Detroit Red Wings at New Jersey Devils: Zone Exit and Passing Stats

The Red Wings came to New Jersey minus their two best players and the Devils capitalized on exactly nothing. It was an ugly game and the Devils couldn't get anything going. As one would suggest, the stats in this article aren't pretty. In short, the Devils played a very poor game, with the forwards generating their 2nd lowest total in shot attempts. Only that pathetic display against our Second Rate Rivals early in November was lower than 12 SAG.

Passing Stats

Forwards:

Reid Boucher couldn’t follow up his solid debut with another good game as he barely registered on the passing stat sheet. Jacob Josefson only missed 1 of his 6 passes.

As a side note here, I’ve noticed that Josefson regularly intercepts passes. Would it be worthwhile to record pass interceptions/break ups? Thoughts on this? Let me know in the comments.

Dainius Zubrus completed 12/14 passes, but only generated 1 shot attempt. Travis Zajac led the way with 5 shot attempts, completing 9/10 in the offensive zone. Jaromir Jagr went 14/19 with 2 SAG. Tim Sestito and Cam Janssen combined to complete 3 passes out of 5 attempts, with Cam generating 1 shot attempt.

Adam Henrique was very busy in the defensive zone, completing 7/8 passes. In the Red Wings zone, he went 5/7 with 1 SAG. Steve Bernier wasn’t that present, completing 3 passes in total. Patrik Elias went 11/14, generating 1 shot attempt. Andrei Loktionov failed to generate any shot attempts on his 5/7 night.

Defensemen:

Mark Fayne was the best passing defensemen, completing 14/15 and generating 3 shot attempts. Eric Gelinas and Jon Merrill were not as efficient as they have been since being paired together, each missing on 3 passes in the defensive zone. Together, they combined to generate 3 shot attempts. Andy Greene was the busiest in all 3 zones, attempting 26 passes and completing 21, generating 2 shot attempts. Marek Zidlicky had a terrible night, missing 6 passes in the defensive zone. Anton Volchenkov was his usual less-than-active self, completing all 6 of his passes.

Passing Data Explained:

Pass: A reasonable and deliberate attempt to get the puck to a teammate which maintains possession or results in a shot attempt. This excludes zone clears, dump-ins, and anything that is akin to a desperate swipe at a loose puck. If a player passes a puck into space or off the boards, it finds a teammate, and it appears it was done deliberately, that shall be a pass. When in doubt, common sense will prevail.

What you see above is a chart illustrating pass completions, pass attempts, and pass percentages for each player in all three zones. A pass that goes across a zone or two will be marked as occurring in the zone it originates from.

Each completed pass that results in a shot taken by a teammate counts as one “shot attempt generated” or “SAG” in the chart below. This is tracked to attempt to determine which teammates are better at generating opportunities to shoot.

Zone Exit Stats:

Forwards:

Collectively, the forwards may have had their worst game, finishing at 35.2 PE%. Jagr, Boucher, and Henrique were the only forwards to finish at 50 PE% or higher, and Jagr was way out in front at 80 PE%. Boucher actually led the Devils in exit attempts with 8. Josefson and Elias were the only other forwards above the group average as they finished at 40 PE%. Again, this was, statistically, their worst zone exit game thus far.

Defensemen:

While the defensemen’s passing wasn’t altogether terrible as a group, their zone exits left a lot to be desired. They finished at 37.7 PE%, several points below their season average. Also, the defensemen committed 9 turnovers, with Fayne, Volchenkov, and Zidlicky each recording multiple turnovers. Gelinas and Merrill were the only defensemen at 50 PE% or higher.

Zone Exits Explained: Any attempt made by a player to advance the puck from their defensive zone. These actions fall into the below categories (as illustrated on the below chart).

Possession Exits:

(P) Pass: When a player passes the puck out of the zone and it successfully finds a teammate.

(C) Carry: When a player skates with the puck out of the zone, maintaining possession.

Successful Zone Exits without Possession:

(FP) Failed Pass: When a player passes the puck out of the zone, but it fails to find its target.

(FC) Failed Carry: When a player skates with the puck out of the zone, but loses possession shortly thereafter.

(CH) Chip: When the player lifts the puck out of the zone or throws it off the boards and out.

(X) Other: Any action that results in a successful zone exit not already covered.

Unsuccessful Zone Exit:

(PT) Pass Turnover: When a player fails to clear the zone with a pass and it results in a turnover to the opposition.

(CT) Carry Turnover: When a player fails to skate out of the zone with the puck and loses possession.

(I) Icing: An attempt to clear results in icing the puck.

(T) Turnover: Any action that results in a turnover not already covered.

What reaction do you have to these stats? How do they compare with your viewing of the game?