That Aud Smell

The charts tell me that the Coyotes are good -- as in, really good, so far. And they've done that after missing out on the 2 big prizes in the 2015 draft. Let's go, Buffalo. Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaakrrrrruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

Um...

How long is he obliged to stay there?

Ducks got some d-man from the Penguins.

Yeah. I don't understand that chart. What's the length represent? The colour(s)?

That’s what the colouring is for, I think?

Word. I think it's why it's becoming such a go-to #fancystat. Btw, I saw an xG graph today (pasted below). Skinner's right there near the top. So is McDavid. No sign of Eichel, obviously. (/ducks, runs) Also, I do not understand the colours of those bars, nor what ixG is. [EDIT: Wait, is that just "individual"? Anyway, I don't understand the colours.]

I'm not yet sure. The SAT share was good, but I haven't seen the shot maps. My sense from watching was that the Sabres needlessly surrendered several very high quality chances. You can dominate in Corsi and lose most games if you're gonna do that.

Scandella presumably. He left the game last night and didn't return. My bad. He did return. But he looked banged up.

Let's go, Buffalo! This is a terrific opportunity to erase the memory, taste of a bad, weird, clunker game.

They've been somewhat lucky. But there's also a part of that "luck" that they have created -- with quality chances and sometimes keeping the other team's shots to the perimeter.

I agree on the Dahlin take. He'll recover. On balance, though, the game struck me as a weird one. 6-2? Really? The Sabres weren't that badly outplayed, for the most part. In fact, they had the better of play for several stretches of time. They did make a handful of BRUTAL errors, that led to goals. Time to get right tonight. The timing's actually ideal -- hopefully.

Until you’re not.

Until you're not. Or, until your 10-game winning streak turns into a bottom-3-pace skid into irrelevance. Larger point being (as ever): You are your record, sure. The #fancystats offer insight into whether you will also be your record in the coming weeks and months.

To each their own. I'll posit, though: Interest or disinterest in predictive metrics is not a function of your age. I don't understand the #fancystats all that well, but I enjoy engaging with them. As a long-suffering fan, those metrics help me better answer those enduring questions such as "so, is this team for real?" or "are they really as bad as their record indicates?"

In fairness, it's not a flaw -- it's an inherent limitation. You can start with Corsi, to get a sense of some stuff. But then those shot maps are going to be helpful (like the one below (I love the "Geez Buffalo")). And then Tierney has those graphs that indicate shot quality/quantity -- I still don't quite follow those, though. That shot map is a thing of effing beauty, btw. The Sharks had a close edge in raw Corsi from that game, but the Sabres had a clear edge in chances. Rakru has said it: It's not "shoot mentality" and pucks to the net; it's about getting bodies to the net.

The chart seems to suggest that they are pretty good - certainly much improved from last season. I think that those grey values indicate that the squad, on balance, is a bit of a "wash" on certain metrics (i.e., mediocre). @darksabre had it about right upthread in another recent thread, I think - they're better, playing better together, supporting the puck, but need more from their 5v5 game.

^ ESPN's arc is not unlike MTV's. They've become ... brands that were rooted in something (sports, music), but become focused on ... what? "Content"? I dunno. We can all agree that we don't watch it anymore. But the networks didn't make those moves for no good reason. They did it in order to become more profitable. And presumably they did.

Watching that, I can't get past the notion that there are basically "The View" shows, but for dudes.

Ha! No. But seriously. Please clear it up for me.

Is the heat map as simple as blue=good; red=bad?

Let's go, Buffalo! The Rangers are, low-key, a team I get extra amped for. An original-6 thing, no doubt. Also: Sometimes Tierney's charts confuse me. I don't comprehend (all of) the team stats heat map.

Never thought the team would be 10 games into the season and I would wince at the suggestion of trading Scandella, yet here we are.

I (think I) know enough about that chart to conclude that Buffalo did some sh1t pumping tonight.