A couple of topics have been brought up here that I have thoughts on.
One, anytime you have one of these two-game sets, and you offer me 3 points out of 4, I'll take it. Do that all season, and you're going to make the playoffs easily. The disappointment comes because you had 4 points out of 4 with about four minutes to go in the second game, with the opponent getting zero. And two lackadaisical plays wind up turning a +4 point differential into only a +1.
Two, I disagree with the theory that faceoffs shouldn't get extra attention in overtime. OT is 100% geared for offense. Possession of the puck is paramount in OT. There's so much empty space, and so many options for how to play the puck that it's about five times more difficult to play defense and re-gain possession. I assume that the team with the puck in OT is going to win the game until proven otherwise. So as far as I'm concerned, you put the guy out there that you think it most likely to win it and go from there. I don't think trying to win a faceoff is "playing not to lose." It's trying to win possession and start the shift on offense, because offense thrives.
Playing to win a face off isn’t playing to lose. Player selection in OT is playing to lose. When faceoffs are a skill on the team nobody excels in and you don’t have your best players on the ice you are playing to not lose the game. If you want to win the game you put your best performers out there.
EDIT: Here is a coincidental snippet from Portzline's latest Atheltic article on how the CBJ miss Panarin in OT. It isn't about winning and losing faceoffs, it is about having a dynamic player on the ice. I like Nick Foligno but he is far from being a dynamic player on the ice. Foligno being out there to win a faceoff prevented someone far more talented offensively from being on the ice.
"Of all the departures from Columbus in recent seasons, the one that hurts the most is still Artemi Panarin. The point of this nugget is not to rip the scab off that wound, just to provide some perspective.
In Panarin’s two seasons with the Blue Jackets, they were an astounding 17-6 in games that ended in overtime, by far the highest winning percentage in the league. Only Pittsburgh (17) won as many OT games in those two seasons.
Since Panarin left, the Jackets are just 8-14 when games are settled in OT, including 0-3 this season, including Saturday’s loss to Chicago after only 35 seconds. Those 14 losses are more than any other team. Anaheim is second with 10.
Panarin had five OT game-winners with the Blue Jackets, but his greatest gift as a player was making everybody around him better by drawing so much attention when he had the puck. Seth Jones had four OT winners in those two seasons."