Some Stats

It was noted early on by Sister, that the Americans win when Drydn Dow plays.  So I thought I'd do some digging and see how accurate that statement is.

Dow has played in 20 of 30 games.  When he plays the team is 16-4.  When he hasn't played, they are 3-7.  Probably not the best sample size, but still.  There's definitely a token of truth in Sister's statement.

That got me thinking, and the whole kerfuffle about the 20-year-olds too, what about games with and without Neal Prokop back in the lineup and locker room?  Without Neal the team went 13-10, since his return they are 6-1.

The whole team had a rough November so maybe there's no trend or anything interesting in the stats here at all.  But maybe there is.  It'll be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

Granted, the stats don't take into account the eastern road trip or the start-of-the-season Conference Champs hangover or whatever, they're just numbers.  They could mean absolutely nothing.

I do know I like Dow's play, I think he's a very effective D-man and skates very fluidly.  No, he's not the biggest guy on the team, but as long as he does what he needs to do to keep the puck out of the net or even reaching the goaltenders, I'm fine with that.

I also know that Neal is a huge presence in the locker room.  Not only is he a big asset on the ice, but he's one off of it too and that plays just as much a role in the success (or failure) of a team as the chemistry and skill on the ice.