Canadiens By The Numbers: Hottest And Coldest Players

With less than 12 games left on the Montreal Canadiens’ schedule, the opportunities to shine are few and far between.

But by taking a look at the individual results over the course of the last 10 games, we can get a better idea of how certain players have performed, which gives us a good start when projecting their potential impact in the final stretch of the season.

Production (5v5 only)

No other player has produced more than Jonathan Drouin, who has seven points in his last 9 games, meaning he produced more than the rest of the roster despite not playing as much as his counterparts.

Drouin only had 8 shots in that stretch, which is far from ideal, but his production was bolstered by a high shooting percentage (25 percent), as well as a few secondary assists.

On that note, even though secondary assists are generally considered less important than primary assists, you’d be hard-pressed to argue Drouin has been padding his point totals. He’s been a driving force on the ice.

Mike Matheson joins Drouin near the top of the list, having earned six points in 10 games.  Matheson has four goals in that stretch, the top mark among all Habs forwards. He also took 23 shots on net, which is more than any of his teammates.

What a gorgeous goal by Mike Matheson. pic.twitter.com/mAh4qdSQCc

— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) March 6, 2023

Both Nick Suzuki and Alex Belzile have also produced six points, although, in Suzuki’s case, all six have come in the form of assists, whereas Belzile found the back of the net on three occasions.

Anthony Richard only has three points in the last 10 games, but seeing as he has played fewer minutes than the rest of his teammates and only participated in six games, his production is worth mentioning.

As are the four points produced by Justin Barron in the same number of games.

Underlying Numbers

Few Habs players produced solid underlying numbers in the last 10 games, which shouldn’t come as a surprise since the Canadiens are one of the worst teams in the league.

Frederic Allard hit over 60 percent shot share in his one game with the Canadiens, making him the only player to control over 50 percent of the shots while he was on the ice this month.

As for regularly used forwards, Richard tops the list, controlling over 49 percent of the shots. Defenceman David Savard controlled the least amount of shots, with just 34 CF%.

Two players managed to control 50 percent or more of the high-danger chances, which is quite the feat for a team like the Canadiens, who, are among the worst clubs in the league in that crucial statistical category.

While Drouin was on the ice, the Canadiens controlled 52 percent of the HDCF%.

And while Kirby Dach, who only played one game since returning from injury, was on the ice, the Habs controlled an impressive 60 percent of the quality scoring chances.

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It’s a small sample size, but given Dach’s track record with the Canadiens, it falls within the realm of sustainability, at least relative to what we’re used to seeing from Canadiens players.

All statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via NaturalStatTrick.