I'm not dismissing the stats at all and I think they are likely very determinate in nature and practice.
If we take the example of the Flames and the Oilers, for example, I think the Oilers look better than their play should otherwise indicate, as it is very clear that teams coming into the game are taking early leads and sitting back/taking their foot off the pedal/going through the motions/phoning it in.
They aren't seeing a ton of backups yet as teams are still getting the starters into the swing of things, but teams are noticeably playing looser against the Oilers after getting out to early leads.
The oilers have played 38 more minutes 5-5 when down by 2 or more goals than the next closest team.
The oilers are spending most of their games down significantly and the result is a lacking effort from the opposition.
I think, based on the quality of their defensive lapses, general compete, things like stats for shots-against might even be slightly distorted by the way teams hold onto the puck against Edmonton, similar to the fashion that Calgary's off the rush offense might influence their possession statistics.
I don't have numbers to prove this out, but it's my opinion based on reading other people's statistical evaluation and comparing that to what I see on the ice.
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