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Claimed: Which records will Vegas break/tie?


Gudnason

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*TL;DR at bottom*

 

Most wins in one year - 65 (S53 Lynx)

While Las Vegas just lost twice in the past few days, the Aces have still gone 27-2 to start the regular season. If general manager Robbie Zimmers is determined to break this record, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Aces lose less than seven times this season. But it seems like that Zimmers also wants to keep an eye on the development of backup goalie Phuckin Phucked and give him more starts than the single start he has had so far this season. Of note, four of Ottawa's seven losses last season were in overtime so they recorded 134 points in the standings, while both of the Aces' losses this season have come in regulation.

Probability: 60%

 

Most goals in one year - 347 (S43 Royals)

The Las Vegas offense has slowed down considerably in recent days, and while they still lead the league by far with 118 goals for, they are now only scoring goals at a clip of 4.07 goals per game. Over a 72-game schedule, this would extrapolate to 293 goals, which would place them eighth on the all-time VHLM leaderboard. To break the record currently owned by the Bern Royals, the Aces would need to average 5.35 goals per game for the remainder of the season. While this is not unlikely, it isn't entirely out of the reach if Vegas gets on another high-scoring win streak or two. The powerhouse S53 Ottawa Lynx fell one goal short of tying the record last season with 346 goals.

Probability: 30%

 

Least goals against in one year - 95 (S44 Wild)

Not to be overlooked by the free-scoring offense, Vernon Von Axelberry has quietly backstopped Las Vegas to one of the best defenses the league has ever seen. The Saskatoon Wild team from ten seasons ago own the record with the best defense allowing only 95 goals over the course of the regular season, but both the Ottawa Lynx and Yukon Rush threatened to break the record last season, allowing 104 and 108 goals respectively to rank second and fifth on the all-time leaderboard. The Vegas defense has only leaked 40 goals in 29 games so far, which would put them on pace to allow 99 goals by the end of the season, enough to rank second. But with Vegas never happy to settle for second, it is an encouraging statistic that the Aces' defense has only allowed the opposition to score more than two goals four times this season in 29 games, and shutting out the opposition eight times in the remaining 25 games. Once again, an important decider in which side of 95 goals allowed Vegas finishes at will depend on how many times backup Phuckin Phucked is expected to start in the remainder of the season.

Probability: 60%

 

Most goals in one game - 10 (5 teams, including S53 Lynx)

Four teams in VHLM history have scored 10 goals in one game before, including the Bratislava Watchmen's 10-2 pouncing of the Brampton Blades from two seasons ago and the 10-0 shutout that the Ottawa Lynx laid on the Bern Royals late last season. The Las Vegas Aces have scored 7 goals on three occasions this season and 8 goals once, while Ottawa had ten games where they scored at least 7 goals before the 10-0 victory (two 7 goal games, five 8 goal games, and three 9 goal games) but Bratislava of S52 only had one 7 goal outburst and one 9 goal oneburst before the 10-2 demolition of the Blades. While the Aces have never scored more than 5 goals in one period, it is at least encouraging for Las Vegas that Ottawa's 10-0 trouncing of Bern last season came in the final week of the regular season even as opposition teams got stronger and rounded into form come playoff time.

Probability: 5%

 

Most shots in one game - 116 (S53 Lynx)

Before last season, the record for most shots on goal in one game by a single team was the 86 shots that Yukon took in S51. However, Ottawa shattered the record twice last season (116 and 104 shots) and came two shots short of breaking the record for a third time... in one season. The most shots that Las Vegas have ever recorded in a single game this season is 62, and with the opposition teams' renewed efforts at an all-out defense against the Aces, I can not see Las Vegas come close to breaking this record at all.

Probability: 1%

 

Least shots against in one year - 909 (S53 Lynx)

While we mentioned earlier that this is one of the best defenses we have ever seen, this is due to superstar goalkeeper Vernon Von Axelberry's performances in net rather than the team as a whole allowing a low number of shots and scoring chances. While the Aces have only allowed 443 shots against in 29 games this season for an average of 15.28 shots against per game, this pales in comparison to both Ottawa's 12.63 shots against per game and Brampton's 13.99 shots against per game from last season. The Aces are on pace for allowing 1100 shots against this season, which would allow them to overtake the S50 iteration of the Brampton Blades for seventh on the all-time leaderboard.

Probability: 10%

 

Most penalty minutes in one game - 81 (S44 Royals)

The Las Vegas Aces have no intention of breaking this record, but even if they wanted to, it would be a miracle. Just wanted to mention this because while going through the all-time records, it seems like S44 was a gooner's dream with the top ten (and possibly more) all coming from the S44 season. Game 5 between Bern and Bratislava saw a combined 140 penalty minutes (81 for Bern, 1st place; 59 for Bratislava, 4th place), Game 8 between Ottawa and Moscow saw a combined 122 penalty minutes (66 for Ottawa, tied for 2nd place; 56 for Moscow, 7th place), and Game 1 between Ottawa and Oslo saw a combined 116 penalty minutes (58 for each team, tied for 5th place).

Probability: 0.01%

 

Most empty net goals in one year - 2 (4 teams)

Unfortunately, the likeliest record that the Aces will break this season is one of the most insignificant records one can think of. Having already tied the record with Slava Aleksei and Rusty Trombone scoring empty net goalsthis season, with the amount of close games we expect to see over the remainder of the season, it's not out of the question to see Las Vegas seal another victory or two down the road with a late empty net goal. No team has scored more than one empty-net goal in the last seven seasons, possibly due to the imbalance that exists in the league. While everyone has been clamoring for league parity this season, by this statistic alone, one could possibly argue that this could be one of the fairest seasons in recent history.

Probability: 85%

 

Best penalty kill in one year - 90.40% (S44 Wild)

While the Saskatoon Wild were pretty average last season, they came within 0.4% of tying their record from ten years ago. Las Vegas currently has a 89.32% penalty kill record this season, allowing 11 goals on 103 shorthanded opportunities. It's a game of fine margins as their record would be at 90.29% with one less goal allowed and 91.26% with two less goals allowed. This will be a very interesting record to watch over the remainder of the season.

Probability: 70%

 

TL;DR - Statistically, Vegas isn't quite the super team that everyone thinks it is. It's just that with contraction to five teams, there is 33% less competition than last season. And Robbie Zimmers, one of the most hated people in VHL history, just happens to be the general manager of the Aces. And we are actually a defensive juggernaut more so than an offensive powerhouse.

Edited by punkhippie
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