Tomorrow night’s game against Edmonton will kick off the Kings’ “Legends Night Series,” with former goalie Rogie Vachon as the honored guest. As part of the night, Vachon will be recognized in an on-ice, pregame ceremony and the Kings will wear their Vachon-era purple-and-gold uniforms against the Edmonton Oilers. The other two “Legends” games, in which the Kings will wear the vintage uniforms, are Feb. 24 (when they honor Bob Berry) and March 19 (when they honor Bob Pulford). Vachon was kind enough to give me a few minutes the other day, for an LAKings.com feature, and he also took time to talk with Heidi Androl — in a special video feature with Jonathan Quick — and Nick Nickson for an audio podcast…
LAKings.com feature: Vachon reflects on his time as a King
Absolutely Loved Rogie. His stand up style fit the times back then but the game has changed so much. It’s funny that people nowadays compare goalies of today to goalies of the past, but there isn’t really anyway to compare them as far as styles. His Pads wouldn’t make it in todays NHL game either.
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Pesus Reply:
January 14th, 2011 at 11:18 pm
@Dominick, Can he coach?
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Oh crap…I hope they make it a better night for Rogie than the last victim (can’t remember who it was they were honoring, now, but I guess it wasn’t a “legends” game–it was this season.)
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DaveinSD Reply:
January 15th, 2011 at 7:59 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, Last honoree was Matti Norstrom and we handled NJ pretty well that night 3-1. Ahhhh the good ol’ days!
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 15th, 2011 at 9:11 am
@DaveinSD, Actually, I think it was against whomever they wore the Forum Blue and gold uniforms the first time this season. IIRC it was Marcel Dionne honored, and for some reason, I think it might have been on the road (Montreal?)
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 15th, 2011 at 9:14 am
Or maybe it was November 11, when they honored Smyth’s 1000 games. Marcel was there. That might be what I was thinking of.
What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 15th, 2011 at 9:21 am
Actually, it was the season opener to the Flames, when they lost 3-1. They honored Charlie Simmer.
http://lakingsinsider.com/2010/10/10/kings-honor-simmer/
http://kings.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2010020025
I feel better now, knowing I’m not crazy. Just a little disoriented.
This is all I’ve got to say until tomorrow. GET BEHIND THE KINGS OR GET LOST… Good night all you fly bye nighters. Us die hards will have a hard time of it, but our night is coming soon.
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LVKINGS88 Reply:
January 15th, 2011 at 12:08 am
@kinginsaltlake, Calm down,Oh I wrote you a rebuttle on the last topic,”they’ve been through this before”,hopefully you’ll read it,guud night.
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lvkingaholic Reply:
January 15th, 2011 at 8:11 am
@kinginsaltlake, so little of us on here feel this way…..
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Heidi is very cute…
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Rogie can back up Bernier tomorrow night, what do you think fans??
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LV is the way Reply:
January 14th, 2011 at 10:56 pm
@Harty, switch it around… we might then have a chance..
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OT: New definition of .500: Median Points-Per-Game
In the new scoring era (since the shootouts), it’s difficult to gauge “.500,” or the meaning of it, etc., etc. In theory, a team that’s won the same number of games it’s lost used to be a “.500 team.” Unfortunately, the new points system screws up that metric. So, now one must consider how to determine a team’s relative success. I have an answer to that question. The answer is to rank all teams in the league on points per game played (PPG), and express the team’s ranking in percentile.
For example, if the league average is .55 PPG, .56 would be a “winning” percentage, and .54 would be a losing percentage, even though it’s “above .500.” This is the statistical reality today, so being “above .500″ is meaningless. However, being ranked 14 out of 30 in PPG is meaningful information. Being ranked 8 of 15 (in PPG, rather than just points) in conference is even more meaningful information (it means you’re on track to be a playoff team!)
I think the overall expression of success would be an expression of the ranking of PPG. For example, if you’re 16 out of 30, you’re comparable to being (but not necessarily in fact) on track to be a playoff team (the difference being between your conference and the other conference.) Your ranking would be expressed as 16/30, or .533. This would be valuable information. More valuable information would be your PPG ranking in conference. So, for example, 8/15 would also be .533. Note that this is “over .500″ and “under .500″ would be not on track for the playoffs.
This would also provide an idea of how many points it would take (roughly the current 8th ranked PPG in conference * 82) to make the playoffs. It would get more accurate as the season progressed.
Make sense?
Does anyone know a site that tracks PPG average league-wide? I wouldn’t want to run the numbers every day, but it would be worth following.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 14th, 2011 at 9:27 pm
“14 out of 30″ should be “16 out of 30.”
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 14th, 2011 at 9:49 pm
The theory was presented a little off–it turns out that a “.500-level” PPG is closer to 1.1. and you want a ranking UNDER .500.
I did a spreadsheet for the numbers currently posted at Yahoo, and the Kings currently rank .625 (10/16) at 1.093 PPG in conference. In the league they are .633 (19/30.) I can supply tables, if anyone is interested.
Again, the idea is to be under .500. If that bothers anyone you could go with 1-percentile. Then they’d be .325 in conference and .367 in the league. The first-above median teams are Carolina at 1.116 PPG and Anaheim at 1.130 PPG. That predicts 92 points necessary to make the playoffs in the East and 92 points necessary to make the playoffs in the West. This neglects the possibility (or likelihood) that there will be more “3-point games” down the stretch.
Of course, I could be completely full of crap.
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Stuart Reply:
January 14th, 2011 at 9:53 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, of course LOL
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LVKINGS88 Reply:
January 15th, 2011 at 12:11 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, Oh my,my head hurts.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 15th, 2011 at 9:08 am
Well, most of that’s probably unnecessary. As you see below, really the PPG/PPG to make the playoffs is all you need to get a feel. For example, even though the Kings have games in hand, they’re still not on pace to make the playoffs at .472. I’m pretty sure they were earlier this January. Restated, you want a number greater than .5 for the following equation:
( (pts/games) / (pts for last year’s #8 seed) / 82) ) / 2
Of course, you don’t really need the last division by 2. That just adjusts for comparison to .500. Without the last division, you’d want a number greater than 1. Again, the importance of this is a substitute for the notion of “above .500″ or “below .500,” which are now meaningless in the NHL.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 14th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
Another method would be to compare current PPG to PPG necessary at the end of last season to make the playoffs in your conference. By this standard, the Kings are (1.093/1.159)/2 = .472, where you want .500 or better.
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Can we honor him by firing Murray?
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i love you heidi. that is all.
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All I need in life is Hiedi, a scotch and soda, and a (parked)convertable.
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nickdoh Reply:
January 15th, 2011 at 3:11 am
@Dominick, all i need in life is heidi.
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K9Jeeper Reply:
January 15th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
@nickdoh, Are the rumors true that Heidi has been “dating” Cryin’ Getzlaughedat?
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two things…
1. cookies for anyone who can count how many times “it is/was a different game” was said during this video.
2. look at quick’s legs! jesus, those things are huge.
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K9Jeeper Reply:
January 15th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
@blahblah, Someone has a “man-crush” = )
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Rogie Vachon, 16th all time in NHL wins and NOT in the Hall of Fame. How is this possible?! Luc’s next order of business really should involve pushing to get Rogie’s name on the ballot…
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K9Jeeper Reply:
January 15th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
@InFaN8, A-Freakin’-Men!
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Mary Vachon Reply:
January 17th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
@InFaN8,
Thanks for mentioning that! Well, my dad someday will make it to the Hall of Fame – hopefully soon…
I wish the Hall of Fame would know how much my dad committed his life to the hockey organization….
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The 1974-75 season was when this SoCal born and raised “kid” discovered the Kings and ice hockey – Rogie was a HUGE part of that . . . (these days it is the only sport I even watch).
LGK!!!
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I can hear the old Forum crowds chanting ROGIE, ROGIE, ROGIE. Great example and leader for the organization. Congrads!
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Rogie, Rogie, Rogie, Nickdoh, and heidi are invited to my doublewide for drinks.
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As a kid, my dad had season seats two rows behind Rogie’s net for the first and third periods – back when the glass was lower and there was no netting above the glass. I can honestly say that Rogie is my favorite King of all time – so far. He’s the reason I played the game. It’s nice that they retired his sweater, but the NHL should DAMN WELL induct him into the Hall o’ Fame already!
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1. Rogatien Vachon MUST be in the NHL Hall Of Fame. And,
2. Jonathan Quick SHOULD give Rogie his ‘retro’ mask at the end of the season.
gKg!
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