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Shot Totals in 1980 US-USSR Game

I've been getting a few searches for this data, so I thought I'd post it:

 

USA USSR
1st 8 18
2nd 2 12
3rd 6 9
Total 16 39

 

The US spent most of the game behind:

 

Score Time
+1 10:00
Tied 15:23
-1 33:37

 

With our modern-day statistical lens,I think we'd say that the US was lucky to win the game (ie - somewhat of a miracle.)  When a team gets dominated on the shot board despite spending most of the game behind, the implication is that they did not control the play.  Just to refresh your memory, here are the shot totals from last Sunday's Canada-USA game:

 

USA Canada
1st 8 25
2nd 16 17
3rd 7 22
Total 31 64

 

Our expectations should be different here: the US was up for most of the game, and during the period that the game was tied, the shot totals were close.  Of course, we wouldn't expect the gap between two teams of NHL players to be anywhere near as large as the gap between the Soviet All-Stars and a bunch of young NHL players.  But, as in 1980, the US will have to withstand a shelling in order to win today.

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Great stuff digging this up Gabe, it’s good to see that 1980 game put into perspective like that.

by HockeyJoe on Feb 28, 2010 12:16 PM EST reply actions  

The gap is/was closer than you might think, if you take into account Soviet hockey history:

Bettman's Nightmare: A Blog Where Hockey Aficionados Dismantle That Mighty Empire, One Balsillie at a Time

http://bettmansnightmare.blogspot.com/

by Bettman's Nightmare on Feb 28, 2010 1:20 PM EST reply actions  

http://www.fromtherink.com/2010/2/24/1324317/2010-u-s-v-canada-1980-u-s-v

Bettman's Nightmare: A Blog Where Hockey Aficionados Dismantle That Mighty Empire, One Balsillie at a Time

http://bettmansnightmare.blogspot.com/

by Bettman's Nightmare on Feb 28, 2010 1:21 PM EST up reply actions  

BN, I’m hurt that you would fan post this at FTR and not here!

by Hawerchuk on Feb 28, 2010 1:27 PM EST up reply actions  

I didn’t know if it was taboo to multiple fan post the same thing. Should I?

Bettman's Nightmare: A Blog Where Hockey Aficionados Dismantle That Mighty Empire, One Balsillie at a Time

http://bettmansnightmare.blogspot.com/

by Bettman's Nightmare on Feb 28, 2010 2:00 PM EST up reply actions  

too late now – think of me first next time!

by Hawerchuk on Feb 28, 2010 6:48 PM EST up reply actions  

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