February 18th, 2013: Max Pacioretty began the year with a 10 game goalless drought in spite of getting a ridiculous amount of shots and chances. Then Cam Ward came along to fix his luck with a laugher. These kinds of goals don’t really apply much to this study, but it was an individual effort off the rush as Pacioretty wrists a long bomb pastWard.
February 19th, 2013: Pacioretty sends a long wrister towards the net but it goes wide and bounces off the back boards and out to Josh Gorges on the half wall. Gorges waits for Pacioretty to get into the high slot and sends a nice pass to the open winger, who snaps the puck past Henrik Lundqvist. This goal was a team effort on a zone play.
February 21st, 2013: A P.K. Subban drive causes some havoc in the Islanders‘ zone on a powerplay, and David Desharnais works with Erik Cole to recover the rebound. Desharnais gives the puck to Subban, who creates some space and sends it back to Desharnais. After the remaining Islanders defenseman overcommits, Desharnais finds Pacioretty in the slot, and he snaps it home. This goal was a team effort on a zone play.
February 21st, 2013: Pacioretty puts a backhander off the glass behind the net and drifts into the slot. Cole and Desharnais provide a little bit of forecheck pressure and the Isles give it up. Desharnais reacts instantly by sending the puck to Pacioretty in the slot, who beats Nabokov with another snap shot. This goal was a team effort on a zone play.
February 27th, 2013: Pacioretty starts the play by making Tyler Bozak look like a bum on the half wall. First intercepting his pass, then reversing the puck around him and getting open. Brendan Gallagher wins a puck battle and sends it up to Andrei Markov, who find P.K. Subban for a long range one-timer. Ben Scrivens stops the shot but Pacioretty was driving the net and the puck bounces in off his leg. Fortune smiles on those who go to the net. This goal was a team effort on a zone play.
February 27th, 2013: 5’7″ Desharnais causes Dion Phaneuf to bobble the puck at the blueline like Marc-Andrei Bergeron, then somehow wins a puck battle against him and kicks the puck forward to Pacioretty. Max barrels down the right wing and snipes one past Ben Scrivens from a sharp angle, a goal scorer’s goal. Desharnais’ battle was pivotal here, but our criteria always that if the goal scorer gets into position without help, scores an unscreened goal, and didn’t receive a pass right before the shot, it’s an individual goal. That makes this goal an individual effort off the rush.
March 2nd, 2013: Kris Letang gives the puck away with a weak clearing attempt up the boards (Norris nominee? Heh), and Tomas Kaberle beats Letang (who doesn’t even try to pressure him) with a pass to Gallagher. Once he realizes that Brooks Orpik is being too casual, he drives across the net to get a shot, but is stopped by Tomas Vokoun. Pacioretty though, streaks in and flips the puck over Vokoun and into the net. This goal was a team effort on a zone play.
March 2nd, 2013: Gallagher wins a battle down low and sends the puck up to Alexei Emelin at the point. Emelin passes the puck on to Max Pacioretty, who is borrowing a Bruins tactic of having a forward in the middle of the blueline. Pacioretty aims, and just goes pure sniper on Tuukka Rask from 65 feet out. This was an individual effort on a zone play.
Tomorrow we’ll look at the second half of Pacioretty’s goals from this past season.
