Invaluable Phillip Danault controls flow for Habs
Corsi figures show centre has been stellar in shutdown role, Marc Dumont writes.
With only one goal and eight assists in 18 games, Phillip Danault’s offensive production isn’t particularly impressive. But we need to look beyond his point totals to truly gauge his value to the Canadiens. As the centre who is generally tasked with shutting down top opposing forwards — evidenced by the fact he has faced the top quality of competition and has had the most defensive zone starts among all centres — Danault has done a fantastic job controlling the play. Compared with the rest of the team, Danault’s shot and scoring-chance control is well above average (see Danault vs. Team Avg. chart). His numbers compared with the rest of the NHL’s centres are impressive as well. Danault has the 10th-best Corsi For percentage and ranks No. 14 in Scoring Chances For percentage. Corsi For is a metric that counts how many shot attempts a team controls. For example, if Jonathan Drouin was on the ice for 100 total shot attempts, and the Canadiens had 40 of them, he would have a 40 per cent Corsi For. The same logic applies when it comes to calculating the Scoring Chances For percentage and the High Danger Shots For percentage. And as we all know, in general, the more shots you take, the more goals you tend to score. The Brendan Gallagher-Danault-Tomas Tatar line has been on the ice for 11 goals for and eight goals against, a very respectable result considering their role on the team. While they’re on the ice, the Canadiens have controlled more than 66 per cent of the shot attempts, which is indicative of a line that should start producing more offence in the near future. But for now, the most important thing Danault is tasked with happens to be his defensive play, which has resulted in the fewest shot attempts against among all centres on the team while he’s on the ice. His defensive awareness shouldn’t come as a surprise. Since joining the Canadiens, Danault has consistently made a positive impact. Anything over 50 per cent means a team enjoys a shot and scoring-chance advantage when a particular player is on the ice and Danault has exceeded that threshold since joining the Canadiens (see even strength chart). Simply put, when Danault has been on the ice during the last three seasons, the Canadiens have enjoyed a significant advantage in controlling the play. There are some aspects of his game that still require work. For example, his shot rate is quite poor, averaging fewer than two shots per game since he joined the team. Even though he’s a playmaker first and foremost, he could stand to take more shots on net. He also has a rather low shooting percentage, at only four per cent this season. That’s down from 5.3 per cent last season, which is also a very low number. But don’t expect either statistics to rise any time soon. Danault’s primary job in the offensive zone involves puck retrieval, something he does quite well. Until that changes, the areas of his game that need to be improved can be put on hold. The most important thing in his case is how he manages to control the play against the opposition’s top lines. In a sense, Danault is the perfect heir apparent for the recently departed Tomas Plekanec, a player whose contributions were never properly appreciated given the lack of quality centres on the roster during the past decade. With Max Domi and Jesperi Kotkaniemi providing offence, Danault’s value to the team goes well beyond his somewhat