Why do people (particularly WSCR update anchors who should know better) insist on saying the Blackhawks are "1 game under .500" or "3 games under .500" when in fact they are WAY under .500? They are currently 29-32-8. That is NOT three games under .500. Yes, they have 8 overtime losses, but they also have 7 overtime wins. You can't count the OT wins but not the OT losses! If they go on a run and end the season 36-36-10, you just know they will lauded for "finishing .500" despite missing the playoffs.

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The NHL treats overtime losses as regulation ties and treats overtime wins as regulation wins (unless they're shootout wins and let's not get into that). That's the NHL's problem, not the Score's, and they don't even see it as a problem: they love artificially inflating the standings to make crappy teams look like they're in it. Of course, the Hawks are so bad this year that not even eight loser points can make them look like they're in it. The Blues, though...

Back when Howie Rose did Islanders games, he would refer to the Isles as reaching "Gary Bettman's strange conception of .500" or something. (I hope he works the Nassau games again when they start splitting the schedule.) You can find the actual break-even point of the NHL by doing a little napkin math with games played leaguewide and the points allotted from them. It usually ends up being somewhere around .560.

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Bingo. Maybe other sports will look for something similar to mask how bad the tanking teams are.



That's hilarious. Forget zero-sum...our league is mostly winners!

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Okay, so as of this morning, the league has given out 2367 points over 1057 games played. With any other zero-sum league, wins divided by games played would necessarily give you .500. In the NHL, it's -- just as I predicted! -- .55983917, in other words,



So if you're at .500 in points, you're actually well below average. The Blue Jackets, who are in the second wild card with 36-28-5, are at .558, and thus the closest thing to a true NHL ".500."

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Pretty good game today. I haven't got to watch many but I have seen all of this one. Boston is probably pissing their way through it though with the ridiculous home and home early starts.

The PP looks so much better with Goose running it that Keith. He isn't all fumbly with the puck and he can actually go get a clear without taking 30 seconds to track it down and dick around behind the net. Jurco was busting his ass and looked pretty decent. Hayden was working hard. The Captain actually looked pretty solid. Seabs had one of his better games. Keith looked like shit IMO today and schmaltzy didn't have a good day either. Saad fucked up the breakaway by not passing it to 88 for an easy score.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

The Bruins have been playing weekend matinees since the days of the Boston Garden because it's a way for outstate New Englanders to day-trip to Boston for games and then get back to Maine or wherever. Even with the road game today, I'm sure the team is used to it.

I always had high hopes for Gustafsson and thought he got a rough ride by spending all of last year in Rockford as penitence for giving up the series-winning goal to fuckface Brouwer in 2016. Sam Fels seems to think Bowman giving him an extension is a fireable offense.

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Keith is fucking horrible on the PP and should never be on the PP1. Can't enter. Can't shoot. Doesn't quarterback. So indecisive. I have always said that a major reason why the Hawks PP has been so poor over this era has been because of Keith.

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Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be.

It's so strange that that's such a blind spot for him. Here we have one of the two or three best offensive defensemen of his era, already a Hall of Famer, yet he's tits on a bull on the power play.

You mentioned power-play quarterbacking. Do you think Brian Campbell's retirement has gone under the radar as a big loss? I know he wasn't what he used to be, but I think he still brought a lot to the team last year. Crawford's season-ending injury and losing one of the greatest of all time to flesh-eating formaldehyde rashes sorta distracted from Campbell's departure. One thing's for damn sure: even at age 39 or whatever he is now, he'd be a better defenseman than an analyst, goodness gracious.

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Definitely. He would have helped both on the PP and the transition game. A couple articles on the Athletic have highlighted the Hawks's biggest issues this season. #1 Crawford's injury has crippled the team. He is the by-far the best goalie in the last 5 years for save percentage above expected at 5-on-5. People that say he is not elite are clueless. He has been consistently very good to excellent for the last 5 seasons at a very volatile position. #2 The Hawks only allow Keith, Osterle, and now Gustafson to skate the puck out of the zone. Campbell would have definitely helped in this area.

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Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be.

Sikura signed and will play thursday. No one cares...but they should. He should be a piece.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Glad they got him signed. I was getting a little worried.

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It's going to make the loss of Hartman more palatable. IDK how physical this kid is but he should be able to fill his skates and then some.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

I care and am still watching. Victor Ejdsell is going to make his debut tonight. He was the other part of the Hartman trade. 6'4" center with some skill. Hopefully, he make Anisimov expendable.

Sikura plays on Thursday. Would have been nice if the Win/Nash game was on last night. We got that Bruins/Wild game instead.

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Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be.

Hawks signed Blake Hillman out of Denver, 6th round pick in 2016. Might dress Thursday against Winnipeg. We can use all the help we can get.

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Hawks rolling a DeBrincat-Ejdsell-Sikura second line in practice. That'll be fun to watch before Q breaks them up four minutes into the game for getting scored on by Blake Wheeler, but till then, enjoy tomorrow's stars today!

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It’s a sorry, obvious truth. I don’t fault the guy for trying to get every competitive advantage, but the stubborn determination to not be self-aware is endlessly frustrating.

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Debrincat's season is getting overshadowed by some other rookies this year. His production is quite remarkable given the fact that he has had little to no exposure to Kane or Schmaltz and his ice time has been less than 15 min per game. Imagine what he would have done this season if Q had put him in a better position.

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Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be.

Rookie goalie tonight too with Forsberg hurt.

Comrie v. Delia was the goaltending matchup I saw when I went to the Moose-Hogs game in Rockford. If that was any indication, the Jets will cut Delia to ribbons. Kane scored a good one on Comrie first, though.

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Comrie having a bad night.

He sure is. Smart of the Jets to keep Hellebuyck's minutes down by sitting him against a shit team like the Hawks. (I'd go April preseason with him the rest of the way and give him like the first period of the last two games and that's it.) And it's good for us because hey, more empty points for Kane.

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We have an emergency goalie sighting! Forsberg can't go and Delia just got hurt bad, so they have to go to the beer-league guy on the amateur tryout contract!

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Need a shooter tutor to make it complete.

Ha 7/7 in the net for Foster.

HE'S ON THE TEAM FOR NEXT YEAR

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A MORAL VICTORY!!!!!!!!

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Not a mult.

We're back on the other side of late-March blowouts because the good team doesn't give a fuck. This is what it sounds like when doves cry.

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The EBUG is one of the most fun concepts in sports. It's literally "is there a goalie in the house!"

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

It was fun. And a memory of a life time for the guy. Making him #1 star was a chuckle but again, hell of a memory.

Must be awesome to get that 90 sweater and have that moment at 36. Surreal shit.

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