Boston Bruins' Brad Marchand better than just a pest
Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand has a reputation within the NHL as a pest, and that reputation meant many fans were cheering when Marchand was at the receiving end of a painful spear to the groin from Vancouver Canucks forward Brandon Prust last weekend.
But while Prust and many others across the NHL are not Marchand's biggest fan, a new story from SportsNet showed that Marchand, unlike many reputed pests across the league, actually has a significant offensive benefit for skilled players.
Marchand plays on a line with renowned forward Patrice Bergeron, and SportsNet proved through the use of advanced stats that Marchand significantly augments Bergeron's scoring chances.
Bergeron currently ranks second overall on the Bruins in scoring with 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) in 27 games. Marchand owns the team lead in goals (13), however, and has 20 points (13 goals, seven assists) in 25 games.
One of the ways Marchand manages to create so much offence is by winning races and battles for loose pucks in the offensive zone, something only two players in the NHL are able to do more often than he does.
Bergeron meanwhile, is actually below team average in passes off the rush, and controlled zone entries, and he is just average at successful passes to the slot, meaning that although he has more individual scoring chances than Marchand does, it’s Marchand’s work creating them more often than not.
