Welcome!

By registering with us, you'll be able to discuss, share and private message with other members of our community.

SignUp Now!

NHL

As someone who watches a hockey game maybe once a year, can someone explain to me how an expansion team is able to do this well in its first season? Weren't they only allowed to take players that no one wanted from existing teams?

There are lots of good reasons not to believe in the Golden Knights. Their PDO, a measure of shooting percentage and save percentage (which are generally flattened across the league, given enough of a sample), is very high, meaning, essentially, they’ve been very lucky. Their schedule has been a relatively easy one, fattening up on Arizona and facing just three teams in their first eight games that made the postseason last year. They’ve opened with six of their first eight games at home.

Vegas currently ranks 25th in expected Goals For percentage at 5on5. Their offense is below average (but not horrid) while their defense is firmly middle of the pack. About one or two teams make the playoffs each year with an xGF% below 50, but as you alluded to it’s mostly PDO driven in the end. I could see their shot% staying high given their forwards (only 11% right now, it’s high but not insane), however it’ll all come down to goaltending when they’re giving up the better of the chances.

Luck. Hockey apparently has great advanced stats. I don't really know what these ones mean. No one uses them because the intersection of advanced stats fans and hockey fans is really low. Hockey is all about bad assery.
 
Winter Classic is pretty awesome.

I don't get why someone would want to sit way out in center field when the temp is 18, the winds are 10-20 mph and you are in the shade, though.
 
Vegas kicking ass so far in the playoffs, up 3-0 over the Kings. Marc-Andre Fleury is a hell of a goalie, some of the saves he made tonight were unreal.
 
Would like to see a new team like the Knights (would be particularly cool since they're a first-year expansion team), Preds, Jets or Lightning win the cup this year. Blackhawks/Pens/Kings have owned the league for a decade by now.
 
For the first time this expansion team is now the betting favorite to win a title.

What a gimmicky sport.
 
I could not be more wrong. Two tough losses - kudos to LV for capitalizing on Jets mistakes.

The end may be near, but this has been a great run.

 
Vegas making it to the finals while getting a bunch of draft picks to take those players is hilariously awesome.
 


Imagine being able to hedge on +116 if you bought a 500/1 futures ticket on Vegas pre-season
 
That's what happens when you don't cater to the most popular teams in the biggest markets.
 

Chat users

  • No one is chatting at the moment.

Chat rooms

  • General chit-chat 0
  • NCAA Tournament (Non-Duke) 0
  • Duke vs Houston 0

Forum statistics

Threads
1,056
Messages
417,228
Members
623
Latest member
ScheySchey30
Back
Top Bottom