Simply put, they have spent more time with possession, and less time defending.
POSSESSION NUMBERS
The first two graphs are visual representations of the percentage of Montreal Canadiens puck-possession events taking place in each zone. Only EVEN-STRENGTH events are included here. The top graph shows the numbers produced during the 2011-12 season, while the second contains the numbers through three 2012-13 games.
Events used in this calculation include, passes, dekes, dump-outs, dump-ins, shots, and missed passes. In short, think of these events as any that take place when the Habs already have possession of the puck.
Obviously, the goal of any hockey team is to have the highest percentage of events as possible in the offensive-zone.
To date, the Habs have produced less offensive-zone events with puck-possession than they did in 2011-12. That said, the graph also shows that they have spent less time with possession in their own zone. These numbers can be backed by the possession success-rates shown here.
2011-12
2012-13
DEFENSIVE NUMBERS
The next two graphs are visual representations of the percentage of Montreal Canadiens defensive events taking place in each zone. Only EVEN-STRENGTH events are included here. The top graph shows the numbers produced during the 2011-12 season, while the second contains the numbers through three 2012-13 games.
Events used in this calculation include; puck-battles, loose-puck recoveries, blocked passes, blocked shots. In short, think of these events as any that take place when the Habs do not have possession of the puck.
Obviously, the goal of any hockey team is to have the fewest percentage of events as possible in the defensive-zone.
To date, the Habs have produced substantially less defensive-events in the defensive-zone. Expressed simply, Montreal has spent less time defending in the defensive-zone this season. Consequently, they have had substantially more success removing puck-possession in the offensive-zone (forechecking). These numbers can be backed by the defensive success-rates shown here.
2011-12
2012-13
PERCENTAGE OF EVENTS WITH/WITHOUT POSSESSION
The next two graphs are visual representations of the percentage of Montreal Canadiens total events spent with possession, and the percentage of total events trying to acquire/remove possession from the opposition. Only EVEN-STRENGTH events are included here. The top graph shows the numbers produced during the 2011-12 season, while the second contains the numbers through three 2012-13 games.
All events are included in this calculation. The possession events include any play where the Habs already have possession, while the defensive events include any play where the Habs are trying to acquire/remove possession.
Obviously, the goal of any hockey team is to have more events with possession than without.
To date, the Habs have produced substantially more events with possession, than they did in 2011-12. Obviously, this also means that they've spent less time defending this season. These numbers can also be backed by the success-rates shown here. The more successful Montreal is at maintaining possession, the more possession events they will produce.
2011-12
2012-13
Keep in mind, these are early results. We will have a better idea of where this team is at after 10 games of data is tracked and processed.
