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    Home / RMNB / Capitals During Wartime: Bruce vs. Dale

    Capitals During Wartime: Bruce vs. Dale

    By Peter Hassett

     0 Comment

    February 10, 2012 2:33 am

    [Ed. note: Capitals During Wartime is a series analyzing Washington’s struggles before the 2012 trade deadline. We’ve discussed weakness at center, a poor road record, and negativity among fans so far.] 

    In the latest edition of Capitals During Wartime, I mused about how and why we discuss the negative stuff going on with Capitals right now. Concluding, in short, that our foremost responsibility is to the Truth, and not just Good Feelings, I promised not to shy away from D.C.’s ongoing hockey bummers– but also not to drench that analysis in hyperbole.

    This article is a statistical rundown of the Washington Capitals through 54 games for the purpose comparing the tenures of Bruce Boudreau and Dale Hunter head to head. But I will not be offering any commentary. My voice is limited to the selection of statistics below. Any conclusions you make or narratives you perceive are your own. I have included traditional stats, some advanced stats, and some individual curiosities that we’ve discussed recently on the site.

    Stat Bruce Dale
     Games  22  32
     Record  12-9-1  16-12-4
     Win %  54.6%  50%
     Road Win %  36.4%  33.3%
     Home Win %  72.7%  64.7%
     Shots per game1  30.6  25.3
     Goals per game  3.2  2.6
     Goals against per game  3.3  2.4
     Even-strength save %  .900  .930
     Shots against / game  29.7  31
     Fenwick  73 -205
     Shot differential2  20 -154
     Goal differential -3  4
     PK opp/game  3.64  3.38
     PK%  80.0%  81.4%
     PP opp/game  3.91  2.69
     PP%  16.3%  21.0%
     Faceoff win %  .497  .508
     Ovi goals per game  0.36  0.52
     Ovi ATOI  18:36  20:51
     JC74 +/-3 +5 -9
     Semin PIMs per game  1.52  0.50
     Knuble shots per game  1.68  0.94
     % without Green  65.0%  93.8%
     % without Backstrom  0%  47%
     Wideman ATOI  23:01  25:24

    So obviously there’s some author bias present in the figures I chose to use here. I chose stats that I thought would be illuminating or provocative in comparing the two. The stats are not uniformly flattering of either coach, and the actual efficacy of the coach upon many of these numbers should be debated. But I’m not going to do that for you– because that would be far too depressing.

    No, basically this is like what the editor at the The New Frontiersman says to the intern in that last scene from Watchmen: I leave it entirely in your hands. 

    What do the numbers tell you?

    Thanks to Ian for suggestions and Neil Greenberg for planting the seed. Check out Arctic Ice Hockey’s item on Alex Ovechkin’s possession and conversion under the two coaches for a similar digestion. 

    Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin, Bruce Boudreau, Capitals During Wartime, Dale Hunter, Dennis Wideman, John Carlson, Mike Knuble, Washington Capitals
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