Can a 4 Year Old and a 6 Year Old Beat the Experts - Finals

Looks like we all agree once again this round, with both kids predicting a second consecutive Stanley Cup for the Penguins!

Can a 4 Year Old and a 6 Year Old Beat the Experts - Round 3

They say children are the future, and in the case of our contest this year, youth certainly seems to be a virtue, as the winner in round two was my 4 year old, with a 3-1 record vs. 2-2 for the rest of us. Here are the picks for this round.  Given that we all […]

Can a 4 Year Old and a 6 Year Old Beat the Experts - Round 2

The first round wasn't any easier for the kids than it was for us.  We're all hoping for a better outcome in the second.  Here are the teams they like:   4 Year Old: 1.  Penguins beat Capitals 2.  Senators beat Rangers 3.  Ducks beat Oilers 4.  Blues beat Predators   6 Year Old: 1. […]

Can a 4 Year Old and a 6 Year Old Beat the Experts?

It's playoff time again, and my 4 year old daughter has now officially joined her sister and entered the ranks of semi-professional hockey prognosticators.  After less than a minute of deliberations, here's where they landed:   4 Year Old: 1.  Capitals beat Leafs 2.  Penguins beat Blue Jackets 3.  Canadiens beat Rangers 4.  Bruins beat […]

Can a 5 Year Old Beat the Experts - The Finals

So after a conference final in which we differed on the Blues / Sharks series and ultimately our model prevailed, my daughter has continued to remain loyal to her Penguins, who she thinks will be planning their victory parade soon enough. Looks like we agree on this one!    

Can a 5 Year Old Beat the Experts - Round 3

After getting surprised by the Sharks in an anticlimactic game 7 of an otherwise stellar series, my daughter is doubling down and expects them to lose to the Blues this round. In the East, although she's a fan of both the Penguins and Lightning and was reluctant to pick one over the other, when pressed she went […]

Can a 5 Year Old Beat the Experts - Round 2

For those who are following the competition between us and my five year old daughter, the first round was OK for us (5-3), and worse than a coin toss for her (3-5). Here are her picks for Round 2... 1.  Lightning beat Islanders 2.  Penguins beat Capitals 3.  Stars beat Blues 4.  Predators beat Sharks Since […]

Can a 5 Year Old Beat the Experts?

Another year has passed, and my daughter is a year older but not any more interested in the actual game of hockey than she was last year.  However, that need not stop her from having an opinion. And for the first round her picks - which took about 30 seconds to make and involved no math - […]

Why On Net Percentage is Real and Why it Matters

In today’s SI.com piece (http://www.si.com/nhl/2016/02/05/advanced-hockey-stats-shot-attempts-value) we decided to wade into the current controversy over whether or not generating higher quality shots is a repeatable skill.   To further complicate matters we decided to look for something after the fact – in effect indirect evidence that certain teams are generating higher quality shots – rather than […]

Just How Good Are the Montreal Canadiens?

Talk to any hockey fan in Montreal (which means pretty much anyone in Montreal) and they’ll tell you their team is on the cusp of a championship.   They have Carey Price, who, unlike other false prophets with names like Jose Theodore and Cristobal Huet, seems poised to join the ranks of Jacques Plante, Ken […]