Here's a suggestion for keeping individual games in perspective -- a problem right now for Caps fans eager to repeat last year's glory.
Let's say 100 points is the goal (the Caps got into the playoffs with 94 last season; five teams had 100+).
It's an 82-game season.
So, split the season into eight-game blocks. (Why eight? Well, Ovie is 8, for one thing; hence, The Rule of Eights.)
To reach 100 points, you need 10 points every 8 games.
Now let's look at the Caps' first eight games. They've got four points in three games, so they need six points in the remaining five games of this eight-game block. That means going 3-2 (not allowing for overtime points). A loss tonight (and the Caps should feel free to win this one, by all means!) just means doing a little better in the next four games to stay on track.
Didn't Boudreau do something like this with his young Caps last year? Might be a good thing for Caps fans, who seem to wildly swing between "the Caps are one of the NHL's elite" to "we need to gut the roster" with every loss.
TillyCapsFan for Capitals Kremlin
Thursday, October 16, 2008
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It was Hanlon that took this approach with the team at the beginning of last season. Didn't work too well for him though.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good way to keep track of the season as a fan, but as we saw from Hanlon, it's not a great way to coach.
ReplyDeleteWe've been a fan of this for a while, but being of the "metric" sort, we prefer to think in ten-game segments. If a team gets 12 points every ten games, that's 96 points. They win the last two, and that's 100.
ReplyDelete"There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief...and unspeakable love."
ReplyDeleteWashington Irving
Tilly, Tilly Caps Fan
ReplyDeletePerseverating #'s like Rainman
Though it may feel like home
You'll be ever alone
'till NOT keeping score is the plan ...