Before each round of the NHL Playoffs, Scott Cullen crunches a few numbers and comes up with an expected goals for and against for each team, based on shot differentials and save percentages to this point in the season. In the first round, the team with the higher expected goals, using these calculations, won seven of the eight series, with the Los Angeles Kings win over the St. Louis Blues upsetting the bid for perfection. Round Two brought middle of the road results, 2-2, with Jonathan Quick leading the L.A. Kings to exceed expectations and the Pittsburgh Penguins tearing through Ottawas top-ranked goaltending. The Conference Finals played true to form, however, with Boston and Chicago both winning and, while it might have been a surprise at how easily they advanced, both were clear favourites by these calculations. Since Im the first one to emphasize that overall statistics (or standings) are not necessarily representative of the current value for a team, especially with respect to injuries, these statistics merely provide a baseline for the series, perhaps providing an idea what a team needs to do in order to emerge victorious. In some cases, teams will simply need to keep doing what theyve been doing throughout the regular season; in others, they might need better goaltending, or fewer shots against, or more shots for -- just something -- to provide better expected results in a seven-game series. The calculations below are simple and the expected goals for each team in the series are determined by taking each teams shots for and against over the course of the season and splitting the difference. So, Chicago has 31.4 shots on goal per game through the regular season and three rounds of the playoffs and Boston has allowed 29.7 shots on goal per game; the average of those two numbers is 30.6 shots, so thats the number that is then multiplied by (1 - the opposing goaltenders save percentage) to determine an expected goals per game. Finally, the number is multiplied by seven to indicate an expected goal total for a seven-game series. Theres no guarantee that scoring more goals in a series will result in winning four games first, but the odds certainly favour the team that scores more. Team SF SA Goaltender SV% Expected GF/Series Boston 33.4 29.7 Tuukka Rask 0.934 14.93 Chicago 31.4 26.7 Corey Crawford 0.929 14.11 Verdict: This is an even matchup, with a slight edge going to Boston because of Rask. Its not that Crawford hasnt played well for Chicago -- he obviously has -- but Rasks .943 save percentage in the postseason trumps Crawfords .935 and Rask also held an advantage in the regular season (.929 to .926) so there is some reason to believe that Rask may turn aside a few more shots. If the difference is about five goals per 1000 shots and a seven-game series might yield approximately 200 shots, then the goaltending difference is only going to be worth about a goal. By no means is that decisive, rather its reason for a slightly more favourable forecast. (Worth noting that the Blackhawks are -140 to -150 favourites to win the series, depending on the site.) While were looking at percentages, its also worth considering that, in a short series, players may exceed (or fail to meet) their established performance levels. Blackhawks LW Bryan Bickell has been one of the exceptional ones, scoring on 22.9% of his shots in the playoffs, while Bruins RW Nathan Horton (22.9%) and C David Krejci (21.6%) are both over 20% as well. Eventually, regression catches up to that kind of shooting, but it could still hang on through one more series; such is the magic of small sample size. On the other end of the spectrum, Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews has one goal on 51 shots (2.0%) and LW Brandon Saad has none on 35 shots, so theyre due for better results. Bruins RW Jaromir Jagr is still seeking his first goal, despite 45 shots in the playoffs, and RW Tyler Seguin has one goal on 54 shots (1.9%), so those numbers wouldnt last over the long haul. If any of these players actually start scoring, that would figure to improve their respective teams odds of success. These are two of the top four possession teams, in both regular season and playoffs, so its not like either one relies on their goaltender or special teams to an unreasonable degree. While neither team has been great on the power play in the playoffs (15.6% for Boston, 13.7% for Chicago) the Blackhawks have had the leagues best penalty killing in the playoffs (94.8%), while Bostons 86.5% has been strong, just not the best. 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 Sports on Facebook. Yeezy 500 Nederland . JOHNS, N. Yeezy 700 Nederland .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. http://www.yeezysnederland.com/yeezy-boost-700-kopen/v2.html . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. Yeezys Kopen .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Goedkoop . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Rangers impressive stretch of scoreless innings by the pitching staff ended with an emphatic thud Sunday.More importantly, manager Jeff Banisters ballclub missed a chance to hang onto its lead in the race for home-field advantage in the playoffs.Not that theres much concern in Texas clubhouse.With their final six games at Globe Life Park -- where they own the second-best home record in the AL -- the Rangers are still confident heading into the final stretch of the regular season.Its crucial, Banister said after Oakland rookie Jharel Cotton pitched seven crisp innings to beat Rangers 7-1. We need to go home and play clean baseball. We were able to get some guys rest, get some guys off their legs today, so they should be fresh going into tomorrow.The Rangers, who clinched the AL West on Friday, fell into a tie with the Boston Red Sox for home-field advantage in the playoffs. Texas (92-64) holds a slight tiebreaking advantage based on division record and will close out the regular season with a pair of three-game series against Milwaukee and Tampa Bay.Things might not have been so tight had the Rangers been able to do anything against Cotton.Adrian Beltre drove in the only run for Texas with his team-leading 32nd home run in the seventh. It was the 445th career home run for Beltre. The 37-year-old also singled to move past home run king Barry Bonds on the career hits list with 2,937.Beyond that, the Rangers had just two singles and a double.Thats the first time weve seen (Cotton), Banister said. Hes got a special changeup . something we had not seen. When hes got that working for him it does present a challenge when its the first time these guys have seen him.Ryon Healy had three hits, including a two-run homer, and Stephen Vogt drove in three runs to help the As win after being shut out in back-to-back games.Oakland will be sitting out the postseason and had lost the first five games on this homestand, but ended it on an encouraging note behind Cotton (2-0). The rookie right-hander allowed one run, struck out five and faced two over the minimum while quieting the Rangers potent offennse.ddddddddddddCotton became the first As pitcher since at least 1913 to start his career with four consecutive starts of five innings or longer while allowing one earned run or less.I feel like it was a Sunday game and they wanted to get away, Cotton said of the Rangers hitters. I was on the mound like, `Thank you. Just keep swinging. That was good for me.Sean Doolittle and Ryan Dull pitched one inning apiece to complete the five-hitter.The As did all of their scoring in the second to chase starter Colby Lewis (6-4).Bruce Maxwell blooped an RBI single just past the outstretched glove of shortstop Hanser Alberto. Marcus Semien scored on a groundout and Vogt lined a three-run double to right before Healys 12th home run, a towering shot that put Oakland up 7-0.That ended a streak of 23 consecutive scoreless innings by Texas pitchers.LEWIS BEATEN BUT ENCOURAGEDLewis, who had won four consecutive games at the Coliseum, lasted just 1 1/3 innings and allowed a season-high seven runs and seven hits. The right-hander has lost four consecutive decisions, three since a two-month stint on the disabled list.I felt great, the best Ive felt in a long time, Lewis said. Thats the way it goes. I feel like I made a lot of good pitches. They just were able to drop balls in where our defenders werent. Thats about it.TRAINERS ROOMAthletics: Sonny Gray will come off the disabled list to make his first start in nearly two months against the Angels on Wednesday. Gray has not pitched in a game since Aug. 6 because of a forearm strain.UP NEXTRangers: LHP Martin Perez (10-10) faces the Brewers on Monday when Texas begins its final homestand of the regular season. Perez owns a 2.65 ERA at home, tied for the lowest in the AL among qualifying pitchers.Athletics: Sean Manaea (6-9) starts against the Angels in Anaheim on Monday. The left-handed rookie has not allowed a run in 11 consecutive innings since missing more than two weeks with a sore back.---This story corrects the spelling to Banister throughout. ' ' '