A look at the Habs defensemen heading into first round series against Boston

A look at grades and averages by metric for Habs D-men
(Grades vs. Boston this season are below)

Paul Mara ended the season with the top mark among Habs defensemen.  Mara finished with an overall mark of 68 to lead 3 other D-men by 2 percentage-points.

1. Mara (68)
2. Subban (66)
3. Gill (66)
4. Spacek (66)
5. Hamrlik (65)
6. Wisniewski (63)
7. Picard (63)
8. Weber (62)
9. Sopel (62)

#22 Paul Mara

Mara kept the game simple. He had a success-rate when pinching at the blueline of 75%, and was among the team leaders in shot-through from the point (82%), and defensive-zone pass percentage (82%). The last metric is a solid example of Mara's ability to recognize the easy play out of the d-zone.

#76 PK Subban

While close to Mara's total, Subban went about his above-average grade with speed and flare. He was among the team leaders for successful offensive-zone passes (76%), and was the only defenseman to make a successful deak in the offensive-zone; where he was successful with 70% of his attempts.

On the less-positive end of the spectrum, Subban was successful with only 67% of his defensive-zone pass attempts (lowest among d-men), and led the team with 112 defensive-zone giveaways to go along with 66 neutral-zone giveaways.

#75 Hal Gill

Gill just gets it done. It's not fancy, it definitely isn't pretty, but when he's not there it shows. He's among the team leaders in blocked-shots (90), successful defensive-zone puck-battle percentage (67%), and d-zone passing percentage (78%).

#6 Jaroslav Spacek

Spacek has a tough time in the offensive-zone. He has the lowest marks for offensive-zone puck-battles (58%) and offensive-zone passing (43). That said, Spacek has the second-best success-rate for defensive-zone passing (81%), and his giveaway to takeaway ratio in the d-zone is nearly 1 to 1; the team ratio is 2 takeaways for every 3 giveaways.

#44 Roman Hamrlik

Despite having the fifth-best grade, Hamrlik has been the most consistent among defensemen. Number 44's grade hasn't had the ups-and-downs of other d-men; holding in-and-around the 68 mark for most games. He leads the d-core in blocked shots (92), and is among the team leaders in neutral-zone passing percentage (79%).

#20 James Wisniewski

Wisniewski's grade is carried by his offense. He leads the d-core with 30 points, and is second to only Subban with 84 shots. That said, number 20 has the lowest dump-in success-rate, while his d-zone passing percentage is a low 69%. Also his d-zone giveaway / takeaway ratio is 1 takeaway for every 3.5 giveaways.


#45 Alex Picard

Picard's mark is hurt mostly by his defensive-zone give-aways. He averages 1 d-zone takeaway for every 4.7 giveaways.

#68 Yannick Weber

Weber suffers from the same issues as Picard, as he averages 1 d-zone takeaway for every 3.2 giveaways. That said, Weber is among the team leaders in defensive-zone puck-battles, as he's won 62% of his defensive-zone puck battles.

Brent Sopel

Brent Sopel has specific strengths. He blocks shots, blocks passes, and dumps the puck out of the zone. He is among the team leaders in each of these categories, but has struggled winning defensive-zone puck-battles. The veteran Stanley Cup winner has won only 55 % of his DZPBs, and has been successful with only 70% of his defensive-zone pass attempts. That said, he has been struggling with an injury, and has consistently saved his best hockey for the post-season.

Overall  (44 games)

	6	20	22	44	45	55	68	75	76		TM TOT
WINS	447	1240	348	1209	290	269	660	985	1681	WINS	19697
BATTLES	681	1963	515	1857	463	432	1063	1503	2535	BATTLES	31221
GRADE	66	63	68	65	63	62	62	66	66	GRADE	63
PLAYER	6	20	22	44	45	55	68	75	76		TM GR

Percentages by metric (44 games)

METRIC	6	20	22	44	45	55	68	75	76	METRIC	TEAM TOT
%OZPBW	58	61	75	65	67	69	61	67	65	%OZPBW	57
OZPASS%	43	72	58	76		78	60	69	76	OZPASS%	71
OZDEAK%		0	0						70	OZDEAK%	59
SKI%	100	65	73	53	70	69	58	64	74	SKI%	72
DI%	88	69	83	77	77	86	71	85	81	DI%	78
OZTA	0	5	0	1	0	2	0	3	5	OZTA	73
	6	20	22	44	45	55	68	75	76		TEAM TOT
%DZPBW	52	57	54	57	63	55	62	62	62	%DZPBW	59
DZPASS%	81	69	82	74		70	71	78	67	DZPASS%	71
DZDEAK%	100	75		100		0			90	DZDEAK%	73
DZTA	39	22	11	57	6	7	16	58	62	DZTA	535
DZGA	41	75	12	57	29	16	53	90	112
DZ-BL-SHOT	36	67	28	92	22	16	21	79	46	DZ-BL-SHOT	611
DZ-BL-PASS	6	6	3	5	0	5	0	7	6	DZ-BL-PASS	56
	6	20	22	44	45	55	68	75	76		TEAM TOT
%NZPBW	48	51	53	57	64	65	56	65	64	%NZPBW	56
NZPASS%	70	83	40	79		70	100	65	76	NZPASS%	74
NZDEAK%			0						67	NZDEAK%	77
NZTA	22	23	5	37	5	4	18	39	26	NZTA	471
NZGA	9	40	6	40	8	7	17	41	66
	6	20	22	44	45	55	68	75	76		TEAM TOT
SHOTS THRU%	68	63	82	63	54	50	61	67	67	SHOTS THRU%	61

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Vs. Boston (4 games)

Roman Hamrlik has been the Habs top defenseman against Boston this season. He leads all defenseman by 3 percentage-points, and his grade is 7 percentage-points above the team average versus Boston.

1. Hamrlik (68) -3 points better than his season average
2. Wisniewski (65) -2 points better than his season average
3. Gill (63) - 3 points below his season average
4. Mara (63) -5 points below his season average
5. Spacek (63) -3 points below his season average
6. Picard (63) -equal to season average
7. Subban (61) -5 points below his season average
8. Sopel (60) -2 points below his season average
9. Weber (58) -4 points below his season average


#44 Roman Hamrlik

Hamrlik's grade against Boston has been the product of strong play with the puck. He has been successful with 12 of his 13 dump-ins, while 13 of his 17 point-shots have found their way to the net. He also leads the team with 13 blocked shots against the Bruins.

#20 James Wisniewski

As with his overall mark, Wisnieski's grade is carried by his offense. Seventeen of his 21 point-shot attempts have made it to the net, while he's also garnered 4 points. He's won 26 of 38 offensive-zone puck-battles, but has a minus-4 rating.

#75 Hal Gill

Gill has had substantial success against Boston by doing what he does best. Blocking shots (11), winning defensive-zone puck-battles (59%), while amassing defensive-zone takeaways (13).

#22 Paul Mara

Mara's only real struggles against Boston have been in the defensive-zone; Mara has won only 6 of 20 defensive-zone puck-battles against the Bruins big forwards this season. That said Mara's lowest mark came in that big loss to Boston (47), while one of his highest marks of the season came in the last home win against Boston (83).

#6 Jaroslav Spacek

Spacek played a simple game against Boston, but was below the team winning percentage in both offensive and defensive-zone puck battles.

#45 Alex Picard

Picard played solid against Boston. Due to a limited amount of metrics, his mark is adversely affected by his minus-2 rating.

#76 PK Subban

PK's grade against Boston is absolutely destroyed by giveaways. Subban has given the puck away on 25 separate occasions against the Bruins; ten more than any other defensemen. PK needs to focus on keeping the game simple, as rushing PK is a huge part of boston's game-plan. Take away the giveaways and number 76's grade increases to 69; four percentage points above his season average.

#55 Brent Sopel

Sopel played only 2 games against Boston this season (with Montreal), and recorded the team's second-lowest grade (36) in the season's last game against the Bruins. That said, the veteran d-man recorded a mark of 82 during his other tussle with the B's.

#68 Yannick Weber

Weber played in only one game against the Bruins this season, where he tallied 3 points. His low mark would be much greater had his offensive-success been matched by his defensive play, as he was also minus-1 with 11 lost puck-battles.

Overall Grades vs. Boston

PLAYER	6	20	22	44	45	55	68	75	76		TM GRADE
WINS	33	115	34	104	17	32	21	93	140		1633
BATTLES	52	177	54	152	27	53	36	147	231		2689
GRADE	63	65	63	68	63	60	58	63	61	GRADE	61
PLAYER	6	20	22	44	45	55	68	75	76		TM GRADE

 Percentage by Metric (Vs. Boston)

	6	20	22	44	45	55	68	75	76		TEAM TOT
%OZPBW	50	68	75	65	67	71	57	58	57	%OZPBW	54
%SKI +	100	80		100					100	%SKI +	79
%DI+	33	55	100	92	100	80	50	89	74	%DI+	81
%DZPBW	45	62	30	49	71	54	53	59	54	%DZPBW	57
%NZPBW	50	33	75	67		100	0	78	89	%NZPBW	55
	6	20	22	44	45	55	68	75	76		TEAM TOT
%PS THRU	78	81	100	76	100	33	50	100	93	%PS THRU	73
	6	20	22	44	45	55	68	75	76		TEAM TOT

*Separate blogs for centremen and wingers to follow shortly.*

LINKS TO HABS FOUR PREVIOUS GAMES AGAINST THE BOSTON BRUINS

http://www.boucherscouting.com/2011/01/gill-grabs-top-grade-against-boston.html

http://www.boucherscouting.com/2011/02/wall-battles-defensive-zone-coverage.html

http://www.boucherscouting.com/2011/03/ellers-work-on-faceoffs-hurts-his.html

http://www.boucherscouting.com/2011/03/vs-boston-7-0-loss-mar-24-2011.html