Bryan Murray’s termination of Paul MacLean as Ottawa’s head coach on Monday morning wasn’t surprising.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Arsenal Jersey . The team had won just four of its last fifteen games, and MacLean was already on the hot seat stemming from last season’s disappointing finish. Ottawa’s general manager cited myriad reasons as to why the team decided to go in a different direction. Ultimately, he could have pointed to the club’s underlying numbers to illustrate rapidly depreciating performance from those playoff teams of yesteryear. Many have fairly pointed out that Paul MacLean was likely a victim of his own success. Carrying two low-budget teams to the post-season in his first two years – and winning a Jack Adams Trophy in the process – set the benchmark high for future seasons. But, his team – comprised of many of the same players from those playoff-caliber clubs – has struggled mightily in the last season and a half. One of the best ways to illustrate the nosedive that Paul MacLean’s team had taken over the last hundred or so games is to pull out Ottawa’s possession numbers using Fenwick% (all unblocked shot-attempts) and Corsi% (all shot-attempts, including those that were blocked) since his retention. We can use a 20-game rolling average to smooth out the results some. Remember, 50% would indicate an average possession team. The dotted line indicates the beginning of the 2014-2015 season. I think the biggest takeaway from this graph is pretty simple. The “Pesky Sens” label handed out to the team during both playoff years also coincided with controlling more than 50% of the play over 82-games. The club earned a reputation as a scrappy bunch of overperformers, but for the most part, they were an above average hockey team. You’ll also notice three stretches of significantly positive play prior to the start of this year -- two of which likely triggered respective runs into the post-season. This year (all things right of our vertical dotted line), there’s really no comparison. The team’s been on a steady nosedive contrary to prior Paul MacLean seasons. This is a team that’s indiscernible from the likes of Colorado, and by percentage points, closer to the likes of trying-to-lose-Buffalo than upstart Nashville. Strip away the league’s 5th-best save percentage (.922), and you’re likely talking about Ottawa as a very serious contender in the draft lottery. To further investigate the dive in either of the above possession proxies (we will use Corsi% here), we can split the metric into ‘shot attempts for’ and ‘shot attempts against’. For years, Paul MacLean’s teams have been featured fantastic shot generation, but poor shot suppression. If we use the same 25-game rolling averages for CorsiFor (per 60) and CorsiAgainst (per 60), can we pick up which of the two significantly deviated? I’ve created a mid-line of 54 – the average number of shot attempts a team takes (or yields) per 60-minutes. I think this graph is pretty telling. Ottawa’s always played with frenetic pace under Paul MacLean – both their CorsiFor and CorsiAgainst per 60 are, for the most part, significantly higher than what we would note as the league average. This season, the CorsiFor per 60 has plunged, but the CorsiAgainst per 60 is consistent with what we have seen in years past. Now, if you wanted to troubleshoot the issue further, you’d probably focus on why the team isn’t generating enough offensively as opposed to why they concede so many shots against – the former is a new issue, the latter has been an issue since Paul MacLean took over in October of 2011. Ultimately, though, it’s a combination of the two that ended in his firing. It’s probably worth noting that, unlike many head coaching firings, there are a considerable number of arguments to be made in support of Paul MacLean. To start, MacLean was dealt a team with the league’s smallest payroll. The money Ottawa did spend included extensions for two aging-out veterans in Chris Phillips and Milan Michalek, and a three-year extension for a fifth-round defenseman who, at the time of the deal, had logged 21 NHL games. The team also bet on two young defensemen in Jared Cowen and Patrick Wiercioch, neither of whom have lived up to expectations. Paul MacLean didn’t simply forget how to coach, and his teams historically have been above average at 5-on-5. Can the significant drop-off solely be attributed to his coaching style, or is it possible that a newfound talent drag has been the impetus behind Ottawa’s demise? The front office is betting that MacLean was the issue – they’ve consistently defended the talent on their roster, and clearly they believe his style was depressing the collective performance of the team. Only time will tell if that’s an accurate assessment.
Joel Campbell Jersey .C. - Jaedon Descheneau scored a hat trick as the Kootenay Ice beat the Medicine Hat Tigers 7-4 to take a 3-1 lead in their Western Hockey League playoff series Thursday.
Laurent Koscielny Arsenal Jersey . Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse will reunite at this weekends season-opening World Cup at Canada Olympic Park as they begin their buildup to the Winter Games in Sochi.CHICAGO - Alexei Ramirez is finding different ways of helping the White Sox earn dramatic victories. Ramirez scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning on a throwing error and the Chicago White Sox edged the Boston Red Sox 2-1 on a frigid Tuesday night. Tied at one, Red Sox reliever Burke Badenhop (0-2) allowed a one-out single to Ramirez. After Tyler Flowers struck out, Chris Capuano replaced Badenhop. Capuano walked Adam Eaton to move Ramirez to second. Then with a 3-2 count, Marcus Semien hit a grounder to Xander Bogaerts at shortstop, who one-hopped his throw to first baseman Mike Carp. Carp wasnt able to scoop the throw and Ramirez, who was already running on the pitch never stopped when rounding third and scored without a throw. "There were two outs so I was going all the way with two outs, so my idea was to go ahead and get to home plate regardless of what happened," said Ramirez, who also beat the Cleveland Indians with a two-run homer in the ninth inning on Sunday. Bogaerts was disappointed with his throw to Carp. "Its cold weather, but thats no excuse for that play. Thats a ball I shouldve thrown right at the chest to him," Bogaerts said. "I knew it was going to bounce, it took a weird bounce, but I should have thrown it at his chest to Carp and gone into extra innings." The Red Sox didnt think Semien checked his swing on a 2-2 pitch that wouldve sent the game into extra innings. "Yes. The check swing from the open side clearly looked like — given some of the other check swings that were called here tonight — it was more extensive than some other ones. But we dont get the call, Red Sox manager John Farrell said. White Sox reliever Daniel Webb (1-0) got one out in the ninth for the victory. The temperature at first pitch was 40 degrees. All the players except for White Sox starter Erik Johnson and Eaton wore long sleeves under their jerseys and the upper deck was closed because of ice on the ramps. Adam Dunn homered for the White Sox, who have won four of their past five games and two straight in their final at-bat. The White Sox are off to a surprising 8-6 start after losing 99 games last season. Dunn is pointing to their patience at the plate as one of the reasons. "For the most part all year, weve had really good at-bats. I think thats why. It seems like were in (teams) bullpens seems early in each and every game. That take a toll," Dunn said. Daniel Nava homered for Boston, which has lost three straight. First baseman Mike Napoli left in the top of the ninth inning after injuring his left ring finger sliding into second base. With two outs, Napoli advanced to second on Donnie Veals wild pitch. Napoli slid head first into second and dislocated his left ring finger against the base. X-Rays on Napolis finger was negative. "Yeah I really dont do it often. But on a play like that when I dont know what kind of throw or whats going to happen and I see Alexei coming across.
David Ospina Arsenal Jersey. Its my first instinct to try and get to the bag as quick as possible," Napoli said. Red Sox starter Jake Peavy allowed one run and three hits in six innings on 113 pitches against his former team in his third straight no-decision. He struck out eight and walked four. Johnson pitched 6 2-3 innings and struck out a career-high nine in his eighth career start. The 24-year old right-hander allowed one run and three hits with two walks. Before the game, the White Sox paid tribute to the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings. The White Sox players wore "Boston Strong" T-shirts during pregame and there was a video montage along with a moment of silence. In the second inning, White Sox manager Robin Ventura challenged a call by first base umpire Cory Blaser. Ventura challenged that Napolis foot was off the base when he fielded Bogaerts throw to get Jose Abreu. The replay was ruled inconclusive so Blasers call was upheld. Dunn followed with his third homer of the season. "Obviously it is fun to compete against a guy like that," Dunn said of facing Peavy. "A lot of times you will be on the short end of it, but its fun stuff." Peavy actually heard Dunns bat break on the home run. "His bat broke. We broke his bat. Normally youll take your chances when that happens. Most people arent as strong as he is. He always used to say this ballpark played big to fair. "Im going to go on record and have fun with him tonight and tell him in big to fair ballparks, a broken-bat homer doesnt get out," Peavy said. "A good hitter getting a pitch he can get up in the air and thats what he does. He hits the ball out of the ballpark." David Ortiz was called out on strikes in the fourth inning on an appeal to third base umpire Doug Eddings. Ortiz was livid after Eddings ruled that the slugger didnt check his swing. Farrell had to intervene to prevent Ortiz from being thrown out of the game. With two outs, Nava tied the game with a solo shot to right. It was his second homer of the season. NOTES: Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia hopes to be back in the lineup on Wednesday night. Hes been out with a sore left wrist and received a cortisone shot on Monday after MRI tests came back negative. He entered the game as a pinch-runner for Napoli in the ninth and stayed in the game at second base. ... Red Sox closer Koji Uehara threw a bullpen session before the game and is expected to throw another bullpen session on Wednesday. Farrell expects to have Uehara available on Thursday. ...Red Sox OF Shane Victorino is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with one of the clubs minor league affiliates later this week. ... White Sox 2B Gordon Beckham, who is with Double-A Birmingham on a rehab assignment for an injured oblique, was 0 for 6 with a walk and a run in a doubleheader.
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