Forenregeln » Ovechkin is great with the man

CHICAGO -- Lots of positive news for the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field on Saturday. They collected two wins over the Chicago Cubs, and then there was an optimistic report on the status of dynamic infielder Josh Harrison. Francisco Liriano struck out nine in six innings, and the Pirates beat Cubs 5-0 after taking the suspended series opener in 11 innings. "He had real good swing-and-miss stuff," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. "He threw a lot of pitches that looked like strikes and ended up balls. The nine Ks were big for us -- and him pitching through the sixth." Pittsburgh began the day in third in the NL Central, five back of St. Louis and two games behind in the wild-card rMinnesota Wild forward Matt Cooke will not appeal his seven-game suspension for kneeing Colorado Avalanche defenceman Tyson Barrie during Game 3 of their series. Cooke was handed the suspension after an in-person hearing on Wednesday. If the suspension is not fully served in this years playoffs, it will continue on next season. The suspension is the sixth of Cookes career. After the incident he was assessed a two-minute minor for kneeing. Robert Hagg Jersey . The triple gold medallist from the 2010 Paralympics tweeted on Tuesday: "Woke up with a virus yesterday. Timing couldnt be much worse. Not the ideal prep for the . Michael Raffl Jersey . On a hot, sweaty day, the Hall of Famer looked cool and comfortable. http://www.officialflyersfanstore.com/authentic-jori-lehtera-flyers-jersey/ . Browns owner Jimmy Haslam announced the move with Young on Monday during a speech at a Pro Football Hall of Fame luncheon. Claude Giroux Jersey . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Andrew MacDonald Jersey . The Canadian Luge Association officially named seven athletes to the 2014 Olympic team Tuesday. Edney, will lead teenagers John Fennell and Mitchel Malyk into their first Games in mens singles. Tristan Walker and Justin Snith will represent Canada in doubles, while Gough, will be joined by Kimberley McRae in womens singles.Im going to write in defence of Capitals RW Alex Ovechkin, if only because there have been some recent attacks and, while I can certainly live with them being directed at Ovechkin, the analytical process ought to be better, particularly if its going to be a hit piece on the leagues leading goal-scorer. Yes, Im writing to defend a player that is on pace for a 59-goal season, when the second-best goal-scorer in the NHL this season, Torontos Phil Kessel, is on pace for 43. Naturally, I didnt think that Ovechkin would be a player that needed much defending, but hes taken some hits lately. Im going to largely ignore his contributions on the power play because its not in any dispute that Ovechkin is great with the man advantage and can make a difference even when he doesnt score. On one side of the discussion, we have the Toronto Star, with their Department of Hockey Analytics, and while there are plenty of flaws in Ovechkins game, they somehow determined that his goals-for/against percentage was the way to illustrate the problem. Never mind that goals for/against percentage is essentially measuring plus-minus. Ill get to that in a moment but, first, also peruse the Hockey News piece by Ken Campbell who, after Ovechkin was minus-5 against Columbus, decided that Ovechkin has to decide what kind of player he is. After all, Ovechkin was minus-17 on the season after that game. Whats odd about using plus-minus to denigrate Ovechkins contributions is that anyone doing serious analytical work in hockey has been against using plus-minus because it involves so many factors beyond an individual players control (not least of which are the contributions of nine other skaters and two goaltenders when the game is 5-on-5) and, generally, involves small samples because goals are relatively rare events. Its funny to find myself in this position, because I can be a bit of an apologist for plus-minus. You spend enough time around the game and that thinking can be pretty common, and when the sample is large enough, you can get a pretty decent list of players at both ends of the spectrum. (For example, heres the list of players with the best cumulative plus-minus since 2000, and here are the worst.) But, Ive at least learned that there are many other factors that go into whether a player is a plus or minus player, and they must be considered if youre going to attempt to pass judgment on a single season or, especially, a portion of a season. So, lets take a look at some factors that are at play to make Alex Ovechkin a minus-17. First off, the shooting percentage of others on the ice with Ovechkin at 5-on-5 is ridiculously low. His 6.3% is only ahead of fourth-liners Aaron Volpatti and Jay Beagle among Capitals forwards. The suggestion could be made -- and of course it has been -- that Ovechkin isnt making those around him better, but here are the 5-on-5 on-ice shooting percentages when Ovechkin has been on the ice for the past five seasons: 10.36%, 8.62%, 8.05%, 11.76%, 9.09%. Youre really going to have to dig for reasons, other than poor luck and ineffective shooters, to explain even-strength shooting effectiveness declining by 40% over last season, especially when Ovechkin himself is shooting 10.6% (18 goals, 170 shots) at 5-on-5. Taking away Ovechkins 18 goals on 170 shots, leaves the other Capitals to score eight goals on 242 shots (3.3%) with Ovechkin on the ice. Marcus Johansson, his most common left winger, has one goal on 51 shots. This undeniably effects plus-miinus, right? Of course it does.dddddddddddd Give Ovechkin an average on-ice shooting percentage (say, 8%) and that is a difference of about seven goals. At the other end of the rink, Ovechkin is getting burned with a .909 save percentage at 5-on-5. Naturally, the argument will be that Ovechkins defensive play is what leads to that low percentage. Keep in mind, that percentage is well below career norms for him (.922 over the past five seasons, including this one) and ranks near the bottom on the Capitals roster. Use that typical save percentage, on 439 shots against, and that becomes a difference of 5-6 goals. So, why not take a look at where the shots are coming from with Ovechkin on the ice? According to Some Kind of Ninjas Shot Tracker, shots against the Capitals with Ovechkin on the ice at even strength, come from an average distance of 34.5 feet. In the previous five seasons, it has been 34.2, 36.6, 35.8, 34.6 and 35.9 feet on average. There can be an argument made, based on those average shot distances, that Ovechkins most effective defensive performances were in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 (the Dale Hunter season), but there really isnt a huge difference; goaltenders arent suddenly flummoxed by 34-foot shots when 36-footers are easy pickings. On top of that, best of luck trying to identify those particular seasons as anything close to Ovechkins best. Why? Because he scored 70 goals and 150 points in 157 games over those two seasons, producing the two lowest point scoring rates of his career. Yes, even lower than this season, when virtually no one else puts the puck in the net with him on the ice. Of course Ovechkin is not a defensive whiz, but that shouldnt stand as an indictment any more than it has for elite offensive players throughout the history of the game. Seriously, take a look at the Top 10 goal-scorers in the league, none of whom put the puck in the net like Ovechkin, and identify the ones that are notably strong backcheckers. Some are: Joe Pavelski, Alexander Steen, Patrick Sharp, but theres no reason to believe that right wingers Kessel or Corey Perry or Patrick Kane are doing brilliant work in the defensive end. Heres the thing: theyre all great players! Part of the trouble for Ovechkin is that the Capitals havent been able to win in the postseason, so he gets painted with the brush of failure for a whole host of team shortcomings. Thats what comes with being a superstar. This Capitals team is flawed. They rank in the bottom third of the league in Fenwick Close (measuring shot attempts, not including blocks, at even strength, with the score close), which is a good indication of team puck possession, yet Ovechkin has relatively solid possession numbers. If you want to break down a players overall contribution, and feel that you must use one statistic in order to do so (better yet, dont), then at least reduce the impact of others on the ice and look at the possession stats, because it wont matter that linemates arent finishing or that, for whatever reason, goaltenders arent stopping the puck. Shooting and save percentages fluctuate and while they affect perception -- just ask Tyler Bozak -- they dont get to the bottom of a players on-ice contribution, and so it is with Ovechkin this year, who is having a fine season, no matter what his plus-minus says. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. 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Harrison finished with four hits and two RBIs, including a tiebreaking RBI single in Pittsburghs final at-bat. But the All-Star also re-injured his left ankle while making an over-the shoulder catch in short centre field in the bottom of the 11th. He was out of the lineup for the rest of the day. Harrison said he was fine as he made his out of the clubhouse after the two wins. "He came down later on and would have been available to pinch hit, he said, so maybe its not as bad as it looked," Hurdle said. "Well know more tomorrow." Andrew McCutchen had three hits in the second game for the Pirates, who improved to 11-4 against the Cubs this year. Jordy Mercer hit an RBI single in the first and a leadoff homer in the ninth. Liriano (4-10) allowed three hits and walked two in his first win since July 29. The veteran left-hander went 0-3 with a 3.75 ERA in six August starts. "Theyre young, but theyre pretty good hitters, most of them," Liriano smiled. "I know they wanted to swing the bat. I wanted to be patient and not throw the ball too far over the plate." Justin Wilson, Jared Hughes and Brandon Cumpton each pitched an inning to complete the six-hitter. Felix Doubront (1-1) pitched five innings in his second game with the Cubs. The lefty, who was acquired in a July 30 trade with Boston, gave up two runs and five hits. Fridays series opener was suspended by rain with one out in the top of the seventh inning. Neil Walker began the 11th with a one-out double off Wesley Wright (0-3), the last of nine Cubs pitchers. Wright then walked rookie Gregory Polanco and pinch-hitter Brent Morel to load the bases before Harrison singled to centre. Tony Sanchez added a pinch-hit sacrifice fly. Mark Melancon (3-4) pitched two scoreless innings for the win and rookie John Holdzkom finished for his first major league save. In the second game, McCutchen singled and scored on Gaby Sanchezs groundout in the third, and singled in pinch-runner Chase dArnaud to make it 3-0 in the seventh. Chris Stewart added an RBI single in the eighth. "We werent able to score any runs the last half of the first game and the second game, but well settle back in," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "Quite frankly, we just didnt do very much offensively today." BAEZ STRUGGLES CONTINUE Chicago rookie Javier Baez struck out seven times in nine at-bats in the two games. He has fanned 58 times in 132 at-bats this season. "We need to keep him in there and see if we can get him to trust what he was actually doing (in the minors)," Renteria said. TRAINERS ROOM Pirates: RHP Charlie Morton is scheduled to pitch a simulated game on Tuesday. He was placed on the disabled list last month with a sports hernia in his right hip. "We need some more information before we can make an accurate read," Hurdle said of his short-term prospects. ... C Russell Martin finished the suspended game after he turned his left ankle on a swing the previous day. Stewart started the nightcap. Cubs: 1B Anthony Rizzo will accompany the team on the road next week, but there is no timetable for his return. He sat out his 10th and 11th straight games because of a strained lower back. ... C Welington Castillo started the second game behind the plate after he was scratched on Friday due to tightness in his lower back. ... LHP Tsuyoshi Wada, who pitched just 3 1-3 innings on Friday due to mild cramping in his left calf, reported no further problems and was expected to make his next scheduled start. UP NEXT Pirates RHP Gerrit Cole (7-5, 3.86 ERA) will oppose Cubs LHP Travis Wood (8-11, 4.81 ERA) in the series finale Sunday. Darrius Heyward-Bey Jersey . Nat Borchers headed in the sole goal in the 54th minute, getting on the end of a Kyle Beckerman free kick. The defeat cost Sporting top spot in the Eastern Conference. Even a draw would have moved the Kansas City club above Columbus. James Harrison Jersey . You can watch the game live on TSN2 and TSN Mobile TV at 9pm et/6pm pt. Jonathan Huberdeau and Quinton Howden are expected to make their debuts for Team Canada. http://www.officialpittsburghsteelersfootball.com/authentic-vince-williams-jersey-womens . The start of the seasons fifth and final major was delayed two hours due to heavy rain in the area. The tournament eventually began, but with water on the greens and the rain persisting, players were called back to the clubhouse less than an hour after the first group teed off. Roosevelt Nix Jersey . Not bad for a defenceman. The goal, that is. Although the shuffling dance steps werent bad, either. Barrie scored 55 seconds into overtime, Semyon Varlamov stopped 29 shots, and the Avalanche moved a step closer to their first playoff berth in four years with a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. 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