At its simplest form, the goal of any skater in a defensive-situation is to remove or obtain puck-possession from the opposition. By tracking every puck-possession event during a game, I am able to break down each player's success-rate when attempting to remove or obtain puck-possession from the opposition. Events involved in this calculation include puck-battles, blocked passes, blocked shots, poke-checks, loose-puck recoveries, etc.
Below is a visual representation of the defensive success-rate of every player that has played for the Montreal Canadiens during the 2011-12 season.
The top defensive-rating belongs to Max Pacioretty. Pacioretty acquires or removes puck-possession from the opposition during 74% of his attempts. Pacioretty's strong rating is the product of a solid puck-battle winning-percentage and an impressive loose-puck recovery total. Other forwards with success-rates above 70% include; Tomas Plekanec (71%), Brian Gionta (71%), Mathieu Darche (73%), Ryan White (71%), Erik Cole (71%), and Lars Eller (73%).
The lowest success-rate among forwards belongs to Brad Staubitz, as he is successful with 64% of his attempts to remove or acquire puck-possession from the opposition. Other forwards with success-rates below 67% include; Scott Gomez (66%), Rene Bourque (66%), Michael Blunden (66%), and Louis Leblanc (66%).
The best success-rate among defensemen belongs to Andrei Markov at 74%. Markov's high success-rate is a product of a strong stick during puck-battles, and an ability to intercept opposition passes in both the defensive and neutral-zones. Josh Gorges and PK Subban are just slightly lower with identical success-rates of 73%. Gorges' rating is the product of his shot and pass-blocking ability, while Subban's speed allows him to recover an inordinate amount of loose-pucks.
Raphael Diaz has he lowest success-rate among defensemen, as he is successful with only 66% of his attempts to acquire or remove puck-possession from the opposition. Other current d-men with success-rates below 70% include; Tomas Kaberle (69%), Yannick Weber (69%), and Alexei Emelin (69%).
