Was it due to the early heat wave? To pollination? At the lunar eclipse? Because there was obviously something in the air, these last days. Otherwise, how to explain that a baseball club won a game without making a single hit or that a player made his debut as a pitcher at his 2988and part in the majors?
Posted at 7:45 a.m.
This mad, mad, mad week was full of weird, useless, and incredible statistics. Readers, get ready, your brain will explode in three minutes!
First stop: Dallas. Two local teams, the Stars (NHL) and the Mavericks (NBA), were playing a seventh playoff game at the same time on Sunday evening. How many times before in North America had two professional clubs from the same city played a seventh game at exactly the same time?
Never.
The Mavericks porphyrized the Suns in Phoenix, 123-90. Their playmaker, Luka Dončić, was particularly dominant. At what point ? He reached the 30-point plateau before the entire Suns team!
As much as Dončić excelled, the Suns players had their hands full of thumbs. The proof is in the unusual point distribution of the five Suns starters at halftime.
5– Jae Crowder
4– Mikal Bridges
3– Deandre Ayton
2– Devin Booker
1– Chris Paul
PHOTO SERGEI BELSKI, USA TODAY SPORTS
Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars
The Stars faced the Flames in Calgary. Their goalkeeper, Jake Oettinger, was extraordinary. Really. He finished the game with 64 saves – a franchise record. His save rate in the series? 95.4%.
This is the best rate in history, for a year, among all goaltenders who have played at least six playoff games. The most incredible? The Stars still lost the series.
Another player who stood out in the first round was Jake Guentzel. The Pittsburgh Penguins winger scored eight goals. It’s ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooor. How many Canadian players scored as many goals last summer in four playoff rounds?
No.
PHOTO MATT FREED, ASSOCIATED PRESS
One of eight goals by Jake Guentzel of the Pittsburgh Penguins against the New York Rangers
The early elimination of the Penguins probably marks the end of a very long cycle. It would be a surprise if Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kristopher Letang were all back next season, since Malkin and Letang will soon enjoy full free agency. The three have just spent 16 seasons together.
Which trio of players holds the record for the most consecutive seasons as teammates in the National League? Answer at the end of the column.
PHOTO KARL B DEBLAKER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Max Domi of the Carolina Hurricanes (right)
Two unlikely ultimate game heroes: Max Domi of the Carolina Hurricanes and Nick Paul of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Each scored two goals in their side’s decisive win. How many career playoff goals had they scored before Saturday night?
No.
PHOTO DAN HAMILTON, USA TODAY SPORTS
Nick Paul, Tampa Bay Lightning
Nick Paul’s unexpected feat allowed the Lightning to eliminate the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It was the fifth straight year the Torontonians lost in a deciding game in the first round. No other team suffered this fate. Neither in the NHL. Neither in the NBA. Neither in the NFL. Nor in major league baseball.
Are your neurons heating up? It’s a good sign. It shows that you are still receptive. Let’s continue. In the QMJHL, the Saint John Sea Dogs started the playoffs with confidence. They had just won 15 games in a row and had only lost twice in the last 66 days.
The Rimouski Oceanic eliminated them in the first round by beating them three times – in eight days!
PHOTO SCOTT HEPPELL, REUTERS
Martin Odegaard, in yellow, was disappointed on Monday after his club Arsenal conceded victory to Newcastle.
Strange phenomenon in the English Premier League soccer rankings: Arsenal, 5and out of 20 overall, now has more wins than Chelsea (3and), but also more defeats than Crystal Palace (12and)!
3.Chelsea (20-6-11)
5.Arsenal (21-13-3)
12. Crystal Palace (10-11-15)
Tssssss. Tssssss. Your occipital lobe crackles like a bengal fire? Promised, sworn, the torture ends. On the other hand, I prefer to warn you, I saved the most explosive stats for the end. Sorry…
A rare event in major league baseball happened on Sunday afternoon. The Pittsburgh Pirates won a game without having a single hit. It is only the sixth time in history that a team has achieved this feat. What happened ?
Goal on balls.
Goal on balls.
Goal on balls.
The runner on third base then crossed home on an infield optional. This was the only point of the meeting…
PHOTO GENE J. PUSKAR, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rodolfo Castro of the Pittsburgh Pirates was the only player to cross home plate in Sunday’s game.
Finally, the last electroshock. The one that will give your brain the texture of a little too diluted Budwig cream. Sunday night, leading by 13 runs in the final inning, the St. Louis Cardinals sent to the mound the most unlikely pitcher in recent major league history. A 42-year-old designated hitter, author of 682 homers: Albert Pujols. A first, for him, after 2988 games in the big leagues.
PHOTO JOE PUETZ, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Albert Pujols at the mound: you have to see it to believe it!
How did that happen ?
It was as bad as you can imagine. His rapid, at 55 miles per hour, was slower than mine. He had difficulty finding the marble. And when he got there, well, the batters were messing up: a single, two homers, a walk. But Pujols also managed to withdraw three opponents, to end the game.
Pujols thus became the second player in baseball history to hit more than 600 homers and pitch an inning. The other ? BabeRuth. “I’m pretty sure Babe Ruth didn’t give up four runs in his first inning like I did! “commented Pujols, not a little proud of the prettiest blow of brilliance of the most improbable week for a long time!
Answer: It’s the trio of Crosby, Malkin and Letang! According to the Penguins, four lines played 15 seasons together: Jean Béliveau, Henri Richard and Claude Provost; Beliveau, Richard and Ralph Backstrom; Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio and Marcel Pronovost; Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Jonathan Quick.
Sources: Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Elias Sports Bureau, ESPN, Orbinho, Stats by Stats