Rene Bourque is not a top-6 forward on a winning team. He doesn't engage in enough events, or produce enough offensive-zone turnovers to be a consistent offensive-contributor. In fact, Bourque's ability to contribute to the Montreal Canadiens success isn't even found in the offensive-zone, as the key to his abitity to help with the success of his hockey club exists in the defensive-zone.
When the Habs outscore the opposition at even-strength, Rene Bourque attempts a defensive-zone dump-out 62.7% of the time he has possession. He attempts an outlet pass 27.5% of the time he has possession, and has not attempted any defensive-zone dekes.
There is a huge shift in Bourque's defensive-zone puck-possession tendencies when the Habs are outscored by the opposition at even-strength. In those games, Bourque has attempted to dump the puck out of the defensive-zone only 36.6% of the time he has had possession, while attempting an outlet pass with 48.8% of his possessions. His tendency to attempt a deke in the d-zone moves up to 7.3% from zero when the Habs are outscored by the opposition at even-strength.
The pattern holds true when we compare Bourque's d-zone tendencies in wins with those produced during Montreal losses.
