face off vs vindicate

face off

verb
  • To confront (each other). 

noun
  • A face-to-face confrontation, especially a bitter one. 

  • The starting point in a match of ice hockey, where two players face each other to snatch the puck. 

vindicate

verb
  • To clear of an accusation, suspicion or criticism. 

  • To provide justification for. 

  • To lay claim to; to assert a right to; to claim. 

  • To maintain or defend (a cause) against opposition. 

  • To justify by providing evidence. 

How often have the words face off and vindicate occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )