’19 Top of the Rock Week 9

I hate to sound like a broken record, but week nine delivered us fifth straight loss. After starting the season with four straight matchup wins, we have struggled ever since.

MATCHUP AND SCORES

For the second straight week, we collected two points in the matchup. This week, we won the shots on goal, and the save percentage categories.

We came within two points of tying the assists category and only one point away from typing the penalty minutes and win categories.

Thanks to some elite goaltending, Hanz&Franz edged us in goals against and tied us in shutouts.

Our 83-61 win in shots was by far the most massive deficit between the two teams.

For the first time in forever, we lead a matchup after the first day of action.

After Tuesday, the matchup was all but decided. Thanks to some weekend heroics, we were able to salvage another point and tie.

STANDINGS & TEAM STATS

In week five, we had the second-best record in the league. After several losses, we have stumbled all the way down to ninth.

We are only sitting six points out of a playoff spot, but until we stop the bleeding, those six points seem like 60.

Despite our best intentions at the draft and through free-agent signings, we are now only four points out of the last place (again).

Week in and week out, the guys between the pipes have been the rock of our team. Combined, our goalies lead the league in wins and shutouts, and sit in second place in goals-against average and save percentage.

It’s a whole other story with the offence. Collectively, we may have the most penalties and shots on goal in the league… but rank near the bottom in everything else.

Just when we think we have mastered the weekly matchup, you can see that bench mismanagement has left a lot of points off the scoresheet. If you factor in those numbers in any of the categories we are terrible in, the cut isn’t as deep.

BENCH PLAYERS

After examing the missing points of the bench players, we would have only gained another point.

In week nine, we left 34 penalty minutes out of the matchup, which would have easily won us that category by 33 points.

For those of you who don’t follow teams and players so carefully, Marc-Andre Fleury (Las Vegas), didn’t play the entire week because of a death in his family. His time away hurt us last matchup because we weren’t able to switch him out. Since we didn’t know how long he’d be out, we sat him in week nine.