Sportlogiq Standout: Brad Marchand
Selected by: David Yu – Team Lead, Hockey Analytics
Metrics: Expected Goals per Shot, Expected Goals, Average Shot Distance
In a game where all 7 goals were scored from in tight (average goal distance of 10.1 feet), the standout performer in terms of creating chances was Brad Marchand. While Blake Coleman also tallied two on the night and Ondrej Palat would go on to tuck in the game-winner for the Lightning in overtime, it was Brad Marchand’s chance creation from in tight that really stood out. Marchand had 2 goals on the night from 4 shots which is a whopping and highly unsustainable 50% shooting percentage. But a closer look at the quality of the chances Marchand generated reveals a different story.
Sportlogiq’s model had Marchand producing 1.52 Expected Goals which is the 6th best individual effort in the playoffs. Those who surpassed Marchand’s Expected Goals mark had a minimum of 6 shots on target and Marchand’s 0.38 Expected Goals per Shot was the 3rd highest individual performance in the playoffs. He managed to put his 4 shots on net from an average distance of just 7.1 ft, which is only about 1.05 Zdeno Chara‘s from the center of the net.
While Marchand definitely benefited from seeing-eye passes from David Pastrnak and Sean Kuraly on his two goals, Marchand’s tenacity and ability to generate chances from in tight was a big difference-maker in the game.
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