Quote:
Originally Posted by Flash Walken
Do Bennett and gaudreau really have good chemistry? I'd like to see some numbers.
Where's granteedev when you need him?
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Gaudreau-Bennett-Lazar has had better numbers than Gaudreau-Monahan-Ferland (50.75 xGF% vs. 43.23 xGF%). But the sample sizes are too small for that to really mean anything - it takes at least 10-15 full games together to amass enough events that the numbers are meaningful. This early on, you have to rely on the eye test more than the numbers.
Just watching them, the biggest thing I see is Bennett does a better job than Monahan attacking with speed. Here's a solid example from the last game:
https://youtu.be/ViBlo1kw40E?t=3m28s. 5 Canucks back and Bennett's able to get some speed through the middle and enter the zone pretty easily. He doesn't make a great pass afterwards, but it still resulted in a goal-mouth scramble that had a chance. All because of good transition play from Bennett and Gaudreau. They were two of our top three controlled zone entry generators last year (Backlund the other). Having them both on the same line makes it much harder to key on Gaudreau in the neutral zone.