Handicapping NHL94

Originally published: 8/28/2017

Original post: https://coalm.blogspot.com/2017/08/handicapping-nhl94.html

I have been playing NHL94 since it originally came out on Sega Genesis. In college, all my friends had their own team assignment when we played (I was either MTL or VAN). Fast forward 23 years, and you will learn that I have been playing NHL94 on a Sega Genesis emulator ever since I retired my Sega Genesis. I have done my best to keep the game interesting. I have won the Stanley Cup with every team. There are a few teams I can even use to win the Stanley Cup without a goalie. I have even tried playing other NHL94 enthusiasts online. Those online leagues require a level of dedication that I do not possess. Although I enjoy playing NHL94 alone and playing NHL94 against the computer AI is fairly easy for me, I decided to make it more difficult. I'm not an elite NHL94, but I am very experienced and probably rank above average as a player.
Initially, I thought I would play with non-starters across the board. However, removing all starters left me with empty husks rather than a toned down team, especially with the expansion teams. Goalies were the toughest to change, so changes to goalies were used sparingly. Instead, I decided to arbitrarily create a skill level ceiling for all non-goalie players. I could only use players that were rated 75 or below. This method left a few teams still too powerful, so some additional modifications were needed. The defense had to be modified as well, so I decided that at a minimum, teams had to lose their best forward AND their best defenseman. It was difficult to create uniform rules that worked for each team, so some player removals were done by feel (see Dallas Stars). You can see all of the full original rosters here. I ran through each team once, but can see myself doing this again soon with minor updates.
Overview:
Rules:
-No players rated over 75 overall
-Every team must bench their best forward and their best defenseman
-No dominant goal scorers even if the player's overall rating is below 75. Call this the Kamensky Rule
-If a player scored a hat trick, the player must be substituted for the remainder of that game. Removal from the rest of the playoffs is optional, but encouraged.
Format:
Stanley Cup playoffs, Single game series
5 min periods
Penalties On/No Offsides
Line Changes Off
Team by Team Analysis/Summary:
Anaheim
Forbidden Players - Yake, Kasatonov
Modified starters - Semenov-Loach-Loney, Ladoucer-Hill
Notes - Yake is the non-obvious straw that stirs the drink. His absence is palpable. Semenov had to shoulder a lion's share of offense, which is a lot to ask of him. Loney has a knack to score the greasy goals, which certainly helped. The D just had to not screw up, which at times was a tough hill to climb.
Result - Squeaked my way to the Cup, with a couple OTWs.
Boston
Forbidden Players - Bourque, Oates, Neely
Modified Starters - Donato-Juneau-Kvartalnov, Sweeney-Wesley
Notes - Barely noticed Bourque was gone since the remaining D were both ranked 71. Easily the best D with these modifications. (Might have to restrict Sweeney next time) The offense flowed through a stellar backline pushing the play. Juneau had plenty of sniping chances to lead in goals.
Result - Easy road to Cup
Buffalo
Forbidden Players - Mogilny, LaFontaine, Svoboda
Modified Starters - Khmylev-Hawerchuk-Erry, Ledyard-Smehlik
Notes - An opposite experience than I had with Boston since the D was sluggish, resulting in the forwards having to do everything. Khmylev was a pleasant surprise, racking up several goals without much effort. Proved to be a true diamond in the rough hidden on the bench. Hawerchuck was his expected tank-like self controlling the play and Erry was a solid contributor.
Result - Higher than expected goal scoring, so the Cup was not difficult to win. Poor D made it interesting at times.
Calgary
Forbidden Players - Fleury, Roberts, Suter
Modified Starters - Ranheim-Nieuwendyk-Makarov, MacInnis-Johannson
Notes - The Flames are blessed with above average talent throughout their roster, so missing a few top tier players does not hurt much. Reichel could have been used, but I like Ranheim better. Might have to replay and reset the overall skill level ceiling to 70, which removes half of their forwards.
Result - They walked to the Cup. Very easy.
Chicago
Forbidden Players - Roenick, Larmer, Chelios, Belfour
Modified Starters - Goulet-Ruuttu-Murphy, Smith-Marchment, Waite (G)
Notes - No way the 98 skilled Belfour could make the cut here, so he was the first forbidden goalie. Waite is a mostly terrible goalie, so the Hawks had their work cut out for them. Smith surprised me taking over Chelios's duties. Murphy was a sleeper that crashes the net well. The others only had to prevent big plays, which they did for the most part.
Result - Some Jeckyl/Hyde scenarios and some spotty goaltending, but gutted out enough wins to lift the Cup.
Dallas
Forbidden Players - Modano, Gagner, Courtnall*, Tinordi
Modified Starters - Broten-Dahlen-Craig, Sjodin-Johnson
Notes - Courtnall originally made the cut with his 73 skill, but his world class speed had him carrying this team and scoring in bunches. Restarted with Craig subbing for Courtnall which balanced things out well. Turned the Stars into a grinding team instead of a run-and-gun Showtime on ice. Broten steps up here with his blue collar workhorse style. The D is solid, but limited on offense.
Result - Most games were dead heats, with bursts at the end for some reason. Most goals scored in the last 2 minutes of each game to pull away to victory. I think all 4 games were something like 4-1 after being tied most of regulation.
Detroit
Forbidden Players - Yzerman, Federov, Ciccarelli, Drake* Coffey
Modified Starters - Sheppard-Ysebaert-Kozlov, Lidstrom-Konstantinov
Notes - Dallas Drake got an early pull from the lineup after scoring 3 in the 1st period of the 1st game, despite being "eligible". Ysebaert had to fill in that void, but he became more of a playmaker instead of goal scorer. Kozlov proved more nimble with the puck and switched to C on occasion. Shep just had to knock in rebounds. That D is still rock solid, so I was never challenged.
Result - DET is so good that I took away most of the team and it was still better than most. Consistent, fairly easy wins.
Edmonton
Forbidden Players - Klima, Manson, Simpson*
Modified Starters - Elik-Todd-Cigar, Smith-Kravchuk
Notes - Simpson was sniping goals left and right, so he had to go. Elik is the real surprise, as a grinder with a nose for the puck and the goal. Todd and Cigar were better than expected, but nothing special. Kravchuk moves with the puck so well, that he generated a good bit of offense.
Result - Only real challenge was against CHI. I'm learning that a good, solid defense will erase most deficiencies and EDM was no exception. 4 wins, nothing elaborate.
Florida
Forbidden Players - Skrudland, Murphy
Modified Starters - Hough-Lomakin-Berlanger, Richer-Cirella
Notes - What a steaming pile of $@#&! Hough can score goals, but thats it. Cirella pushed the puck for some offense, but Richer doing impressions of a traffic cone kept that from happening much. Offense was tough to come by.
Result - Surprised myself and lucked into the Finals. Forced OT, but a bad turnover kept the Panthers from victory. First loss with the modified teams.
Hartford
Forbidden Players: Verbeek, Sanderson, Yake*, Zalapski
Modified Starters: Nylander-Cassels-Kron, Burt-Weinrich
Notes: Cassels leads the charge here, but has difficulty hitting the net. Nylander proved rather nifty around the goal. Kron had all the makings of a solid player, but I celebrated the most when he finally scored his only goal of 4 games. The D made things easy when they handled the puck, but their shots would routinely end up in the next zip code.
Result: Overall skill allowed them to overpower all of their opponents. Unfortunately, these rules takes the fun out of this team.
Los Angeles
Forbidden Players: Gretzky, Robitaille, Sandstrom, Carson, Blake
Modified Starters: Granato-Kurri-Donnelly, Zhitnik-Sydor
Notes: This team was flying! Donnelly seemed to come out of nowhere on every play. Granato's speed is quite an asset. Kurri rarely missed his chances (he may need to move to the Forbidden Players list). Zhitnik is a solid D on both ends of the ice.
Result: 4 Easy wins. And the most fun I had with any of the modified teams.
Montreal:
Forbidden Players: Muller, Savard, Lebeau, Bellows, Damphousse, Desjardins, Roy (G)
Modified Starters: Leeman-Carbonneau-Keane, Brisebois-Daigneault
Notes: Whew! After gutting this team, there's not much left. Carbonneau tries to be a leader but has too many shortcomings. Daigneault's big time slap shot would have helped if he could have put it on net once in a while.
Result: 2-1 victories were the norm. Felt like they were trying NOT to score at times. However, once I switched Carbonneau/Keene, things started to click. Unfortunately, that didn't happen until the Final.
New Jersey:
Forbidden Players: Semak, Richer, Stevens,
Modified Starters: Zelepukin-Statsny-Nicholls, Driver-Neidermayer
Notes: Turns out this is a fairly balanced team. Tried Z at C for a few games to get some more skill up the middle, but these guys are mostly interchangeable. Something they all have in common though, is that they can't pass for squat. More off target passes than any other team.
Result: Scores were kept low, but usually kept a lead. Secondary transition were the best ways to score. Neids picked up lots of loose pucks to get the offense going. Nichols put the most pucks in the net, but Statsny led the scoring with a majority of the team's assists.
New York Islanders:
Forbidden Players: Turgeon, Hogue, Malakhov
Modified Starters: Thomas-Ferraro-Volek, Kurvers-Norton
Notes: Originally thought Thomas would center with Ferraro on the wing, but switched that up when the offense stalled. Chicken Parm could bull his way through the middle a little easier. Still a grinding team. The D was....fine, I guess. Out of position a little too much, but the real pain was in goal. WOW, these goalies are terrible.
Results: Ferraro proved to be a good leader, but Kurvers pulled out a much needed hat trick in the finals to insure the championship.
New York Rangers:
Forbidden Players: Messier, Gartner, Tikkanen, Leech, Patrick*
Modified Starters: Turcotte-Amonte-Graves, Lowe-Zubov
Notes: Turcotte has the speed so it was assumed he would lead, but he's more of a complementary player. Graves is the difference maker. Lowe keeps the puck alive, while Zubov is a little too quiet. This team gives up more one timers than any other team I've played with in this format. Be careful, Bieser (G) gives up a LOT of juicy rebounds.
Results: Again the secondary break proves beneficial. Feeding a cutting Turcotte in the middle does the trick. Zubov picked up by the finals, but he still can't create his own shot. Eddie Olczyk had to step in when Gravey got injured and did surprisingly well. Good overall team wins it all.
Ottawa:
Forbidden Players: Turgeon, Maciver
Modified Starters: Baker-Kudelski-Smail, Shaw-Luongo
Notes: Coin flip between Turgeon/Kudelski on who to sit. Either would play on a better team in this format, but the Sens could not handle losing both. Zero offense from the D, but they clean up plays nicely and are not terrible with the puck. The offense is solid, believe it or not, but no stars/game changers. VERY susceptible to one-timers. Kirk Muller ate their lunch by hanging 5 goals on them in a game.
Results: Lost 1st round vs the Habs (and Muller's 5), but I restarted since one game didn't seem like enough. Turned the 3 forwards into some pesky forecheckers to prevent the big boys from doing too much damage and it worked. Not as many assists as I would like. Too many one man shows. Won in the Finals on the 2nd try after losing in the 1st round on the 1st try. Odd that I ended up playing more games with this team (5 total) than any other.
Philadelphia:
Forbidden Players: Lindros, Recchi, Yushkevich, Dineen*
Modified Starters: Actin-Brind'Amour-Lomakin, Hawgood-Galley
Notes: Brind'Amour and Dineen sure do shine when the step out the shadow of the star Flyer players. Dineen so much so, I had to bench him for being too good. Rod still put up impressive numbers, but was watered down without Dineen riding shotgun. The remaining forwards were serviceable. The D over achieved. The real story was the high turnover rate of Soderstrom (G). Every bad outlet pass equaled a puck in his net. Made the games closer than they needed to be.
Results: Injuries and penalties were tough on the Flyers. Actin scored one goal on a redirect off the other team's face. Brindy carried the team to the Cup despite some spotty goaltending.
Pittsburgh:
Forbidden Players: Lemieux, Jagr, Stevens, Murphy, Ulf Samuelsson*
Modified Starters: McEachern-Francis-Mullen, Kjell Samelsson-Stanton
Notes: Decided to bench Ulf to make it more interesting since he was borderline anyway. The forwards were scoring goals galore! Decided to implement a hat trick benching policy. Score a hat trick and you are done for the game. Had to do it for all 3 forwards at least once each, although subs Toccett and Loney did jack squat when they came in.
Results: Francis led the way as to be expected. The forwards were solid. Forgot about the D since they didn't score but also forgot about them since they did their job in their own end. Forgettable Cup win.
Quebec:
Forbidden Players: Sakic, Sundin, Duchesne, Leschyshyn*, Kamensky*, Kovalenko*
Modified Starters: Nolan-Ricci-Lapointe, Foote-Guserov
Notes: Leschyshyn was going to get benched anyway. I know I can score at will with Kamensky, so he gets the boot. Kovalenko proved in game 1 that he was too good. Nolan was the prototype tweener; somewhere between too good and not good enough. Guserov picked up some loose change to score around the net and Foote was too boring to notice. Expected much more out of Ricci, who dealt some assists, but couldn't find the net often enough.
Results: Nolan was dominant but his poor accuracy left many goals unscored. Some strange characteristics for this team. First, they had several doorstep one timers. They also had several goals in the last 5 seconds of a period. Odd. Easy wins.
San Jose:
Forbidden Players: Kisio, Wilson
Modified Starters: Falloon-Berezan-Gaudreau, Ozolinsh-Wilkinson
Notes: Goals were tough to come by. Falloon has a big time shot, with small time aim. The other forwards are good grinders, but no creativity. Ozolinsh has good wheels for a Dman and generates some good offense. Wilkinson is no slouch.
Results: Berezan distributes the puck well. Most goals were cheap or break aways. Everything close. Gaudreau was a big disappointment....until the Finals, where he scored 4 goals. Overall tallies made it look like a balanced offence, but it wasn't.
St. Louis
Forbidden Players: Hull, Shanahan, Brown
Modified Starters: Emerson-Janney-Miller, Crossman-Butcher
Notes: AJ's recommendation was Bassen or Sutter. I chose Kevin Miller instead and he did not disappoint. I knew Janney couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat, so his shots were limited to one timers and breakaways. Still put up good numbers. Emerson was the enigma. Was injured in one game, forcing me to use Sutter, who scored a goal right away. But Emerson could never find his groove. The D just sucks. A few bust out offensive moments, but it was common to see more opponents near Cujo (G) than my own Dmen.
Result: Surprisingly balanced on the front line and not a noticeable drop off with the subs. QUE took it to them in the Finals for their first real challenge, but the Blues pulled it out with an opportunistic PP in the last minutes. Miller proved to be "Mr. PP" for some unknown reason.
Tampa Bay
Forbidden Players: Bradley, Beers
Modified Starters: Andersson-Kontos-Kasper, Hamrlik-Bergevin
Notes: What a boring team. Low speed and no creativity/puck skills. Andersson is the only bright spot, but that is only because everything is pitch black.
Result: Lost in the 2nd round, 5-1 to the one-timer happy Islanders. Such a mismatch. Hated playing with this team so much that I didn't give them a 2nd chance like I did with Ottawa.
Toronto
Forbidden Players: Gilmour, Ellet, Clark*
Modified Starters: Anderson-Cullen-Borshevsky, Macoun-Gill
Notes: The Leafs were a breath of fresh air after playing with the putrid Bradley-less Bolts. 2 easy goals in the first minute of the first game put Clark on the bench for good. No breakout stars on this team, but everyone can score goals. They are a little too loose on the defensive end, but good luck keeping up with their goal scoring. Seemed like everyone chipped in. Something called Bob Rouse even had a few assists.
Result: Big scare vs VAN, which with a Macoun breakaway GWG in OT. Cullen came up big, but not in an overly dominant way. Felt like Cullen was within the confines of what I envisioned with this experiment. Probably just took the scoring that disappointing Borshevsky left on the table.
Vancouver
Forbidden Players: Bure, Lindon, Ronning, Lumme, Courtnall*
Modified Starters: Adams-Craven-Semenov, Lidster-Plavsic
Notes: And I thought the Leafs could score! The front line is basically the same player x3. Each with just enough skating and shot that they can score when given the chance. Not impressed with the D, but nothing specific to complain about.
Result: Total goals in each game, 7-8-9-6. I even subbed in super slug Nedved when someone scored a hat trick. I think each of the modified starting forwards had a hatty. Much like Calgary, this team had evenly distributed goal scoring instead of a dominant star. Completely balanced, yet powerful. Might be the best overall team in this format.
Washington
Forbidden Players: Bondra, Khristich, Iafrate, Ridley*
Modified Starters: Carpenter-Miller-Pivonka, Cote-Johansson
Notes: Ridley got his hatty in Game 1 and was done. He was borderline, but I thought it was best that he got pulled. This team has some snipers, even without Bondra/Khristich. Lots of upper corner snipes. Miller was in that Nolan type tweener stage. D is great. This is the defensive tandem I play with anyway, Johansson might have to take a seat next time around.
Results: 12 goals in Game 1. 3 players with hat tricks. Probably had more to do with playing against Healy (NYI Goalie, 47 rating), since in Game 2 they only scored 3. Miller led the way, until the Finals when Carpenter caught fire with a hat trick.
Winnipeg
Forbidden Players: Selanne, Zhamnov, Housley
Modified Starters: Davydov-Eagles-Steen, Numminen-Olausson
Notes: Wasn't sure about Eagles in the middle...until he scored a hat trick in game 1. Dude just posts up in front of the net and puts pucks in nets. Davydov has some jets (pun only partially unintended), which he translates to many scoring opps for himself and teammates. Tkachuk subbed in nicely. Steen was either awesome or terrible. No in between. D was good, but contributed very little offensively.
Results: Balanced scoring was a bit unexpected, since it felt like Davydov shouldered much of the load. Eagles was a true dark horse, who quietly led the way behind the flashiness of Davydov. Were there D men on this team? I didn't notice.