The Rangers finished the season with the best record in the N.H.L. and are widely touted as the Stanley Cup favorites.
But to many of the new breed of advanced hockey statisticians, they look like a bad bet.
One of the hottest statistics among the hockey Moneyball set is “Fenwick close percentage,” named after Matt Fenwick of the blog Battle of Alberta. The theory behind the stat is that the most important thing for a hockey team is getting more shots than its opponent. Statisticians have shown that a team that shoots more has the puck more, and wins more.