Lightning among the worst in Faceoffs

[LightningStrikes]

A lot of things are going well so far this season. We sit atop the Eastern Conference and are tied-1st in points league-wide. We're currently the 2nd best team in the league in total goals scored and GF/GP, 4th in goals against and GA/GP, we have the best PP in the league and rank 8th on the PK.

Stamkos and Kucherov are still leading all players in points, Kucherov is tied 1st in goals scored, Vasi is tied-6th in GAA and leads the league in wins.

We came down to Earth a bit in the last couple of days but 6-4-0 in the last 10 is far from terrible.

That said, there's one thing we truly suck at: Winning faceoffs.
The Lightning are the 4th worst team league-wide at 46.7 FO%.

None of our centers are getting the job done right now. Johnson is the best we have at 49.2, followed by Point at 48.7.

It feels like Point gets tossed every 2nd faceoff though. Which could be one of the reasons why our team FO% has plummeted further (winger has to take the draw and loses).

We currently rank 4th worst in the NHL at faceoffs. Only New Jersey, Columbus and Colorado are worse. It shows that FO% is not everything (except Colorado all four teams at the bottom of the league are currently well on course for the playoffs).

Especially in the playoffs it feels like faceoffs are becoming more and more important. You play the same team several times and the same players meet in the circle. Having to fight for possession after losing more than half the faceoffs on a regular basis is draining and puts you at an disadvantage. It might work for 10-20 games but over the course of 82+ games I don't think it's sustainable and possibly one of the reasons for our recent slumps.

It's been a weakness of this team for years. And while we look greatly improved in most other facets of our game, the lack of faceoff prowess is arguably the biggest hole right now and the one thing we didn't improve at all.

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[JoVel]

It's pretty bad when none of your regular centers are over 50%.

 

[The Macho King]

Hedman needs to take more draws.

 

[Volodya Krutov]

All our centers are mediocre to bad at FO, that's something they can only fix by themselves, especially during the off-season. That being said, I can see Yzerman fetching a true FO specialist to replace Dumont on the 4th line by the trade deadline, that'd be a great help for the playoffs

 

[Maelmoor]

All our centers are mediocre to bad at FO, that's something they can only fix by themselves, especially during the off-season. That being said, I can see Yzerman fetching a true FO specialist to replace Dumont on the 4th line by the trade deadline, that'd be a great help for the playoffs

Not sure what options are available, would be a nice to find a new Yanic Perreault!

 

[LightningStrikes]

All our centers are mediocre to bad at FO, that's something they can only fix by themselves, especially during the off-season. That being said, I can see Yzerman fetching a true FO specialist to replace Dumont on the 4th line by the trade deadline, that'd be a great help for the playoffs

The thing is Stamkos has always been below or barley at 50%. Johnson I think was at or slightly over 50% at best. Last season we had Fil and Boyle who were decent (above 50% IIRC) but our top line centers have never been among other teams' top line centers in FO%. Vinny was alright and especially during the playoffs he managed to win faceoffs that mattered:

Remember the Purcell goal off a faceoff win from Vinny? Look at Vinny showing him where to go (around 0.12):



Re the bold part: It's either not addressed at all during or after the season or they just suck at it and they're trying to build around it somehow. Both Stammer and Johnson should be way better than 45-49%.

And Point gets tossed all the time, not sure what's up with that.

 

[The Macho King]

Depending on how things play out, maybe try to get Vermette from the Ducks when they start getting healthy (now that they traded for Henrique). Shouldn't cost much and he's a 60% FO man.

Wouldn't be bad as a fourth line/pk option.

 

[Rschmitz]

Don't see Anaheim parting with Vermette

 

[The Macho King]

Don't see Anaheim parting with Vermette

He's on an expiring contract - a lot is going to depend on if Anaheim is in the playoff picture. As of today, they're about four spots out (3 points back of second wildcard with four teams to jump). If they could get a 2nd for him at the deadline, I think they move him.

 

[DFC]

Depending on whether or not Johnson sticks in the top-six, we could be in the market for a 3C FO specialist, rather than a 4C, which makes things more interesting, I think.

 

[TampaJay]

Phil Esposito went on a bit of a rant about the Bolts on faceoff during the last pre-game show. He talked about how in his day teams practiced faceoffs as a unit and had contests (bets for who buys lunch); and not individual one-one duals like the Lightning do it when they practice faceoffs. His point was that the guys around the dot are almost as important for winning faceoffs as the center.
Maybe in this area, the Lightning need better or more coaching more than finding a new faceoff specialist. What good does that do if the rest of the faceoff unit is lacking effort or technique?

 

[The Macho King]

Phil Esposito went on a bit of a rant about the Bolts on faceoff during the last pre-game show. He talked about how in his day teams practiced faceoffs as a unit and had contests (bets for who buys lunch); and not individual one-one duals like the Lightning do it when they practice faceoffs. His point was that the guys around the dot are almost as important for winning faceoffs as the center.
Maybe in this area, the Lightning need better or more coaching more than finding a new faceoff specialist. What good does that do if the rest of the faceoff unit is lacking effort or technique?

So there's one major change with that - with the new faceoff rules it's harder to get "team wins" on faceoffs. You used to be able to just tie up the stick and have a winger dig it out. With the rule change, most wins are clean now.

 

[waterboy65]

So there's one major change with that - with the new faceoff rules it's harder to get "team wins" on faceoffs. You used to be able to just tie up the stick and have a winger dig it out. With the rule change, most wins are clean now.

I agree. While I don't have any numbers to back it up, it appears that 3/4 of every face-off is now a clean win. Both Stammer and Point get tossed much more than I see their opponents do. Based on the experiment of moving TJ up to wing on top 6, I truly believe that a #3C with size and FO skills is an absolute must! I would trade a #2 pick and one of our prospects to get back this quality player. Having a big C on a checking line is an absolute must when it comes to winning FOs in your defensive zone and especially on the PK.

 

[DFC]

I have a feeling Point is going to end up a go-to faceoff guy. But it tends to take guys years of experience to really master faceoffs consistently.

In the meantime, we definitely have the assets, and even the roster space, to acquire some kind of contributing faceoff guy. With our possession game, you have to think winning key draws would make a big difference.

 

[These Are The Days]

Depending on how things play out, maybe try to get Vermette from the Ducks when they start getting healthy (now that they traded for Henrique). Shouldn't cost much and he's a 60% FO man.

Wouldn't be bad as a fourth line/pk option.

Oh dear merciful Lord YAAASSSSS! I advocated it a week or so ago and still do.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Luke Glendening would be a great addition. Not only for his faceoff prowess (60.1%) but for his great two-way play. He's on a $1.8M cap hit until 2021. He's been on my wishlist for years but Detroit might actually be sellers now.

Brad Richardson (Arizona) should be available too. Solid on faceoffs (55.0%), bottom-6 guy, on his last year of his $2.083M cap hit contract.

 

[JoVel]

Luke Glendening would be a great addition. Not only for his faceoff prowess (60.1%) but for his great two-way play. He's on a $1.8M cap hit until 2021. He's been on my wishlist for years but Detroit might actually be sellers now.

Brad Richardson (Arizona) should be available too. Solid on faceoffs (55.0%), bottom-6 guy, on his last year of his $2.083M cap hit contract.

Glendening would be an upgrade over any of our possible 4th line centers. He was a great shutdown center for the Wings in both of our playoff series. He'd definitely be a good addition.

 

[Leonardo87]

Would like to see an upgrade at 4c. 4th line possession numbers have been very good. They spend most of their time In the opponents zone. They could use a guy at 4c who can bring some offense and help bring it all together. I hate when Cooper puts JT Brown at 4c. Does not work.

 

[VoluntaryDom]

I agree with vermette but not at the cost of a second, ducks fans have told me he's not that great outside of the FO circle. I'd pay a 3rd for him definitely though.

 

[RDTBay4]

Did we have some really bad games (or certain players) early or has this been a consistently low number? At this point it's almost gonna be impossible to get the overall percentage up IMO.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Did we have some really bad games (or certain players) early or has this been a consistently low number? At this point it's almost gonna be impossible to get the overall percentage up IMO.

Vlad and Point had pretty good numbers (well above 50%) early on IIRC.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Since I opened this thread:

57% vs. Isles
57% vs. Colorado


(We're now up to 5th worst at 47.37%.)

 

[Stamper]

Bringing in Glendening would be great move imho, hes been amazing every playoffs against us.

 

[LightningStrikes]

We're still sitting firmly at 30th with 46.7%. Only Colorado is worse.

I wonder how many lost faceoffs turn to wins because of our puck retrieval though. It's pretty crazy to see the league's top team to be so bad in a key component of the game.

 

[VoluntaryDom]

A fellow fan I know suggested Derek Ryan. I like the idea.