John Tavares vs Mikael Backlund
All Seasons · Faceoff Head-to-Head
Scouting Report
John Tavares holds a +5.4% FO% edge overall. Look for Tavares on offensive-zone draws (77% H2H, 61 meetings). Tavares wins 56.3% vs left-shot opponents — Backlund shoots left.
Prediction Breakdown
Model
XGBoost ML Model
Overall FO% (Bayesian)
Tavares 54.4% vs Backlund 49.0% (+5.4%)
H2H factor
Tavares leads 92-67 in 159 meetings
Offensive zone
Tavares 90.4%
Defensive zone
Tavares 50.4%
Neutral zone
Tavares 76.9%
Result
John Tavares favored at 72.3%
72.3%
27.7%
Tavares
Backlund
Head-to-Head Record
92
-
67
(159 meetings)
92
67
Tavares
Backlund
Last 10: Tavares 7-3 Backlund
Zone Breakdown
Offensive Zone
Edge: Tavares
47
14
Tavares
Backlund
61 total
Defensive Zone
Edge: Backlund
23
36
Tavares
Backlund
59 total
Neutral Zone
Edge: Tavares
22
17
Tavares
Backlund
39 total
Situation Matchup
Situation
Tavares
Backlund
Edge
Even Strength
54.0% (16,108)
49.7% (13,410)
+4.3%
Power Play
56.5% (4,283)
51.6% (1,336)
+4.9%
Penalty Kill
50.6% (620)
44.0% (2,446)
+6.6%
On penalty kill, Tavares has a +6.6% edge.
Handedness & Splits
Handedness
Backlund shoots left. Tavares is 56.3% vs left-shot opponents (13,505).
Tavares shoots left. Backlund is 48.8% vs left-shot opponents (10,953).
Home / Away
Tavares
Backlund
Home
56.1% (10,503)
49.7% (8,565)
Away
52.7% (10,537)
48.3% (8,632)
By Period
Tavares
Backlund
P1
55.0%
48.5%
P2
54.1%
50.3%
P3
54.1%
48.4%
OT
55.9%
44.1%
Final 5 min
54.8%
48.3%
Recent Form
Player
Last 50
Last 200
Career
Tavares
46.0%▼
54.5%
54.4%
Backlund
52.0%▲
48.0%
49.0%
Recent Faceoffs
| Date | Period | Time | Zone | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2, 2026 | 1 | 18:45 | Offensive | John Tavares |
| Oct 28, 2025 | 3 | 17:16 | Offensive | John Tavares |
| Oct 28, 2025 | 3 | 12:45 | Defensive | Mikael Backlund |
| Oct 28, 2025 | 3 | 03:33 | Defensive | Mikael Backlund |
| Oct 28, 2025 | 3 | 03:28 | Offensive | John Tavares |
| Oct 28, 2025 | 2 | 19:07 | Defensive | John Tavares |
| Oct 28, 2025 | 1 | 16:06 | Offensive | John Tavares |
| Feb 4, 2025 | 3 | 15:05 | Offensive | John Tavares |
| Feb 4, 2025 | 3 | 01:39 | Defensive | Mikael Backlund |
| Feb 4, 2025 | 2 | 09:45 | Offensive | John Tavares |
| Feb 4, 2025 | 2 | 09:29 | Offensive | John Tavares |
| Feb 4, 2025 | 2 | 03:08 | Offensive | John Tavares |
| Feb 4, 2025 | 2 | 01:22 | Offensive | John Tavares |
| Jan 18, 2024 | 3 | 16:55 | Offensive | John Tavares |
| Jan 18, 2024 | 3 | 10:05 | Neutral | John Tavares |
| Jan 18, 2024 | 2 | 17:23 | Defensive | John Tavares |
| Jan 18, 2024 | 2 | 14:28 | Offensive | John Tavares |
| Jan 18, 2024 | 2 | 12:07 | Offensive | Mikael Backlund |
| Jan 18, 2024 | 2 | 08:37 | Offensive | John Tavares |
| Jan 18, 2024 | 2 | 07:20 | Offensive | John Tavares |