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Originally Posted by GioforPM
Of course, just points doesn't tell a story, like you say. Boston and Calgary are in a virtual tie points wise on the top line. But Boston's top line is far better defensively, meaning they can be played head to head against other top lines without any concern at all.
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Yes, but Calgary's 2nd line makes the same claim (elite defensively) so I would argue that it's still a wash.
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You could argue, in fact, that the second line points for Calgary might be inflated a bit because they have a little extra ice time since they have to play against the opponent top line so much (though you could equally argue that this leads to worse zone starts, more defensive zone time etc).
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I would argue the opposite. I would think the points for the 2nd line are deflated because they play such stiff competition and have really tough zone starts.
And every team has to match against the top line of their opponent each night, so that should all average out through the numbers.