A Look Back At Game 4 and Other Series Previews

First, we would like the thank someone by the name of  "Whiskeyjakk" as the first person to comment ever on our blog. Little does he (or she) know that this is not a legitimate blog by any means. We really have no clue what we are doing and we honestly can't believe they fell for it. Hahahahahahahahhahahahaha.


Alright, now that that's out of the way....Because we are men of our word and never, ever lie here at Cross-Shredding, here is a more in-depth analysis of games from last night and previews of todays games. Before we begin though, this is your warning that advanced stats (or sometimes called FancyStats) will be involved in some analysis posts.

Oh, what’s that? You think FancyStats are confusing, hard to understand, useless, don’t add value, stupid, a waste of time and fill you with a seething rage that can only be cured by punching someone in the face? Don’t worry pleebs, Mr. Dr. Prof. HC is here to dole out some knowledge.

First, here is a glossary of the various FancyStats terms and what they mean. The main ones we will focus on at this blog are Corsi, Fenwick and PDO. Don’t worry, we’ll try to dumb things down for you. Second, while we try to touch on all the teams in the league, we are Sharks fans so the most effort will directed towards them.

Let’s talk about tonight’s action for a hot minute:

Rangers-Flyers: (NYR leads seriers 2-1)

This has been a very physical series so far, as expected. The poor Flyers have had a carousel of goaltenders the last few years and that can take a toll on a team. Ray Emery is currently minding the net for Philly and he isn’t doing a terrible job; it’s just hard to compete with who’s minding the net on the opposite side of you, King Henrik. I’m not sure you can make an argument against Henrik Lundqvist being one of the best goaltenders in the league. The Rangers will go as far as Lundqvist takes them. I don’t see Philly losing both games at home, though.

Prediction: Flyers - 3  Rangers - 1 (and there will be a fight or four.)

Song to describe the game: Dressed To Kill - New Found Glory (Philly will come out swinging)

Blues-Blackhawks (Series tied 2-2)

    Well, this series is what we all expected it to be: a massacre. Brutal, physical, old time hockey in this series and it’s awesome. Brent Seabrook will serve the final game of his 3-game suspension for blind-siding David Backes in Game 2. I’ve said all along that this series was going to game 7 and I still think that. If you enjoy watching players get obliterated by open-ice checks then tune into this game tonight.

Prediction: Blues - 4  Blackhawks - 3 in OT (and St. Louis fans will wonder why TJ Oshie can’t just shoot 6 times in the shootout.)

Song to describe the game: Wrecked Em? Damn Near Killed Em! - Four Year Strong

Dallaheim (Series tied 2-2)

    I really hope Dallaheim starts to spread. It’s so much fun to say and type. Anyways, I picked the Stars in 6 before the series started and I think that’s what will happen. The Stars have given the Ducks fits all season and as good a story as Frederik Andersen is, he’s still a rookie with no playoff experience. The Ducks are generally pretty stupid, though. Teemu Selanne was a healthy scratch in Game 4 and his son got really mad bahahahaha. Also, this wonderful picture of Corey Perry, known sex-offender.

Prediction: Stars - 4  Ducks - 2

Song to describe the game: Canadian Idiot - Weird Al Yankovic (because that song is about Corey Perry.)

Now for some boring charts about the Sharks and Kings game:

• From the top graph, you can see the Sharks controlled most of the game but really only had sustained dominance during the first half for the first period and the last half of the third. With the exception of the span in the second period where the Kings were running circles around the Sharks, this wasn’t a terrible showing.
• The fourth line had a God awful night however. All three players ended up at the bottom of the team’s Corsi-For % getting outshot while on the ice but a huge margin. With the dominance they showed in games 1 and 2, it isn’t all the surprising the Sutter and the Kings jumped all over them and coaxed Torres and Brown into some bad penalties. Hopefully with last change at home, the coaching staff will get better matchups.
• Not sure why TMac decided to keep Pavelski on a line with Thornton and Burns. Pavs had some moments, but was mostly ineffective. It’s been said a lot already but the Sharks are a much deeper team and harder to match with when Pavs centers the third line and Hertl is on Thornton’s wing. The lines were mixed up a bit at the end, but it was too late by then. The goals are coming from lots of different places so the coaching staff should focus more on balance than fire power.
• Speaking of the third line, James Sheppard actually had a pretty good game. He scored and had a few other great chances throughout the night. Same can be said for Matt Nieto who’s been playing like a mad man and scored as well.