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TORONTO - When Kyle Dubas began using advanced stats and analytics as general manager of the Ontario Hockey Leagues Sault Ste. Alcides Escobar Jersey . Marie Greyhounds, he and his staff had to track, import and compare everything manually.That would take hours and hours, and there would be lag time between games, Dubas said. We didnt have any budget to do anything good enough to make it real-time.Now, as assistant GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dubas has just about all the information he could want at his fingertips. Over the past couple months, the Leafs have forged a partnership with analytics firm SAS and on opening night began using the technology they hope will eventually improve their on-ice results.Were able to collect the data and have it in real-time, be able to use it to give to our coaches in the game and to analyze for ourselves in decision-making, Dubas said. To have those tools at your disposal on your phone or iPad, its been great and a massive and welcome change.The SAS technology captures stats from every NHL game and team. Dubas and Torontos hockey research and development staff can then access that information, which means Leafs analytics specialists Cam Charron, Darryl Metcalf and Rob Pettapiece — all hired over the summer as part of Dubas and president Brendan Shanahans shift to a more analytical approach — dont have to manually keep track of things like shot attempts, ice time or quality of competition.Meanwhile, the Leafs track their own stats — proprietary information they wont share — which is also inputted into the new system to be cross-referenced later. The result is a series of graphs and charts that attempt to explain aspects of the sport that go beyond traditional statistics like goals, assists and plus/minus.When you start to use a deeper form of analysis, it kind of just allows you to question what youre seeing and allows you to better understand whats actually happening in the game, which players will play well together, which defence pairings will play well together, Dubas said. It encompasses around everything because it adds context and powerful information to everything that we can do.SAS analytics lead Tim Trussell said the purpose is to be validating assumptions or validating hypotheses in an unbiased way.Hockey executives, coaches, players and fans can watch a game and have a good idea of whos playing well and whos not, but having the data to back it up adds another dimension to measuring hockey.Carl Farrell, SAS Canadas executive vice-president, said several other teams are doing similar things. SAS has worked with the NBAs Orlando Magic for some time.Sports analytics now is growing in all the different sports segments and hockey being one of them, Farrell said. I think youre going to see more of this. People are realizing: This datas important. It brings extra context, extra depth to the kind of decisions that Kyle and the team have to make.Dubas said when he was hired, Shanahan and general manager Dave Nonis were eager to learn as much about analytics and obtain as much information as possible. Over the previous couple of years, the Leafs were a punching bag for the advanced-stats converts, who criticized them for being a bad puck-possession team.Centre Nazem Kadri has noticed more of an emphasis on holding onto the puck this season than in the past.I think they want you controlling the puck a little more and teams have really started to do that, Kadri said. Obviously theres times and places where youve got to dump the puck and try and get retrievals, but really its all about the neutral-zone and offensive-zone possession.In an effort to join some of the better teams in the departments of analytics, puck possession and sustained winning, the Leafs hired stats bloggers Charron, Metcalf and Pettapiece.Theyre watching the game and tracking different things that were doing either that weve keyed on and want for every game or different things that were trying to test to see if theres any correlation between how we play and our ability to score more goals than the other team, Dubas said.The SAS partnership, announced Thursday morning, seems like the next step in the process for the Leafs.Over time its not so much the technology that differentiates. Its how an organization uses it, how they incorporate it into their business process, said Cameron Dow, vice-president of marketing for SAS Canada. Its all that softer stuff: How do you change the culture to be more analytically oriented, those sorts of things, is really one of the keys to unlocking the value.Part of changing the culture is taking ideas and information and selling it to the coaching staff. Dubas said that was one of the more difficult things in Sault Ste. Marie.You cant just come in and be abrasive and try to overnight have everybody just nod in agreement with everything that happens, Dubas said. It just adds context and information to what theyre doing as coaches and try to be helpful to them.Coach Randy Carlyle said it could take some time to put into effect what the analytics data says.Theres been information thats been supplied to us thats helped us, and were going to continue to use it as a tool, Carlyle said. We think wed be crazy not to. If there was no value in it — in our minds there is value in it, so were going to use it.So far and through the very small sample size of four regular-season games, Dubas said, the most noticeable impact has been on analyzing upcoming opponents. The Leafs could begin to anticipate how the Pittsburgh Penguins were playing under new coach Mike Johnston or how new players were fitting in for the New York Rangers and Colorado Avalanche.Youre trying to analyze, even though its a small sample: How are those teams changing or how are they playing, what effects are different guys having with different players, and be able to apply that to our preparation for every game, Dubas said.So far, only Dubas, Charron, Metcalf and Pettapiece have access to the raw data, though that could change over time. SAS also has the ability to add more depth to the information the Leafs can unearth and sift through.We see a lot of potential in the future to add and complement to what Kyle and the team are doing right now, Dow said. I think theyre just scratching the surface of what is possible.Integrating analytics is part of a long-term process for the Leafs, Dubas said. And unlike junior hockey with its high turnover, the NHL has components like a salary cap and roster construction that mean any such turnaround like the one he led with the Greyhounds will require patience.Dubas already got a taste of impatience when the Leafs lost their first two games.Being an active social-media user I was fascinated: Saturday night we lost and went to 0-2 and it was hilarious to kind of watch everyone say, I thought analytics was supposed to make the team an overnight success, Dubas said. The key thing for me is Ive lived through it before in Sault Ste. Marie. We went from doing nothing to collecting information and data and tracking it and integrating it into the organization. It takes time.Kadri spent some time learning more about advanced stats but hasnt changed his style.Im a puck-possession player, so its not like Im opposed to it, Kadri said. Ive seen charts and things like that and graphs and all that. Im not a math major by all means. I just go out there and try to play my game, and whatever the numbers show, they show.---Follow @SWhyno on Twitter Richard Lovelady Jersey . The Mavericks avoided a season sweep by the Nuggets, who ran away with a win in Denver two weeks ago to hand Dallas its longest losing streak at three games. Dallas (42-28) got a boost in the playoff race when Miami rallied from seven down in the last 3 1/2 minutes to beat Memphis 91-86 Friday night. Frank White Jersey . The CFL club is making the move after holding its camp and regular-season practices at the University of Toronto campus in Mississauga, Ont. https://www.cheaproyals.com/ . The star receiver certainly isnt celebrating it with the Texans mired in a franchise-record 13-game skid.TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Denny Hamlin started his full-time career at Joe Gibbs Racing with an upset victory in an exhibition race at Daytona. Over the years, he added three more wins in races that didnt count, including a sweep this season in the buildup to the Daytona 500. But when it came to the restrictor-plate races that paid points, Hamlin came up empty time and again. Until now. Hamlin, who opened the season with two exhibition victories only to finish second in the Daytona 500, was again sitting second in the closing laps Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. But he won a drag race with leader Kevin Harvick on a restart with two laps remaining, and was out front when NASCAR froze the field because of debris from an accident. Hamlin let out a deep sigh when the yellow flag waved. "Superspeedway win," he said on his radio. "With points! With points!" "I think Ive gotten better. Ive come close. When you drive as aggressive as I drove early in my career on superspeedways, youre going to have a huge risk, huge reward," he said after the win. "I was either wrecking or finishing in the top three every single superspeedway race and was wrecking most of the time. I think this way of driving and the way Im doing things now kind of lends itself to being a little bit more consistent on these type of race tracks, and really you learn from the guys that are good at it." Hamlin became the eighth winner in 10 races this season as drivers jockey to grab the 16 spots available in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. A victory conceivably gives a driver an automatic berth, and Joe Gibbs Racing now has both Hamlin and Kyle Busch eligible for the Chase. "I wasnt ever worried, but you get a little bit more panicked when its, Win a race and youre in Chase, " he said. "You see all these guys logging wins, wins, wins, and the next thing you know theyre running out of Chase spots. Now we can be a little bit more relaxed." The win came at the track where Hamlin made a brief return last year -- he ran just 23 laps before turning his car over to Brian Vickers -- after missing four races with a broken back. Hamlins return to the car briefly built some momentum for the No. 11 team, but as his back continued to ache, the season fell apart in late summer and it took until the season finale for Hamlin to score his first win of the year. He also missed the Chase for the first time in his career. It didnt appear that Hamlin had enough to beat Harvick, already a two-time winner this season, until the final restart. Harvick didnt get the help he needed from behind, was hung out without any drafting partners, and Hamlin pulled out to a comfortable lead. "We were in a good spot there at the end, and what you would want to put yourself in a position to win," Harvick said. "Our line just never formed up." As Hamlin pulled away, an accident deep in the pack scattered debrris, and NASCAR was forced to throw the caution when a bumper was seen laying on the surface. Orlando Cepeda Jersey. The yellow prevented Greg Biffle, who led five times for a race-high 58 laps, from pulling out of line in an attempt to grab the victory away from Hamlin. "I just didnt want to pass too early. I was going to be the lone soldier on the outside lane," Biffle said. "So I was just waiting. I was setting up to go by him but just never had the chance." Clint Bowyer finished third and was followed by Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Brian Vickers as Toyota took the victory and three of the top four spots. AJ Allmendinger finished fifth in a Chevrolet, followed by Paul Menard and then Harvick, who faded to seventh. Kasey Kahne, Kyle Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top 10. Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished a disappointing 26th despite leading three times for 26 laps, second most in the race. Danica Patrick led two times for six laps, and the crowd roared its approval when she drove to the front early in the race. She finished 22nd. "It was nice to lead laps," she said. "It was a fast, fast car so well be happy to take this one to Daytona." It was a rough day for Brad Keselowski, a two-time Talladega winner, who darted to the lead on Lap 14 but appeared to not have cleared Patrick before squeezing in front of her car. She tapped the back of Keselowskis car, sending him for a spin through the grass that caused enough damage to drop him six laps off the pace. "We werent clear enough to make that," crew chief Paul Wolfe told his driver. "Ill just call it at that: We werent clear enough to make that move." Keselowski raced in the heart of the pack after the first incident in an attempt to get his laps back under caution periods. But he was heavily criticized for triggering a 14-car accident with 51 laps remaining. The accident began when Keselowski spun in front of Trevor Bayne, and among those collected were Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson. "Brad made a pretty bold move early, a mind-boggling move, in going in front of Danica and spun out in front of the field and got away with it," Kenseth said. "This time we werent so lucky. He was driving really, really, really aggressively to try to get back up there. "If it was the other way around and it was anybody else except for him, wed all be getting lectured." Gordon also chastised Keselowski. "I had seen him for several laps driving over his head being pretty aggressive," Gordon said. "I knew he was laps down, but he wasnt doing anybody any favours, nor himself." Keselowski took the blame for the late accident. "I just spun out in front of the whole field," he said. "I dont know why, if I just busted my butt on my own or lost a tire, but I feel bad for everyone that got torn up." ' ' '