More great stuff, guys!
I want to talk briefly about OZ entries. As a few of you have noted, the Bruins are definitely bringing the puck into the OZ with control a lot more this year than last. And it is true there is a correlation between exits with possession and entries with possession. Also, entries with possession, especially carry-ins, do lead to more scoring chances. There is little difference in percentage of scoring chances between a successful pass in and a recovered dump in, however, but pass ins are completed at a significantly higher rate than dump ins are recovered. It is also worth noting there are teams who dump the puck in a ton and are very successful in recovery and scoring. Carolina is the perfect example. I guess in my own convoluted way I'm trying to say OZ entry success and strategy is not as cut and dried/linear as it may appear at first glance.
On a completely different topic, do you think there would be any interest in a thread discussing how the game changes in the playoffs?