NHL Notebook: 6 revealing stats for Bruins as 2019 winds down, Acciari on a roll in Florida

With 2019 now in its final weeks, here’s a look at six noteworthy stats from the first 37 games of the Bruins’ 2019-20 campaign. We’ll be sure to update these and dig into more numbers as the year continues to roll along:  

14.2% — Boston’s power-play success rate since November 27th

It’s a testament to the level of production Boston’s man advantage was generating earlier this season that the Bruins are still third overall in the NHL in terms of power-play success rate at 26.1%.

With Boston still looking to find some balance with its forward corps, especially when it comes to generating consistent 5v5 scoring outside of its top line, the B’s are going to once again lean heavily on their power play this season in order to bail themselves out of trouble.

But with Boston’s power play currently stuck in a 6-for-42 rut that has now stretched all the way back to Nov. 27, one has to wonder if Bruce Cassidy might opt to switch things around on that PP1 unit soon. While the likes of Matt Grzelcyk and Charlie Coyle have fared well on the second unit, it does seem a bit unlikely that Cassidy deviates too much from his regular personnel PP1 crew. 

However, with opposing PKers finding some success with pressuring up high and taking away those seam passes with active sticks, it looks as though Boston might need to switch some things up with how they move the puck and generate looks during these 5v4 sequences.

.858 — Tuukka Rask’s save percentage on high-danger shots: 

Rask might be in a bit of a rut, posting a .897 save percentage through six games in December, but the B’s netminder is currently playing far above his current projections when it comes to turning aside quality chances generated by the opposition.

So far this season, Rask is tied for third among all NHL goalies (min. 800 minutes played) with an .858 save percentage on high-danger scoring chances. That’s tied with Dallas’ Ben Bishop, while St. Louis’ Jordan Binnington (.874) and New York’s Henrik Lundqvist (.861) rank first and second, respectively, in that category. 

Last season, Rask ranked 40th overall among goalies (800 minutes logged) in the same category with an .812 save percentage on high-danger shots.

(For the record, Jaroslav Halak ranks 24th in that category with an .817 save percentage — surrounded by some other pretty established netminders such as Andrei Vasilevskiy (.818) and Frederik Andersen (.823). 

Thanks to that uptick in save percentage, it makes plenty of sense why Rask’s goals saved above average rate of 8.68 is currently sixth overall among NHL netminders. Now, he’s just got to cut down on some of those costly gaffes on … well … things you wouldn’t call high-danger chances.

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15 - The amount of 5v5 goals surrendered by the Bergeron Line so far this season

For as much as the Bruins’ top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak is touted as one of the top forward trios in the NHL (and rightfully so), even this collection of top-tier talent is not immune to missteps in its own zone, especially when primarily matched up against another top-six line.

While the Bruins have tallied 23 5v5 goals in the 63-37-88 line’s 303:55 of ice time this season, they have also relinquished 15 goals down the other end of the ice, with that trio generating a 5v5 goals against rate of 2.96.

It’s an improvement from the GA/60 rate of 3.11 that this line posted in 2018-19, but compared to other B's lines, it’s rather evident that opponents are managing to get their punches in at times against Bergeron and Co.

Considering that other forward combinations such as David Krejci + Jake DeBrusk (1.2 GA/60 over 249:22 of TOI) and Bjork-Coyle-Heinen (1.81 GA/60) are doing a good job of not letting opponents generate quality looks — the onus now has to be on those lines to start cashing in down the other end of the ice as well. 

7: The number of 5v5 goals surrendered in David Krejci’s 446:28 of 5v5 ice time

There are plenty of stats we can look into when it comes to charting out what has primarily been another strong season for Boston’s veteran second-line center. 

Despite having yet another rotating door at right wing this season, Krejci has remained consistent in the O-zone, recording 24 points through 31 games. When Krejci was slotted up on the top line with Pastrnak and Marchand, they outscored the competition, 6-2, in 88:21 of 5v5 TOI.

But the most startling takeaway from Krejci’s season so far has been his play down the other end of the ice, with his 5v5 goals against per 60 minutes rate of 0.94 ranking second on the Bruins’ roster (min. 100 minutes played) behind only Par Lindholm (0.92). 

“It tells me that he quietly goes about being a good defensive player, being in the right spot,” Cassidy said of Krejci. “I think their line has managed the puck well in terms of not necessarily trading chances every night. We’re always looking for them to push offensively, him and Jake and whoever is over there. If we’re talking, specifically with David, he did very well when Bergy was out, so we’re pleased with his game, but we still think he can push harder, pull those guys along.”

9 points: The lead in the standings for the Bruins in the Atlantic Division

Despite this miserable stretch in which Boston has just one win to show for over the last nine matchups, Boston has been bailed out this season by a slow start in the Atlantic Division. Being able to consistently scrape together at least a point out of most of these losses has helped, but the floundering Maple Leafs and Lightning have allowed the Bruins to breathe a bit easier at the top of the division with a nine-point cushion.

While the second-place Leafs have improved some under new bench boss Sheldon Keefe, the warts on that roster are still very evident, especially on the blue line, while the 17-13-4 Lightning are still rudderless despite the amount of talent in their lineup. 

One shouldn’t expect those two clubs to remain dormant for the remainder of the year, while the Panthers (currently third in the Atlantic) could be a wagon if they managed to get some consistent goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky down the stretch. But for now, Boston hasn’t had to deal with many consequences from this mid-season slump.  

Plus-39: Boston’s 5v5 shot differential when Charlie McAvoy skates with Krug/Grzelcyk

It’s been a frustrating season for Charlie McAvoy so far in the offensive zone, with the defenseman still without a tally through the first 37 games of the 2019-20 campaign. While most of those scoring woes have been due to his lack of shooting (3.27 shots per 60 minutes of 5v5 TOI), McAvoy has responded well when asked to skate next to faster, more offensive-minded defensemen such as Torey Krug and Matt Grzelcyk.

While McAvoy’s minutes have jumped up as a result of earning reps outside of the top pairing (26:34 ATOI), so too have Boston’s offensive production — with the B’s holding a plus-39 shots differential and a plus-97 edge in shot attempts during the 218:52 that McAvoy has skated next to either Krug or Grzelcyk.

As Boston looks to get their young defenseman rolling on offense, look for more and more of these extended looks outside of the top D pairing for McAvoy. It’s a luxury that Boston can afford given how well Brandon Carlo has fared when earning minutes next to Zdeno Chara — with Boston holding a 7-1 edge in goals scored during 33 + 25’s 114:49 of 5v5 TOI. 

Stats and graphs via Natural Stat Trick,

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Noel Gretzky? 

Over four seasons and 180 games with the Bruins, Noel Acciari made a name for himself as a hard-nosed, physical forward that can excel in a fourth-line checking role. 

But a scoring forward? Well, not exactly — given that the Rhode Island native lit the lamp 18 times during his tenure with Boston. 

Maybe it’s the warm weather down in Florida, but something’s clearly changed in Acciari’s game since inking a three-year contract with the Panthers back in July. 

Acciari, who has been slotted up into a top-six role with the Panthers this week, has made Joel Quenneville look like a genius for his lineup shuffle — casually tallying hat tricks in back-to-back contests against the Senators and Stars. 

https://twitter.com/FlaPanthers/status/1208231525826912256

Acciari’s offensive surge this week has certainly raised plenty of eyebrows, but it’s not exactly a flash in the pan for the 28-year-old forward. Through 31 games, the Providence College product is already up to 11 goals this season — already a new career high.

While Acciari and the Bruins parted ways this summer, Cassidy was more than happy to see him break out over the past week.

“Did you see the celebration on the bench after? It just tells you what type of kid he is, right? It’s not so much that he’s a guy that normally does all the grunt work, it’s about how happy they are for their teammate,” Cassidy said of Acciari’s second hat trick in as many games. “Listen, we miss Noel. I think everyone would tell you that. Donny (Sweeney), I don’t want to speak for Donny, but I think everyone wanted him back.

“It’s just a matter of fitting everybody in. I don’t know what the ask was — I don’t know any of that stuff. But I’m saying, we meet at the end of the year, yeah, he’s a guy that we would like to have back if we could fit him in. I’m happy for him. I didn’t see him scoring hat tricks in the National Hockey League, I’m not gonna lie to ya. I’m not sure Florida did either. But god bless him. He’s scoring the way he’s supposed to, going to the net and that’s how he scored for us … He got a lot of them from the top of the crease, and that’s exactly how he’s doing.”

Pastrnak named captain:

David Pastrnak may not have fond memories of St. Louis, but the 23-year-old winger is set to represent not only the Bruins, but the entire Atlantic Division when the Blues host the 2020 NHL All-Star Game in January.

The league announced Saturday night that Pastrnak has been elected as captain of the Atlantic Division for the All-Star festivities, earning the title by way of a fan vote. The Bruins winger will be joined by fellow captains Nathan MacKinnon (Central), Alex Ovechkin (Metropolitan) and Connor McDavid (Pacific). 

Pastrnak, who still leads the NHL in goals with 28 on the year, will serve as captain for the first time in his career. The forward had a memorable All-Star weekend in San Jose earlier this year, winning the shooting accuracy competition during the skills competition.

The remaining players who will comprise the four All-Star rosters will be determined by the NHL’s Hockey Operations Department. The head coach of the team with the highest points percentage (points earned divided by total possible points) in each of the four divisions at the halfway point of the regular season will guide the respective All-Star rosters.

The 2020 NHL All-Star Game will be held on Saturday, Jan. 25, while the All-Star Skills competition will be held a day earlier.