Tinordi has produced too many defensive-zone turnovers, while Gorges has excelled
This post will focus on the number of events each Montreal Canadiens player has engaged in, the zone in which those events have taken place, and the number of times they have given the puck away in each zone.
By breaking down the amount of events each player engaged in by zone, we get a solid view of where each player has impacted the game. As a rule wingers engage in the fewest defensive-events per-minute, while defensemen obviously engage in the most defensive-events per-minute.
DEFENSEMEN
Among Habs defensemen, Nathan Beaulieu has engaged in the most defensive-zone events per-minute played; followed by Josh Gorges, and PK Subban. Francis Bouillon has actually engaged in the fewest defensive-zone events per-minute.
Bouillon has also engaged in the fewest neutral-zone events, while Subban has been involved in the most neutral-zone events per-minute.
Andrei Markov has been the most active d-man in the offensive-zone; followed closely by Subban. Raphael Diaz has engaged in the fewest offensive-zone events per-minute played.
FORWARDS
Among forwards, rookie Michael Bournival has engaged in the most offensive-zone events per-minute; followed by George Parros (SSS), and Max Pacioretty. Daniel Briere has been involved in the fewest offensive-zone events, while David Desharnais has engaged in just marginally more o-zone events than the aforementioned Briere.
Bournival, Desharnais, Pacioretty, and Lars Eller have carried the play in the neutral-zone. Briere and Alex Galchenyuk have engaged in the fewest neutral-zone events per-minute.
Brendan Gallagher has engaged in the most defensive-zone events per-minute played among forwards. Eller and Tomas Plekanec have also been quite involved in defensive-zone play. Rene Bourque has been the least involved player in the defensive-zone, as he's engaged in slightly less defensive-zone events than Briere.
The reason I included the number of events per-zone in this post is to create context for the turnover numbers. Obviously, players who engage in more events in a particular zone will produce more giveaways in that zone. That said, comparison analysis does not show an absolute link; this is where player's strengths or weaknesses are exposed.
DEFENSEMEN
Jarred Tinordi has engaged in the fifth-most defensive-zone events per-minute among defensemen, but has produced the most defensive-zone giveaways per-minute played. Fellow defensive-rookie Beaulieu has engaged in the most defensive-zone events per-minute, and has produced the second-most d-zone giveaways.
Impressively, the fewest defensive-zone giveaways have been produced by Gorges (tied with Markov), yet number 26 has engaged in the second-most d-zone events per-minute. Subban has produced the third-most d-zone giveaways per-minute, while also engaging in the third-most defensive-zone events.
Subban has been the most involved d-man in the neutral-zone, and has produced the most neutral-zone giveaways per-minute.The fewest n-zone events have come from Bouillon, who has also produced the fewest n-zone giveaways.
Subban has produced the most offensive-zone turnovers, but Markov has engaged in the most offensive-zone events per-minute. The fewest o-zone turnovers have been produced by Beaulieu, but Diaz has engaged in the fewest offensive-zone events.
FORWARDS
Parros' injury has not allowed him to produce enough data to make his numbers reliable. Among other forwards, Pacioretty has produced the most offensive-zone turnovers, while engaging in the second most offensive-zone events; behind Bournival. Bournival has actually produced only the fifth-most offensive-zone giveaways. The fewest o-zone turnovers have come from Gionta and White. Both players stand in the middle of the pack as far as o-zone events are concerned.
Gionta and Pacioretty have produced the most neutal-zone giveaways per-minute. Pacioretty is among the team leaders in n-zone events, while Gionta has engaged in the fifth-most neutral-zone events. Galchenyuk, Briere and White have produced the fewest neutral-zone turnovers, and have also been less involved in the neutral-zone than most other forwards.
Gallagher and Eller have produced the most defensive-zone turnovers per-minute, but have also engaged in the most defensive-zone events. Plekanec has also engaged in many d-zone events, but has impressively produced only the ninth-most defensive-zone giveaways.
Travis Moen has produced the fewest defensive-zone turnovers among Montreal players. Briere and Bourque have engaged in fewer defensive-zone events than Moen, but have produced more d-zone giveaways than number 32.