Stajan 49.5
Monahan 47.8
Backlund 45.7
Bennett 44.9
Jooris 39.1
Granlund 33.3 (although he was 2 and 2 for 50% in his 2nd game)
Really hoping they can improve and was happy to see Backlund and Granlund do well in the Arizona game, but Monahan and Stajan especially were brutal (Stajan was 9 %)
Should the Flames recall Derek Grant who leads the team in faceoff pct at 56.8 or should they use wingers more on faceoffs like Jones who is 52.4 pct or Colborne who is an even 50.0 or should they do nothing and wait for Jankowski next year?
When was the last time the Flames were solid as a team in the dot?
I assume we were half decent the years we had Conroy/Yelle taking lots of draws. Besides that, I can't remember a team in the last 15 yrs or so where faceoffs were a strength. Can anyone shed some light?
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This is the least of their problems. Faceoff wins are a good thing, but it doesn't determine the outcome of games, just determines puck control in a few key situations. Other than those key moments in games a face-off doesn't matter.
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Originally Posted by ResAlien
If we can't fall in love with replaceable bottom 6 players then the terrorists have won.
This is the least of their problems. Faceoff wins are a good thing, but it doesn't determine the outcome of games, just determines puck control in a few key situations. Other than those key moments in games a face-off doesn't matter.
I'd say it is one of the largest contributing factors in their horrible special teams play. Those key situations crop up pretty often.
It also reflects in their abysmal road record as they struggle to get their defensive match ups.
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I'll continue to say that there's just no reason Backlund should be playing centre ahead of Bennett. Bennett needs to develop the centre skillset at the NHL level. I'd also be pro-Grant.
Backlund - Monahan - Hudler
Gaudreau - Bennett - Frolik
Colborne - Stajan - Jones
Granlund - Grant - Ferland
Give Monahan and Stajan the hard starts, give Bennett and Grant the easy starts.
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This is the least of their problems. Faceoff wins are a good thing, but it doesn't determine the outcome of games, just determines puck control in a few key situations. Other than those key moments in games a face-off doesn't matter.
I disagree 100%. Everything is related to winning or losing the draw, especially on special teams.
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This is the least of their problems. Faceoff wins are a good thing, but it doesn't determine the outcome of games, just determines puck control in a few key situations. Other than those key moments in games a face-off doesn't matter.
I disagree. A face off win in the offensive zone on the several power plays we had last night could have made a huge difference. Pretty sure we lost every single face off to start the pp and the puck was cleared down the ice.
OK, let me clarify. Being under 50% isn't a big deal. Stajan is 49.5%. So? Anyone hovering around the 50% mark is pretty good.
Monahan is 47.8%. Not dominant but not terrible either. He's young still.
Backlund is 45.7%. He's never been good at face-offs but he's still an excellent possession player? Why? He goes and gets the puck back even though technically he lost the draw.
Bennett is 44.5%...as a rookie. He'll get better with experience, especially with his compete level.
Jooris and Granlund are poor, but both are better suited to the wing anyways, so I don't even worry about them.
Being 5% below 50% isn't the worst thing in the world. Over the course of this season, Backlund has lost 15 more face-offs than he's won. That's less than 1 per game. Bennett's differential is 10. Stajan's is 3. Monahan is around 24, which is roughly 1 per game, and he takes more face-offs than anyone, but you live with his growing pains in this regard.
What I'm saying is that if you can't overcome losing 1-3 extra face-offs per game then something is wrong with the rest of your game. Looking at a lot of different areas that need addressing with the Flames this year, face-offs are really low on the priority list. It's a quick moment that gives possession momentarily to one team over another, but unless it's overtime, possession is usually only maintained for a few seconds.
People make a big deal about face-offs, and sometimes they do matter, but I fail to see why we're worrying about it when there's so many bigger problems to fix.
I do agree that we could use a checking line center that can win key draws, but you still have to rely on your big centers to get the job done when the game is on the line. This stat will largely depend on how well Monahan and Bennett develop their skills on the dot. I say that long term it will not be a problem.
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If we can't fall in love with replaceable bottom 6 players then the terrorists have won.
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I disagree 100%. Everything is related to winning or losing the draw, especially on special teams.
Top 5 teams on the faceoff:
Carolina
Arizona
San Jose
Minnesota
Dallas
Top 5 teams on the PP(Faceoff standings in brackets):
Boston (17th)
Dallas (5th)
Washington (9th)
Montreal (21st)
New Jersey(14th)
Top 5 teams on the PK:
Anaheim (7th)
Montreal (21st)
St.Louis (19th)
Los Angeles (27th)
Washington (9th)
Bottom 5 teams on the draw(PP and PK in Brackets):
Columbus (18th)(12th)
Calgary (28th)(30th)
Vancouver (10th)(24th)
Los Angeles (15th)(4th)
Detroit (23rd)(7th)
Looks pretty random to me. Los Angeles is a top special teams club despite being at the bottom of the league in faceoffs. The other teams besides Calgary are pretty midpack.
The leaders league wide in PP and PK are scattered around in terms of faceoff effectiveness.
Just from a quick look, it doesn't appear that everything is related to winning or losing then draw on special teams.
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Agree with Bingo, that faceoffs have nothing to do with hockey sense. Hand/eye, positioning, anticipation are all skills. Crosby spent a summer training himself specifically for the faceoff, and came back with his most dominant season, because his team always had the puck in advantageous situations.
Also, when it comes to special teams, there are always specialists that dominate on certain teams. Boston overall doesn't have a good faceoff record, but Bergeron is one of the best in the league, and goes out to win important draws on the powerplay. The same with someone like Jarett Stoll (perennially) in LA on the penalty kill.
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"We don't even know who our best player is yet. It could be any one of us at this point." - Peter LaFleur, player/coach, Average Joe's Gymnasium
OK, let me clarify. Being under 50% isn't a big deal. Stajan is 49.5%. So? Anyone hovering around the 50% mark is pretty good.
Monahan is 47.8%. Not dominant but not terrible either. He's young still.
Backlund is 45.7%. He's never been good at face-offs but he's still an excellent possession player? Why? He goes and gets the puck back even though technically he lost the draw.
Bennett is 44.5%...as a rookie. He'll get better with experience, especially with his compete level.
Jooris and Granlund are poor, but both are better suited to the wing anyways, so I don't even worry about them.
Being 5% below 50% isn't the worst thing in the world. Over the course of this season, Backlund has lost 15 more face-offs than he's won. That's less than 1 per game. Bennett's differential is 10. Stajan's is 3. Monahan is around 24, which is roughly 1 per game, and he takes more face-offs than anyone, but you live with his growing pains in this regard.
What I'm saying is that if you can't overcome losing 1-3 extra face-offs per game then something is wrong with the rest of your game. Looking at a lot of different areas that need addressing with the Flames this year, face-offs are really low on the priority list. It's a quick moment that gives possession momentarily to one team over another, but unless it's overtime, possession is usually only maintained for a few seconds.
People make a big deal about face-offs, and sometimes they do matter, but I fail to see why we're worrying about it when there's so many bigger problems to fix.
I do agree that we could use a checking line center that can win key draws, but you still have to rely on your big centers to get the job done when the game is on the line. This stat will largely depend on how well Monahan and Bennett develop their skills on the dot. I say that long term it will not be a problem.
I think the real problem here is that not all faceoffs are made equal. When you have 0 above average options, it is really hard to win the ones that matter more.
The start of the game or an offensive faceoff with the lead just don't mean as much as the last minute of a tight game or the start of PKs.
Our guys are probably doing just fine against 3/4 of most teams centers, but when the put their best guy out for the one that matters the success rate probably drops significantly, because there is no strong faceoff guy for the flames to put out there.
All Flames centers below 50% in Faceoffs
