This post will focus on the number of successful offensive and defensive-touches each Montreal Canadiens player contributed in the defensive-zone per-60 minutes of even-strength ice-time. Data from both the regular season and playoffs were used in this post.
A list of all the events tracked within my system can be found here.
A successful offensive-touch is described as any successful attempt to move the puck out of the defensive-zone way of a pass, deke, or dump-out. A successful defensive-touch is classified as any successful attempt to remove puck-possession from the opposition by way of a stick-check, body-check, blocked shot, or blocked pass.
The higher the bubble appears in the graph, the more successful defensive-touches each player has contributed per-60. The further the bubble is to the right, the more successful offensive-touches (plays with possession) each player has contributed per-60.
- Only even-strength events were used in this calculation.
- The larger player's bubble appears, the more total defensive-zone possession events that player engaged in per-60.
HABS FORWARDS
Lars Eller was the Habs most productive defensive-forward in the defensive-zone, as he led all forwards in successful defensive-touches in the defensive-zone per-60. Expressed more simply, Eller created more opposition turnovers in the defensive-zone per-60 than any other Montreal forward. Other forwards with strong defensive-touch numbers per-60 include Tomas Plekanec, and Michael Bournival.
The Habs least-involved defenders in the d-zone included George Parros, Thomas Vanek, and Rene Bourque.
Eller was also Montreal's most productive possession player in the defensive-zone, as he produced more successful puck-possession plays per-60 than any other Habs forward. Other forwards with solid possession totals include Brandon Prust and Plekanec
The Habs least-productive d-zone possession players included Vanek, Parros and Bourque.
HABS DEFENSEMEN
Douglas Murray was the Habs most productive defensemen when it came to removing puck-possession from the opposition in the defensive-zone. Murray's high total was the product of a high defensive-zone turnover-rate; forcing him to engage in more defensive-events in the d-zone than a player with a lower turnover-rate. Outside of Murray, Andrei Markov was the most active defensively in the defensive-zone, while Jarred Tinordi, and Mike Weaver were the least active.
Subban contributed the most successful plays with possession in the defensive-zone per-60, while Nathan Beaulieu produced the second-most. Jarred Tinordi, Mike Weaver, and Douglas Murray contributed the fewest successful puck-possession plays per-60 among Habs d-men. This data does a great job of showing just how many more times Subban successfully moves the puck out of the defensive-zone compared to the Habs other defensemen.
DEFENSIVE SUCCESS-RATE IN THE DEFENSIVE-ZONE
This graph represents each Habs players success-rate when attempting to remove puck-possession from the opposition in the defensive-zone. Events used in this calculation include blocked passes, stick-checks, blocked shots, and body-checks. The calculation is made simply by dividing the number of successful attempts by the total number of attempts.
PUCK-POSSESSION SUCCESS-RATE IN THE OFFENSIVE-ZONE
This graph represents each Habs players success-rate when attempting to make a play while in possession of the puck in the defensive-zone. Events used in this calculation include passes, dekes, and dump-outs. The calculation is made simply by dividing the number of successful attempts by the total number of attempts.
