A defensive play is described as any attempt to remove puck-possession from the opposition by way of a stick-check, body-check, blocked pass, or blocked shot. In essence a defensive play is an opportunity to end the other team's cycle of possession; even if it's just for a second.
The position a player plays and zone starts also have a direct impact on a player's defensive deficiency. Defensemen will have higher number, as they are generally directly responsible for more scoring-chances against than forwards.
Only even-strength events that occurred during the 2013-14 regular season, and 2014 playoffs were included in these calculations. A list of all the events I track can be found here.
SCORING-CHANCES AGAINST PER-100 DEFENSIVE PLAYS
(lower is better)
Among defensemen, Jarred Tinordi was directly responsible for the most scoring-chances against per-100 defensive plays; followed closely by PK Subban. Josh Gorges was responsible for the fewest scoring-chances against per-100 defensive plays; followed closely by Andrei Markov.
Among centres, Ryan White was responsible for the most scoring-chances against per-100 defensive plays, while Tomas Plekanec was responsible for the fewest. Among wingers, George Parros allowed the most scoring-chances against per-defensive play, while Brandon Prust was responsible for the fewest.
Where players defend (which zone) seems to have some impact on the number of scoring-chances they are responsible for giving up per-defensive play. This makes sense, as a failed d-touch in the offensive-zone is less likely to produce a scoring-chance against than a failed d-touch in the defensive-zone. Subban engaged in a higher percentage of his total defensive-touches in the defensive-zone than any other Habs defenseman with a substantial sample size.
EVEN-STRENGTH SCORING-CHANCES AGAINST PER-60
While we see a link between defensive-deficiency and scoring-chances with Jarred Tinordi's numbers, there does not seem to be a link between Subban's defensive-deficiency and the number of scoring-chances against per-60. This is due to the fact that Subban just doesn't defend all that much. In fact, he not only had possession substantially-more often than he defended, he actually had possession (possession-plays per-60) more often than any other Habs player.
The opposite can be said for Douglas Murray, as he and Tinordi defended more often than any other Habs players. This limited the impact of Murray's defensive-play, as his high turnover-rate allowed the other team to maintain possession in the Habs d-zone.
In my view, this is the basis of the argument against the use of one-dimensional defensive-defensemen. Turnover-rates directly impact the number of "time" a team spends in the defensive-zone. In other words a one-dimensional defensive d-man will spend more time defending than a d-man who can move the puck up-ice. Turnover-rates separate the men from the boys, and should be considered before making any roster moves on the back-end. For those considering using this argument to justify the Gorges' trade. Number 26 had the LOWEST TURNOVER-RATE of any Habs defenseman not named Subban.
OVERALL DEFENSIVE SUCCESS-RATE
Francis Bouillon, Josh Gorges, and Andrei Markov had the top overall ES defensive success-rate among Habs defensemen. Ryan White and Lars Eller had the top success-rate among centres, while Brandon Prust and Brendan Gallagher led all wingers in this metric.
SUCCESSFUL DEFENSIVE-PLAYS PER-60
Interestingly, two (Tinordi and Murray) of the three defenseman who produced the most successful defensive-touches per-60 were also directly responsible for giving up the most ES scoring-chances against per-60. The other defenseman with a high successful d-touch number was Markov, who engaged in a higher percentage of his defensive-touches outside of the defensive-zone than any other Montreal defenseman.
Among forwards, Lars Eller and Bournival produced the most successful defensive-touches per-60. That said, they also were among the leaders in scoring-chances against per-60.
FAILED DEFENSIVE-TOUCHES PER-60
Tinordi and Murray led all Montreal defensemen in failed defensive-touches per-60. Again, this is a direct result of their turnover-rates, as an inability to move the puck successful out of the defensive-zone increased the number of defensive-plays they were forced to make. More defending means more opportunities to fail.
Bournival led all wingers in failed d-touches per-60, while Eller led all centres. Not surprisingly each player also led their positions in scoring-chances against per-60.
GOALS AGAINST PER-DEFENSIVE-TOUCH
Francis Bouillon and Subban engaged in the fewest defensive-touches per-60 among Habs defensemen. This explains the high goals-against total per defensive-play, as Bouillon was actually directly responsible for the second-fewest scoring-chances against per-60, while Subban was responsible for the fourth-fewest.
