CH defensemen lead NHL in goals scored

This afternoon, the Canadiens visited the Kings in Los Angeles.

Since the start of the season, Montreal’s defenders haven’t been afraid to go on the attack, but today was a little more complicated. None of the defenders could find the back of the net. In fact, none of the team scored, as the club lost 4-0.

In fact, it was the first time in Montreal’s history that they were blanked in L.A.

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Despite this below-par performance, CH defensemen sit atop the NHL in terms of goals scored, accumulating a total of 16.

This information comes from an Instagram story by lch_lnh, later confirmed by RDS during the game

Mike Matheson (5) and Justin Barron (4) lead the charge with more than half the goals scored, and Johnathan Kovacevic (3), Kaiden Guhle (2), Arber Xhekaj (1) and Gustav Lindstrom (1) all contributed a little too. Of the nine defensemen who have taken to the ice at least once this season, six have managed to beat the opposing goalkeeper. Only Jordan Harris (16 games), David Savard (5 games) and Jayden Struble (3 games) are without a goal.

One thing’s for sure, they all have as many goals as Josh Anderson…

It should also be noted that only two of these 16 goals were scored at 5 v 4. So, encouragingly, defenders aren’t necessarily taking advantage of a power play to find the back of the net. Imagine when Lane Hutson is in Montreal…

With 14 goals apiece, the Hurricanes and Avalanche are the CH’s closest pursuers. In fact, all seven Carolina defensemen who played at least one game in 2023-2024 scored a net.

With the help of moneypuck, I’ve analyzed the Tricolore’s backline domination in depth. If we focus solely on Matheson and Barron’s goals, Montreal would still have surpassed 15 NHL teams in terms of goals scored by backs. The Leafs are one of those clubs, having seen only two of their defensemen score this season.

And the poor Sharks, who rank last in virtually every possible category, have scored one goal by a defenseman. One!

In short, it’s a clear dominance for the CH defensemen in this category, but unfortunately, the offense isn’t scoring as it should. The CH ranks 30th (out of 32) for offensive contribution with 41 goals. Only the Capitals (39) and the Sharks (29) – you guessed it – are worse than Martin St-Louis’ team.

Once again, it doesn’t help when you have a guy paid $5.5 million annually who still hasn’t scored a goal after 21 games.

In a gust

– No doubt about it.

The Kings are leaving the Canadiens crumbs:
“It was a frustrating game” -Mike Matheson
Listen to the postgame comments-match https://t.co/2x4k4JMAA3 pic.twitter.com/RtH1q0jqJ3

– 98.5 Sports (@985Sports) November 26, 2023