Mar 01, 2012; Montreal, QC, CAN; Minnesota Wild left wing Dany Heatley (15) and Montreal Canadiens right wing Rene Bourque (27) talk before a first period face-off at the Bell Center. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
In a new feature that I’ll be running here on Gone Puck Wild throughout the season, before each game, I will be analysing the underlying numbers for both the Wild and their next opponent to see how they match-up. Tonight’s opponent is, once again, the Montreal Canadiens.
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-Here are the underlying numbers for both teams so far this year at 5v5 Close, along with some general statistics:
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WILD
CANADIENS
LEAGUE POSITION
15th 13th
HOME RECORD
4-1-2 4-4-0
ROAD RECORD
2-3-1 4-1-0
PP%
24.5%4th22.6%7th
PK%
75.9%28th84.3%7th
-5v5 CLOSE-
WILD
CANADIENS
GF%
62.5%8th68.4%5th
CF%
56.8%3rd51.5%12th
FF%
58.1%1st52.1%9th
SF%
59.7%1st50.9%15th
Sh%
5.8%23rd7.5%18th
Sv%
94.8%5th96.4%1st
PDO
100.614th103.93rd
(GF%=Goals For %, CF%=Corsi For %, FF%=Fenwick For %, SF%=Shots For Percentage, Sh%=
Shooting Percentage, Sv%=Save Percentage)
Both teams have good puck possession numbers so far this year. The Habs high PDO, a result of their sky-high Sv%, indicates they are likely to regress to the mean. Their penalty kill has been much more successful than the Wild’s.
-Here are the Best 3 and Worst 3 players for each team in various statistical categories. This only counts players who have played 25% of their team’s games so far:
| 5v5 CLOSE | PLAYER #1 |
PLAYER #2
PLAYER #3
Wild CF% Top 3
BALLARD (67.7%)
PARISE (64.4%)
KOIVU (63.9%)
Wild CF% Worst 3
FONTAINE (49.6%)
BRODZIAK (49.7%)
PROSSER (50.6%)
Habs CF% Top 3
BOURNIVAL (63.25%)
MOEN (61.6%)
ELLER (55.5%)
Habs CF% Worst 3
HOLLAND (25.0%)
BLUNDEN (27.8%)
BOUILLON (45.0%)
Wild FF% Top 3
BALLARD (71.1%)
STONER (67.5%)
PARISE (65.7%)
Wild FF% Worst 3
HEATLEY (49.6%)
GRANLUND (50.5%)
BRODIN (51.4%)
Habs FF% Top 3
BOURNIVAL (66.25%)
MOEN (60.2%)
GALLAGHER (58.7%)
Habs FF% Worst 3
HOLLAND (24.1%)
BLUNDEN (25.9%)
WHITE (44.3%)
Wild PDO Top 3
COOKE (111.4)
BRODZIAK (110.9)
PROSSER (110.0)
Wild PDO Worst 3
VEILLEUX (84.6)
MITCHELL (92.3)
KONOPKA (93.3)
Habs PDO Top 3
BLUNDEN (125.0)
BEAULIEU (118.2)
BOURNIVAL (114.9)
Habs PDO Worst 3
PACIORETTY (90.5)
TINORDI (93.4)
MOEN (94.7)
Michael Borunival appears to be a beast for the Canadiens, driving possession extremely well. Holland and Blunden would appear to be the weak links in that team.
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-Here are the Player Usage Charts for both teams to illustrate which players are getting tough minutes and which players are being sheltered:
Minnesota Wild
Montreal Canadiens
(Click To Enlarge) (Bubble Size=Corsi On Rating. Blue Bubble=Postive. Red Bubble=Negative)
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Okay, that’s all from me. Make sure you check-out Scott’s official Gone Puck Wild Game Preview before puck-drop where you’ll get his insight along with all the information you need about the game.
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*Numbers in this article courtesy of: