’19 Canyon of Heroes Week 2

It only took one week for the other shoe to drop. The lack of offensive production was the main culprit as we only won two of the eight scoring categories.

After starting the season with an impressive 8-4 victory, we fell to a lower seed 6-4-2. The loss dropped us from fourth place to seventh.

MATCHUP AND SCORES

We were schooled by 10 points across three categories, scoring eight fewer goals and notching two fewer assists. Our plus/minus was worse, and we don’t get enough power-play points.

Somehow we secured a game-winning goal, and it was more than enough to collect the category. We usually win the shots on goal category, but came up nine short this time around. Hits were never an issue.

The goalie platoon was the highlight of the week. We won two of the four categories and tied the other two. Now, if we could get a replica of that in the player’s groups, we’d have a better record.

Monday was the only day we had a sizeable lead in the matchup. The remaining six days were all used playing catch up, ultimately falling short of the victory.

STANDINGS & TEAM STATS

Our winning percentage maybe 0.542, but are sitting in the middle of the league in seventh place. Not bad for a team that occupied the lower spots most of last season.

If you dissect the numbers like we do, you will see that we have compiled one of the worst offensive teams in the league.

Out of the eight-player categories, we are in double digits in five of them. Our highest placement is fourth overall in hits. Game-winning goals are close to the double-digit mark, while shots on goals are middle of the pack.

The five goalie platoon is ranked first wins and middle of the pack in the rest of the categories. We have good goalies, not all-stars, so despite plenty of playing time, sometimes these guys lose games, and it’s not pretty.

The number might improve if you factor in the bench players, but somedays it is hard to figure out who has the better matchup and to start them.

BENCH PLAYERS

Since we play in a league where daily roster adjustments are allowed, we manage our bench players pretty carefully.

In week two, we didn’t leave any points of substance on the bench. Since we already the goals-against average category and save percentage ones, Pekka Rinne’s (Nashville) start against Florida didn’t matter.

Sometimes games are won and lost with bench player management.