Bringing fans out of their seats
Jennifer Raimondi | Special to NHL.com Mar 22, 2007, 8:25 AM EDT
How the world's best players score in the shootout

The penalty shot, a one-on-one showdown between a shooter and goaltender that routinely brings fans out of their seats, has been an exciting part of the NHL for decades. Now that the shootout is in its second regular season of game-deciding drama, the skill and creativity of today's shooters has never been greater. With more and more games going to shootout, goaltenders are learning the nuances of the shooters -- forcing the skaters to find new ways to score.

The dynamics of the penalty shot have come a long way since the inception of the rule.

“I believe the penalty shot is going to be very spectacular,” legendary Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Conn Smythe said in October, 1934.

Later that year, when Montreal Canadiens star Armand Mondou became the first player to take a penalty shot, Mondou stood in a circle 38 feet in front of the goal and was stopped by legendary Maple Leafs goaltender George Hainsworth. No fakes, no 'spin-a-rama,' just a standing-still shot from the circle.

In today's NHL, there is no telling when the next dazzling shootout move will be displayed. Smythe’s words, spoken more than 70 years ago, were prophetic, indeed.

Just a few examples:

Minnesota Wild forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard used a "spin-a-rama” move (300K | 700K ) to score against Chicago goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin at Xcel Energy Center last Dec. 5. Ironically, Blackhawks coach Denis Savard, who made the spin move famous during his playing days (1980-97), had to watch as the play was executed to perfection.

"I had it set in my mind the whole way," Bouchard told reporters. "I thought it was good timing to do it at home, in front of our fans and to try to get the two points. I have to credit my brother [Capitals draft pick Francois Bouchard]. He taught me that move."

Thomas Vanek of the Buffalo Sabres (300K | 700K ) and Brian Rolston of the Minnesota Wild (300K | 700K ) have scored on blistering slap shots.

"We were laughing about it," Wild goaltender Manny Fernandez told reporters after Rolston's rocket past Marty Turco of the Dallas Stars last December. "I told him, 'If I ever get traded, I'm going after you. I mean, there's no way you're shooting that puck.' "

Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby converted a seemingly effortless deke around Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Martin Biron, making a couple of quick stick-handle moves, followed by a quick-release backhand to slip the puck through the netminder’s pads on March 4. The 19-year Crosby has scored the game-deciding goal four times this season, including three of five Penguins shootout wins in the month of March.

Bruins rookie Phil Kessel (300K | 700K ) also has four game-deciding shootout goals.

"He's like [Mariano] Rivera from the Yankees," Boston center Marc Savard said last week after Kessel’s goal decided a shootout against the Washington Capitals. "You put him in there late and there is a 90 percent chance he's going to get a win."

There is a winner in every shootout, and there seems to be no end to the creativity today’s players can summon.

There was the “backwards backhand” Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis (300K | 700K ) used to beat Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury, and then there was the “toe-drag” Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf (300K | 700K ) used after faking a shot against Mathieu Garon of the Los Angeles Kings last October.

"I've practiced that for a long time,” Getzlaf said. “I can't make that up."

Countless times, fans have seen a player breeze to the net and make a seemingly difficult move look effortless, all the while integrating an “around the world” stick fake or pumping their leg once or twice for a “leg kick” fake or stick-handling numerous times as if they are trying to make the goaltender dizzy.

Perhaps the ultimate reward for a shooter is having a shootout move named after him. At the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Nashville Predators star Peter Forsberg first provided hockey fans with what has become known simply as “The Forsberg.” The triple-deke, backhand to forehand, one-handed reach on the backhand that leaves the puck sliding past the goaltender’s outstretched pad has since been a successful shootout move in the NHL. This season, it has a 55.6 percent success rate -- five goals on nine attempts. While Forsberg’s move has become one of the most recognizable moves, players, too, have become known for their shootout prowess.

With 353 goals scored in the shootout this season on 1,081 attempts (32.65 percent success rate), through games of March 21, players are finding different ways to beat the world's best goaltenders. First, they choose their approach. In an attempt to throw off the goaltender retreating into his crease, players will change their speed, start from well behind the far blue line or swing wide on their way to the net.

And, despite a long-held belief in the hockey world that a player enjoys more success the faster he goes, NHL players have bucked that trend this season. Shooters approaching slowly have a slightly higher success rate than those who crash in with speed -- 52 percent vs. 38 percent, while swinging wide, to either board side, forces the goaltender to contend with additional lateral movement. Attacking the goal from a wide angle has a 44 percent success rate this season -- 37 goals on 84 such moves. Also, the approach usually involves various combinations of fakes -- a head fake, a faked shot or a leg kick in hopes of ‘freezing’ the goalie or deceiving him into making the first move.

Next comes the all-important decision a player must make in the few seconds between the moment when he picks up the puck at center and when he finds himself a few feet from the goaltender. Does he fake or does he shoot? The decision to deke usually has a slightly higher success rate, as it gets the goaltender moving and helps open a hole for a puck. The most deceptive deke is to the backhand; 60 percent of all the goals scored on dekes are scored on the backhand. In all, deke attempts have produced 205 goals on 577 attempts (35.6 percent), while shots have produced 148 goals on 504 attempts, or 29.4 percent.

Players' success rates on shots are fairly evenly distributed between the goaltenders' glove side (37.2 percent), blocker side (35.8 percent) and the "five hole" between the goaltenders' pads (27.0 percent). What is far more clear is that when a player chooses a shot to the goalie's glove hand, he has a far-better chance scoring on him high (87.3 percent) than low (12.7 percent). Similarly, the low shot to the blocker side is far more successful than the high shot to the blocker side (64.1 percent vs. 35.9 percent).

Among the players who have taken at least five shootout attempts this season, Minnesota Wild defenseman Petteri Nummelin (300K | 700K ) has enjoyed the most success -- 85.7 percent (six goals on seven attempts).

"When I grew up," Nummelin told the Pioneer Press on January 28. "We always did that after practice, just to have some fun — try to make some moves."

Following Nummelin are Atlanta Thrashers forward Slava Kozlov (seven for nine, 77.8 percent - 300K | 700K ) and Vancouver Canucks forward Brendan Morrison (six for eight, 75 percent).

"When I step on the ice for the shootout, I know what I'm going to do," Kozlov told NHL.com. "When I have an idea and go with it, I score 90 percent of the time. If I change my mind during the attempt, that's when I don't score. I do better when I just go with my instinct." Kozlov has five game-deciding shootout goals for Atlanta this season.

While Lightning stars Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis (300K | 700K ) have combined for only a 35 percent success rate in the shootout (11 goals on 31 attempts), the trio has accounted for seven game-deciding goals in Tampa Bay's 10 shootout wins (tied with Buffalo and Minnesota for the NHL lead).

Sophomore center Erik Christensen (300K | 700K ) of the Pittsburgh Penguins has scored almost half of his team's 17 goals in the shootout this season. Coach Michel Therrien has chosen him to shoot first for his team in every shootout the Penguins have been involved in, and he has scored eight goals on fourteen attempts (57.1 percent).

"I can't explain it," Christensen said of his shootout success. "I just try to have fun with it, have something planned before I go down and pick up the puck and try to enjoy it."

There's no doubt that the fans enjoy it, too.

Source: http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=290723

Although I don't watch hockey, I found this piece rather interesting. I love the "science" behind shooutouts, and if you click the link you can see the success rates, top teams in shootouts, etc. It's very cool!