Joe Thornton vs Mikael Backlund
All Seasons · Faceoff Head-to-Head
Scouting Report
Joe Thornton holds a +5.3% FO% edge overall. Look for Thornton on offensive-zone draws (73% H2H, 26 meetings). Thornton wins 54.3% vs left-shot opponents — Backlund shoots left.
Prediction Breakdown
Model
XGBoost ML Model
Overall FO% (Bayesian)
Thornton 54.3% vs Backlund 49.0% (+5.3%)
H2H factor
Thornton leads 60-44 in 104 meetings
Offensive zone
Thornton 82.9%
Defensive zone
Backlund 54.0%
Neutral zone
Thornton 70.2%
Result
Joe Thornton favored at 64.7%
64.7%
35.3%
Thornton
Backlund
Head-to-Head Record
60
-
44
(104 meetings)
60
44
Thornton
Backlund
Last 10: Thornton 7-3 Backlund
Zone Breakdown
Offensive Zone
Edge: Thornton
19
7
Thornton
Backlund
26 total
Defensive Zone
Edge: Thornton
19
18
Thornton
Backlund
37 total
Neutral Zone
Edge: Thornton
22
19
Thornton
Backlund
41 total
Situation Matchup
Situation
Thornton
Backlund
Edge
Even Strength
53.5% (6,640)
49.7% (13,410)
+3.8%
Power Play
57.2% (1,387)
51.6% (1,336)
+5.6%
Penalty Kill
56.7% (427)
44.0% (2,446)
+12.7%
On penalty kill, Thornton has a +12.7% edge.
Handedness & Splits
Handedness
Backlund shoots left. Thornton is 54.3% vs left-shot opponents (5,220).
Thornton shoots left. Backlund is 48.8% vs left-shot opponents (10,953).
Home / Away
Thornton
Backlund
Home
55.8% (4,271)
49.7% (8,565)
Away
52.8% (4,219)
48.3% (8,632)
By Period
Thornton
Backlund
P1
55.0%
48.5%
P2
53.3%
50.3%
P3
54.4%
48.4%
OT
56.4%
44.1%
Final 5 min
53.7%
48.3%
Recent Form
Player
Last 50
Last 200
Career
Thornton
44.0%▼
46.5%
54.3%
Backlund
52.0%▲
48.0%
49.0%
Recent Faceoffs
| Date | Period | Time | Zone | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 4, 2022 | 3 | 19:46 | Defensive | Joe Thornton |
| Jan 4, 2022 | 1 | 07:03 | Neutral | Mikael Backlund |
| Apr 13, 2021 | 3 | 11:37 | Defensive | Joe Thornton |
| Feb 10, 2020 | 2 | 00:00 | Neutral | Joe Thornton |
| Feb 10, 2020 | 1 | 00:00 | Neutral | Joe Thornton |
| Feb 4, 2020 | 2 | 00:59 | Neutral | Mikael Backlund |
| Oct 13, 2019 | 2 | 05:39 | Defensive | Joe Thornton |
| Oct 13, 2019 | 1 | 01:18 | Defensive | Joe Thornton |
| Mar 31, 2019 | 1 | 10:43 | Defensive | Mikael Backlund |
| Mar 31, 2019 | 1 | 04:09 | Neutral | Joe Thornton |
| Feb 7, 2019 | 3 | 15:10 | Defensive | Mikael Backlund |
| Dec 31, 2018 | 3 | 16:32 | Defensive | Joe Thornton |
| Dec 31, 2018 | 3 | 00:48 | Neutral | Mikael Backlund |
| Dec 31, 2018 | 2 | 11:16 | Neutral | Mikael Backlund |
| Dec 31, 2018 | 2 | 03:55 | Neutral | Joe Thornton |
| Dec 31, 2018 | 1 | 13:23 | Neutral | Mikael Backlund |
| Dec 31, 2018 | 1 | 01:10 | Neutral | Joe Thornton |
| Nov 11, 2018 | 3 | 12:01 | Defensive | Joe Thornton |
| Dec 28, 2017 | 2 | 16:30 | Neutral | Joe Thornton |
| Dec 28, 2017 | 1 | 06:22 | Offensive | Joe Thornton |