Pucks to the Net

There's some backstory to this one that holds some significance for me.

I was in my fourth year majoring in statistics and I read a paper about optimization of when to pull the goalie. Using the EA NHL game and some mathematical models, these madlads showed that it actually made sense what Roy was doing when he was a coach in the (QMJHL?) by pulling the goalie earlier than popular convention, occasionally at the five-minute mark of the third period.

When Roy burst into the NHL as a coach, I remember wondering whether or not we'd see that, and sure enough we did. Other coaches immediately caught on to the trend. It died fairly quickly, but it was neat at the time.

I don't think the date on this comic is correct, by the way.