Vs St. Louis 4-1 loss Mar. 10, 2011

 Habs post worst grade since Heritage Classic in Calgary

Tom Pyatt had the top grade, as the Montreal Canadiens suffered an unemotional 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues Thursday night. Benoit Pouliot's string of 3 defensive-zone give-aways made for a tough audition alongside Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta. Pouliot started the game on that line, but found his ice time cut following some brutal plays in the defensive-zone.

Team-wise

It was a tough night for the centremen, as the Habs struggled gaining the offensive-zone. Montreal was a full 6 percentage-points below their season average when attempting to skate the puck into the offensive-zone. Give the Blues credit for some solid pro-scouting here, as they consistently lined up across their defensive blue line. The Canadiens also struggled winning defensive-zone face-offs; ending the game 12 percentage-points below their season average.

METRIC	AFTER 1ST	AFTER 2ND	TM WIN%	METRIC
%OZPBW	58	58	55	%OZPBW
%SKI +	72	72	73	%SKI +
%DI+	82	81	81	%DI+
%DZPBW	57	66	66	%DZPBW
%NZPBW	57	63	61	%NZPBW
%DZFOW	33	29	40	%DZFOW
%DZPKFOW	0	25	25	%DZPKFOW
%OZPPFOW	100	100	100	%OZPPFOW
%OZFOW	56	50	57	%OZFOW
%PS THRU	50	50	50	%PS THRU

Period-by-period

At the risk of sounding like a broken record (outdated reference I know), Hal Gill once again improved his grade as the game wore on. Big number 75 improved 19 percentage-points during the final 2 periods. Alexandre Picard's grade had the biggest drop through the final two frames. Number 45's grade fell 17 points following the first period.

PLAYER	6	11	13	14	15	20	21	22	32	44	45	46	47	52	53	55	57	58	63	67	68	75	76	81	94	31
AFTER 1ST		57	60	54	76	64	43	60	60	73	80	64			70		55	70				50	61	53	77
AFTER 2ND		56	60	55	70	57	47	70	68	74	72	65			67		55	64				65	66	57	76
GAME'S END	0	56	63	59	69	50	51	65	70	72	63	60	0	0	68	0	53	63	0	0	0	69	50	53	75	0
PLAYER	6	11	13	14	15	20	21	22	32	44	45	46	47	52	55	53	57	58	63	67	68	75	76	81	94	31

Percentage-by-metric

Gionta and Gomez struggled winning offensive-zone puck battles. Gionta has been one of the top performers in this metric throughout the season, but finished this game a full 31 percentage-points below his season average.

	6	11	13	14	15	20	21	22	32	44	45	46	47	52	53	55	57	58	63	67	68	75	76	81	94	31		TEAM TOT
%OZPBW		39	57	50	75	50	27	67	45	50	67	53			56		60	62				75	75	55	80		%OZPBW	55
%SKI +		71	57	60	100	100	100		100			100			33		100	33					0	100	100		%SKI +	73
%DI+		100	100	80	67	67	71	67	100	100	100	100			67		0	100				100	60	0	100		%DI+	81
%DZPBW		80	63	100	50	50	83	67	100	64	59	100			100		60	80				64	55	67	67		%DZPBW	66
%NZPBW		33	50	57	100	100	67	67	75	100		50			100		50	60				100	50	50	50		%NZPBW	61
DZTA	0	0	0	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	DZTA	10
DZGA	0	1	1	0	1	2	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	4	DZGA	23
NZTA	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	NZTA	8
NZGA	0	0	1	2	1	0	2	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0	1	1	0	NZGA	15
%DZFOW		67		0	100				0								0	0									%DZFOW	40
%DZPKFOW				25																							%DZPKFOW	25
%OZPPFOW		100	100															100									%OZPPFOW	100
%OZFOW		50		67	0																			75			%OZFOW	57
%PS THRU			0	0		67	0	67		80	0											50					%PS THRU	50
WINS	0	38	27	34	24	17	22	20	21	31	20	21	0	0	15	0	17	25	0	0	0	25	22	23	15	0		417
BATTLES	0	68	43	58	35	34	43	31	30	43	32	35	0	0	22	0	32	40	0	0	0	36	44	43	20	4		693
GRADE	0	56	63	59	69	50	51	65	70	72	63	60	0	0	68	0	53	63	0	0	0	69	50	53	75	0	GRADE	60
PLAYER	6	11	13	14	15	20	21	22	32	44	45	46	47	52	53	55	57	58	63	67	68	75	76	81	94	31		TM GR

Individual stats

Among defensemen, it was a difficult night for both PK Subban (50) and James Wisniewski(50). Both players finished the game with grades 15 percentage-points below their season average.  Subban's grade was the product of 5 defensive-zone give-aways, while Wisniewski had 2 defensive-zone give-aways, and won only 50% of his puck battles. Brian Gionta had his lowest grade of the season (51). The captain finished the game with a grade 17 percentage-points below his season average, and won only 4 of 15 offensive-zone puck battles.

	6	11	13	14	15	20	21	22	32	44	45	46	47	52	53	55	57	58	63	67	68	75	76	81	94	31		TM TOT
OZPBW		7	8	8	9	4	4	4	5	5	4	9			5		6	8				6	6	12	4		OZPBW	114
OZPBL		11	6	8	3	4	11	2	6	5	2	8			4		4	5				2	2	10	1		OZPBL	94
SKI +		5	4	3	1	1	3		3			5			1		3	1						1	2		SKI +	33
SKI-		2	3	2											2			2					1				SKI-	12
DI+		6	5	4	2	2	5	2	4	5	2	4			2			3				1	3		1		DI+	51
DI-				1	1	1	2	1							1		1						2	2			DI-	12
DZPBW		8	5	5	4	6	5	6	5	9	10	1			2		3	4				9	12	4	4		DZPBW	102
DZPBL		2	3		4	6	1	3		5	7						2	1				5	10	2	2		DZPBL	53
NZPBW		4	1	4	2	1	4	2	3	3		3			2		2	6				4	1	3	1		NZPBW	46
NZPBL		8	1	3			2	1	1			3					2	4					1	3	1		NZPBL	30
DZTA				3		2											1	1				1			2		DZTA	10
DZGA		1	1		1	2	2	3									3	1					5			4	DZGA	23
NZTA		1	1			1	1			1	1						1							1			NZTA	8
NZGA			1	2	1		2		1		1	1						1				3		1	1		NZGA	15
DZFOW		2			2																						DZFOW	4
DZFOL		1		2					1								1	1									DZFOL	6
DZPKFOW				1																							DZPKFOW	1
DZPKFOL				3																							DZPKFOL	3
OZPPFOW		1	1															1									OZPPFOW	3
OZPPFOL																											OZPPFOL	0
OZFOW		3		2																				3			OZFOW	8
OZFOL		3		1	1																			1			OZFOL	6
PS THRU						2		2		4												1					PS THRU	9
OZ PS BL			1	1		1	1	1		1	2											1					OZ PS BL	9
DZBS				1	1			2		2	1											2	1				DZBS	10
POINTS X2					2			2			2																POINTS X2	6
+/-		-2		-1		-3				-1		-2					-2						-1	-1			+/-	-13
SHOTS		3	2	4	1	1			1	3		1			3		3	1				1			1		SHOTS	25
WINS	0	38	27	34	24	17	22	20	21	31	20	21	0	0	15	0	17	25	0	0	0	25	22	23	15	0	WINS	417
BATTLES	0	68	43	58	35	34	43	31	30	43	32	35	0	0	22	0	32	40	0	0	0	36	44	43	20	4	BATTLES	693
GRADE	0	56	63	59	69	50	51	65	70	72	63	60	0	0	68	0	53	63	0	0	0	69	50	53	75	0	GRADE	60
PLAYER	6	11	13	14	15	20	21	22	32	44	45	46	47	52	53	55	57	58	63	67	68	75	76	81	94	31		TM GR

Why they lost

Inability to string together multiple successful offensive-zone puck-battles
Struggles with defensive-zone faceoffs
Lack of emotion following recent events
Continued struggles winning on the road