A loose puck is defined as any puck not currently being controlled by any player on the ice. This statistic also takes into account ice-time. Therefore the resulting number is based on how many puck-recoveries a player earns for every minute they are on the ice. Short-handed and powerplay recoveries are not taken into account, as this statistic is based solely on even-strength play. Players who do well in this category generally demonstrate good speed, the ability to support the puck-carrier in either zone, and hockey-sense. A player can earn a loose-puck recovery multiple ways. Here are a few examples:
- Puck support (recovering a loose puck after first player pins opposition against the boards)
- Grab control of a rebound following a shot on net
- Win a puck-race to a loose-puck
Offensive-zone
Max Pacioretty leads the team in offensive-zone puck-recoveries. Many of number 67's recoveries come off face-offs. Pacioretty's speed and strong stick allow him to recover many loose-pucks off "dead draws". Other players with many loose-puck recoveries include Scott Gomez, Andrei Kostitsyn, Aaron Palushaj, Andreas Engqvist, Erik Cole, and Lars Eller.
Among forwards, Travis Moen and Michael Blunden have the fewest puck-recoveries.
Defensive-zone
PK Subban leads all players in defensive-zone puck-recoveries. Like Pacioretty, many of Subban's recoveries come off faceoffs. The Habs set play on defensive-zone faceoffs sees the board-side d-man collapse into the faceoff circle and carry the puck behind the net. Subban is a favourite of Jacques Martin when this situation arises.
Newcomer Frederick St. Denis has played few games, so his results should be taken with a grain of salt. Among players with substantial ice-time, Raphael Diaz and Josh Gorges have the fewest d-zone recoveries. Diaz seems to lose many loose-puck races he engages in, sometimes hesitating to be the first man to the puck. Gorges strength is to stay on the defensive-side of opposition players, this often makes it difficult for number 26 to get to loose pucks along the boards.
Neutral-zone
Subban and Jaroslav Spacek lead the defense in neutral zone puck-recoveries, while Andreas Engqvist leads the forwards.
Still in its infancy, the loose-puck recovery stat is an interesting experiment. There is no doubt that a player's ability to recover loose-pucks is a valuable asset to any team. That said, at this point it creates some interesting questions as to why certain players produce more recoveries than their teammates.
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