from Rich Hammond of the OC Register,

The NHL and the calculator have become bedfellows in recent years. It’s been a slow, awkward relationship, yet from front-office executives to bloggers, many in hockey have embraced analytics to help explain it.

Most agree on one thing: the Calgary Flames don’t “belong’’ here, in the second round of the playoffs against the Ducks. It’s not that the Flames have cheated, or that there’s some league conspiracy. It’s just that the pesky and scrappy Flames have taken reams of statistical data and tossed them in the recycling bin.

“We’re getting so many stats right now,’’ Flames coach Bob Hartley said recently, “pretty soon the manager of the arena is gonna come and tell me how many cases of beer they sold after the first, second and third periods. We’re in the business to win games.’’

Calgary ranked 28th in the regular season in “Corsi’’ percentage, a possession statistic that essentially tracks how many shots a team attempts in comparison to its opponent. It’s far from exact science. Consider that the Kings finished with the top Corsi percentage but missed the playoffs.

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