Habs Faceoff Stats

[Jakomyte]

Thought it might be interesting to take a look at the Habs FO stats so far this year.

Through 9 games:

Plekanec: 49.8% (n = 209)
Mitchell: 44.3% (n = 115)
Galchenyuk: 53.1% (n = 113)
Desharnais: 36.0% (n = 50)
Flynn: 61.9% (n = 42)
Eller: 43.8% (n = 32)
Everyone Else: 58.5% (n = 41)

Total: 49.3% (n = 602)

First thing to note is its still very early in the season, so these numbers are probably a bit premature.

However, I also have to say I'm a bit surprised that overall, the Habs are actually below 50%. I had assumed that part of their improved possession play this year might have been due to gaining possession off of the draw. Instead it looks like, so far, FOs haven't factored into their improved possession at all.

Another thing that is nice is to see that Galchenyuk isn't struggling, at least so far. I'm not saying he'll stay at the top of the list for FO% all year, but its nice to see he's holding his own early in the season.

Last observation is that it looks like the Desharnais line is getting noticeably fewer faceoffs than the other lines, even though their ice time holds up. Would be interesting to know why Therrien seems to prefer to play this line in particular during line changes. Is it just because Desharnais has stuggled in the dot so far?

One final fun fact is that, at some point, Jeff Petry took a faceoff (and won it!).

Click to read more...

 

[Mario le Magnifique]

Thought it might be interesting to take a look at the Habs FO stats so far this year.

Through 9 games:

Plekanec: 49.8% (n = 209)
Mitchell: 44.3% (n = 115)
Galchenyuk: 53.1% (n = 113)
Desharnais: 36.0% (n = 50)
Flynn: 61.9% (n = 42)
Eller: 43.8% (n = 32)
Everyone Else: 58.5% (n = 41)

Total: 49.3% (n = 602)

First thing to note is its still very early in the season, so these numbers are probably a bit premature.

However, I also have to say I'm a bit surprised that overall, the Habs are actually below 50%. I had assumed that part of their improved possession play this year might have been due to gaining possession off of the draw. Instead it looks like, so far, FOs haven't factored into their improved possession at all.

Another thing that is nice is to see that Galchenyuk isn't struggling, at least so far. I'm not saying he'll stay at the top of the list for FO% all year, but its nice to see he's holding his own early in the season.

Last observation is that it looks like the Desharnais line is getting noticeably fewer faceoffs than the other lines, even though their ice time holds up. Would be interesting to know why Therrien seems to prefer to play this line in particular during line changes. Is it just because Desharnais has stuggled in the dot so far?

One final fun fact is that, at some point, Jeff Petry took a faceoff (and won it!).

DD isn't taking draws right now, probably has a minor injury to a wrist / arm / shoulder.

Using DD line to surprise a third pairing or fourth line on the ice seems to be a good strategy, they can take advantage of slow players and put up the puck control and pressure, it has worked so far this year.

 

[Lshap]

Thought it might be interesting to take a look at the Habs FO stats so far this year.

Through 9 games:

Plekanec: 49.8% (n = 209)
Mitchell: 44.3% (n = 115)
Galchenyuk: 53.1% (n = 113)
Desharnais: 36.0% (n = 50)
Flynn: 61.9% (n = 42)
Eller: 43.8% (n = 32)
Everyone Else: 58.5% (n = 41)

Total: 49.3% (n = 602)

First thing to note is its still very early in the season, so these numbers are probably a bit premature.

However, I also have to say I'm a bit surprised that overall, the Habs are actually below 50%. I had assumed that part of their improved possession play this year might have been due to gaining possession off of the draw. Instead it looks like, so far, FOs haven't factored into their improved possession at all.

Another thing that is nice is to see that Galchenyuk isn't struggling, at least so far. I'm not saying he'll stay at the top of the list for FO% all year, but its nice to see he's holding his own early in the season.

Last observation is that it looks like the Desharnais line is getting noticeably fewer faceoffs than the other lines, even though their ice time holds up. Would be interesting to know why Therrien seems to prefer to play this line in particular during line changes. Is it just because Desharnais has stuggled in the dot so far?

One final fun fact is that, at some point, Jeff Petry took a faceoff (and won it!).

Thanks for this! Yeah, it looks like the Malhotra effect has disappeared. Amazing what one player can do to a team's FO%.

No question Galchenyuk has had easier matchups, but it's still fantastic to see him thriving in the position.

Overall, faceoffs have been a noticeable drop. Last game against the Leafs was a great example -- we lost one after the other, which resulted in being hemmed in our zone and giving up a good chunk of those shots.

 

[Brainiac]

Total: 49.3% (n = 602)

However, I also have to say I'm a bit surprised that overall, the Habs are actually below 50%. I had assumed that part of their improved possession play this year might have been due to gaining possession off of the draw. Instead it looks like, so far, FOs haven't factored into their improved possession at all.

Faceoffs have practically no incidence on possession. In fact, faceoffs are really seriously overrated. Of course, you don't want your team to be at 30%, but I'd say anything above 48% is perfectly acceptable.

 

[dkd]

Weren't we top 5ish in the league in that category last year?

 

[Team_Spirit]

The Habs should have hired Malhotra as assistant coach and get him to do faceoffs drill every practice.

 

[Hoople]

Faceoffs have practically no incidence on possession. In fact, faceoffs are really seriously overrated. Of course, you don't want your team to be at 30%, but I'd say anything above 48% is perfectly acceptable.

Faceoffs are not seriously overrated.

If you lose a FO in your defensive end, get ready for shots/scoring chances/goals. It's very important to win more draws in your own zone to get the puck out.

Conversely, its great to win them in your OZone for the above reasons.

 

[LeHab]

Weren't we top 5ish in the league in that category last year?

Malhotra

 

[Brainiac]

Faceoffs are not seriously overrated.

If you lose a FO in your defensive end, get ready for shots/scoring chances/goals. It's very important to win more draws in your own zone to get the puck out.

Conversely, its great to win them in your OZone for the above reasons.

Still overrated. It's been shown multiple times that there is no correlation between FO percentages and puck possession or team success. You can google it if you don't believe me. I remember doing some research myself and for some years, in the NHL, there was a negative correlation (unsignificant, but still negative) between FO% and points.

Now, don't get me wrong. It's nice to have a guy like Bergeron or Malhotra going 65%. You've got him for key situations and you know it will go your way 2 times out of 3.

But the point is, overall, the team will most probably be somewhere between 48% and 52%. And in that narrow range, it doesn't matter much.

And as for the phenomenological explanation: the puck is turned over a lot during one play, so who had possession first doesn't matter much in the end.

 

[DAChampion]

Faceoff stats at this point are mostly luck.

It's the most overrated statistic in hockey, possibly behind +/-.

 

[Playmaker09]

Our 3 best FO centres from last year were Malhotra (gone), DD (injured, doesn't take draws) and Eller (moved to wing).

Honestly, I expected us to take a huge hit in that department but Galchenyuk's been a nice surprise.

 

[Brainiac]

Faceoff stats at this point are mostly luck.

It's the most overrated statistic in hockey, possibly behind +/-.

I still like +/-. It just needs a lot of context for proper interpretation.

But I agree that FO stats are useless, except for these extreme cases where a player goes outside that 40-60% range.

 

[Nynja*]

Our 3 best FO centres from last year were Malhotra (gone), DD (injured, doesn't take draws) and Eller (moved to wing).

Honestly, I expected us to take a huge hit in that department but Galchenyuk's been a nice surprise.

Daveys hurt? Thats news...

 

[TheBlindFan]

Daveys hurt? Thats news...

No it's not, being said last 3 games...

anyway

Faceoff was a strong point last few seasons. Are some of our players yet to adapt to the new rule?

(put the stick on the ice before in d-zone for does who don't know)

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=758665