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People who are into hockey analytics think the plus/minus rating is a useless statistic.

Don’t tell that to the Canadiens’ Phillip Danault.

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During a casual conversation with Danault before a morning skate last Saturday in Brossard, I brought up plus/minus and mentioned that I thought he was around plus-13.

“I’m plus-16,” Danault quickly responded.

Danault was correct, but that number dropped to plus-15 last Saturday night when he was minus-1 in a 5-4 shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights at the Bell Centre before the Canadiens started their bye week in the schedule.

Photo by John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette

Danault has the best plus/minus rating on the Canadiens, well ahead of defencemen Shea Weber and Victor Mete, who are plus-7. Statistics normally need to be taken with a grain — or more — of salt, but what makes Danault’s plus/minus figure even more impressive is the fact he plays against the other team’s top line every game.