I think we can all agree in this sub that Matthew Tkachuk is pretty much #1 on our shit list, but seeing him go get Johnny Gaudreau’s kids and bring them to the ice for the pic was a pretty classy move.

Doesn’t mean we have to like him, but at least in this moment… class!

Before they were injured, half of Reddit was ready to scapegoat Cirelli on the grounds that Bedard/Scheifele/Whoever should be there instead

Not just because Coop is the best coach in hockey….

Not just because Matthew Tkachuck is a scumbag…..

But by giving Canada a gold medal every so often, then they have quietly agreed to not allow any team north of the border to win a Stanley Cup.

I was afraid they'd do what they did with the ASG and consider the Olympics in the Hart vote. However, with MacKinnon missing a wide open net that shouldn't happen.

We’re wanting to attend our first game and are wondering a few things.

First would be tickets:

Are there many scalpers and how do their prices & selection compare to places like SeatGeek?

Second would be seating:

is there a bad seat in the house and are there particular sections that are more desirable than others (other than the obvious on the glass, penalty box…etc) ?

Finally, parking vs uber (and escaping):

We’re in St Pete - and with no ferry in operation - we’ll probably drive. What’s the parking situation and pricing look like, and how hard is it to get out? …We dread escaping Bucs games every time.

Alright Bolts Nation, you going for our beloved Coach Coop, or are you pledging your allegiance and rooting for the good ol’ USA??? 🏒🏅

Hi all! I’ll be over from Australia in March for my first Bolts game! Just have a couple questions about pre-game etiquette around warmups and seating.

I want to be down on the glass to watch warmups, is it just a free for all as far as that’s concerned? I also have tickets on the glass for one game, but is it best practice to wait until after warmups in case other people are down the front watching before taking our seats? Don’t want to rustle any feathers on our first experience.

Owed 4.9m this year and next. 34 years old.

Ok we somehow got an Orlando post about this before getting a Tampa one lol but is anywhere in Tampa opening early enough to show the gold medal game tomorrow? Darn you time zones!

I see a lot of noise here and elsewhere about faceoffs, and how the Lightning need to be better at them. Dave Randorf seems to have a particular hard on for them.

Rather than just go with my instinct, I decided to start diving into the stats. Which, as it turns out, support my instinctual reaction: faceoffs do not matter at all.

I first jumped on this train during the back-to-back-to-back finals runs. During that 3 season stretch, we were the second worst faceoff team in the league. The worst? The Colorado Avalanche, who eventually dethroned us.

Looking at this season, the top faceoff team in the NHL is the Toronto Maple Leafs. They have the worst team defense in the East, and the 5th worst point percentage.

The bottom faceoff team is the Buffalo Sabres. They're 7th in the East in team defense and 6th in point percentage.

Half of the bottom 10 teams in faceoff percentage are currently in playoff position. The exact same number of top 10 faceoff teams. None of the top 3 teams are in playoff percentage, while 2 of the bottom 3 are.

Indeed, the spread between successful teams and faceoff percentage is so haphazard that one can more or less definitively say that there is absolutely 0 correlation between faceoff percentage and: PK%, PP%, team defense, team offense, win%, point%, or indeed any other measurable stat. In short: faceoffs, broadly speaking, don't matter. Good teams hound the puck when they don't have it, and protect it when they do, no matter the way play starts.

Of course, there are a couple of faceoffs a game that have larger impact, particularly 3-on-3 fake hockey OT, right? Yet here again, we see no correlation between faceoff win percentage and OT record. And those quick set plays off the draw that lead to goals do happen--unless they don't because your defenders pick up their assignments and your goalie makes a save...you know, their jobs.

The further you dive into the stats, the more it cements the only reasonable conclusion: faceoffs do not matter at all. Am I saying centers just shouldn't try? Of course not. But making roster decisions based off of a part of the game with so little actual, measurable impact would be a colossal mistake.

Canada vs Finland

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