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The NHL was exploring opening the 2020-21 season at Lake Louise

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The NHL was exploring opening the 2020-21 season at Lake Louise

Banff, Alberta, is where Beck Malenstyn got engaged and it’s also the location the NHL recently explored to start the 2020-21 season.

The Star’s Mark Zwolinski reported in early October that the NHL had internally discussed opening the new year with hockey on picturesque Lake Louise. Featuring turquoise water and a stunning Rocky Mountain backdrop, Lake Louise would allow the league to still have a memorable experience on January 1 with the Winter Classic being shuttered.

Two weeks later, however, the NHL has abandoned the idea as it “won’t be possible” according to multiple insiders.

Friedman added that “one of the reasons is that sponsorship opportunities are limited in a federal park.”

The NHL is still going to target other “aesthetically-pleasing options” however.

But man, how could would Lake Louise have been? Pretty awesome if you ask me.

Headline photo: Pixabay

RMNB

Carl Hagelin: 2019-20 season review

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Carl Hagelin: 2019-20 season review

If you’re expecting Carl Hagelin to be an elite sniper, then the problem isn’t with Hagelin; the problem is you and your wacky expectations. Chill out, brah.

By the Numbers

58games played
14.3time on ice per game
8goals
17assists
54.45-on-5 shot-attempt percentage, adjusted
50.75-on-5 expected goal percentage, adjusted
54.45-on-5 goal percentage, adjusted

Visualization by HockeyViz

About this visualization: This series of charts made by Micah Blake McCurdy of hockeyviz.com shows lots of information for the player over the season. A short description of each chart:

  1. Most common teammates during 5-on-5
  2. Ice time per game, split up by game state
  3. 5-on-5 adjusted shot attempts by the team (black) and opponents (red)
  4. 5-on-5 adjusted shooting percentage by the team (black) and opponents (red)
  5. Individual scoring events by the player
  6. 5-on-5 adjusted offensive (black) and defensive (red) zone starts

Peter’s Take

Yesterday I ate a lot of stuff for getting the Gudas-Niskanen trade wrong, so today I get to say that I called it with Carl Hagelin. Hags is a special player, but he’s no sniper. He never has been. He’s got a career 7.9 shooting percentage, barely half of two players he sorta replaced, Brett Connolly and Andre Burakovsky. But a lack of finishing skills isn’t a Hagelin problem; that’s a Caps problem. The front office and coaching staff (whoever they will be) need to deploy him with complementary players. Let Hagelin be excellent through neutral, which is already a mechanic the Caps should focus on next season. Then he can set up someone else to score the goals.

Because it’s clear he’s not up for the job. Even given his below average generation of shot attempts and quality, Hagelin underperformed his own individual expected goals figure. Compare his xG (using Natural Stat Trick’s model) and actual goals to other Caps and former Caps, and you’ll see why this season stung a bit.

Ex-Caps Andre Burakovsky and Brett Connolly continued their top-tier finishing, both of them doubling their expected-goals rate in actual goals. The elite-finishing forward still with the Caps, Evgeny Kuznetsov, kept his magic going as well. But while Hagelin generated more individual offense (measured by his personal shot quality and volume), he didn’t come close to those three in notching goals. Here’s individual shot locations for Hagelin, Panik, and Connolly all side-by-side.

That ended up generating 7 goals for Hagelin, 9 goals for Panik, and FIFTEEN for Connolly. We could consider Hagelin (and Panik) unlucky in this respect, but it really seems to be a durable thing with him. He’s just not that kind of player. He’s definitely got value, but for that value to manifest as goals and wins, he needs support.

So the Caps need a player with a good shot who maybe isn’t great in other zones. There was a guy who fit that bill, but he plays for the Avs now, so I guess Brian MacLellan has some homework to do.

Hags on RMNB

Your Turn

Who would you like to see paired with Hagelin? What should Hags do to juice his scoring stats?

Read more: Japers Rink

New York Mets: Lugo’s Best Start of the Season Gives Mets a 5-1 Win

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New York Mets: Lugo’s Best Start of the Season Gives Mets a 5-1 Win

The New York Mets needed Seth Lugo to pitch as long as he could, and it was exactly what he did. Lugo gave the Mets five strong innings, holding the Phillies to one run and throwing a season-high 81 pitches. The Mets offense came together to give them a relaxing 5-1 victory.

The command that Lugo lacked with his fastball he made up for with his curveball. It helped him record eight strikeouts and keep the Phillies to four hits. Their only run came off a Rhys Hoskins home run on a fastball in the first inning. Lugo recording the win was the first Mets starter to earn a W in 19 games.

Team Effort On Offense

Six different Mets recorded hits and half of them had multiple-hit games. Michael Conforto made use of the opposite field for two hits, including an RBI single. Jeff McNeil did not have an RBI but had a double to continue his hot hitting.

Andres Gimenez was the best player for the Mets on both sides of the ball. He had four productive plate appearances. Two hits, a walk, and a sacrifice fly that was a gift from the Phillies defense as Bryce Harper’s laziness forced a backpedaling Neil Walker to make the catch.

The strong play on offense and defense is showing why he should play more than Amed Rosario. With the Mets needing every single victory they can get, Gimenez will likely continue to play as Luis Rojas rides the hot hand.

The struggling Mets bullpen also hurled four shutout innings and recorded five strikeouts. The entire staff also held the Phillies to 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 Phillies on base.

Sunday afternoon’s matchup is a battle of the aces as Jacob deGrom faces Aaron Nola at a 1:10 p.m. ET start from Citi Field.

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