... [COLOR=#ff000]50.0%[/COLOR]
Calgary ........... 6-9 ....... 40.0%
In every instance, the Stanley Cup champions had a better regular season record in 1 goal games against eventual playoff qualifying teams than did the team they beat in the Finals, and that record topped at least 50%. The largest % differential here also led to the largest Finals margin (Detroit by 4-1) - the narrowest % differential here also led to the closest Finals series (thou the Devils/Ducks series also went to 7 games, the Devils were never behind in games in that series, whereas Tampa was, on 3 occasions).
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BetCrimes1984
No. Points: 37506
Date Joined: 1/29/2004
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Posted: 4/22/2006 11:55:38 AM
Now, taking into account all of the above, and applying it to this season's stats as provided by the curent crop of playoff teams, we find...
...for all 1 goal games from the regular season...
Eastern Conference
[COLOR=#ff000]Montreal[/COLOR] ......... [COLOR=#ff000]21[/COLOR]-14 ..... 60.0%
[COLOR=#ff000]Philadelphia[/COLOR] ..... [COLOR=#ff000]20[/COLOR]-10 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]66.6%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Carolina[/COLOR] .......... [COLOR=#ff000]20[/COLOR]-11 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]64.5%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Buffalo[/COLOR] ........... 18-10 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]64.2%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Tampa Bay[/COLOR] ..... 17-8 .......
[COLOR=#ff000]68.0%[/COLOR]
New Jersey ..... 15-13 ..... 53.5%
New York ........ 9-22 ...... 29.0%
Ottawa ........... 8-9 ....... 47.0%
Western Conference
[COLOR=#ff000]Calgary[/COLOR] ........ [COLOR=#ff000]22[/COLOR]-14 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]61.1%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]San Jose[/COLOR] ...... [COLOR=#ff000]20[/COLOR]-15 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]57.1%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Nashville[/COLOR] ...... 18-11 .....
[COLOR=#ff000]62.0%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Detroit[/COLOR] ........ 16-11 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]59.2%[/COLOR]
Colorado ...... 16-15 ..... 51.6%
Edmonton .... 15-13 ..... 53.5%
Dallas .......... 15-14 ..... 51.7%
Anaheim ....... 13-15 ..... 46.4%
Teams are highlighted on the basis of having a top 4 winning %, or being amongst the top 2 total game winners, for 1 goal game results from the regular season.
...and for 1 goal games from the regular season vs. all other playoff qualifying teams...
Eastern Conference
[COLOR=#ff000]Montreal[/COLOR] .......... 9-9 ...... [COLOR=#ff000]50.0%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]New Jersey[/COLOR] ...... 8-5 .......
[COLOR=#ff000]61.5%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Carolina[/COLOR] ........... 7-6 ...... [COLOR=#ff000]53.8%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Buffalo[/COLOR] ............ 7-6 ...... [COLOR=#ff000]53.8%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Tampa Bay[/COLOR] ....... 6-5 ...... [COLOR=#ff000]54.5%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Philadelphia[/COLOR] ...... 6-6 ...... [COLOR=#ff000]50.0%[/COLOR]
Ottawa ........... 4-6 ...... 40.0%
New York ........ 4-12 ..... 25.0%
Western Conference
[COLOR=#ff000]Nashville[/COLOR] ...... 10-7 ...... [COLOR=#ff000]58.8%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Edmonton[/COLOR] ...... 9-5 ......
[COLOR=#ff000]64.2%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Calgary[/COLOR] ......... 8-8 ...... [COLOR=#ff000]50.0%[/COLOR]
Colorado ....... 8-9 ...... 47.0%
San Jose ....... 8-10 .... 44.4%
[COLOR=#ff000]Detroit[/COLOR] .......... 7-6 ...... [COLOR=#ff000]53.8%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Dallas[/COLOR] ........... 7-7 ...... [COLOR=#ff000]50.0%[/COLOR]
Anaheim ........ 5-8 ...... 38.4%
Teams are highlighted on the basis of having topped at least 50.0% vs. fellow playoff teams (from both Conferences).
Now that we have 2 sets of highlighted groupings, its time to find which teams are highlighted in both of them for each Conference....
Calgary
Detroit
Nashville
Montreal
Philadelphia
Carolina
Buffalo
(Tampa Bay)
....with what was shown earlier, I project the Stanley Cup finalists will come from these teams. In the case of Tampa Bay, I believe they fall into the anomaly that Chicago & (the) New York (Islanders) did in 01-02: a case of such a team only making the playoffs simply
because they had a great season in 1 goal games, rather than those good-to-great 1 goal game results being a harbinger of future playoff success, hence I have them in brackets, being exempt from these Finalist projections.
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BetCrimes1984
No. Points: 37506
Date Joined: 1/29/2004
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Posted: 5/4/2006 12:12:37 AM
Thought I'd update these season's charts in light of the 1st Round having finished.
For all 1 goal games from the regular season...
Eastern Conference
[COLOR=#ff000]Carolina[/COLOR] .......... [COLOR=#ff000]20[/COLOR]-11 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]64.5%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Buffalo[/COLOR] ........... 18-10 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]64.2%[/COLOR]
New Jersey ..... 15-13 ..... 53.5%
Ottawa ............ 8-9 ...... 47.0%
Western Conference
[COLOR=#ff000]San Jose[/COLOR] ...... [COLOR=#ff000]20[/COLOR]-15 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]57.1%[/COLOR]
Colorado ...... 16-15 ..... 51.6%
Edmonton .... 15-13 ..... 53.5%
Anaheim ...... 13-15 ..... 46.4%
Teams are highlighted on the basis of having a top 4 winning %, or being amongst the top 2 total game winners, for 1 goal game results from the regular season.
...and for 1 goal games from the regular season vs. all other playoff qualifying teams...
Eastern Conference
[COLOR=#ff000]New Jersey[/COLOR] .... 8-5 .......
[COLOR=#ff000]61.5%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Carolina[/COLOR] ......... 7-6 ...... [COLOR=#ff000]53.8%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Buffalo[/COLOR] .......... 7-6 ....... [COLOR=#ff000]53.8%[/COLOR]
Ottawa ......... 4-6 ....... 40.0%
Western Conference
[COLOR=#ff000]Edmonton[/COLOR] .... 9-5 ......
[COLOR=#ff000]64.2%[/COLOR]
Colorado ...... 8-9 ...... 47.0%
San Jose ..... 8-10 ..... 44.4%
Anaheim ...... 5-8 ...... 38.4%
4 of the 8 remaining teams are amongst those from all the playoff teams who had positive records against all other playoff teams on the season, a prerequisite for the last 3 Stanley Cup winners.
[COLOR=#ff000]Of the 4 match-ups left, only Colorado and Buffalo are
above their opponents on
both charts[/COLOR].
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BetCrimes1984
No. Points: 37506
Date Joined: 1/29/2004
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Posted: 5/19/2006 8:50:30 PM
Thought I'd update these season charts in light of the 2nd Round having finished.
for all 1 goal games from the regular season...
Eastern Conference
[COLOR=#ff000]Carolina[/COLOR] .......... [COLOR=#ff000]20[/COLOR]-11 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]64.5%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Buffalo[/COLOR] ........... 18-10 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]64.2%[/COLOR]
Western Conference
Edmonton ... 15-13 ..... 53.5%
Anaheim ..... 13-15 ..... 46.4%
Teams are highlighted on the basis of having a top 4 winning %, or being amongst the top 2 total game winners, for 1 goal game results from the regular season.
...and for 1 goal games from the regular season vs. all other playoff qualifying teams...
Eastern Conference
[COLOR=#ff000]Carolina[/COLOR] .......... 7-6 ...... [COLOR=#ff000]53.8%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Buffalo[/COLOR] ........... 7-6 ...... [COLOR=#ff000]53.8%[/COLOR]
Western Conference
[COLOR=#ff000]Edmonton[/COLOR] ....... 9-5 ......
[COLOR=#ff000]64.2%[/COLOR]
Anaheim ......... 5-8 ...... 38.4%
Teams are highlighted on the basis of having topped at least 50.0% vs. fellow playoff teams (from both Conferences).
In my update after Round 1, I noted Anaheim and Ottawa were the only teams below their oppoents on both tables - ottawa lost handily 1-4, but the Ducks won even more handily. In keeping with some stats I presented on Duck plays prior to the playoffs, where I ignored their pre-mid December form since thats where I think their season *actually began*, here are Anaheim's 1 goal figures from mid-December onwards...
For all 1 goal games
Anaheim ...... 11-8 .....
[COLOR=#ff000]57.8%[/COLOR]
Easily above Colorado's self same stat.
For 1 goal games vs fellow playoff teams
Anaheim ...... 5-5 ......
[COLOR=#ff000] 50.0%[/COLOR]
Above Colorado again.
So for the
adapted numbers, it was only Buffalo & Anaheim who were above their opponent on both charts for the 2nd round.
For the Conference Finals,
- the Eastern comparisons couldnt be tighter - tied on arguably the more meaningful stat (vs other playoff teams) and only .percentage points separating them for the general stat.
- the Western comparisons (using ANA's adapted numbers) has ANA ahead on the overall season mark, but Edmonton well ahead vs other playoff teams. We'll see whether that largish gap *makes up* for not having home-ice-advantage.
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BetCrimes1984
No. Points: 37506
Date Joined: 1/29/2004
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Posted: 6/2/2006 12:10:50 AM
With the Conference Finals now both over, it time for the final bump....
...for all 1 goal games from the regular season...
[COLOR=#ff000]Carolina[/COLOR] .......... [COLOR=#ff000]20[/COLOR]-11 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]64.5%[/COLOR]
Edmonton ....... 15-13 ..... 53.5%
...and for 1 goal games from the regular season vs. all other playoff qualifying teams...
[COLOR=#ff000]Carolina[/COLOR] ......... 7-6 ...... [COLOR=#ff000]53.8%[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff000]Edmonton[/COLOR] ....... 9-5 ......
[COLOR=#ff000]64.2%[/COLOR]
As with my initial post going back over the last 3 seasons, when assessing what matters for the finals, its been 1-goal results against all other playoff teams...
01-02
[COLOR=#ff000]Detroit[/COLOR] .......... 10-5 .....
[COLOR=#ff000]66.6%[/COLOR]
Carolina .......... 7-13 ..... 35.0%
02-03
[COLOR=#ff000]New Jersey[/COLOR] ... 10-9 ..... [COLOR=#ff000]52.6%[/COLOR]
Anaheim ......... 7-11 ..... 38.8%
03-04
[COLOR=#ff000]Tampa Bay[/COLOR] .... 7-7 ....... [COLOR=#ff000]50.0%[/COLOR]
Calgary .......... 6-9 ....... 40.0%
05-06
At 64.2%, Edmonton is not only superior to Carolina, but far surpeior to any other of the last 6 Cup Finalists. The 11.0% gap between the 2 team's records is, however, the 2nd closest gap of these recent finals (the 10.0% gap between CAL & TBY being the closest). Never the less, every team with the greater peformance record in this category has won the recent Stanley Cup finals.
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