Im going to write in defence of Capitals RW Alex Ovechkin, if only because there have been some recent attacks and, while I can certainly live with them being directed at Ovechkin, the analytical process ought to be better, particularly if its going to be a hit piece on the leagues leading goal-scorer. Wei-Yin Chen Jersey . Yes, Im writing to defend a player that is on pace for a 59-goal season, when the second-best goal-scorer in the NHL this season, Torontos Phil Kessel, is on pace for 43. Naturally, I didnt think that Ovechkin would be a player that needed much defending, but hes taken some hits lately. Im going to largely ignore his contributions on the power play because its not in any dispute that Ovechkin is great with the man advantage and can make a difference even when he doesnt score. On one side of the discussion, we have the Toronto Star, with their Department of Hockey Analytics, and while there are plenty of flaws in Ovechkins game, they somehow determined that his goals-for/against percentage was the way to illustrate the problem. Never mind that goals for/against percentage is essentially measuring plus-minus. Ill get to that in a moment but, first, also peruse the Hockey News piece by Ken Campbell who, after Ovechkin was minus-5 against Columbus, decided that Ovechkin has to decide what kind of player he is. After all, Ovechkin was minus-17 on the season after that game. Whats odd about using plus-minus to denigrate Ovechkins contributions is that anyone doing serious analytical work in hockey has been against using plus-minus because it involves so many factors beyond an individual players control (not least of which are the contributions of nine other skaters and two goaltenders when the game is 5-on-5) and, generally, involves small samples because goals are relatively rare events. Its funny to find myself in this position, because I can be a bit of an apologist for plus-minus. You spend enough time around the game and that thinking can be pretty common, and when the sample is large enough, you can get a pretty decent list of players at both ends of the spectrum. (For example, heres the list of players with the best cumulative plus-minus since 2000, and here are the worst.) But, Ive at least learned that there are many other factors that go into whether a player is a plus or minus player, and they must be considered if youre going to attempt to pass judgment on a single season or, especially, a portion of a season. So, lets take a look at some factors that are at play to make Alex Ovechkin a minus-17. First off, the shooting percentage of others on the ice with Ovechkin at 5-on-5 is ridiculously low. His 6.3% is only ahead of fourth-liners Aaron Volpatti and Jay Beagle among Capitals forwards. The suggestion could be made -- and of course it has been -- that Ovechkin isnt making those around him better, but here are the 5-on-5 on-ice shooting percentages when Ovechkin has been on the ice for the past five seasons: 10.36%, 8.62%, 8.05%, 11.76%, 9.09%. Youre really going to have to dig for reasons, other than poor luck and ineffective shooters, to explain even-strength shooting effectiveness declining by 40% over last season, especially when Ovechkin himself is shooting 10.6% (18 goals, 170 shots) at 5-on-5. Taking away Ovechkins 18 goals on 170 shots, leaves the other Capitals to score eight goals on 242 shots (3.3%) with Ovechkin on the ice. Marcus Johansson, his most common left winger, has one goal on 51 shots. This undeniably effects plus-minus, right? Of course it does. Give Ovechkin an average on-ice shooting percentage (say, 8%) and that is a difference of about seven goals. At the other end of the rink, Ovechkin is getting burned with a .909 save percentage at 5-on-5. Naturally, the argument will be that Ovechkins defensive play is what leads to that low percentage. Keep in mind, that percentage is well below career norms for him (.922 over the past five seasons, including this one) and ranks near the bottom on the Capitals roster. Use that typical save percentage, on 439 shots against, and that becomes a difference of 5-6 goals. So, why not take a look at where the shots are coming from with Ovechkin on the ice? According to Some Kind of Ninjas Shot Tracker, shots against the Capitals with Ovechkin on the ice at even strength, come from an average distance of 34.5 feet. In the previous five seasons, it has been 34.2, 36.6, 35.8, 34.6 and 35.9 feet on average. There can be an argument made, based on those average shot distances, that Ovechkins most effective defensive performances were in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 (the Dale Hunter season), but there really isnt a huge difference; goaltenders arent suddenly flummoxed by 34-foot shots when 36-footers are easy pickings. On top of that, best of luck trying to identify those particular seasons as anything close to Ovechkins best. Why? Because he scored 70 goals and 150 points in 157 games over those two seasons, producing the two lowest point scoring rates of his career. Yes, even lower than this season, when virtually no one else puts the puck in the net with him on the ice. Of course Ovechkin is not a defensive whiz, but that shouldnt stand as an indictment any more than it has for elite offensive players throughout the history of the game. Seriously, take a look at the Top 10 goal-scorers in the league, none of whom put the puck in the net like Ovechkin, and identify the ones that are notably strong backcheckers. Some are: Joe Pavelski, Alexander Steen, Patrick Sharp, but theres no reason to believe that right wingers Kessel or Corey Perry or Patrick Kane are doing brilliant work in the defensive end. Heres the thing: theyre all great players! Part of the trouble for Ovechkin is that the Capitals havent been able to win in the postseason, so he gets painted with the brush of failure for a whole host of team shortcomings. Thats what comes with being a superstar. This Capitals team is flawed. They rank in the bottom third of the league in Fenwick Close (measuring shot attempts, not including blocks, at even strength, with the score close), which is a good indication of team puck possession, yet Ovechkin has relatively solid possession numbers. If you want to break down a players overall contribution, and feel that you must use one statistic in order to do so (better yet, dont), then at least reduce the impact of others on the ice and look at the possession stats, because it wont matter that linemates arent finishing or that, for whatever reason, goaltenders arent stopping the puck. Shooting and save percentages fluctuate and while they affect perception -- just ask Tyler Bozak -- they dont get to the bottom of a players on-ice contribution, and so it is with Ovechkin this year, who is having a fine season, no matter what his plus-minus says. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Dee Gordon Jersey . -- Michael Bennett gambled last off-season that playing on a one-year deal in Seattle would pay off in the future with the long-term contract he always wanted. Giancarlo Stanton Jersey . And former Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson certainly knows his pain. "Its pretty hard to coach there without allowing some of these things to kind of affect you," Wilson told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun in his ESPN. http://www.authenticbaseshopmarlins.com/Edinson-Volquez-Jersey/ . Poti played in 824 regular NHL games with four teams in his career; the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals.TORONTO -- Mark DeRosa is the first to admit he isnt exactly an intimidating batter. DeRosa, a 38-year-old bench player the Blue Jays added this season for depth, has been dealing with a sore neck and a slump at the plate in which he hadnt had a hit since June 18 against Colorado. So when an injury forced first baseman Adam Lind out of the roster, DeRosa found himself filling in Monday. Even more unexpected was his No. 4 spot in the batting order. But no one was more surprised than the Detroit Tigers when DeRosa launched a three-run homer, an exclamation point in Torontos 8-3 victory against the American League champions. "Ive always been a guy who likes to work the ball the other way and its been frustrating over the last couple weeks," said DeRosa. "You know, flying open, striking out and grounding out to short. Doing things that, I pride myself on being a quality at-bat. Definitely hitting fourth was not on the agenda coming into the season." DeRosa joked he told star Jose Bautista, who was hitting third in the lineup after slugger Edwin Encarnacion was pulled just before the game with left hamstring soreness, to take off his shin guard at the plate and expect to be walked. It ended up being no joke at all. The Tigers walked Bautista twice, and DeRosa made them pay in the fourth inning with his fifth homer of the season. "Obviously you cant replace Eddie, you cant replace the way Lind swung the bat. Im aware of that," said DeRosa. "But theres guys here that are capable of doing things they have to to help us win." DeRosa had plenty of help during a festive Canada Day game at Rogers Centre. Shortstop Jose Reyes, who made his first appearance at home since April before he was put on the disabled list with a severely sprained left ankle, hit his second home run in two games. Blue Jays knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (8-8), following up on his best outing of the season last week, was again solid against Detroits intimidating batting order. He allowed two earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts through seven innings. Two of those strikeouts were against reigning batting champion Miguel Cabrera, who is leading the majors with a .369 average. Dickey said his velocity is returning, and thats making the knuckleball much more effective than it was during a rough start to the season. "I think any pedestrian could see that (the pitch) is harder. That the velocitys come back," said Dickey. "Its been kind of a tough go getting it back. I threw a knuckleball 81 miles an hour today, I threw a lot of 80 miles an hour, I threw an 85 mile an hour fastball. All those velocities are tops for the year." Prince Fielder, who hit a solo homer off Dickey, said he could see why the other Tigers batters were having so much trouble. "It was knuckling. Its hard for catchers to catch it so imagine how hard it is to hit it," said Fielder. Dickey was relieved by Steve Delabar, who impressed by striking out the heart of Detroits offence in Torii Hunter, Cabrera and Fielder in the eighth inning. Aaron Loup finished the game for Toronto in the ninth to get the Blue Jays (41-41) back to .500. Omar Infante, who finished 4-for-4, went deep in the ninth foor the slumping Tigers (43-38), who now have just one win in their last seven games and trail American League Central-leading Cleveland by a half-game. Ichiro Suzuki Jersey. "Were in a little funk right now and weve just got to get ourselves out of it," said Detroit manager Jim Leyland. Youll got to roll with that punch and youve got to try and do something about it." Tigers rookie left-hander Jose Alvarez (1-2), making his fourth start of the season, lasted just three innings after giving up five runs, four earned, and walking three with four strikeouts. Reyes opened a four-run third inning with a solo shot into the left-field second deck to the roar of 45,766 fans at Torontos fifth sellout of the season. Rajai Davis then sent a double into the same direction. Davis, who is playing every day with Melky Cabrera on the 15-day disabled list, appeared to distract Alvarez from his duel with Bautista by attempting to steal third. Davis took third before the at-bat was over and Alvarez walked Bautista. Alvarez then walked Colby Rasmus to load the bases. J.P. Arencibia capitalized with a two-run double to bring home Davis and Bautista. Maicer Izturis then added an RBI sacrifice fly to put the Blue Jays up 5-0. Alvarez finished the inning before being replaced by reliever Luke Putkonen. Fielder put the Tigers on the scoreboard with a home run over the right-field wall in the fourth. Victor Martinez doubled on the next at-bat and was then scored on a ground-rule double by Infante to cut into Torontos lead by two. DeRosa gave the Blue Jays a six-run advantage in the bottom of the inning. Davis singled then stole his second base of the game. He was followed by Bautistas second walk of the game, and DeRosa scored all three with a homer to right off Putkonen for an 8-2 lead. The Blue Jays capitalized on a balk by Alvarez to take a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Alvarez stepped off the plate against second baseman Munenori Kawasaki, advancing Izturis and Josh Thole. Then Kawasaki -- the clear crowd favourite of the Blue Jays lineup -- hit an RBI single that brought home Izturis. The inning ended however when on the same play Thole was caught at the plate. The game was a party for the holiday crowd. Members and families of the Canadian Armed Forces held a massive flag during the pre-game ceremony while Canadian music acts such as Classified and Arcade Fire were blared over the speakers. The Blue Jays wore red jerseys and were joined on the field by the national junior baseball team for the anthems. "It was fun. What a fun day," said Dickey. "As an American it was neat to be a part of it. Its fun to be embraced by a community any time." Notes: Lind is day-to-day with back pain after being pulled from Torontos 5-4 loss in Boston on Sunday. ... Encarnacion, who is day-to-day, has also been playing with a sore wrist. Manager John Gibbons said Encarnacions wrist is hampering his ability to field but not swing the bat. He was replaced as designated hitter by Arencibia. ... Blue Jays right-hander Chien-Ming Wang (1-1, 5.24 earned-run average) faces Tigers RHP Doug Fister (6-5, 3.50 ERA) on Tuesday. ... IndyCar driver Alex Tagliani of Lachenaie, Que., threw the first pitch. White NFL Jerseys Cheap Youth NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Stitched NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Autographed Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Discount Jerseys ' ' '