(1) Lethbridge Golden Seals vs. (2) Toronto Rocket Series tied 0-0
Game 1: Lethbridge Golden Seals vs. Toronto Rocket Game 2: Lethbridge Golden Seals vs. Toronto Rocket Game 3: Lethbridge Golden Seals vs. Toronto Rocket Game 4: Lethbridge Golden Seals vs. Toronto Rocket *Game 5: Lethbridge Golden Seals vs. Toronto Rocket *Game 6: Lethbridge Golden Seals vs. Toronto Rocket *Game 7: Lethbridge Golden Seals vs. Toronto Rocket
MrDannyG Memorial Tournament
(9) asdfjkl; vs. (11) Newmarket Hurricanes Series tied 0-0
Game 1: asdfjkl; vs Newmarket Hurricanes Game 2: asdfjkl; vs Newmarket Hurricanes Game 3: asdfjkl; vs Newmarket Hurricanes Game 4: asdfjkl; vs Newmarket Hurricanes *Game 5: asdfjkl; vs Newmarket Hurricanes *Game 6: asdfjkl; vs Newmarket Hurricanes *Game 7: asdfjkl; vs Newmarket Hurricanes
Well, I doubt the Zach model is going to have me as a favourite in this series. Laine most likely out for the series and I have no goalies in game 1 and 2.
Interestingly, I think a lack of Laine hurts Ehlers production to some extent, so some minor mitigation there. And, on the plus side, Jets don't play until game 3 in this series, so you're not missing him in games 1 and 2. He may heal up quick and sneak back in having only missed a game or two.
1. Jack Eichel
2. Mikko Rantanen
3. David Perron
4. Sebastian Aho
5. Victor Hedman
6. Tyson Barrie
7. Erik Karlsson
8. William Nylander
9. Kevin Labanc
10. Zach Werenski
No Goalies!
My only other no-goalie game in the playoffs resulted in me scoring 11, so let's do that again!
Laine - out for up to 2 weeks Karlsson - maybe back for Saturday, probably all games after Pesce - out for the season Tkachuk - back soon? McCabe - out for the season? Aho2 - sent to the minors
I'm not expecting Tkachuk back for this series, but I honestly don't know. There's been no updates on him and I'm pretty sure it's a concussion.
Other than that, looks about right. no idea about Karlsson for Saturday. I expect he'll play but I also expect Ottawa will (as they should) give him as much time as he needs.
I'm fortunate that Vegas has the first game on Saturday. I'll get to see if Reilly Smith is in the lineup before I need to set my lineup. (Though I don't think it's very likely he'll play.)
Sens game is at home, so I feel like that makes it a lot more likely Karlsson will play.
You might not miss a single game from Laine. He's ruled out for Friday (not a game night), and not expected Sunday (not a game night), but a Tuesday return is not out of the question at this point. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/laine-out-with-foot-injury-jets-winger-expected-to-miss-at-least-two-games
So, if Zach and I played in the semis, I would have won 4-1, thanks to an OT victory in game 3. However, he would have won game 6 and 7 had the series gone that far.
You might not miss a single game from Laine. He's ruled out for Friday (not a game night), and not expected Sunday (not a game night), but a Tuesday return is not out of the question at this point. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/laine-out-with-foot-injury-jets-winger-expected-to-miss-at-least-two-games
Conflicting reports.
Laine saying he might be able to play even tonight!
#NHLJets F Patrik Laine hasn’t ruled out playing tonight. Says he is feeling much better. Made it abundantly clear the chase for the Rocket Richard Trophy has nothing to do with when he might be back in the lineup
Interestingly, I think a lack of Laine hurts Ehlers production to some extent, so some minor mitigation there. And, on the plus side, Jets don't play until game 3 in this series, so you're not missing him in games 1 and 2. He may heal up quick and sneak back in having only missed a game or two.
Do you actually have a formula that factors in things like Ehler's expected points with a Laine injury or are you just speculating?
My "model" or "projections" are simply average pool point per game over the course of the season. Not very complex mathematically. The complexity is just in getting Excel to figure out which lineup would be "optimal" and spit out the number in an easy to digest way with one click. Lol.
The reason I think Ehlers numbers would suffer is because he's feeding Laine often. Don't think he gets as many assists feeding, say, Mathieu Perreault or whoever would fill in on that line.
Rockets with a good edge in games 1 and a great edge in game 6, plus smaller edges in games 2 and 4. Seals with good edges in games 3 and 5. Game 7 is a tiny edge to the Seals - essentially a coin flip, the closest game in the series.
Roster comparisons show it's a series of top end talent vs depth for both forwards and defense. Forward edge: Even;Defense edge: Seals.
Goaltending edge goes to the Rockets as Seals have 2 games with no goalies and the Rockets feature the best set in the series 4 times. Edge: Rockets.
Projection:
Laine is back, Karlsson doesn't miss another game, Aho stays in the minors (because I can't program this **** with two Ahos). Pesce, McCabe, and Tkachuk are assumed to be out for the year. For the Rockets, assume Reilly Smith is out, Johnasson, Rask, and Pacioretty are out for the series.
I think Tkachuk and Smith could return at some point, so let's just call that a wash.
Rockets will have a good shot at opening up a 2-0 lead as the Seals, inexplicably, lead off the series with 2 no goalie games. That said, they make up for a lot of that deficit by having better skaters. The Seals superior defense is on display as Barrie, Hedman, and Karlsson should be in both of these games. The Rockets, meanwhile, get Alex Ovechkin for both of these games (he sits out until Game 7 after), but do have to dip into their depth forwards likely dressing Craig Smith or Jeff Skinner in Game 1, and Skinner and Okposo or Gaborik in game 2. Still, the Rockets have edges of 0.844 and 0.392 in the first two.
Game 3 tilts back towards the Seals, who have an edge of 0.525. After going without their top two forwards in games 1 and 2, Malkin and Laine re-enter the lineup. Laine plays all remaining games and Malkin plays 4 of 5.
Game 4 is close to a coin flip. Rockets have a 0.210 edge.
Game 5 produces the largest Seals edge of the series at 0.761 while game 6 is the biggest edge for either team with the Rockets holding a 1.323 projected goal advantage.
If this series makes it to 7, all bets are off. The closest game of the series on paper, where the Seals hold a mere 0.117 edge. Both teams dress 6 of their top 7 forwards. Rockets answer with 4 of their top 5 defense, while the Seals may only be able to dress 3 D, though all formidable.
If I'm forced to make a prediction, it's Rockets in 6.
Forwards:
Ex. GP
Player
P-PPG
P-PPG
Player
Ex. GP
4/4
Evgeni Malkin
0.943
>
0.845
Alex Ovechkin
3/3
5/5
Patrik Laine
0.760
>
0.750
Phil Kessel
4/4
3/3
Mikko Rantanen
0.733
>
0.697
Aleksander Barkov
6/6
4/4
Jack Eichel
0.655
<
0.627
Artemi Panarin
6/6
5/5
Sebastian Aho
0.621
>
0.562
Nikolaj Ehlers
5/5
5/5
David Perron
0.603
>
0.554
Yanni Gourde
4/4
4/4
William Nylander
0.466
<
0.541
Jordan Eberle
6/6
2/4
Jake Guentzel
0.439
<
0.464
Craig Smith
5/6
3/5
Alex Galchenyuk
0.405
<
0.446
Jeff Skinner
2/5
3/7
Kevin Labanc
0.362
<
0.434
Mathieu Perreault
0/5
1/3
Brandon Saad
0.320
<
0.366
Kyle Okposo
1/4
0/4
Jason Pominville
0.274
<
0.348
Marian Gaborik
0/5
1/1
Andrew Cogliano
0.250
1/6
Frank Vatrano
0.172
Injured
0.621
Reilly Smith
0
0.422
Max Pacioretty
0
Injured
0.328
Marcus Johansson
0
0
Matthew Tkachuk
0.537
0.317
Victor Rask
0
Expected games based solely on pool PPG.
Seals boast a little better at the top end, though the top 4 are reasonably close. Malkin's edge over Ovechkin is rather susbstantial though. Seals top 6 all over 0.600, which is remarkable. Rockets, however, feature a little better depth outside of the top 6, with Eberle, Smith, and Skinner. Also worth noting that only 8 forward slots will be filled by sub-0.500 forwards on the Rockets, while 15 sub-0.500 forwards dress for the Seals.
It's a battle of top heavy talent vs depth up front.
Defense:
Ex. GP
Player
P-PPG
P-PPG
Player
Ex. GP
3/3
Tyson Barrie
0.533
>
0.459
P.K. Subban
6/6
4/4
Victor Hedman
0.500
>
0.393
Dougie Hamilton
6/6
5/5
Erik Karlsson
0.485
>
0.352
Kris Letang
4/4
6/6
Zach Werenski
0.331
>
0.320
Rasmus Ristolainen
4/4
1/1
Hampus Lindholm
0.311
<
0.314
Alex Goligoski
4/6
5/6
Mattias Ekholm
0.285
<
0.286
Nate Schmidt
2/4
1/3
Jan Rutta
0.245
<
0.281
Marc-Edouard Vlasic
1/7
1/3
Joel Edmundson
0.192
<
0.274
Tyler Myers
1/5
0.162
Niklas Kronwall
0/7
Injured
0.144
Brenden Dillon
0/7
0
Jake McCabe
1
Brett Pesce
1
Sebastian Aho
Defense tilts in the Seals favor at the top end as well. Barrie/Subban not a huge mismatch, but the Rockets drop off considerably to Hamilton/Letang while the Seals counter with Hedman and Karlsson. The next 3 slots are a wash and then the Rockets show a slight edge in the depth department with Vlasic and Myers as the #7 and #8 d-men at ~0.275ish.
The Rockets benefit from some good coverage at the top, however. With Subban and Hamilton both appearing in 6 games. Barrie and Hedman only see 3 and 4 respectively. Rockets fill 24 of 28 d-spots with >0.300 skaters (top 5), while the Seals only fill 19 of 28 with their (better) top 5 (>0.300). It's also worth noting the Seals will likely be dressing 3 defensemen in games 6 and 7 unless the Aho defender gets called back up (he can fill in for both games).
Goaltending:
Dallas
-1.358
<
-1.247
Los Angeles
Philadelphia
-1.487
>
-1.514
New Jersey
LA is the best goalie set by a non-trivial margin. Backup goalies are basically a wash, though.
The Rockets pick up some major points here as the Seals are without goalies for Games 1 and 2.
Dallas could see 4 starts, Philly 1 while the Rockets will get 4 starts out of the LA Kings and 3 out of the Devils.
It should be a really close one, that could go either way. My final prediction above is a homer pick. I need to win in 6 lest I risk a coin flip Game 7 once more. Lol.
Good luck Zach! Nice write up! About what I expected.
One thing that works in my favour is current form. Some of my players (Laine, Malkin, Rantanen, Hedman, Barrie), have been absolutely lights out over the last couple months, exceeding their season averages by a decent clip.
Rockets with a good edge in games 1 and a great edge in game 6, plus smaller edges in games 2 and 4. Seals with good edges in games 3 and 5. Game 7 is a tiny edge to the Seals - essentially a coin flip, the closest game in the series.
Roster comparisons show it's a series of top end talent vs depth for both forwards and defense. Forward edge: Even;Defense edge: Seals.
Goaltending edge goes to the Rockets as Seals have 2 games with no goalies and the Rockets feature the best set in the series 4 times. Edge: Rockets.
Projection:
Laine is back, Karlsson doesn't miss another game, Aho stays in the minors (because I can't program this **** with two Ahos). Pesce, McCabe, and Tkachuk are assumed to be out for the year. For the Rockets, assume Reilly Smith is out, Johnasson, Rask, and Pacioretty are out for the series.
I think Tkachuk and Smith could return at some point, so let's just call that a wash.
Rockets will have a good shot at opening up a 2-0 lead as the Seals, inexplicably, lead off the series with 2 no goalie games. That said, they make up for a lot of that deficit by having better skaters. The Seals superior defense is on display as Barrie, Hedman, and Karlsson should be in both of these games. The Rockets, meanwhile, get Alex Ovechkin for both of these games (he sits out until Game 7 after), but do have to dip into their depth forwards likely dressing Craig Smith or Jeff Skinner in Game 1, and Skinner and Okposo or Gaborik in game 2. Still, the Rockets have edges of 0.844 and 0.392 in the first two.
Game 3 tilts back towards the Seals, who have an edge of 0.525. After going without their top two forwards in games 1 and 2, Malkin and Laine re-enter the lineup. Laine plays all remaining games and Malkin plays 4 of 5.
Game 4 is close to a coin flip. Rockets have a 0.210 edge.
Game 5 produces the largest Seals edge of the series at 0.761 while game 6 is the biggest edge for either team with the Rockets holding a 1.323 projected goal advantage.
If this series makes it to 7, all bets are off. The closest game of the series on paper, where the Seals hold a mere 0.117 edge. Both teams dress 6 of their top 7 forwards. Rockets answer with 4 of their top 5 defense, while the Seals may only be able to dress 3 D, though all formidable.
If I'm forced to make a prediction, it's Rockets in 6.
Forwards:
Ex. GP
Player
P-PPG
P-PPG
Player
Ex. GP
4/4
Evgeni Malkin
0.943
>
0.845
Alex Ovechkin
3/3
5/5
Patrik Laine
0.760
>
0.750
Phil Kessel
4/4
3/3
Mikko Rantanen
0.733
>
0.697
Aleksander Barkov
6/6
4/4
Jack Eichel
0.655
<
0.627
Artemi Panarin
6/6
5/5
Sebastian Aho
0.621
>
0.562
Nikolaj Ehlers
5/5
5/5
David Perron
0.603
>
0.554
Yanni Gourde
4/4
4/4
William Nylander
0.466
<
0.541
Jordan Eberle
6/6
2/4
Jake Guentzel
0.439
<
0.464
Craig Smith
5/6
3/5
Alex Galchenyuk
0.405
<
0.446
Jeff Skinner
2/5
3/7
Kevin Labanc
0.362
<
0.434
Mathieu Perreault
0/5
1/3
Brandon Saad
0.320
<
0.366
Kyle Okposo
1/4
0/4
Jason Pominville
0.274
<
0.348
Marian Gaborik
0/5
1/1
Andrew Cogliano
0.250
1/6
Frank Vatrano
0.172
Injured
0.621
Reilly Smith
0
0.422
Max Pacioretty
0
Injured
0.328
Marcus Johansson
0
0
Matthew Tkachuk
0.537
0.317
Victor Rask
0
Expected games based solely on pool PPG.
Seals boast a little better at the top end, though the top 4 are reasonably close. Malkin's edge over Ovechkin is rather susbstantial though. Seals top 6 all over 0.600, which is remarkable. Rockets, however, feature a little better depth outside of the top 6, with Eberle, Smith, and Skinner. Also worth noting that only 8 forward slots will be filled by sub-0.500 forwards on the Rockets, while 15 sub-0.500 forwards dress for the Seals.
It's a battle of top heavy talent vs depth up front.
Defense:
Ex. GP
Player
P-PPG
P-PPG
Player
Ex. GP
3/3
Tyson Barrie
0.533
>
0.459
P.K. Subban
6/6
4/4
Victor Hedman
0.500
>
0.393
Dougie Hamilton
6/6
5/5
Erik Karlsson
0.485
>
0.352
Kris Letang
4/4
6/6
Zach Werenski
0.331
>
0.320
Rasmus Ristolainen
4/4
1/1
Hampus Lindholm
0.311
<
0.314
Alex Goligoski
4/6
5/6
Mattias Ekholm
0.285
<
0.286
Nate Schmidt
2/4
1/3
Jan Rutta
0.245
<
0.281
Marc-Edouard Vlasic
1/7
1/3
Joel Edmundson
0.192
<
0.274
Tyler Myers
1/5
0.162
Niklas Kronwall
0/7
Injured
0.144
Brenden Dillon
0/7
0
Jake McCabe
1
Brett Pesce
1
Sebastian Aho
Defense tilts in the Seals favor at the top end as well. Barrie/Subban not a huge mismatch, but the Rockets drop off considerably to Hamilton/Letang while the Seals counter with Hedman and Karlsson. The next 3 slots are a wash and then the Rockets show a slight edge in the depth department with Vlasic and Myers as the #7 and #8 d-men at ~0.275ish.
The Rockets benefit from some good coverage at the top, however. With Subban and Hamilton both appearing in 6 games. Barrie and Hedman only see 3 and 4 respectively. Rockets fill 24 of 28 d-spots with >0.300 skaters (top 5), while the Seals only fill 19 of 28 with their (better) top 5 (>0.300). It's also worth noting the Seals will likely be dressing 3 defensemen in games 6 and 7 unless the Aho defender gets called back up (he can fill in for both games).
Goaltending:
Dallas
-1.358
<
-1.247
Los Angeles
Philadelphia
-1.487
>
-1.514
New Jersey
LA is the best goalie set by a non-trivial margin. Backup goalies are basically a wash, though.
The Rockets pick up some major points here as the Seals are without goalies for Games 1 and 2.
Dallas could see 4 starts, Philly 1 while the Rockets will get 4 starts out of the LA Kings and 3 out of the Devils.
Executive summary for msg memorial:
either team in 4, so I don’t need to dress lineups 5-7
__________________
“imo it’s an optimal strategy for someone lazy like me, who tries to get the most out the least possible effort”
Meanwhile, the MDG final is tied. Staal is all the Homekeys have left. Jay wins OT, so he'll need to make up at least a half point before the Preds/Wild game ends.