This post will focus on each Montreal Canadiens forward's tendencies when in possession of the puck in the neutral-zone. Only even-strength events in the neutral-zone were used in this calculation. Obviously, the higher the percentage, the more often each player has chosen to attempt that play.
Player tendencies in the neutral-zone are broken down into 4 categories:
- Attempted passes
- High-risk attempted passes (through an opposition player's legs, or under his stick)
- Attempted dekes
- Attempted dump-ins
The Habs wingers have produced an average neutral-zone puck-possession success-rate of 62% this season. Their n-touch success-rate last season was 70.4%.
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Brandon Prust has an above-average n-zone puck-possession success-rate of 64.5%. Surprisingly, Prust has been more likely to choose a high/risk east/west pass than any other Montreal forward.
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Brendan Gallagher has a below-average n-zone puck-possession success-rate of 55.3%. Gallagher chooses to dump the puck in more often than the average winger. He also chooses a north/south high-percentage pass more often than average.
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George Parros (SSS) has an average n-zone puck-possession success-rate of 60%. He has yet to attempt a high/risk pass in the neutral-zone.
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Rene Bourque has an above-average neutral-zone puck-possession success-rate of 65.5%. Bourque chooses to dump the puck in more often than any other Montreal forward, while also attempting the fewest high/risk passes.
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Brian Gionta has a below-average neutral-zone puck-possession success-rate of 57.1%. Gionta dumps the puck in more often than the average winger, but he also forces more high-risk passes through the neutral-zone.
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Alex Galchenyuk has a substantially above-average neutral-zone puck-possession success-rate of 67.4%. Galchenyuk chooses to dump the puck in least-often among wingers. He also attempts to beat players 1on1 (deke) in the neutral-zone more often than average.
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Travis Moen has a below-average neutral-zone puck-possession success-rate of 58%. Moen chooses to dump the puck in more often than the average winger, but is successful with only 69.2% of those dump-ins; the average success-rate for wingers is 74.4%.
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Daniel Briere has an above-average neutral-zone puck-possession success-rate of 72.6%. Briere keeps the puck moving north/south in the neutral-zone, as only Bourque chooses to dump the puck-in more often than Briere.
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Michael Bournival has an above-average neutral-zone puck-possession success-rate of 66.4%. Only Galchenyuk chooses to dump the puck in less-often than Bournival. Bournival shows some well-earned confidence in the neutral-zone, as he has a substantially above-average neutral-zone passing success-rate.
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Max Pacioretty has a below-average neutral-zone puck-possession success-rate of 58.2%. Pacioretty's o-touch success-rate in the neutral-zone is 12 percentage-points lower than it was last season. He has had the puck more often in the neutral-zone, as evidenced by an increase in neutral-zone puck-possession events. But, he's been successful with far-fewer o-touch events this season.
CENTRES
The Habs centres have produced a neutral-zone puck-possession success-rate of 69.9% this season. Their n-touch success-rate last season was 73.9%.
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Tomas Plekanec has an above-average neutral-zone puck-possession success-rate of 71.2%. Plekanec focuses on keeping the puck moving north/south, as he dumps the puck-in and attempts low-risk passes more often than the average Montreal center. Plekanec also chooses the deke option in the neutral-zone less-often than any Habs forward.
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David Desharnais has a below-average neutral-zone puck-possession success-rate of 61.4%. Desharnais chooses to dump the puck in least-often among all Montreal skaters. He also attempts substantially more neutral-zone dekes than the average.
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Ryan White has a substantially above-average neutral-zone puck-possession success-rate of 80.9%. Among all forwards, only Bourque chooses to dump the puck in more often than Ryan White.
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Lars Eller has an above-average neutral-zone puck-possession success-rate of 70.6%. Eller attempts neutral-zone dekes more often than the average Montreal centre, while attempting fewer low-risk passes.
Tendencies can be an important clue to a player's performance. Thankfully, data-generated scouting allows us to quantify each player's tendency when in possession of the puck.
