TSN.ca Updates Power Rankings

[PTS]

9. Sabres - The Western New York faithful are going to point to a team with the third-most points in the league. Ever the critic that I am, I'll note that the last eight wins have all been by one goal (excluding the empy-netter in Colorado). These are things that weigh much better in the standings than as a reflection of power.

Key Injuries: RW J.P. Dumont (abdominal), LW Taylor Pyatt (wrist).

 

TSN.ca "Power" Rankings

 

This guy must hate the fact that his Leafs suck sooo much that he takes it out on us.

[PASabreFan]

It's hard to put a lot of stock in any of these rankings. I mean, the Buffalo News' NFL rankings have had the Bills in the high teens and low 20s for the last month. It's hard to imagine there are 10-12 worse teams in the league!

[jp...]

I've found the TSN rankings to be a joke...not to be taken seriously...your telling me the Flyers are 10th and the Rangers are 2nd??...

 

Can't wait to see where this guy puts the sabres if they were to loose a couple...probably right off the first page again

[rickshaw]

I emailed the guy and he wrote back saying that he finds it difficult to rank them higher when they are only a few goals for over against.

 

I informed him that in a four game span of blowouts, they were outscored 26-5, for a -21. Other than those 4 blowouts they are plus 20 or thereabouts.

 

He said why should we discount those losses??

 

He's an idiot. He can't admit good teams win one goal games. Then he said their sked was easy and other teams had injuries.

 

Apparently Buffalo losing their starting goalie and leading scorer just to name 2, wasn't injuries>>

[Kristian]

I emailed the guy and he wrote back saying that he finds it difficult to rank them higher when they are only a few goals for over against.

 

I informed him that in a four game span of blowouts, they were outscored 26-5, for a -21. Other than those 4 blowouts they are plus 20 or thereabouts.

 

He said why should we discount those losses??

 

He's an idiot. He can't admit good teams win one goal games. Then he said their sked was easy and other teams had injuries.

 

Apparently Buffalo losing their starting goalie and leading scorer just to name 2, wasn't injuries>>

Jeez, what an idiot.

 

And yeah, Dallas was an easy game... Sure, whatever.... :rolleyes:

[JujuFish]

Heh, I see he dropped Phoenix 8 spots now that Gretzky's away.

[PromoTheRobot]

I wrote Scott Cullen. At least he has the stones to write back ...

 

Scott,

Your power rankings make for humourous reading. That's about it. They certainly lack any credibility. I have to believe you are a frustrated Leafs fan who can't stand the Sabres, and your ludicrous rankings are your attempt at living in denial. The fact that the Sabres consistantly win 1-goal games is an amazing feat. They stare down teams and come out winners night after night. Talk to anyone who actually knows something about hockey and they will tell you it takes more guts to win like the Sabres than like the Senators. But I guess it's your column and you can write wahat you want. Does anyone at TSN.com read your work?

 

His reply...

 

 

Believe it or not, I've never cheered for the Leafs in my life. As for my rankings lacking credibility, I use them to handicap games every night and do so quite successfully, so whether you like it or not, I do happen to know a little bit about the game.

Regards,

Scott Cullen

 

PTR

[PTS]

I wrote Scott Cullen. At least he has the stones to write back ...

 

Scott,

Your power rankings make for humourous reading. That's about it. They certainly lack any credibility. I have to believe you are a frustrated Leafs fan who can't stand the Sabres, and your ludicrous rankings are your attempt at living in denial. The fact that the Sabres consistantly win 1-goal games is an amazing feat. They stare down teams and come out winners night after night. Talk to anyone who actually knows something about hockey and they will tell you it takes more guts to win like the Sabres than like the Senators. But I guess it's your column and you can write wahat you want. Does anyone at TSN.com read your work?

 

His reply...

 

 

Believe it or not, I've never cheered for the Leafs in my life. As for my rankings lacking credibility, I use them to handicap games every night and do so quite successfully, so whether you like it or not, I do happen to know a little bit about the game.

Regards,

Scott Cullen

 

PTR

Worse yet ... he's a Habs fan?

[Guest Guest]

Here's the email I just tossed his way.

 

Scott,

You probably do know by now that the Sabres are tied for the 2nd most points in the NHL, yet you leave them out of the top eight.  In fact, not only that, but Calgary, your #3 team, is #11 in the league in points.

 

Seeing these discrepancies, I decided to have some fun doing a little analysis of how far off your power rankings are from the actual NHL standings.  As it turns out, by using http://www.nhl.com/standings/20052006/league_standings.html as the standings, they really aren't that far off on the whole. The average difference between NHL standings and your rankings (all teams) is +/-2.74.

 

However, lets break it down a bit more.  That number for *just* the top 15 spots is +/- 3.33.  That's a pretty big difference when compared to the average for the bottom 15 spots, which is +/- 1.6.

 

Now, surely this must be due to how well teams are playing at the moment the power rankings come out.  After all, they are weekly rankings.  So, lets take a look at the top 15 teams in the NHL standings.

 

The teams that are having a big impact (over 3) on that +/- of 3.33 average are:

 

Buffalo - (-)7

Detroit - (-)5

NYR - 4

Los Angeles - 5

Calgary - 8

Montreal - (-)8

 

This must mean that all of these teams have had pretty lopsided records in their last 10.  After all, the power rankings are a reflection of not only all season, but also of their last 10 games, as this is a weekly occurrence.

 

The first team, Buffalo, is 9-1-0 in their last 10 games.  That's one loss.  Yet, you have them seven spots lower then they should be on your power rankings.  The Sabres should, without a doubt, be ranked higher.

 

Detroit is the next team on the list.  They are 6-3-1 in their last 10, a mere 4% less wining then their regular season winning percentage.  Not to bad, certainly not bad enough to move then down 5 spots from what the standings say.

 

Ahh, the good old Rangers are next.  You have them ranked 2nd on your power rankings, yet they are 6th in the NHL's standings.  Actually, I have no major beef with your Rangers ranking here.  4th through 6th are tied in the standings points wise, so to have them +4 is understandable.  The only thing I'd like to point out is that the Sabres have won 90% of their games in the last 10 games, while the Rangers have only won 60%, and are also ranked lower.  Buffalo *should* be higher.

 

Los Angeles is the 4th team on the list of big impacts.  In your power rankings, they are 5th overall.  Yet, in the NHL standings they are 10th overall.  So, I would think their last 10 games would have something to do with them being ranked that high.  Actually, when you look at it, you find just the opposite.  In their last 10 games, they are 5-5 overall, which means that they should be ranked -3 or so, not +5.

 

The 5th team on the list is Calgary, which you have an incredible 8 spots ahead of where they should be.  Taking a look at their last 10 games, you can obviously make an argument that they are playing very good right now.  They are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games.  Its understandable that they have jumped considerably in your rankings, but it is not understandable that they have jumped past Buffalo.

 

And the last team on the list, Montreal, is ranked 8 spots below where they should be from the NHL's standings.  The Habs are 3-4-3 in their last 10 games, so they without a doubt deserve a big minus.  However, to put them all the way below a team such as the Minnesota Wild, who are not only 8 spots below them in the NHL standings, but an also equally atrocious 4-5-1 in their last 10 is not doing them justice.  The same goes for the New Jersey Devils, who are not only 6 spots below them in the NHL standings, but who were also 3-4-3 in their last 10.

 

While your power rankings are interesting and fun to read, and particularly accurate when it comes to teams in the bottom 15 of your power rankings, I find the top 15 to be inaccurate at times.  My biggest beef is without a doubt the Buffalo Sabres, who should be ranked in the top 5, especially with a 9-1-0 record in their last 10 games.  However, all of the teams on that list (save the NYR) are out of place in your rankings.

 

Chris

[rickshaw]

Guest, solid email to Cullen. Solid.

 

I too have been bantering with him. Here's my latest to him....

 

First his response to my original email.

 

Rick,

 

I don't care what happens on message boards. I use my rankings to handicap games and do it successfully -- that's what matters to me.

 

I'll admit the Sabres are very good, but Buffalo fans are claiming they are great and I've yet to find a taker who can find a great team that finished in the middle of the pack in goal differential. Do you want to be the first?

 

Scott

 

My response...

 

You can't have been very successful in regards to the Sabres though.

 

I'm not suggesting they are a great team, but to say they aren't a very good team right now is overlooking their accomplishments.

 

The bottom line for me is they are 2nd overall. They are on a streak better than ANY team this season, even the Sens.

 

As for their goal diff, it doesn't concern me if they continue winning. The 4 blowouts hampered that stat, as I've stated before.

 

I'll take the Sabres over a lot of the so called favourites any day. They work hard, play for each other and are only gaining more and more confidence. They have lots of cap room, 2 starting goalies and a very good backup who needs to play, so they have chips to play.

 

They have won the majority of their games without Briere during the streak.

 

Funny when the Canadiens leading scorer went down, they tanked. What other teams have handled losing top guys as well as the Sabres? What team doesn't give up when being scored on first or trailing after two, like the Sabres?

 

There are more talented teams that is for sure, but many could learn a lesson from Buffalo on hard work and teamwork.

 

You deny them their due all you want. I'm not a fanatic kid who jumps on and off. I am 40 years old, been a fan of the team for 30 years and I'm impressed.

 

I never once believed the picks made by you media types, having them listed 2nd to last overall. Never once. I looked at the team and what they were starting to accomplish the year before and I was impressed. I'm pleasantly surprised by the streak and know it won't last forever, but as I said before, 15-1-1 is the best 17 game stretch the NHL has seen in a long, long time.

 

Merry Christmas.

 

Apparently he's very hung up on the fact their goal differential isn't better, and he won't factor in 4 blowouts! A loss is a loss and I rather them get hammered than lose heartbreakers. Rickshaw

[deluca67]

I wrote Scott Cullen. At least he has the stones to write back ...

 

Scott,

Your power rankings make for humourous reading. That's about it. They certainly lack any credibility. I have to believe you are a frustrated Leafs fan who can't stand the Sabres, and your ludicrous rankings are your attempt at living in denial. The fact that the Sabres consistantly win 1-goal games is an amazing feat. They stare down teams and come out winners night after night. Talk to anyone who actually knows something about hockey and they will tell you it takes more guts to win like the Sabres than like the Senators. But I guess it's your column and you can write wahat you want. Does anyone at TSN.com read your work?

 

His reply...

 

 

Believe it or not, I've never cheered for the Leafs in my life. As for my rankings lacking credibility, I use them to handicap games every night and do so quite successfully, so whether you like it or not, I do happen to know a little bit about the game.

Regards,

Scott Cullen

 

PTR

Promo?

 

I admire the passion. But, voice of the Sabre fan you are not.

 

The "it takes more guts to win like the Sabres than like the Senators. " is pretty lame. Considering the Sens have blown out the Sabres is three straight games. I believe they hung a 10 spot on them this season.

 

I'm not trying to drill you or something. I think you may have inspired something here.

I hammer on the Sabres like no other. For me it's like I can hit my brother but nobody else can. This guys rankings are crap. He needs to know it. Next time you write him just put the emotion on low.

 

We are on the same side here. The guy is a pro. You need to respond and respond strong. Just keep the E in check.

 

Peace :)

[Guest Guest]

Well said Delucca. Don't mean that as a shot at PTR. It gets pretty tiring to watch how silly Buffalo fans sound when one of their teams or city is not beloved by all. I hardly go the Bills board anymore. The insane asylum was let out and resides there.

[Olaf Fub]

Calgary wins most of their game by one goal and they are 3rd.

 

TSN has been a joke in previous weeks, however, I don't think 9th is really that unfair.

[hopeleslyobvious]

I e-mailed Scott with my thoughts:

 

Scott,

 

I found myself wondering even more than usual about your power rankings after your comment on the Buffalo Sabres this week:

 

"The Western New York faithful are going to point to a team with the third-most points in the league. Ever the critic that I am, I'll note that the last eight wins have all been by one goal (excluding the empy-netter in Colorado). These are things that weigh much better in the standings than as a reflection of power."

 

I have to disagree with you. I will admit that I am a die hard Sabres fan. How many of their games in the last month have you actually watched? There is something about this team, they have just been finding a way to win. A couple of games come to mind off the top of my head. The first game is the Anaheim game. Anaheim controlled the action most of the game. With the exception of the Afinigenov, Roy and Vanek line, the Sabres could not get much going in the way of offense. Yet they found a way to get a goal on a penalty shot, and found a way to rally again when Anaheim scored a soft goal. Eventually Afinigenov scored the winner in OT. If I remember right, it looked like Anaheim was playing a pretty tight trap that had the Sabres frustrated for most of the game, yet they found a way to win.

 

Another game (that I know wasn't considered in last weeks rankings) was the Philadelphia game last night. I thought the Philadelphia game was very similar to the Anaheim game. Philly stood the Sabres up at the blue line for most of the game, and with the exception of the Afinigenov, Roy and Vanek line (again) it was difficult to get much going offensively. But they kept plugging away and were eventually able to get the equalizer. At the other end of the rink Ryan Miller had a stellar performance on his first game back from an injury. While Miller gave up too many rebounds, he also made some spectacular saves to keep the Sabres in the game. Eventually the Sabres won in the shootout (which I will reserve my comments on, because I am pretty sure you're not a fan of the shootout).

 

I think winning one goal games shows how powerful this team is. In both of these games the team found themself frustrated offensively, and had a hard time opening things up, but they found a way to win. Isn't winning despite being thrown off your game the mark of a great team? I think one goal games are also a good indication of how the team performs in the clutch, which is essential come playoff time.

 

Something else I think you should take into consideration is the injuries the Sabres have faced. Co-Captain Daniel Briere has been in and out of the lineup, and J.P. Dumont is out until at least March. Briere and Dumont are two big offensive contributors, yet the rest of the team has stepped it up. Also, starting goalie Ryan Miller was out for over a month and a half with a broken thumb, and Marty Biron has been amazing filling in. The team's top players have gone down, and the team has found ways to win.

 

I know a lot of people don't give this team very much credit because of the lack of star power on the team, but I think that is one of the things that is leading to their success. They are playing like a team. Everyone is contributing.

 

Something else to consider is their success on the Powerplay. They have the third best powerplay in the league right now. This should definately have an effect on their rank.

 

It seems like you place a lot of stock into a team's starting goaltender. This is another reason why I think the Sabres should be ranked higher. With Miller showing that he hasn't missed a beat after his injury, and Biron continuing to win, I think it would be very difficult to argue that the Sabres aren't in great shape when it comes to goaltending.

 

A final thing to consider. Take a look back at overall team records from after the all star break in 2004 to present. You may be suprised at what you find. Also consider that the Sabres have had essentially the same team that entire time.

 

And he responded with:

 

I've watched the Sabres five times in December (Montreal, San Jose, Colorado, Dallas and Philadelphia). I have no problems with the Sabres effort or lack of big-name talent. In fact, I think that they actually have potential to have some fairly high-end scorers (Kotalik and Vanek come to mind).

 

We essentially disagree on the value of a one-goal win. To me, one-goal wins are much more easily turned into one-goal losses when the bounces don't go your way (ie. pucks hit the post etc.), whereas convincing three and four-goal wins leave little doubt as to which team is superior that night. "Finding a way to win" is not the mark of a powerhouse, in my opinion. It's the mark of overachievers and that's what the Sabres have been.

 

When it comes to injuries, I take injuries into account more than any other ranking system -- guaranteed -- because I actually try to quantify the contributions that each player makes. Thus, with Miller and Briere returning to the lineup, that has helped the Sabres climb in my rankings.

 

The goaltending in Buffalo is good, and it might even be great if they didn't get lit up by Ottawa like they did, but I'm using stats in order to be objective, so I can't decide which ones count and which ones don't.

 

I'll be quite happy to see how the Sabres do the rest of the way, and I'll keep moving 'em up if the numbers warrant it.

 

Regards,

 

Scott Cullen

On-line Producer, TSN.ca

 

Working on my response now.

[JujuFish]

ESPN, Yahoo, and CBS all currently have the Sabres ranked 3rd.

[JujuFish]

I'll keep moving 'em up if the numbers warrant it.

I don't know about Cullen, but to me the two most important statistics are points and wins. When all is said and done, this is what everything boils down to. Buffalo is tied for the most wins and third in points. Enough said.

[hopeleslyobvious]

He seems to focused on individual statistics. Great if you're a fantasy hockey team manager, but the team with the best individual statistics doesn't always come out on top!

[BradRiter]

In this guy's defense, if he were using wins and points as his sole criteria, his column would be called "Standings" and not "Power Rankings."

 

I doubt that TSN would pay him to put that together on a weekly basis.

[deluca67]

In this guy's defense, if he were usings wins and points as his sole criteria, his column would be called "Standings" and not "Power Rankings."

 

I doubt that TSN would pay him to put that together on a weekly basis.

I think his "criteria" comes from a 'Magic 8-Ball'. How else do explain having the Coyotes as high as #4? Because Gretzky coached them? Gretzky hasn't been relevent in the NHL is 10 years.

[Guest Guest]

I'm impressed that Cullen took the time to answer most of the e-mail sent to him. Either he's a stand up guy or not too many people write him at TSN.

 

Sounds like Cullen's not anti-Buffalo Sabre. He just feels the jury is still out on a yet to be proven team. Who amongst us doesn't have that opinion lingering in the back of our mind? Many of us questioned their defense, grit and heart before the season started. The big question for me is how will they respond when they lose a string of 1 goal games. Will they toughi it out or give it up. Should they give it up how many will write Cullen and tell him he has them rated too high? Me thinks not very many. Me also thinks this place will become as miserable as TBD.

[RVJ]

Never fret...here's some power rankings more up your alley.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=mr-p...=yhoo&type=lgns

[Hsoj25]

I think taking the whole season into account, 9th place wouldnt be all that bad of a judgement for a ranking, but it seems to me all these weekly rankings are meant to reflect more of how teams are doing at the current moment.. hence why they are updated every week, and not just a slight rehash of the standings - in which case the sabres should obviously be higher.

[deluca67]

Listening to the radio on the way home from work there was a mention of the posts on this topic.

 

I believe it was refered to as silly and kind of stupid.

 

And maybe Mike was right.

 

So let's spend the next 3 hours talking about what a crime it is that the Bills coach doesn't like to talk to the media about player injuries :lol:

[Spandrel]

I don't know about you, but given that these Power Rankings are for "entertainment purposes only", I'd rather see us continually getting under-ranked than anything else.

 

Wouldn't you rather have them continue winning and be ranked around #10, then briefly climb to the top and fall again, because the players started actually reading these rankings and believing them?

 

In order for these guys to continue to over-achieve, they need to be under-respected. :P

[PromoTheRobot]

I wonder how many places the Sabres will fall when they finally lose one game? Can Scott Cullen rank you lower than 30? :lol:

 

PTR