Strawman argument. No one ever said that or argued that. What was said, and has been extensively researched, it that overall face-off winning percentage is not indicative of who will win a game or who is a good team.
Of course winning one face-off that leads to a goal is important. But on any goal, there are 10 other factors that could change the outcome: a save, a shotblock, a box out, a good stick, etc. If any one of those occurs, the face-off win is forgotten.
Stick to lurking.
I do not disagree with the analysis that says in general faceoff W/L doesn’t change the outcome of a game. I am challenging the implication people appear to be making by extension that faceoff W/L is not important. It is. Every coach from juniors to the NHL looks at that stat after every game. So, to tie all this back to mowch and 1812’s initial comments that got people spun up, one might dare to call it a “key stat.”
Finally, despite all the statistical analysis placed into evidence, I would argue that losing the faceoff battle 42-20!! will have a material impact on any game. 32-30? Yeah, not so much.
Back to lurking.