Detroit Asserts 5-on-5 Control, Maatta-Holl Shines, and Ville Husso Excels: Red Wings-Bruins Statistical Review
A dive into the underlying numbers from the Red Wings' 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins Friday afternoon
On Friday afternoon in Boston, the Detroit Red Wings followed up Wednesday's dominant win over the Devils with an exemplary performance to beat the Bruins. Boston has suffered just two regulation losses this season, and both of those losses have come at the hands of Red Wings. For a better look at how Detroit pulled off the road upset, let's take a look at the underlying numbers from the victory.
The Big Picture
-In broad strokes, Detroit's Friday win over the Bruins resembled the Wednesday win over New Jersey.
The Red Wings asserted early control and maintained it over the course of three periods on the strength of excellent forechecking and neutral zone play to stay on top of their opponent, creating abundant offense off turnovers. Still, this was a much more offensive game than Detroit's Wednesday victory over the Devils, and it was also a tighter game.
Per MoneyPuck, the Red Wings earned a 4.14-3.32 edge in all situations expected goals over the course of 60 minutes, a decided step up in terms of chances in both directions from Wednesday's game (which finished with just 3.5 all situations xG combined between the two teams).
-The below scoring chance map reinforces the notion that this was a game in which both teams had plenty of opportunities, many of them from quality scoring areas. Both Detroit and the Bruins found plenty of shots in the slot, but it was the Red Wings who took advantage of those chances.
-Per Natural Stat Trick, at five-on-five, Detroit earned a 47.5% CorsiFor, a 37.84% share of scoring chances, a 50% share of high-danger chances, and a a 58.3% share of expected goals.
Those numbers aren't as overwhelming as the ones the Red Wings put up against New Jersey, but they nonetheless represent an impressive degree of even-strength game control against the NHL's best team.
Individual Impacts
-Captain Dylan Larkin led the way for Detroit by way of individual xG contributions with 1.22. He also led Red Wing forwards in ice time at 21:45, scored a power play goal, and earned an outstanding 79.8% share of on-ice all situations xG.
-Michael Rasmussen, J.T. Compher, and Alex DeBrincat constituted the busiest forward line for Detroit, playing 9:15 together at five-on-five and earning a 50.8% share of on-ice xG. They scored once and didn't concede.
-Once again, the Red Wings' fourth line did yeoman's work in a limited role. Klim Kostin, Christian Fischer, and Daniel Sprong played 5:56 together, earning an outstanding 64.7% share of on-ice xG in the process.
It wasn't the most productive fourth line performance of the season, but it was a nice example of that line doing its job without having to show up on the score sheet. For a fourth line, winning shifts reliably when called upon can be just as useful as pitching in goals. Kostin, Fischer, and Sprong were excellent at driving play in the right direction, and that's a job well done.
-On the back end, Shayne Gostisbehere held his own in replacing Jake Walman (who missed the game due to illness) on the Detroit top pair. He and Moritz Seider played 14:40 together at five-on-five, posting 0.766 xGF compared to 0.816 xGA for a 48.4% share of on-ice xG. Even if that's slightly underwater, it's still admirable work in the context of a difficult match-up. Seider's most frequent opponent at five-on-five was star Bruin sniper David Pastrnak.
Olli Maatta and Justin Holl were also excellent for the Red Wings. The pair played 12:17 together, earning an outstanding 81.5% share of on-ice xG at five-on-five. Meanwhile, it was a more difficult game for Ben Chiarot and Jeff Petry, who played 13:38 as a pairing, posting an on-ice xG share of just 37.5%.
-Finally, Ville Husso was excellent for Detroit in his first start since returning from a de facto paternity leave as his teammates finished up their trip to Sweden. On the road against the NHL's best team is hardly an easy spot in which to make such a return, but Husso rose to the challenge, delivering perhaps his best start of the season. He faced 3.321 xG from the Bruins, and he surrendered just two goals for a 1.32 Goals Saved Above Expected.
With Alex Lyon making his case to earn more starts in the not too distant future Wednesday, it is an excellent sign for Detroit to see Husso step up and deliver an outstanding performance in a difficult environment.