There’s nothing like a good giveaway at a home game… as long as you’re talking about promotions. When you’re talking turnovers, however, it’s often another matter entirely.
By all accounts, Karl Alzner‘s second game in the NHL was a successful one, despite the fact that the official scorer saddled King Karl with five giveaways. But what does that number really tell us? Not much at all. And why not? Because the Caps – who have a 9-0-1 home record – are leading the League in home giveaways per game, which might be believable if they weren’t giving the puck away 61.5% less on the road, where they are 4-7-2 and have a team goals against average of around four.
Bottom line: the official scorer at the Verizon Center is giveaway-happy. Hockey Analysis confirms this, so keep that in mind when you’re reading the stat line from a game played at the VC or when you see that the Caps are leading the League in giveaways.
Incidentally, the same scorer is a bit generous in awarding takeaways too, but is more miserly in handing out hits.