Boston Bruins

How Boston plays, trait by trait, against the rest of the league.

Real numbers through Oct 10: 6 games this season, blended with last season. Traits that take longer to settle lean more on last season.

Real numbers through Oct 10, from this season’s 6 games only. Expect these to swing a lot this early, which is why the likely ranges are so wide.

Offense

• Shot volume
  SelectiveRelentless

  55.2 shot attempts per 6020th of 32

  53.8 shot attempts per 6022nd of 32

• Shot quality
  HopefulDangerous

  a 6.1% chance of scoring on the average shot24th of 32

  a 6.4% chance of scoring on the average shot19th of 32

• Second chances
  One-and-doneCrashers

  10.2% of chances come from rebounds16th of 32

  2.2% of chances come from rebounds32nd of 32

• Off-turnover offense
  PatientOpportunist

  7.3% of chances come right after a turnover17th of 32

  8.5% of chances come right after a turnover15th of 32

• Shots from defensemen
  Forward-ledActive D

  31.7% of shot attempts come from defensemen31st of 32

  30.4% of shot attempts come from defensemen28th of 32

• Shots from in close
  From distanceIn close

  28.7% of shots come from within 20 feet30th of 32

  28.6% of shots come from within 20 feet23rd of 32

Defense

• Shot suppression
  PorousStingy

  57.0 shot attempts allowed per 6017th of 32

  54.2 shot attempts allowed per 6015th of 32

• Quality allowed
  ExposedSheltered

  a 6.2% chance of scoring on the average shot against12th of 32

  a 6.2% chance of scoring on the average shot against11th of 32

• Breakdowns avoided
  Fire drillComposed

  0.41 defensive breakdowns per 6017th of 32

  0.64 defensive breakdowns per 6023rd of 32

• Goaltending
  SieveWall

  +0.23 goals saved above expected per 602nd of 32

  +1.02 goals saved above expected per 606th of 32

Tempo and edge

• Pace
  SlogTrack meet

  82.5 shots per 60, both teams combined13th of 32

  80.3 shots per 60, both teams combined14th of 32

• Forecheck pressure
  PassiveHounding

  forecheck score 93 (100 is league average)21st of 3221.9 forecheck plays recorded per 6018th of 32

  forecheck score 85 (100 is league average)23rd of 3221.7 forecheck plays recorded per 6022nd of 32

• Physicality
  FinesseBruising

  hit score 105 (100 is league average)12th of 3229.2 hits recorded per 607th of 32

  hit score 101 (100 is league average)16th of 3230.9 hits recorded per 6013th of 32

• Depth
  Top-heavyDeep

  43.9% of forward ice time at 5-on-5 goes to the bottom six4th of 32

  44.6% of forward ice time at 5-on-5 goes to the bottom six5th of 32

Special teams

• Power play
  HarmlessLethal

  7.4 expected goals per 60 on the power play17th of 32

  4.7 expected goals per 60 on the power play26th of 32

• Penalty kill
  LeakyAirtight

  7.7 expected goals allowed per 60 shorthanded20th of 32

  7.9 expected goals allowed per 60 shorthanded22nd of 32

• Power kill
  BunkeredPredatory

  0.6 expected goals created per 60 shorthanded31st of 32

  0.0 expected goals created per 60 shorthanded28th of 32

• Discipline
  RecklessClean

  0.26 more penalties taken than drawn per 6032nd of 32

  0.50 more penalties taken than drawn per 6025th of 32

Forecheck pressure and physicality are shown as arena-adjusted scores; switch “Hits and takeaways” to Raw in the settings to see the numbers as recorded. How the arena adjustment works.

Who Boston leans on, and what they do best.

• David Pastrnak

  18:31 a game

  #88 · Right wing · 7 P in 6 GP (2 G, 5 A)

  • Most ice time
  • L1 · Zacha, Geekie
  • PP1
  • Tough minutes
  • Shooting volume3rd
  • Setting up goals1st
  • Drawing penaltiestop 18%
  • Shot blockingbottom 11%
  • Shooting volumetop 6%
  • Setting up goalstop 25%
  • Distance skatedbottom 2%

• Pavel Zacha

  17:16 a game

  #18 · Center · 2 P in 6 GP (1 G, 1 A)

  • 2nd in ice time
  • L1 · Pastrnak, Geekie
  • PP1
  • Kills penalties
  • Tough minutes
  • Finishingtop 4%
  • Hardest shottop 8%
  • Drawing penaltiesbottom 1%
  • Takeawaystop 13%
  • Shooting volumetop 25%
  • Hardest shotTop 10
  • Hittingbottom 25%

• Morgan Geekie

  16:23 a game

  #39 · Center · 4 P in 6 GP (1 G, 3 A)

  • L1 · Pastrnak, Zacha
  • PP1
  • Finishing1st
  • Staying out of the boxtop 13%
  • Hardest shot1st
  • Shot blockingbottom 21%
  • Hardest shotTop 5
  • Distance skatedbottom 2%

• JJ Peterka

  15:55 a game

  #10 · Right wing · 4 P in 6 GP (2 G, 2 A)

  • L4 · Khusnutdinov, Minten
  • PP2
  • Finishingtop 16%
  • Fast burststop 13%
  • Shot blockingbottom 4%
  • Top speedtop 10%
  • Fast burststop 13%
  • Distance skatedbottom 4%

• Connor Clifton

  19:32 a game

  #75 · Defenseman · 1 P in 6 GP (0 G, 1 A)

  • Most ice time
  • P1 · Zadorov
  • Kills penalties
  • Hittingtop 7%
  • Preventing chancestop 9%
  • Creating chancestop 21%
  • Staying out of the boxbottom 10%
  • Hittingtop 18%
  • Takeawaystop 25%
  • Distance skatedbottom 4%

• Nikita Zadorov

  19:27 a game

  #91 · Defenseman · 2 P in 6 GP (0 G, 2 A)

  • 2nd in ice time
  • P1 · Clifton
  • Kills penalties
  • Tough minutes
  • HittingTop 10
  • Drawing penaltiestop 7%
  • Top speed2nd
  • Staying out of the boxbottom 4%
  • HittingTop 10
  • Creating his own chancestop 20%
  • Distance skatedbottom 6%

The 4 forwards and 2 defensemen with the most ice time a game (at least half the games played). Tags show how each is used; rows show his clearest strengths, and a weak spot in grey, as a percentile against his position. Point at anything for details. All Bruins players.

Who plays together at 5-on-5, and how each group is doing.

Lines and pairs are numbered by 5-on-5 ice time together over the team’s last 10 games (6 so far this season), with each older game counting half as much as the one after it, so the latest combinations come first. With so few games, each group’s results are pulled toward the average for its line number.

Last game

Against Philadelphia Flyers, the team used the same lines and pairs as above.

Which opposing lines each Boston group has actually been out against at 5-on-5.

Each strip adds to 100%: it shows how one Boston group’s 5-on-5 time is split across the opponent’s four forward lines, numbered the same way as above. Sized by ice time, a wider box means more time against that line; even columns line the boxes up so you can compare groups straight down. At home the coach changes last and picks these matchups; on the road the other coach does. Faded rows have under ten minutes.

What “with no line matching” means: if a coach just rolled his lines and took whoever was out there, each of his groups would face the opponent’s first line about as often as that line is on the ice. If opposing first lines play a third of the time against Boston, every Boston group would see them for about a third of its shifts. A number well above that means the coach is sending that group out against them on purpose; well below means he is keeping it away.

Who Boston sends out with a man up and a man down.

Each power-play unit is built around its quarterback, the defenseman running it, plus the four players most often out with him over the last 10 games (6 so far). Power-play units’ expected goals per 60 are pulled toward league average while samples are small. Penalty kills are too loose for fixed units (the most common foursome covers only about a tenth of a typical team’s shorthanded time), so penalty killers are grouped by when they go on: the ones who start kills, the second wave who come on after the first change, and spot duty. Point at a power-play name to see his shots on the map.

What the tags mean

Quarterbackthe defenseman who runs the unit from the blue line.

Triggerthe unit’s main shooter, with the most dangerous power-play shots on the team over this season and last.

Distributorthe main passer, with the most first assists on the team’s power-play goals over this season and last.

Net-frontparks in front of the net. At least 40% of his power-play shots come from within 15 feet.

Pointa second defenseman on the unit, alongside the quarterback.

Is he stopping more than he should, and what is his team asking him to face?

Expected-goal models can’t see passes before a shot, so a goalie whose team gives up a lot of cross-ice passes will look worse here than he really is. Ratings compare him with goalies who have at least 10 starts over two seasons, or 2 this season.

How Boston’s goals are scored and allowed, against the league average, and how much of any difference luck alone could explain.

Every goal counts once, in the first of these that applies: empty net, power play, shorthanded, goalie pulled, then rebound, turnover, faceoff win, and everyday play. These mixes are mostly luck: over three seasons, teams’ goals came from much the same places, and most of the differences here didn’t last.