Wild Wild West or Explosive East?
Why it is better to shut ’em out than to light ’em up!
As sure they skate on soft serve ice cream in Dallas, the debate between East and West rages on: Which Confy is tougher, faster, more skilled? It was Sunday’s connect community radio discussion between myself and Vehyrehk concerning the difficulties the Western Conference teams suffer by having such tough travel schedules that prompted me to once more consider the age old question- which is better the East or the West?I’m a Western Conference Snob. I sincerely believe the Western Conference is much, much tougher, much better than the East. I think we are all around better, well rounded teams with all the scoring and stylistic skills and wicked smart defenses that get the job done without relying on physicality (Pronger, and now Avery, excluded).
Until now, I based this perspective on observation, stereotype and habit. In talking to V, I realized I hadn’t properly formulated my arguments, and I began to worry that I couldn’t back my own “stuff” up.
And Juice don’t play like that, so here it is my first official analysis of the West versus the East, why I will conclude that it is better to shut them out than light them up and in that respect, the West is Best.
Eastern Superstars v Western Big D
I like to think the stereotypical differences in style of play were much more apparent in the 90’s and early 00’s than they are now, but the stats show that these basic distinctions remain firmly entrenched in our respective confys.
Eastern teams are defined by their scorers: Young guns like Ovie and Crosby, sharp shooters like Spezza and Lecavilier are revered in the East. Eastern teams still love their physical game- the Flyers being the most physical playing team in the league, followed closely by the Bruins.
In the West, defensive minded two way forwards like Datsyuk, Gaborik and Zetterberg are chased like panhandlers to gold. You will also find more of the top goalies in the Western Conference: Ozzie, Naby, Giguere, Luongo, Turco, Kiprusoff. Western Conference teams tend to be much more well rounded, running lines that have better scoring D-men like Lidstrom, Campbell, Phaneuf and Rafalski.
(Of course over the past few years these distinctions have begun to soften- like ice in – well Dallas, and because of this season’s schedule changes and more interconfy play, it will be interesting to see which conference has more interconfy wins at the end of this year. My bet is on the West, but one thing is certain- it won’t behoove a team to tailor itself to its conference traits anymore, instead we should see many future teams building without respect to the styles mentioned here.)
But does anything factual support the stereotypes??? Is a duck sometime really just a duck and what happens if you step on it?
Game and Scoring Statistics 2008: East v. West
These numbers show that last year there were more goals scored in the East and more shots on goal. While the West had more penalty minutes, the West wins on save percentage, which I argue is more crucial. It seems the stereotypes are bolstered by the numbers, even in 2008!
Further, in the 07-08 season, 7 Eastern Confy teams scored more than 240 goals (only the Wings and Stars exceeded that in the West). 8 Western Confy teams yielded less than 220 goals, while only Pitt, Devils and Rangers matched that stat.
Why does this matter Juice? Well because my main argument for why the West is superior to the East lies in the premises that it is better to shut ‘em out than to light ‘em up.
It turns out teams that shut ‘em out more than they light them up make the playoffs more often.
Of the teams that made the playoffs in 2008, Eastern Confy teams scored 2.82 goals per game and gave up 2.63. In the Western Conference, playoff teams scored 2.74 per game and let in 2.48. Teams which make the playoffs DON’T score significantly more than their respective conferences.
More importantly, they yield far fewer goals against. Fewer goals translates into playoff contention. Letting less puck through the five hole is more important than hitting it top shelf in this league. The West gives up fewer goals. Therefore,
Western Stylee is Superior-ee.
What you need more? Fell asleep reading this? Well try these fun facts on for size Lil’ Doggies and Kitty Kats:
The Numbers
Number of times each Confy has won the Cup since 1990 (excluding 04-05): Even
The East has won 8 and the West has won 8.
Number of times each Confy has won the President’s Trophy since 1990: West
The East has won it 5 times, the West has won it 12 times. Because of that 1995 finals Loss to New Jersey I no longer value this trophy as much as I once did, but the truth is it awards the team (and therefore their respective conference) that wins the most points in the regular season.
Points to make the Playoffs in ‘08: East
In the East you needed 94 points to make the Playoffs. In the West you needed 91 points.
Inter-Conference Wins: West
Last year in inter-conference match ups, the Western Confy teams won 83 games and the East won 67. Only one Western Conference team, the Blackhawks had a losing record versus the East (4-5-1), 6 teams from the East failed to break even against West.
Total Conference Wins in 08: West
West had 623 total wins, East had 607. The East had 1355 regular season points and the West had 1377. These stats are really only relevant, in my mind, to the extent of inter-conference play, which as mentioned already gives the West the edge…
Softest Division: Even
Most will say without thinking it’s the Southeast… but there is an argument that a close runner up is the Central Division. BUT for my beloved Red Wings, the Central was absolute mush last year. This might lead you to think that the Wings are mush- but then anyone they beat would be worse than mush, and well, they are the Stanley Cup Champs, so there goes your mush… Not my most eloquent argument, I just like the word mush.
And that is how the West is won.
Ed Note: there is further discussion and statistical support for the conclusions derived in this blog at
http://fans.nhl.com/members/LeftWing3Hugger/boards/27392 and
http://fans.nhl.com/members/LeftWing3Hugger/boards/27656
1 comment:
Juice!
I missed this when you originally posted it. Nice work! Very thorough research.
The head of our division was asking me about the differences between conferences this week, and I just couldn't put my finger on it. I think I'll send him this for clarification.
Thank you!
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