Patrice Bergeron's "Little Things" Single-Game Showcase (Ex. 2 on Post #10)

[Trap Jesus]

After doing some research on Hamilton on YouTube, I just discovered they kept full games on there. I thought Bergeron would be an interesting player to highlight on a small-scale basis over the course of full game.

I wanted to come up with some kind of showcase for these finer details or "little things" in Bergeron's game we all know so well, so I went to his gamelog to try to find a game that would serve as a good example of the things he's known for doing (defensive play, possession, PK, faceoffs, going up against top competition, etc.).

The game that jumped out was December 11 of this season vs. Chicago. The Bruins lost, and Bergeron had a 0-1-1 +1 statline, but Bergeron also went 22/30 on faceoffs and was 16-3 for base Corsi numbers (84 CF%). I thought it also presented a good opportunity to see him matched up against a fantastic team, and Toews/Keith in particular.

- While I wish I knew how to make a proper YT video so I could showcase this better, I'm just going to present it by individual YT videos, because I'm not sure what else to do.

- While this is purely showcasing the little things Bergeron does right, I'll also include all quantifiable negative things that happened when Bergeron was on the ice (shot attempts against and Bergeron giveaways). I will mark said plays in red writing.

- In brackets, I'll roughly mark the spot when the "event" ends. If it's close enough to the next play I want to highlight, I'll just mark it (leads into next play...).

- Defensive positioning and faceoffs aren't showcased so much here, because those things are a lot tougher to show. For example, there was one example in this game I didn't include of Bergeron being the forward killing off a 5-on-3 for over a minute, which demonstrated solid positioning.

- The things I brought to light are more so helping to force turnovers, winning battles, smart passes, etc. I'm not sure if I even got all his shots on net; I just marked down any play that I thought demonstrated him doing something well.



All plays presented in chronological order (these are extremely unsexy "highlights" - you've been warned):


Smart dump to maintain possession, then disrupts play behind the net (ends at 1:00)

Unforced turnover, leads to Versteeg shot on net (leads into next play...)

Good support down low to gain possession, safe breakout pass (ends at 2:32)

Positioning in the O-zone for deflection, maintains possession off rebound (leads into next play starting at 14:32)

Smith and Chara giveaways lead to Hossa scoring opportunity (ends at 14:44)

Strong neutral zone defense, forcing a Chicago offside (ends at 18:43)

Hamilton giveaway leads to Saad scoring opportunity + Chara penalty (ends at 19:44)

Smart, aggressive breakout pass on PK to create Marchand opportunity, forechecking wastes more time (ends at 21:35)

Board-play draws penalty, generates a Chara shooting opportunity (ends at 24:11)

Forces turnover while covering D-position (leads into next play... Bergeron has to run around in his own zone a bit in the meantime)

Another unforced error starting at 32:27 (leads into next play...)

Great neutral zone D (ends at 32:40)

Forechecking forces turnover on Keith, generates opportunity for Smith (ends at 33:40)

Pressure along boards helps keep puck in; leads to Bergeron quality opportunity (ends at 41:00)

Carries puck up ice slowly but aggressively to kill PK time, generates opportunity for Chara, pushes Eriksson into passing lane coming back on the backcheck (ends at 47:25)

Huge reason for killing off 5-on-3; big faceoff win, huge defensive play at 51:49 on Seabrook and Keith (ends at 52:00)

Great forechecking, forces change of possession (ends 1:00:48)

Work along boards, even without a stick, helps lead to Boston goal (ends 1:04:46)

Good play along boards; good example of offensive positioning to open himself up at 1:19:40 (ends 1:19:56)

Angles off Kane to help prevent an ENG after a Bruins turnover (ends at 1:37:37)

Click to read more...

 

[Dellstrom]

A lot of people say defense is overrated on this site... That intangibles aren't as special as some make them out to be. That might be true for some players, but for Bergeron, I think it's severely underrated. Everyone knows he's the best forward in the game defensively, but I don't think a lot of people get just how damn dominant he is there. These clips show just that. Simple plays that you pay no mind to during the game, but they're plays that no one in the league makes, especially not nearly as consistent as Bergy makes them.

I'm curious as to how many more goals per game we would allow if he was off this team for a year. He shuts down the top players in the game and no one is better or more consistent at that in the league. As you've pointed out, his defensive skill transitions directly to offense. He's an amazing player. He'll never be as noticed as he should be because he's "only" a 55-65 point player, but all things considered; he's one of the best players in the game. Fans can say what they want but I love how the elite players give him so much praise. I remember Crosby giving him a whole lot of praise after the Olympics. The fans don't get how good Bergy is at shutting down the top players in the league, the players do... He makes their lives a living hell. I bet it was weird for Crosby to play alongside Bergy, seeing what it's like to have Bergy on his team. I bet everyone on Team Canada missed him a lot after the Olympics.

Give me the choice of a 60 point per season Bergeron at his current level of defense or a 90 point player who's only average defensively, I'd take Bergeron. The amount of things he does, especially the small and "unsexy" as you called them plays amounts to way more than 30 points.

 

[NightmanCometh]

A lot of people say defense is overrated on this site... That intangibles aren't as special as some make them out to be. That might be true for some players, but for Bergeron, I think it's severely underrated. Everyone knows he's the best forward in the game defensively, but I don't think a lot of people get just how damn dominant he is there. These clips show just that. Simple plays that you pay no mind to during the game, but they're plays that no one in the league makes, especially not nearly as consistent as Bergy makes them.

I'm curious as to how many more goals per game we would allow if he was off this team for a year. He shuts down the top players in the game and no one is better or more consistent at that in the league. As you've pointed out, his defensive skill transitions directly to offense. He's an amazing player. He'll never be as noticed as he should be because he's "only" a 55-65 point player, but all things considered; he's one of the best players in the game. Fans can say what they want but I love how the elite players give him so much praise. I remember Crosby giving him a whole lot of praise after the Olympics. The fans don't get how good Bergy is at shutting down the top players in the league, the players do... He makes their lives a living hell. I bet it was weird for Crosby to play alongside Bergy, seeing what it's like to have Bergy on his team. I bet everyone on Team Canada missed him a lot after the Olympics.

Give me the choice of a 60 point per season Bergeron at his current level of defense or a 90 point player who's only average defensively, I'd take Bergeron. The amount of things he does, especially the small and "unsexy" as you called them plays amounts to way more than 30 points.

I love Bergeron as much as the next guy and I'd never want to see him traded, but 30 points is a lot. That's basically a Giroux or Getzlaf.

 

[Man Rocket]

Good stuff. I am really impressed at the amount of time and effort you put into your posts.

 

[Sevren]

A very nice, underrated post. And a perfect fit for the thread's topic

 

[SoldiersOfFilth]

Last night I learned something interesting. This season, including postseason, 81082 faceoffs were taken. Bergeron won 1175. That means he won 1.45% of ALL faceoffs taken, league-wide. Extremely impressive when you think about all of the players taking faceoffs.

 

[talkinaway]

Great post - I specifically remember that game, mainly for Toews' not-a-concussion/wait-it-was-a-concussion/wait-no-it-wasn't-one after being hit by Seidenberg. IIRC, it was sometime in the second period, since the Hawks were attacking the right side of the TV.

Last night I learned something interesting. This season, including postseason, 81082 faceoffs were taken. Bergeron won 1175. That means he won 1.45% of ALL faceoffs taken, league-wide. Extremely impressive when you think about all of the players taking faceoffs.

Bergeron IS impressive in faceoffs. But to put that in perspective, that's about
5405 per team on average. Since he took 1951 faceoffs, that means he took about 36% of the B's faceoffs - even more, since the B's didn't play in any of the 89 playoff games. (Granted, that's only 89 out of 1319 games, and I could correct for that if I wasn't lazy - or hell, I could look up who else took the B's faceoffs, too.)

That 36% is about what I'd expect from a top six center who's also a faceoff specialist. Where he really goes above and beyond is winning over 60% of them. In the regular season, the only players who have a higher FO% are those who had 56 or fewer faceoff opportunities - in other words, the ones who really don't take faceoffs, and are "one hit wonders". The closest player with over 1000 faceoffs is Paul Stansy, with 57.2%.

 

[Mount Kramer Cameras]

Awesome research. Bergy is the king

 

[CashMash]

I love Bergeron as much as the next guy and I'd never want to see him traded, but 30 points is a lot. That's basically a Giroux or Getzlaf.

I guess the value of those points depends on WHEN they are scored.

 

[Trap Jesus]

Here's another example, which came from the 2013/14 season in a March game vs. Washington. He actually squanders quite a few opportunities in this game (his passing seemed off overall), but how he's actually able to create these opportunities in the first place is pretty impressive. Great example of his defense IMO, matched up against Backstrom/Ovechkin, and there is a ton of "defense into offense" here.

Basic stats: 15:09 TOI, 0 G, 1 A, +2, 8 S
Advanced stats: 21 CF, 4 CA (vs. Ovechkin/Backstrom, he was 14-3)

Helps force turnover at 0:37, keeps pressure on (ends at 0:53)

Breakout pass through Ovechkin leads to offensive flurry (leads into next play at 2:34)

Marchand can't handle Bergeron pass, leads to 100 ft Ovechkin shot on goal (ends at 2:44)

Battling in front and behind the net leads to multiple opportunities (ends at 6:54)

Neutral zone takeaway from Ovechkin, generates more offensive opportunities (ends at 11:10)

Multiple opportunities - shot at 14:33, finds the trailer at 14:45, and creates an opportunity at 14:54, although his pass is off (ends at 15:09)

Bergeron is on for a shot against, although he was just coming onto the ice (ends at 21:00)

Picks off pass, leads to an offensive opportunity (ends at 26:40)

Pressure on Johansson helps contain play, leads to breakout (leads into next play at 28:57)

Forechecking helps disrupt Green/Washington (ends at 29:10)

Picks off puck along boards; inside move leads to drawn penalty; gets open and his one-timer is tipped in (ends at 33:38)

Offensive positioning leads to one-timer chance from the slot (ends at 34:30)

Good breakout; forces turnover at 40:31, leads to Marchand chance (ends at 40:40)

Angles off Johansson, helps force him into Hamilton turnover, which leads to Marchand chance in quick transition (leads into next play at 48:41)

Neutral zone D on Backstrom/Ovechkin helps lead to offensive chance in transition(ends at 49:00)

Misses steal on forecheck, leads to Ovechkin shot (leads into next play at 53:36)

Defensive positioning: there to advance the puck after the Marchand steal, gets a shot (ends at 53:49)

Multiple plays: neutral zone steal at 58:13; picks Backstrom's pocket at 58:25 leading to prime scoring chance; picks off Ovechkin pass at 53:38, which leads to a shot on net (ends at 59:00)

Solid shift: puck battle at 1:01:25; breaks up the middle at 1:01: 38 for a great opportunity but squanders pass; defensive positioning at 1:01:48 leads to him starting a good rush up the ice, possibly was tripped but no call (ends at 1:02:03)

Defensive pressure on Ovechkin helps lead to a Bergeron shot (ends at 1:05:54)

Errant Bergeron pass leads to turnover (ends at 1:16:24)

Offensive positioning leading to one-timer (ends at 1:21:17)

Initial neutral zone disruption leads to Marchand takeaway and subsequent empty net goal (ends at 1:26:05)

 

[Kaoz]

Excellent post, one that obviously took a lot of time and effort. I find he's the only player in the game that is as fun to watch without the puck as he is with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2oGeqT8W8I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOynU8r-wBA

I always think of the above two plays when taking about just how great he is. He may not be an offensive superstar but he is one of the most consistent players in the game because he is always helping his team when he's on the ice.

 

[Sheppy]

Wow, this is awesome. Great post!

 

[Bruinswillwin77]

Toews at 10.5 over Bergeron at 6.5? I don't understand how people defend their point on why/how they'd rather have Toews over PB37 on the main polls thread.

 

[Kaoz]

Toews at 10.5 over Bergeron at 6.5? I don't understand how people defend their point on why/how they'd rather have Toews over PB37 on the main polls thread.

Toews has captained a Chicago team that has won 3 Stanley Cups now and he's two years younger then Patrice. I love Bergeron, if he doesn't retire a Bruin it will be a travesty in my opinion, but even I realize that that isn't a poll he's going to win regardless of the price tag associated with them.

I know that the cup wins has a ton to do with the teams surrounding the players, but it's still no small feat. Toews is better offensively by a decent margin, Bergy is slightly better defensively imo, but Toews resume is one of the most impressive in the NHL at the moment. Hard to beat that when it comes to public perception. Bruins fans know what they have in Bergeron.

 

[Fire Sweeney]

Toews at 10.5 over Bergeron at 6.5? I don't understand how people defend their point on why/how they'd rather have Toews over PB37 on the main polls thread.

I don't understand why they would have to defend it. Toews is younger and better, period. Not even the same league.

 

[Bruinswillwin77]

Toews has captained a Chicago team that has won 3 Stanley Cups now and he's two years younger then Patrice. I love Bergeron, if he doesn't retire a Bruin it will be a travesty in my opinion, but even I realize that that isn't a poll he's going to win regardless of the price tag associated with them.

I know that the cup wins has a ton to do with the teams surrounding the players, but it's still no small feat. Toews is better offensively by a decent margin, Bergy is slightly better defensively imo, but Toews resume is one of the most impressive in the NHL at the moment. Hard to beat that when it comes to public perception. Bruins fans know what they have in Bergeron.

Bergeron winning the poll 3:1 currently

 

[jgatie]

Bergeron winning the poll 3:1 currently

Chicago fans are still drunk, Montreal fans are still depressed.