Tracking individual puck-possession events allows us to distinguish between events that push possession up ice, and those that allow teams to regroup. Plays that help push possession up ice include;
- Offensive-zone passes off of the rush
- Offensive-zone east/west passes)
- Offensive-zone passes to the slot
- Offensive-zone loose-puck recoveries (off of dumps, broken plays, and rebounds)
- Shots
- Deflections
- Neutral-zone open-ice dekes
- Neutral-zone east/west passes
- Neutral-zone north-bound passes
- Redline carries
- Offensive-blueline controlled-entries
- Defensive-zone outlet passes
- Defensive-zone stretch passes
- Defensive-blueline carries.
Players who drive possession up ice will always produce higher numbers within these categories than less productive players. The first graph included here communicates the number of offense-driving plays during the preseason each Montreal Canadiens player has contributed per-60 minutes of even-strength ice-time. The second graph shows the numbers from last season. The graphs compare each player to the average produced by Habs players playing the same position. The further to the right the player's number appears the more offense-driving plays he has produced compared to an average player. The further to the left his number appears, the fewer offense-driving plays he has produced relative to a replacement.
Not all players who produce an above-average amount of scoring-chances will rate high within this system. That said, regression analysis has shown there to by a substantial link between the number of offense-driving plays a player produces and scoring-chances.
2014 PRESEASON
The smaller sample size provided by only seven preseason games creates a much wider scope of values than a full season. Among forwards, Alex Galchenyuk and Jiri Sekac produced substantially more offense-driving plays per-60 than an average player at their position. Not surprisingly, PK Subban pushed possession at an above-average pace among defensemen.
Among forwards, Jacob De La Rose, Travis Moen, and Manny Malhotra produced far-fewer offense-driving plays than an average player, while Jarred Tinordi and Alexei Emelin had the lowest totals among defensemen.
2013-14 REGULAR SEASON AND PLAYOFFS
For comparison's sake, I've also included the numbers for the Habs returning players from last season. Max Pacioretty, and Brendan Gallagher produced more offense-driving plays per-60 than the average winger, while Lars Eller and Subban pushed possession among centres and defensemen, respectively.
Moen had the lowest totals among forwards, relative to a replacement. The lowest number of offense-driving plays per-60 among d-men were produced by Emelin and Mike Weaver.
