Patrice Bergeron – 44 Games – Nine Goals, Nine Assists, 18 Points – ATOI: 19:19
Patrice Bergeron has been better than people have given him credit for. This season, he’s scored just nine goals and 18 points in 43 games. Those totals put him on pace for roughly 17 goals and 33 points. It’s easy to look at those totals and expect more from the Bruins’ best forward. Still, Bergeron’s lack of points don’t paint the full picture.
As usual, Bergeron is among the best two-way forwards in the entire NHL. This season, Bergeron ranked first among all forwards with a 61.94 CF% (Corsi-for percentage) and ranks fifth in the league in faceoff percentage with a 58.0 faceoff percentage. It’s important to note, however, that Bergeron has taken significantly more faceoffs than the four players ahead of him. This isn’t to take away from their impressive totals, it’s just to give context to how good Bergeron has been and how used he is in all situations.
Antoine Vermette – 818 Faceoffs Taken – 522 wins, 296 losses – 63.8 FO%
Matt Duchene – 466 Faceoffs Taken – 287 wins, 179 losses – 61.6 FO%
Jordan Staal – 586 Faceoffs Taken – 346 wins, 240 losses – 59.0 FO%
Jay Beagle – 602 Faceoffs Taken -354 wins, 248 losses – 58.8 FO%
Patrice Bergeron – 997 Faceoffs Taken- 578 Wins, 419 Losses – 58.0 FO%
Despite missing three games this season, Bergeron still ranks third in the league with faceoffs taken. He averages 22.7 faceoffs taken per game and continues to be arguably the best faceoff man in the entire world.
Nobody should be worried about Bergeron’s low point total. While he can still very possibly turn his season around and go on an offensive tear, that’s not the most important part of his game. It’s important to look at his whole game to realize his contributions to the team at-large.