Are 'Hits' important or useless stat?
- Thread starter User9992
- Start date
of course it matters.... its not for nothing teams play more checkers in the post-season
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Useless.
A lot of hits over a short span means you are probably chasing the game. And, most hits are just a guy finishing off the other guy with some contact after they've already moved the puck and made a play with no bearing on it.
A lot of hits over a short span means you are probably chasing the game. And, most hits are just a guy finishing off the other guy with some contact after they've already moved the puck and made a play with no bearing on it.
95% of them are completely useless and play no outcome on a play. Most of the time guys have already moved the puck while hits are being performed.
snag
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A players physical engagement in a contact sport tells a story other stats don't. I wouldnt say it is "important" but it is far from useless.
KeithIsActuallyBad
Fire Dustin Schwartz
Not useless but in general if you're hitting another player that means you don't have the puck.
AhosDatsyukian
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Not useless but aside from the question of the merits of "hits" themselves, there is a HUGE flaw with how they are counted, with wild inconsistencies from stadium to stadium.
Ya it's sort of a puck possession stat. I think individual hits are relevant though. Ovechkin clearly isn't a possession player, but he will hit to separate the man from the puck, so it definitely shows a distinct play style.
Important facet of the game whose impact isn't very quantifiable with a lump sum stat.
I don't think that the stat is particularly important, but hitting is an important skill check and it makes the game much quicker.
If you can't evade hits effectively, you get filtered out.
If you can't evade hits effectively, you get filtered out.
tfwnogf
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HockeyVirus
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Useless. Not that hitting is useless, but the stat. Most hits are guys "finishing their checks" which is really bumping into someone lightly or rubbing them out along the boards and don't meaningfully impact the game.
Some hits however do matter and change the tone of games. However the issue is chasing hits is a bad thing. Most of the time if you have a chance to hit the puck is moving away from the play and you are now out of position. Hitting while being responsible defensively is an art form
Some hits however do matter and change the tone of games. However the issue is chasing hits is a bad thing. Most of the time if you have a chance to hit the puck is moving away from the play and you are now out of position. Hitting while being responsible defensively is an art form
acrobaticgoalie
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There is some truth to what you are saying. However certain hits are certainly of value.
But the "hit counters" are either watching a different game than the rest of us - or just have different definitions of the word "hit"
norrisnick
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Hits are very similar to faceoffs or blocked shots. Some are far more valuable than others but no real blanket statement can be made about them.
Machinehead
Bring Back Olli
Hitting isn't useless but hits as a stat are because it's really subjective from arena to arena what constitutes a hit. Also, hitting isn't inherently good like say, goals are. You can have an elite and a terrible player throw the same number of hits.
Hitting has to lead to something. Hitting for the sake of hitting doesn't accomplish anything. I need to see the player driving possession, producing points, denying chances. You can certainly use physicality to accomplish those things, but I'm just going to skip to stats which measure those things.
Hitting has to lead to something. Hitting for the sake of hitting doesn't accomplish anything. I need to see the player driving possession, producing points, denying chances. You can certainly use physicality to accomplish those things, but I'm just going to skip to stats which measure those things.
Machinehead
Bring Back Olli
If you’re finishing your check, the other guy is prbly rushing his pass, no? Surely a passer has a different mindset when a 230 pound ovechkin is Coming at him, I don’t think that’s useless.
CDN24
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I think most of it has been said 16 posts in.
As a stat it is not very comparable as the stat is subjective and not awarded consistently across all buildings. That applies to giveaways and takeaways too, look at a players home road splits to see how some arenas give hits more frequently than others.
A team that has a lot of hits is probably a team that does not have the puck as much as the opposition.
But come playoff time especially the impact of hits are cumulative and not easy to measure. A lower skilled but physical team can and often does neutralize a higher skilled opponent in the playoffs through hitting. By Game 6 if you get pounded every time you make a play at blueline chances are you will start dumping it in more often. You start rushing plays to avoid the hit. Not all hits are created equal, getting pounded night after night by a big physical d-man like a Shea Weber will wear you down and affect your play.
As a stat it is not very comparable as the stat is subjective and not awarded consistently across all buildings. That applies to giveaways and takeaways too, look at a players home road splits to see how some arenas give hits more frequently than others.
A team that has a lot of hits is probably a team that does not have the puck as much as the opposition.
But come playoff time especially the impact of hits are cumulative and not easy to measure. A lower skilled but physical team can and often does neutralize a higher skilled opponent in the playoffs through hitting. By Game 6 if you get pounded every time you make a play at blueline chances are you will start dumping it in more often. You start rushing plays to avoid the hit. Not all hits are created equal, getting pounded night after night by a big physical d-man like a Shea Weber will wear you down and affect your play.
Big Daddy Cane
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BagHead
Registered User
I think they're important to a degree. On an individual, they can give you an idea of how physical a player typically plays. If you instead look at full team's hit stats compared to one another, they can tell you which team doesn't have the puck most often. (or maybe it'll just show which home rinks are counting hits most liberally)
Chiarelli
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BlackFrancis
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Over the pre-season, I saw a 5' 9" player barrel into two far bigger opponents, knocking them both off their skates. This lead to a goal for shorty's team less than a minute later.
No hit was registered.
It would be difficult to think of a constructive way to make that metric more worthless.
No hit was registered.
It would be difficult to think of a constructive way to make that metric more worthless.
MayDay
Registered User
Hits are a garbage stat.
For one thing, the way they are counted from one arena to the next is completely inconsistent. Totally subjective, unlike other stats.
But more importantly, players and teams don't lay hits when they are in possession of the puck. If you are making hits, it's because the other team has possession. If your team makes a lot of hits, it's probably because the other team is spending more time with puck possession. And that's not a good thing. Puck possession is better than laying hits.
For one thing, the way they are counted from one arena to the next is completely inconsistent. Totally subjective, unlike other stats.
But more importantly, players and teams don't lay hits when they are in possession of the puck. If you are making hits, it's because the other team has possession. If your team makes a lot of hits, it's probably because the other team is spending more time with puck possession. And that's not a good thing. Puck possession is better than laying hits.
