The Washington Capitals' Mid-Season NCC/60

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Last August with some help from the Verizon Center Concession Prospectus I compiled the 2010/2011 season totals for NCC/60 (Nacho Chip Consumption per 60 minutes) and tried to provide some analysis for the figures. (A link to last year's final figures can be found here.) The All-Star Weekend provides a good opportunity to take in the first half of the season for the Caps. Whereas the team PP % is in freefall and goals have been down, the NCC/60 for the Caps has been more like the PK %: on a healthy upswing. Time to look at some numbers.

Tyler Sloan - 34.35

Matt Bradley - 32.72

Bruce Boudreau - 31.88

Boyd Gordon - 29.76

Alexander Semin - 29.15

Michal Neuvirth - 25.40

John Erskine - 22.06

Eric Fehr - 18.56

Tom Poti - 4.00

Stats Analysis - Again Tyler Sloan posts the big NCC/60 numbers, even increasing his average so far by almost two chips.  As mentioned last year, Sloan is versatile enough to go between Nacho Chip consumption and other junk food consumption (pizza slice consumption has also seen an upswing: the man likes his melted cheese). A drop in Erskine's NCC/60 seem to have had a positive effect on Sloan's average. Maybe too much so as Tyler was recently sent down to Hershey for conditioning.

Matt Bradley - Brads is a new addition to the list and has been a tenacious, truculent one at that. His average would likely have been even higher if not for a small mishap where he cut the inside of his cheek on a pesky chip and stitches were required to stop the bleeding. True to form, however, Brads has been able to score nacho chips from the more elite players in the press box to bolster his totals.

Bruce Boudreau - Remember the famous freeze frame image in 24/7 of Bruce with sauce on his face? It was salsa.

Boyd Gordon - Boyd's high totals can be attributed to his strong defensive play (the man is very hard to steal nachos from) and being good on the draw ( he is usually the first to dive into a hot steaming plate of nachos). A good addition to the list who should never be underappreciated,

Alexander Semin - Oh Sasha. Really his average should be higher. But he is consistently inconsistent. Some nights he will scarf down two whole plates, others he will pick at his food. He can also be seen as being too cute when eating. A teammate reports that often Semin will attempt to curl the chip around the outside of the salsa, only to have it break and fall aimlessly to the press box floor.

Michal Neuvirth - A more recent addition to the list. Neuvy has taken on a silent assassin reputation in the press box. His youthful looks have deceived a few teammates as he went in for the kill to steal from their plates. Said one, "No one in the press box likes him anyway."

John Erskine - Oisk's total have taken quite the drop after leading the team in NCC/60 last season. His skills remain: big physique, physical play in the press box corners, his slow ,methodical takeaway nacho numbers. Let's say the decrease is more due to a lack of opportunity. He did score some chips though from teammates celebrating him on his awesome Movember 'stache.

Eric Fehr - Another recent addition to the list, hence the lower numbers. His injured shoulder also doesn't help his NCC/60 as it means less takeaway attempts. Fehr gets most of his nachos from around five feet in and tries to use his size to his advantage in getting position. Unfortunately he also has to deal with his coach who uses methods of intimidation on him to steal his nachos.

Tom Poti;  Allergic to nacho chips. Allergic to salsa. Allergic to Cheese. Allergic to black olives.....

So all in all there have been some new names added to the list. Some higher totals from some. Dropoffs from others. Let's all hope for a productive second half of the season and post season.