Just a quick post tonight, but something I’ve been thinking about…

There were five goals scored against goalies on Thursday when the Minnesota Wild beat the Dallas Stars 5-2.

Of those tallies, four were scored by a team that had gained possession on a face-offs, didn’t give it up and found the back of the net before the other team touched the puck.

For me, it’s a good reminder and excuse to talk about face-offs, and how we evaluate their importance.

The Colorado Avalanche, the NHL’s best team so far this season, rank 18th in NHL face-off percentage at 49.8 percent. The Nashville Predators, the NHL’s sixth-best face-off team, are second-to-last in the league standings.

On top of that, the difference between a good and bad face-off team is highly minuscule in the grand scheme of things. There are roughly 60 face-offs in an average NHL game, even the worst team in the NHL at draws, the Buffalo Sabres, is typically winning close to 26 face-offs a game.

It’s been one of the reason it has been, appropriately, OK to diminish whether face-off percentage actually matters. Sure, you want to win more, but winning or losing a puck drop is secondary to what happens immediately after it.

And that’s something that the Stars and Wild highlighted on Thursday, where four of the 63 face-offs ultimately decided the game, including the game-winning goal by Marcus Johansson that came after a face-off win by Joel Eriksson Ek.

The Stars second goal, a blast by Miro Heiskanen, was also a strong example of how important it can be to force additional stoppages in the offensive zone, which Sam Steel and Colin Blackwell did while shorthanded.

That play was the impetus for this short piece, and the Stars and Wild broadcasts both highlighted that moment. But before it could stand up for very long, the Wild scored on a face-off that setup a rare Zach Bogosian goal.

I guess my thesis, if there is one, is that certain things somehow matter and don’t matter at the same time. There are certain games where zone entries mean everything, there are others where board play or coaching decisions are the final factors.

It’s one of the things that makes hockey, and sports in general, so fascinating to me. There are so many ways to win or lose a game, tonight face-offs were a deserving talking point, the next game they probably won’t impact the scoreline at all.

Just some food for thought, curious to hear your thoughts and continue this conversation.