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We've reached the halfway point in the season, which means it's time to take a look at individual results. Let us know how you would grade the players in the comments below.
Forwards
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| Max Pacioretty | 40 | 17 | 15 | 4 | 12.1 | 19:10 | 10.3 | 36.4 | 25.4 | 51.8 | 105.9 | 43.72 | 40.62 |
Montreal's main offensive weapon is firing on all cylinders. Montreal's offense lives and dies by Pacioretty's hands. He's on pace for another 35+ goal year, and has tapped into his play-making abilities since paired with Alex Galchenyuk. A+
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| Alex Galchenyuk | 40 | 10 | 17 | 6 | 12.2 | 16:35 | 10.8 | 35.2 | 26.9 | 50.6 | 101.9 | 42.64 | 39.06 |
Galchenyuk was drafted to be Montreal's #1 centre, and the plan has seemingly come to fruition. He's on pace for career numbers, and the recent promotion has led to a goal scoring surge. A-
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| Brendan Gallagher | 40 | 11 | 15 | 2 | 10.1 | 16:05 | 9.7 | 33.6 | 29.0 | 48.9 | 102.5 | 44.13 | 46.02 |
Gallagher's FF/60 leads the team, however the other side of the coin is that his FA/60 is the worst. He's on pace for similar numbers as last year. B+
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| David Desharnais | 40 | 6 | 15 | 6 | 12.8 | 17:07 | 8.0 | 35.8 | 27.0 | 52.2 | 103.6 | 42.64 | 39.06 |
He only has 15 even-strength points, and is on pace for a disappointing point total, his worst since 2010. His analytics will eventually suffer, but the recent demotion from the first line may have been a blessing in disguise. Desharnais has shown a lot more creativity in recent games, and has been reasonably adept at playing on the wing. B-
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| Lars Eller | 35 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 11.9 | 14:58 | 4.3 | 23.9 | 36.0 | 50.9 | 101.3 | 37.90 | 36.56 |
Eller is on pace for a career high in points, but just barely. He's slowly taking over Tomas Plekanec's defensive duties, meaning he sees little to no offensive zone faceoffs. His FA/60 is best among all centres, meaning that Eller's baptism by fire seems to have been a successful one. B
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| P.A. Parenteau | 38 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 8.5 | 15:01 | 5.6 | 36.3 | 26.5 | 53.2 | 99.7 | 38.41 | 33.75 |
Luck definitely hasn't been on the former Colorado Avalanche player's side so far this year. He is currently operating with his worst shooting percentage since his NHL debut, and his PDO is the lowest among all forwards not named Manny Malhotra. B-
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| Tomas Plekanec | 40 | 11 | 15 | 6 | 9.8 | 18:35 | -2.8 | 28.6 | 38.0 | 47.1 | 102.0 | 38.80 | 43.59 |
Plekanec faces the top lines every night and despite that is on pace for another solid year offensively. His analytics will never look good, given his usage. B+
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| Jiri Sekac | 33 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 20.6 | 13:51 | -2.0 | 25.6 | 30.7 | 47.2 | 103.9 | 34.65 | 38.69 |
Montreal's mystery free agent signing has been a pleasant surprise at the halfway mark, given that he's been treated to a baptism by fire from a defensive deployment standpoint. His shooting percentage is due to return to normalcy, but all things considered it has been a successful debut in the NHL for the former KHLer. B
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| Sven Andrighetto | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 16.7 | 9:16 | 4.9 | 41.8 | 26.9 | 45.1 | 109.3 | 31.83 | 38.75 |
Andrighetto has offensive talent in spades, although a quick look at his offensive starts, coupled with his FF%, and his team high PDO, shows that he's not quite ready yet for a spot in the top 9. C
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| Manny Malhotra | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11:10 | -40.5 | 15.1 | 65.4 | 35.6 | 97.5 | 24.89 | 44.96 |
He's the NHL's faceoff king, and his defensive deployment even puts Plekanec's usual duties to shame, but whenever Malhotra is on the ice, Montreal is defending. The proof is in the pudding, at this point in his career he's an excellent faceoff man, but he's way below replacement level in all other aspects of the game. D+
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| Brandon Prust | 40 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 6.8 | 13:32 | 0.2 | 23.8 | 34.4 | 51.2 | 101.1 | 36.76 | 35.02 |
Prust has managed to put together a solid half season, despite being deployed in a defensive situation by Therrien. Without him on the fourth line, it tends to collapse, although you can't blame the coaching staff for giving him a promotion whenever the opportunity arises. B+
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| Dale Weise | 37 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 10.9 | 11:47 | -6.9 | 29.6 | 35.8 | 47.4 | 106.6 | 36.40 | 40.36 |
Fortunately for Dutch Gretzky, he spent some time alongside Max Pacioretty, which led to an inflated point total. Unfortunately for Weise, his PDO is sky high, and his relative Corsi is the worst among all forwards, save for Malhotra. He's a capable fourth liner, but his usage should be ideally limited to the bottom trio. B-
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| Michael Bournival | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 13.3 | 8:32 | -2.8 | 25.0 | 43.1 | 45.4 | 106.2 | 33.30 | 40.11 |
More often than not, Bournival has been the odd man out among Montreal forwards this year. It's been a campaign to forget so far, which means he has a ton of room for improvement in the second half of the year. C
Defencemen
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| P.K. Subban | 40 | 8 | 19 | 5 | 10.7 | 25:13 | 10.7 | 32.1 | 30 | 52.6 | 102.5 | 42.51 | 39.84 |
Second in team scoring, on pace for career highs in goal and points, leading the team in ice time, and easily the best defender on the team, there's not much that Subban isn't doing right this year. He's received an insane amount of criticism ever since he signed his new contract, although that can be attributed to perception bias. When Subban is on the ice, Montreal tends to control the majority of the shots, and the opposite is true when he's on the bench. The numbers don't play favourites, P.K. Subban is an absolute beast on the ice. A+
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| Andrei Markov | 40 | 5 | 14 | 9 | 7.9 | 24:31 | 5.9 | 31.4 | 32.8 | 51.0 | 103.4 | 41.77 | 40.13 |
Even though it's clear his even-strength play is being supported by Subban, the aging defender is still contributing to the Habs in a very positive manner. He's not quite as fast on his skates as he once was, but his experience and hockey IQ generally makes up for his slow reaction time. B+
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| Nathan Beaulieu | 25 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 14:15 | 10.8 | 32.7 | 34.0 | 52.6 | 101.7 | 40.62 | 36.54 |
He's a mobile defender, which means that people will generally judge him on his offensive totals. Truth be told, Beaulieu's production numbers are fairly poor, but that's only if you take a cursory glance at what he's put together so far. Once his luck changes, his point totals should go up, and the coaching staff seems to agree, given that he has rightfully found a spot among Montreal's top-four defenders. B+
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| Sergei Gonchar | 24 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 3.6 | 19:08 | -1.9 | 29.2 | 33.0 | 48.7 | 104.2 | 37.35 | 39.35 |
He hasn't provided much help in the powerplay department, but considering he was acquired for Travis Moen, Gonchar's performance so far has been quite adequate. The narrative is that he's helping Beaulieu, but the numbers seem to indicate it's the other way around. B-
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| Alexei Emelin | 38 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 4.8 | 21:09 | -9.3 | 27.2 | 34.0 | 45.0 | 103.2 | 34.24 | 41.92 |
There's no other way of putting it, Alexei Emelin is playing well below replacement level. He's overused by the coach, and struggles during both the eye test, and the analytics analysis. If Marc Bergevin can find a way out from under his contract, he should jump at the chance. D-
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| Tom Gilbert | 38 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6.1 | 18:43 | -8.0 | 28.1 | 37.0 | 45.7 | 103.5 | 35.21 | 41.77 |
He's been given a baptism by fire from the coach. His job in Montreal involves starting more shifts in the defensive zone than any other defender, and often times it comes with the added responsibility of being paired with Emelin. Gilbert's CF% jumps a full 10% when he's played away from Emelin, although it's still not in top-four territory. C+
| GP | G | A | PPP | S% | TOI/GP | Corsi Rel | OZFO% | DZFO% | FF% | PDO | FF/60 | FA/60 | |
| Mike Weaver | 26 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14:31 | -7.5 | 28.4 | 40.5 | 47.2 | 100.5 | 37.05 | 41.45 |
Montreal's seventh defender is producing seventh-defender numbers. C
Goalies
| GP | GS | W | L | OTL | Save % | GA | SA | SO | QS | GA% | GSAA | |
| Carey Price | 34 | 34 | 22 | 10 | 2 | .928 | 74 | 1025 | 2 | 21 | 83 | 15.32 |
P.K. Subban is probably one of the main reasons that Montreal finds itself in a playoff spot. Carey Price on the other hand, is the main reason the Habs aren't in the bottom third of the standings. He is unequivocally the Habs' MVP this season. As it stands, he's in contention for the Hart Trophy, as well as the Vezina. Carey Price is the Canadiens. The Canadiens are Carey Price. A++
| GP | GS | W | L | OTL | Save % | GA | SA | SO | QS | GA% | GSAA | |
| Dustin Tokarski | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | .924 | 17 | 224 | 0 | 4 | 87 | 2.52 |
Tokarski gets little to no run support, and starts the majority of his games on the road. All things considered, he's done good job so far as Montreal's backup. B+
Glossary
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Now available!
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PPP = Powerplay points, S% = Shooting percentage.
TOI/GP = Average Time on ice per game played, Corsi Rel = Relative Corsi, OZFO% = Offensive zone face off percentage, DZFO% = Defensive zone face off percentage.
FF% = Fenwick For %, PDO = Shooting percentage + save percentage while on ice, FF/60 = Fenwick for per 60 min TOI, FA/60 = Fenwick against per 60 min TOI.
GS = Games started, W = win, L = loss, OTL = overtime or shootout loss, Save % = save percentage, GA = goals against, SA = shots against, SO = shutout.
QS = Quality start. A quality start is defined as a start with the save percentage > average save percentage for the year, or at least 88.5% on nights facing 20 or fewer shots against.
GA% = Goals against percentage. Goals allowed % relative to the league goals allowed %. Lower is better, 100 is exactly average, 0 means the goalie saved 100% of shots faced.
GSAA = Goals saved above average. Defined as the goals the goalie prevented given his save percentage and shots faced, vs. the league average save percentage on the same number of shots. The higher the number, the better.
All skater data sourced from Hockey Analysis. Goalie data sourced from Hockey Reference.