A Winning Habit
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Montreal Canadiens: Was Alexander Radulov right about Max Pacioretty?

By Omar L

MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 18: Montreal Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty (67) and Montreal Canadiens right wing Alexander Radulov (47) celebrate Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov (79) goal during the first period of the NHL regular season game between the Winnipeg Jets and the Montreal Canadiens on February 18, 2017, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 18: Montreal Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty (67) and Montreal Canadiens right wing Alexander Radulov (47) celebrate Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov (79) goal during the first period of the NHL regular season game between the Winnipeg Jets and the Montreal Canadiens on February 18, 2017, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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ANAHEIM, CA – NOVEMBER 29: (Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Change in Style

In the 2015-16 season, Gallagher and Markov had a total of 9 primary assists split between them on Pacioretty’s 5v5 scoring. Going back another year, Dale Weise was a big asset to Pacioretty. He had 7 primary assists on the sniper’s tallies that season! If my memory serves correctly, I don’t remember anyone screaming for Weise to return to the Habs lineup after he was traded to Chicago.

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Radulov had an obvious impact on the entire dynamic of the Montreal Canadiens, but he alone wasn’t the sole reason for Pacioretty falling to 17 goals. In fact, it’s the stylistic choices I mentioned earlier that probably did it.

Via IcyData.hockey, we can see a clear difference in where Pacioretty was taking his shots. It was pretty consistent between 2015 and 2016. Pacioretty had the bulk of his shots come in that mid-slot region, but a decent number of them were along the wall as well. The same thing occurred in the Radulov season. Pacioretty went to the net more for his shots in 2017 seeing the amount taken from the wing decrease.

However, the 2014-15 season saw him have a higher percentage of shots in front of the net as well, and that was the year he scored 37. It looks to be a combination of things that led to Pacioretty’s down year. What will be interesting to see is whether he reverts back to shooting more from the wall or continues to head to the front of the net to generate shots.

The “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” line fits well in this discussion. Radulov was a big addition to the Montreal Canadiens that year, and perhaps the new faces on the team in Max Domi have a similar impact. But if Pacioretty returns to form, it won’t be because of them specifically (depending on what the numbers say).

Next. Trade Pacioretty at the Deadline. dark

Trying duplicate Radulov’s style didn’t work, and if Pacioretty wants to return to his scoring ways, playing his own style is what’s going to do it.

Acknowledgements: Player stats from Natural Stat Trick. Shot locations from IcyData.Hockey.

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