So what’s happening in Stars World? Let’s take a look.
Happy Veterans Day to those who have served! On behalf of our staff here at DBD, we appreciate the sacrifice and commitment you have made for our country. 🇺🇸
Now for your daily dose of coffee, ah, I mean hockey. I do need some coffee though! ☕️
Jake Oettinger’s strong start to the season has become a distant memory after what has been a November to forget thus far. Through three starts this month, Oettinger has allowed a whopping 11 goals. To put that into perspective, Oettinger allowed only 11 goals over double the amount of starts last month. One can make a sound argument that many of the teams the Stars played last month do not have Stanley Cup potential, where the real test has been this month where the Stars have played against the defending champion Florida Panthers and NHL best Winnipeg Jets, both which have resulted in a loss. In a recent article by Sean Shapiro, he provides a bit more detail:
Through nine games, Oettinger has a 6-3-0 record with a .910 save percentage. Of those six wins, only one has come against a team currently in playoff position as of Nov. 10.
In his same article, Shapiro provides an overview of a statistic called, “Really Bad Starts”, or “RBS” for short. It was a stat discovered by current Los Angeles Kings director of analytics Rob Vollman that is “awarded whenever a goalie has a in-game save percentage of 85 percent or less. When this happens, a team only has a 10 percent chance of winning the game.”
Shapiro provides some insight on comparing Oettinger to the likes to reigning Vezina Trophy winner, Connor Hellebuyck, and how there is still a large gap between the two when comparing RBS statistics:
…Hellebuyck, for example, had seven last season when he won the Vezina Trophy.
Oettinger already has two this season. Last year he had 10 in the regular season and four in 19 playoff games.
In his past 82 games, this season and last combined, Oettinger has had 16 Really Bad Starts, which averages out to one bad start every 5.12 games.
By comparison in the same time span, Hellebuyck has eight really bad starts in 77 games, an average one RBS every 9.625 games.
We are still early in the season, but the recent games against the Panthers and Jets have clearly exposed out weaknesses and have shown that we are not at the level required to contend for the Stanley Cup.
To read the rest of Sean’s article, you can find it here.
Stars Stuff
Better now than later:
Central Division Happenings
Aside from the Stars facing off against the Pittsburgh Penguins this evening, the Colorado Avalanche will host the Nashville Predators. Nashville won the first meeting between these two teams earlier this month, 5-2 [ESPN]. Both teams are trying to climb out of mediocrity in what has been a very tepid Central Division with the exception of the Jets and Wild.
*RING! RING!*
“Hello?”
“Hi, how are you this evening?!”
”I am doing fine, thank you. May I ask who’s calling?”
”GAME.”
The World of Chel
He joined great company 😉:
*Inhale*
*Exhale*
Finally
”Whistle while you work…”
”And cheerfully together, we can tidy up a win!”