"Defense wins championships"

[BUX7PHX]

The Pens outscoring the Preds doesnt prove that the Pens had the better defense. What happened was that the Pens forward core was dominating compared to the weak Nashville forward core

The Preds D was obviously superior and the Preds still lost. There is no rule that defense wins championships

But the Pens outscoring the Preds does acknowledge that they had the better defense in that particular series.

You are right that there is no clear rule that defense wins championships. However, 4 teams made the playoffs with the 16th-30th GF (Calgary, San Jose, Anaheim, and Ottawa). Only 2 teams with the 16th-30th GA made the playoffs (Toronto and Pittsburgh). Last I checked, the prerequisite for winning a championship is making the playoffs, and that speaks highly as to how defense makes the case for getting into the playoffs in the first place.

2016 playoffs
Teams with 16th-30th GF that made playoffs: Anaheim, Minnesota, Detroit, Philadelphia
Teams with 16th-30th GA that made playoffs: Detroit, Dallas

2015 playoffs
Teams with 16th-30th GF that made playoffs: Chicago, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Winnipeg
Teams with 16th-30th GA that made playoffs: Calgary, Vancouver, Anaheim, New York Islanders

2014 playoffs
Teams with 16th-30th GF that made playoffs: Montreal, New York Rangers, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minnesota
Teams with 16th-30th GA that made playoffs: Philadelphia, Detroit, Dallas

Bottom line is that far more teams make the playoffs with a strong defense than with a strong offense. Most coincide with each other, which makes sense from a balance perspective. But if you want to win a championship, be in the top 8 in your conference. If you aren't in the top half of the league in terms of GA, you are significantly less likely to make the playoffs in the first place.

So, maybe the saying should be revised to "Defense puts you in a better position to win a championship." From there, once the playoffs start and you see the same team over and over again, a team can adjust strategy to align themselves to match up better. I guarantee that more adjustments are likely made on the defensive end than the offensive end, which emphasizes the importance of defense.

***Bolded teams won the Cup that year - interesting that two of the Cup winners had a sub 50th percentile offense, and only one (Pittsburgh in 2017) had a sub 50th percentile defense

 

[TeddyBare]

I think it applies more-so to the NFL.

Seahawks
Denver