A Plot: Adam tries to improve his less-than-capable ice hockey skills to please his father, but Beverly insists that Murray indulge in Adam's real passion—making movies.
B Plot: Erica reveals she has a shot at a Stanford-worthy SAT score, but Beverly wants Erica to attend a college closer to home and tries to sabotage Erica's test preparation.
- Dumbass Has a Point: Even after trying and failing to teach Adam how to fight on the rink, it's Barry that ends up stating the solution of the A Plot: after 5 years of Adam trying to impress his father through a sport he hates and isn't good at, Murray should at least spend more than 5 minutes trying to accept Adam's hobbies. Murray even points out how odd it is to hear such a wise idea come out of Barry.
- Genre Savvy: The final scene is Adam trying to bond with Murray by filming a sci-fi horror movie, but Murray keeps asking why his character would do obviously moronic things like exploring a seemingly abandoned alien vessel all by himself.
- Own Goal: The episode begins with Adam finally scoring his first hockey goal and thinking he's finally made his father proud, only for it to immediately turn out to be on his own team.
- Parental Favoritism: Barry convinces himself that he's Murray's favorite, as unlike Adam, he's genuinely good at hockey. Murray just calls him a moron.
- Perfectly Cromulent Word: Beverly attempts to sabotage Erica by "teaching" her a variety of these, which she's called out on by both Erica and Pops.
- Shout-Out: Adam's "Alien Dad" film idea includes a scene of a sock puppet bursting out of a model of his father's chest, invoking the famous scene from Alien.
- Unnecessary Roughness: Barry teaches Adam how to be a useful member of his hockey team despite his limited skills by turning him into an "enforcer", but this only gets Adam tossed into a goal and suspended for fighting in the next game.
