Are Faceoffs Overrated?

After talking some with the greatest coach in NHL history, I've been set more straight

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about faceoffs. Yes, that’s how sad my life can be at times.

But hey, I still write about hockey and the question of “how important is it to win your majority of faceoffs and still want to be a winning team?”

I guess I’ve always thought “Better to have the puck than not have the puck, and one of the ways you can get the puck is by winning a faceoff.”

Yet, it’s been pointed out to be by several annoy…er, helpful people on the Twitterati that “Hey, the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup last year and were 28th in the league in faceoffs.”

The Avs currently rank 27th in the NHL in faceoff-winning percentage, at 46.4. So, very little improvement over last year and so….on to the next Cup right? Actually, the Avs won more faceoffs last year, at a 47.3% clip.

I did what I usually do when I need guidance on anything hockey, which means: Call Scotty Bowman.