Bergeron continues to strut Selke credentials

With three-quarters of the 2014-15 season complete, NHL.com looks at some of the biggest storylines and award contenders.

During his second shift against the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 22, Patrice Bergeron hopped over the boards and turned a normally routine play for his opponents into a goal for the Boston Bruins.

Each team was in the midst of changing its forwards. As Chicago forward Patrick Sharp left the puck for Brent Seabrook, Bergeron sped into the zone, first in on the forecheck. Seabrook was buying time, waiting for the Blackhawks to get a new forward unit on the ice, but Bergeron's efforts expedited the play. Seabrook was forced to fire a cross-ice pass to Michal Rozsival, who was quickly met by Bergeron. Rozsival was hurried into attempting a difficult outlet pass, Chicago turned over the puck, and the Bruins went the other way, with Bergeron ending the sequence by tipping home a pass from Reilly Smith.

These kinds of plays are routine for Bergeron, the best defensive forward in all of hockey, and the Selke Trophy favorite at the quarter pole of the 2014-15 season.

What Bergeron does on a nightly basis may not always show up in a boxscore like it did against the Blackhawks, but his work is just as vital to the Bruins' success. Every night he matches up against the opponents' top forwards, and despite those assignments, he is one of the top possession and shutdown forwards in all of hockey.

Through Saturday, Bergeron was third among all forwards who have played at least 700 minutes with a shot attempts percentage of 59.1 and first among all forwards with a shot attempts relative of 9.6 percent, meaning the Bruins are that much better when Bergeron is on the ice.

And when Bergeron is on the ice, if he's not helping his line dominate puck possession, he's preventing scoring chances against. Bergeron's 21.4 scoring chances against per 60 minutes rank him sixth in the NHL among all forwards who have played at least 700 minutes, according to war-on-ice.com. The difference between Bergeron and the five players ahead of him is how frequently he is deployed in the defensive zone. Bergeron's defensive-zone start percentage of 37.0 is higher than those of Patrik Berglund (34.1 percent), Brad Boyes (31.3 percent), Mikko Koivu (25.2 percent), Tomas Tatar (24.8 percent) and Justin Abdelkader (23 percent), according to stats.hockeyanalysis.com.

For Bergeron, an average night consists of frequent defensive-zone starts against the opposition's top players. Through all of that, he dominates puck possession and limits scoring chances against.

FINALISTS

Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings -- Kopitar has been a terror to play against: He has a 58.7 shot attempts percentage, fourth overall among forwards in the League who have played at least 700 minutes, and 22.8 scoring chances against per 60, 18th lowest. Like Bergeron though, Kopitar is navigating some difficult assignments: Only 34.3 percent of his starts are in the offensive zone. And as the Kings have flipped the switch lately, Kopitar has been even more dialed in. His 40.7 shot attempts against per 60 minutes since Jan. 15 are the third-lowest in the NHL, according to war-on-ice.com. Not by coincidence, Los Angeles has allowed the fifth-fewest even-strength goals against per 60 minutes in the League over that stretch, according to war-on-ice.com, and has gone 9-6-2.

Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals -- Coach Barry Trotz has been a vocal advocate of Backstrom's all season, including when it comes to Selke consideration, and Trotz is right. Part of what makes Backstrom's case interesting is how vital he is to his line's defensive success. Alex Ovechkin has played close to 90 percent of his even-strength minutes with Backstrom this season. Ovechkin has attempted 358 shots at even strength, and Backstrom has taken 156, according to stats.hockeyanalysis.com. Neither player has seen much even-strength time without the other, and Backstrom's ability to facilitate for Ovechkin combined with Backstrom's strong defensive play allows Ovechkin to be that volume shooter. It's hard to get scored on when your line is taking all the shot attempts, and Backstrom does the job complementing what Ovechkin brings.

Also in the mix: Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks; Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings; Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay Lightning; Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks

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