Numbers in the New NHL: Lies, Damn Lies and...

The reborn NHL is supposed to be all about goals, goals, goals! Every second day we see another article trumpeting the return of skating, speed and skill after years of clutching, hooking and tackling (though some reporters have filed less enthusiastic reviews).

Such articles are usually supported by the apparently irrefutable statistical evidence. Did you know, for example, that as of last week NHL scoring is up 1.2 goals per game from 2003-04? Wow! That must mean... something, right?

So according to the new religion, Tuesday's game between Calgary and Philadelphia was a major snooze. For the first time this season, nobody scored in 65 minutes of hockey.

Those who watched it know better. The Flyers and Flames played a first-rate barn burner, pounding each other black and blue in a game kept scoreless by spectacular goaltending, until a shootout goal by Mike Richards delivered Philadelphia's 1-0 (SO) victory.

The statistical gurus will be quick to remind us that it was just one game. It was that. It was also a healthy reminder that we should judge a hockey game by what we see, not by the blizzard of statistics foisted upon us by joyless number crunchers.