Montreal Gazette

Talik Sanis

Member since May 12, 2011

Montreal

Habs fan since: 2008
Favorite current player: Max Pacioretty
All-time favorite player: Larry Robinson

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Recent Comments

  • Comment on Habs practise after Price named Molson Cup Player of the Year
    When responding to an argument that is essentially "outliers invalidate a conclusion derived from a consideration of the statistical norm," sarcasm on this level is one of the few appropriate responses. I don't think that the folks over at EOTP would intend to reference Captain Planet, however, while poking fun at the pervading obsession over character. Also, go check out the comments in their article on Subban Vs. Karlsson. I am but a neophyte in the schools of satire and internet tough-guy-ism.
  • Comment on Habs practise after Price named Molson Cup Player of the Year
    Fenwick is useless. The Devils and Maple Leafs demonstrate this fact. The field of statistics does not acknowledge the possibility of randomness or outliers. No. No siree. It's not like it correlates with success or anything. http://www.habseyesontheprize.com/2013/4/4/4178716/why-possession-matters-a-visual-guide-to-fenwick Nope. No correlation whatsoever. Useless. All that matters is heart. Heart!
  • Comment on Habs given day off after win over Lightning
    It's been a while, so you probably will not see this, but your numbers are more up to date. I didn't calculate mine; I simply went off numbers produced from a few games back.
  • Comment on Habs given day off after win over Lightning
    At even strength, our top four point producers per minute are: Pacioretty: 2.89 points/60min (1.08 goals) Gallagher: 2.66 points/60min (1.33 goals) Galchenyuk: 2.65 points/60min (1.01 goals) Eller: 2.29 points/60min (0.60 goals) It should be noted that Eller plays a less sheltered role than the others, having 10% higher defensive zone starts than Galchenyuk (weird, isn't it, considering how they have been line-mates for a while now) and more than 15% more than Gally and Patches.
  • Comment on Penguins move into first place with win over Bruins
    Brady Vail, the player we selected with our fourth round pick in the 2012 entry draft, will apparently join the Hamilton Bulldogs this Tuesday. https://twitter.com/winstarparker/status/313401412879003649 Though Vail essentially matched his point production from last year, his plus/minus suffered a precipitous drop. However, reports on his defensive play have generally been quite positive; in a West Conference OHL coaches poll, Vail was rated the second best defensive forward. His production doubtlessly suffered due to the injuries that decimated the Spitfire's defense and forced the team to deploy him as a defenseman. His unsightly plus/minus stat is a partial product of playing for a team that bleeds scoring chances.
  • Comment on About last night ...
    I do not put much stock in giveaways and takeaways. They punish puck-moving defensemen, players who line up against top opposition players and log heavy minutes. However, many have criticized Subban for turnovers, using it as partial justification for their refusal to label him a number one defenseman last year. Interestingly, despite the claims as to his making reckless plays with the puck, he's tied for the fewest turnovers among our regular defensemen, though Gorges has played more games (he also handles the puck less frequently, deferring to Diaz, as he should, to make outlet passes). http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?fetchKey=20132MTLDADALL&sort=giveaways&viewName=rtssPlayerStats Subban has also allowed the third fewest goals against per sixty minutes of all our defensemen (Markov has allowed the most), and this includes all the fluky goals scored against when he was on the ice, where back-checkers failed to properly cover their man (as with Cole against Tampa, for example), or goals that should have been called back (again, as with Tampa). This reflects even better on Subban when we consider that he has one of the lowest on-ice save percentages among defensemen, something which is almost certain to rise.
  • Comment on Liveblog: Senators edge Canadiens 2-1 in Shootout
    It's really been more of a mix, as I've seen it. Markov is fist unit, while Diaz and Subban have been switching off here and there. Against the Rangers, Diaz and Subban played around 2:40 on the power play. With the Islanders, Diaz was on for 4:00 and Subban for 3:00. Before that, both had about one minute against the Rangers. Markov is almost always ahead of them by about a minute. However, Subban vision on the power play was in evidence just two nights ago, when he wound up, faking a shot, and then passed off to Gally on Eller's goal. And look at the "first unit" tonight with Diaz and Subban just before Markov scored. They were generating chances and could have scored very easily. Privilege process over immediate results. Scoring chances eventually turn to goals. Now, I agree that the powerplay has not found success relative to the early season, but our early season percentage was generally unsustainable. Neither Markov nor Diaz have maintained their scoring rates. This is not a knock on them; I expected nothing less as teams adapted to a resurgent Markov and our luck started to turn.