So we started talking in the OT thread about SV% and how 88-89 saw the beginning of a shift in the way hockey is played. Someone mentioned how if you had a sv% of .900 in the 80's then you were practically the Vez cup winner and how goals were much more frequent. So I got intrigued and compiled some #'s to (a) satisfy my curiosity and (b) redeem myself for all the umm... sub-par.. posts I've been cluttering the board with. So take a look at these numbers. I double checked all my stats and I pray to God that I didn't make any mistakes.

vez sv% = Vezina winner's regular season sv %

cup sv % = Playoff sv % for the winning team's primary goalie

avg sv%= regular season sv % for the entire league (total shots fired the entire season / total saves made the entire season for all goalies)

shots/g = regular season average number of shots per game (total shots fired the entire season / (# games in regular season  * # teams))

gpg =  regular season avg # of goals scored per game by a single team

wgpg and mpgp = Just for fun, and to have another measuring stick I threw in Gretzky's and Lemeiux's regular season goals per game

Events = Anything significant that might have contributed to the way the game is played

All decimals are truncated, not rounded.

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So take it in.. this is mostly just for fun BUT... two questions come to my mind:

1) What the heck happened? How did the game start changing so much from an offensive game to a defensive game? Were the goalies just THAT crappy back in the 80's or were the offensive stars just THAT good back then... or did players change the way they shot the puck in the early 90's? Around 1989 did people realize that there was much more of an art form to goal tending? It's not like the players had more chances. Of all these numbers the only one that has been consistent is the # of shots per game.

2) What does this mean for the Caps? These are  just my opinions.. which are usually WRONG. I'm curious as to what you guys might think about this.

a) I think we should stick with Theodore for the playoffs. Look at Ed Belfour. The man won the Vezina with (what was then) a solid sv %, and then his sv% over his career stagnated to just barely above league averages for a few years. Maybe he was just getting adjusted to a new team but he eventually found the right chemistry at the right time his second season with Dallas. I think Jose is ripe to recreate that scenario. "American lives don't have second acts" .. but Theodore is Canadian, damn it..

b) The caps are scoring 3.95 goals per game. There have been times that teams have reached that mark before but the overall league average hasn't been like that since 85-86. If we can play an old school offense maybe we can win with a save % that isn't the best.. as long as it's consistent throughout the playoff stretch.

c)  M.A. Fluery 2009 playoffs .. I rest my case.

Two more random questions?

* How the hell did Jim Carey get the Vezina in 96?

* When did the goalie mask switch to the cage style? I'm assuming more protection against the neck and face would make a goalie less nervous and would make their save % increase.