(Image from NHL Youtube)
Let’s cut to the chase: while there’s been many grievances with this year’s Bruins team, undoubtedly the four worst words to hear in a game thus far have been “on to the shootout.” Seriously, I would rather we just wave the white flag and call it a night. Give those boys a rest. Tough loss, onto the next one. I suppose the good news is in the playoffs there are no shootouts, but considering the amount of games the Bruins drive into overtime, playoffs seem light-years away.
While I could write an entire essay alone about why the shootout is a joke and should be banished forever, for the non-Bruins fan, it’d probably just come off bitter because Boston is SO bad at shootouts. So instead, I compiled some stats from HockeyReference for everyone’s viewing pleasure to understand just HOW bad the Bruins are in the shootout. Fun right?
A General Overview of the Bruins' Struggles
So here’s the good news, if you want to call this good news. The Bruins’ shootout struggles are nothing new. As a matter of fact, their struggles date back to the 2013-2014 season. In the last 6 ½ seasons, the Bruins are 18-33 in the shootout. If this sounds bad, that’s because it is.
As a matter of fact, it’s even worse than it sounds. Let me put this into perspective: since 2013-2014, the Bruins’ have had 233 shootout attempts, that is, shots on goal taken during a shootout. Of those 233, there’s been 44 made shots and 189 misses, giving them an SH% of 18.9%. Now compare their 18.9 SH% to the rest of the league in the last 6 ½ seasons. In a total of 6,074 shootout attempts, there’s been 1,880 made shots and 4,194 missed league wide, giving the entire league an average of 31 SH% since 2013-2014. Not only are the Bruins 12.1% below the league average, they’re in dead last too. Since 2013-2014, the second worst team in the shootout has been the Nashville Predators, with a 21.1 SH% in 213 shootout attempts. On the other hand, the best has been the Colorado Avalanche with a 38.4 SH% in 125 shootout attempts. Needless to say, Bruins fans certainly are not exaggerating when they say the Bruins STINK OUT LOUD in the shootout.
Bruins’ Goaltending in the Shootout the Last 6 ½ Seasons
So where does the problem lie? Is it our goaltenders? Is it our shooters? Is it both? Spoiler alert: it’s not a goaltending problem. Despite recent struggles this season for Tuukka Rask during shootouts, in the grand scheme of things, our goalies have not been the problem. Since 2013-2014, Rask has had a save percentage of .737% in 152 shootout attempts. Halak comes in second for Bruins’ goaltenders in the last 6 ½ seasons with shootout experience, at just 28 shootout attempts and a save percentage of .679%. So far the Tuukka Rask haters, perhaps that answers your question of “WHY DO THEY KEEP PUTTING TUUKKA IN FOR SHOOTOUTS?” Though talking to that crowd is like talking to a brick wall. I digress.
If you still don’t believe me in that goaltending is not the issue, perhaps this will convince you: the Bruins’ goaltenders rank 5th in the league in SV% since 2013-2014, keeping in mind the current #1 spot is held by the Las Vegas Knights, who haven’t even been in the league since then. So while yes Rask’s been rather abysmal this season in the shootout, don’t go pointing fingers at the net.
Bruins’ Shooters in the Shootout the Last 6 ½ Seasons (Reader, beware)
Now the Bruins’ shooters on the other hand, go right ahead and point your fingers at those guys. I hate to place the blame entirely on them, but history isn’t exactly on their side. In the last 6 ½ seasons, 31 different Bruins players have taken at least one shot in a shootout. Who’s had the most success you may ask? Why it’s Alexander Khokhlachev, of course. Just as we all expected. 100 SH%! Should’ve never let that one get away. I suppose it is worth noting, his 100 SH% is due to the fact he only had 1 shootout attempt back in November 2014, when his shootout goal gave the Bruins the win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
So what about guys with a sample size of more than a single shootout appearance? Well folks hold onto your seats and begin to ponder if we really won that Charlie Coyle trade because coming in HOT with a 50% success rate is Ryan Donato. In 4 shootout appearances, he’s had 2 goals. 50%! Can’t believe we just gave him away for that Coyle scrub.
All jokes aside, looking at the data gives me a stress-induced headache because of how piss-poor it is. Our beloved current top line especially struggles in the shootout as I’m sure we’ve all noticed, but MAN do those three really struggle.In the last 6 ½ seasons it’s Patrice Bergeron who beats out the other two for best SH%, however don’t get too excited. He’s had 9 fewer shootout attempts than Marchand for a total of 31, with 6 made shots and a 19.4 SH%. Additionally, Bergeron has not scored in the shootout since the 2014-2015 season. Yikes. Although I will admit, it is nice to know even Patrice freakin’ Bergeron isn’t perfect. Though we may call them “top line perfection,” neither are Marchand and Pastrnak. Marchy’s had the most experience out of the current roster in the shootout with 40 attempts. He’s made 7 and missed 33 for a 17.5 SH%. In Pasta’s 24 shootout attempts, he’s made 4 and missed 20 for a 16.7 SH%.
So just how medicore are these numbers? As a point of reference, there are 73 NHL players who have 25 or more shootout attempts since 2013-2014. According to HockeyReference, the top 10 is as followed: (fair warning, #2 is going to make you want to smash your head into a wall).
(all stats from HockeyReference.com)
…the list is disheartening, to say the least. On the current Bruins’ roster, there is no player who’s SH% is above a 33.3%, and those players that crack even above the 20 SH% mark have an incredibly small sample size. As in, if Cassidy were to send out shooters based off of SH% alone not taking into account sample size, he’d be sending out Charlie McAvoy with a 33.3% in 6 shootout attempts and David Backes also with a 33.3% in 3 shootout attempts. So next time you find yourself yelling at the TV, “WHY IS HE SENDING OUT CHRIS WAGNER?!” keep in mind, there’s not much of a strategy the Bruins can adopt to. Either they send out players experienced in the shootout but with little success, or players with little experience that aren’t exactly known for their shooting skills. It’s, quite literally, a lose-lose situation.
So….What Do they Do?
Uh...score more? Kidding. Well no I’m not but seriously, what can the Bruins do to improve their shooting? As a 22-year old woman with no hockey experience whatsoever, I did what I do best to get to the bottom of this problem: went on YouTube. I watched different clips of current Bruins' in the shootout compared to the league's leaders over the last 6 ½ seasons to see if there was any particular shot or place on the ice to shoot from where players have more success than others.
Based off the viewing eye alone, shooting high stick tends to see more success. However I found upon further research, it's less about the shot, and more about the lead-up to it. Statistically speaking, the further into a shootout a team goes, that is, the more rounds they play, the less likely they are to have success. Additionally, the longer a shootout goes on, players are more likely to simplify their approach. Meaning they're more likely to just skate down center ice, less dekes, and take a wrist shot further away rather than make a move on the goalie, as per Steve Ness, who's research you can find here. Also based off Ness's data, it can be concluded while it is predictable to travel down the center lane of the ice, shooters should for the most part avoid the left and right lanes as it puts them at a disadvantage. While yes, most shots in a shootout are taken from the center lane, shooters also have the most success from the center lane.
Unfortunately, there's no cheat code or stat to tell a player exactly what move to make in a shootout. It's all about creativity on both ends - the shooter is expected to get creative and maybe fake-out the goalie or intimidate them with skill yes, but goaltenders also get crafty in a shootout. They don't just stand still in the middle of the net and wait to see where the shot goes. Goaltenders will often trick a shooter by purposely showing an opening on the net and then quickly moving to close said opening off as soon as the shooter decides to capitalize. In other words, goalies will trick shooters into thinking they found a sweet spot.
I guess this is all a long way of saying, it's about outsmarting your opponent as early on as possible. Lord knows the Bruins have been practicing the shootout more in practice these days, and while practice does not equate to game-time experience, they're hopefully beginning to see what players do better under that kind of pressure than others, and building a better sample size for those less-experienced men. Remember, as we've seen for the last 6 ½ seasons, it's not necessarily the guys who have the most goals or take the most shots during a game you should be sending out first, it's the guys who have the patience and quick-wits to think on their feet. While I hope we don't see many more shootouts this season, it'll certainly be interesting to see the kind of approach and preparation the team takes to improving in the shootout.