Better at faceoffs

[metal_geek]

What about face offs after an icing? Seem lumping that face off win in with a center ice face off would be different. I would argue getting your best fresh players out there against a tired set of players would make a face off win much more important to the outcome of a game vs the same face off with 2 fresh lines.

Even a 50% faceoff win percentage would be better then a 40% given the situational advantage of having puck control and keeping the advantage. If it wasn't important we wouldn't see second period time outs on icing calls.

[JoseCuervo]

Originally Posted by driveway

Because, in the long run, faceoffs don't actually matter.

Either you are daft or you have never watched a hockey game, because as tonight has shown faceoffs do actually matter.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by JoseCuervo

Either you are daft or you have never watched a hockey game, because as tonight has shown faceoffs do actually matter.

A couple things here:

A) there's no need go be calling people daft
B) there is an argument here with statistics backing it up which claims face offs are not as important as they are accredited for.
C) your post provided nothing but an insult and an opinion.
D) which of the 4 goals scored tonight would you say is a direct result of a lost face off? Was it Colbornes penalty? Johnnys giveaway? The empty netter?

[rockstar]

Would it be worthwhile to develop a strategy around intentionally losing faceoffs?

[shogged]

Originally Posted by JoseCuervo

Either you are daft or you have never watched a hockey game, because as tonight has shown faceoffs do actually matter.

came to say this. so many missed opportunities tonight, especially during the 5 on 3 in the third.

Faceoffs aren't the only way to drive possession, but boy do they help.

[driveway]

Key phrase: in the long run.

Never did I suggest that winning a specific faceoff isn't important, or that in the course of a single game, winning or losing faceoffs can have an effect.

The point is that over the course of time, specifically a single season +playoffs, the overall effect of faceoff winning percentage is negligible, and not worth stressing over.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Blixa

Maybe they had poor goaltending or lot of injuries in defence? It´s about a summary of lot little things and faceoffs are one off them.

Totally agree with this.

Face offs are useful, but not important.

Goaltending, shooting, speed, stick handling, and vision are all traits I'd take over face off prowess

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

I'd rather see a better at power plays change.

Flames won the face offs battle. No pp goals. Gave up 2

CATEGORY ANA CGY
Power Plays 2/4 0/2
Hits 25 27
Faceoff Wins 34 36
Giveaways 5 12
Takeaways 11 23
Blocked Shots 14 23
Penalty Minutes 6 10

[CSharp]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

here's another example of where stats seem really messed up for hockey.

Possession is a MASSIVE concept to articulate a team's control of a game (having the puck should not only mean you have a higher chance of creating scoring opportunities, but it also means reducing the chances created by the opposition ). the concept of "shot attempts" being the indicator for a team's "possession" seems incorrect to me.

i think the ability to quantify the puck's state in all 3 zones may provide more context and value, where state could be team A possession, team B possession, contested possession (board battles, turned over pucks, etc).

if this could be tracked, we could have stats like:
avg time/game Calgary possesses the puck in (off/def/neutral) zone.
avg time/game Calgary opposition possesses the puck in (off/def/neutral) zone.
avg time/game Calgary is contesting for puck possession (off/def/neutral) zone

(my idea is likely stupid, my point is that shots being used in isolation to quantify possession seems incomplete).

I think you're idea is spot on and more meaningful than misleading stats like block shots and GAA. A lot of people look at the number of blocked shots (eg: the record breaking Russell on this years Flames team) as a way to justify good defensive play. If you look at that stat alone, you'd probably think that the goalies are having a heck of a year and that the Flames are way better defending in their own zone this year than the previous. What's missing there is that the amount of time the Flames spent in their own zone anticipating for a block shot is enormous. Every time someone goes down for a block shot, that person is basically out of the play for at least 2 to 3 seconds. And with a deflected shot, the puck can go anywhere and into the net. The amount of time they spend inside the opposition zone is, therefore, a lot less.

You're right, there should be quantifiable stats on puck possession in the zones to make the games more meaningful. Stats like GAA, +/-, block shots, and others don't mean much without knowing how each team played against each other. These stats are just trivial for the average person who likes to look at numbers for individuals, whereas the stats you're talking about are for the team as a whole.