Stats: Shooting %

I hate to be a Fuhr with the stats, but I thought it would be a neat talking point. It may be pretty obvious seeing as we're having a hard time finishing, but these stats early in the year pretty much paint the picture of how bad our shooting has been. First two values are 06/07, then 07/08, then bolded are this year's numbers so far.

Here's a look at our shooting percentages. Starting with the most drastic of them all, Antoine Vermette:



Vermette: (12.58) , (13.71) , (3.51)

Fisher: (11.4) , (10.7) , (7.89)

McAmmond: (16.28) , (13.43) , (4.35)

Kelly: (11.45) , (8.87) , (3.57)

________________________________

It also seems to have affected our top players ever so slightly:

Alfredsson: (12.08) , (18.43), (9.68)

Spezza: (20.99) , (16.19) , (10.29)

Heatley: (16.13) , (18.30) , (16.44)

_________________________________

Exception to the rule:

Donovan: (5.56) , (5.49), (16.67)

Neil: (8.63) , (7.69) , (9.52)

Volchenkov: (1.18) , (1.41) , (8.00)



So pretty much the summary of it all is:

-Vermette, McAmmond, and Kelly are having problems with taking quality shots, a problem of epic proportions.

-Converting on less than 10% of your shots is never a good thing, whether or not you play for the 2nd or 4th line.

-Donovan should be a 2nd line winger with a better shooting % than Heatley

-Hartsburg needs to run shooting drills in a very bad way, and make his team take better quality shots.

-Volchenkov > Phaneuf

Those are pretty telling and with some serious implications for less secondary scoring. Granted it's a small sample size, and probably some adjustments need to be made because of the new system, but I think this has been a pretty serious contributing factor for the team's overall win/loss record. I'm hoping that they can work on this and improve it somewhat.



EDIT: for quick reference Foligno is around 10% while Winchester is at 6.5%. Not much to compare them to, so they were left out.

I hate to be a Fuhr with the stats, but I thought it would be a neat talking point. It may be pretty obvious seeing as we're having a hard time finishing, but these stats early in the year pretty much paint the picture of how bad our shooting has been. First two values are 06/07, then 07/08, then bolded are this year's numbers so far.

Here's a look at our shooting percentages. Starting with the most drastic of them all, Antoine Vermette:



Vermette: (12.58) , (13.71) , (3.51)

Fisher: (11.4) , (10.7) , (7.89)

McAmmond: (16.28) , (13.43) , (4.35)

Kelly: (11.45) , (8.87) , (3.57)

________________________________

It also seems to have affected our top players ever so slightly:

Alfredsson: (12.08) , (18.43), (9.68)

Spezza: (20.99) , (16.19) , (10.29)

Heatley: (16.13) , (18.30) , (16.44)

_________________________________

Exception to the rule:

Donovan: (5.56) , (5.49), (16.67)

Neil: (8.63) , (7.69) , (9.52)

Volchenkov: (1.18) , (1.41) , (8.00)



So pretty much the summary of it all is:

-Vermette, McAmmond, and Kelly are having problems with taking quality shots, a problem of epic proportions.

-Converting on less than 10% of your shots is never a good thing, whether or not you play for the 2nd or 4th line.

-Donovan should be a 2nd line winger with a better shooting % than Heatley

-Hartsburg needs to run shooting drills in a very bad way, and make his team take better quality shots.

-Volchenkov > Phaneuf

Those are pretty telling and with some serious implications for less secondary scoring. Granted it's a small sample size, and probably some adjustments need to be made because of the new system, but I think this has been a pretty serious contributing factor for the team's overall win/loss record. I'm hoping that they can work on this and improve it somewhat.

I think we're just doing a horrible job at the moment at crashing the net. We never pick up rebounds or score a goal cause the goalie couldn't see a thing. Too many players are trying to make things pretty, we need to get a little uglier. And I don't think it has anything to do with lack of effort or players not willing to get diry, I just think they're not taking the right approach to try and break out of their slump

Yeah, in general things don't seem as though they're taking the right approach offensively. The reason why I like to see a >10% shooting percentage for the majority of the team is that whenever you get into the higher 20's in shot numbers, you have a better likelihood of scoring 3 goals which is generally the number of goals this team needs to win games handily.

Problems like these go beyond just hard work, and an increased 'battle level'. For me at least, it doesn't indicate a lack of skill with the puck and the ability to finish, it indicates a lack of cohesiveness as an offensive unit in the other team's zone. Even Stone-Hands Kelly was able to post a decent 8.8% last year, so I think there's more to the numbers than just finishing ability alone.

That's one of the reasons why I don't exactly buy into the notion that Hartsburg has suffered some Offense in his Defensive system. I think this team needs to experience some measure of change in how we approach goal scoring if we're going to improve those numbers.

I hate to be a Fuhr with the stats, but I thought it would be a neat talking point. It may be pretty obvious seeing as we're having a hard time finishing, but these stats early in the year pretty much paint the picture of how bad our shooting has been. First two values are 06/07, then 07/08, then bolded are this year's numbers so far.

Here's a look at our shooting percentages. Starting with the most drastic of them all, Antoine Vermette...

Brilliant thread. That confirms exactly what i think. People will say lack of puck-mkoving D-man, lack of skill. I say lack of finishing. Ok, disallowed goals/posts/steals by goalies didn't help but too many times our forwards missed the net on great chances or miss their shot and aimed right at the goalie... This is almost the only problem i see with this team actually : opportunistic shooting. All other problems are not that huge because every team has them and no team is perfect... But our shooting % might be the worst in the NHL and i'm pretty sure we are top-15 maybe top-10 in terms of talent...

I think we're just doing a horrible job at the moment at crashing the net. We never pick up rebounds or score a goal cause the goalie couldn't see a thing. Too many players are trying to make things pretty, we need to get a little uglier. And I don't think it has anything to do with lack of effort or players not willing to get diry, I just think they're not taking the right approach to try and break out of their slump

Another good point. We need to score dirty/ugly/lucky goals... I saw Foligno scored 1 or 2 and maybe Donovan, but outside that, who else? They seem to think that the only way to score goals is a perfect play or shot. Do they all think they are of the Big-3 caliber?

To say it for the 8 billionth time.....the problem with this team is finish.

We are getting ALL types of scoring chances. Breakaways, odd man rushes, down low cross crease passes, one timers, you name it, we are getting them. The forwards (outside of the big 3) are not converting on their chances (and really, the big 3 should have potted a lot more based on the quality of chances they have had).

I cant believe how unbelievably snake-bitten this ENTIRE team is. I dont even know how to explain it. Confidence I guess, but really, with Auld playing how he is, and the amazing team defence, they should be able to relax a little more on offence and just let it come.

I would be a lot more concerned about this team if not for the numbers above.

Do you actually think Vermette is going to finish with under 5% shooting success?

Do you actually think Spezza will finish with 10%?

This doesn't even count posts or called back goals.

At some point they will start converting on the chances they are creating.

Are we unlucky that all the goalies we face have spectacular sv% or are we making life easy for them?

Donovan ,Neil and Volchenkov are one thing,but whats happened to everyone else.

Vermette has had a lot of chances this year, if his percentage was where it usually is, he'd be doing fine.

And even Alfie-his percentage is cut in half from last year and Spezza cut in half from two years ago.

Its as though most of the Sens best forewards have lost their scoring touch
all at once for some mysterious reason.

Donovan ,Neil and Volchenkov are one thing,but whats happened to everyone else.

Vermette has had a lot of chances this year, if his percentage was where it usually is, he'd be doing fine.

And even Alfie-his percentage is cut in half from last year and Spezza cut in half from two years ago.

Its as though most of the Sens best forewards have lost their scoring touch
all at once for some mysterious reason.

Part of the decline with Spezza is the simple fact that he shoots a lot more than he did two years ago.

I wouldn't expect him to hit 20% anymore, but I do think 15-17% is reasonable.

kelly's been getting his share of solid chances in good areas... the problem is that he comes from the bill muckalt school of goalscoring

The chances these players are getting are from stationary scoring positions. Heatley is our only stationary goal scorer (Alfie to an extent too)

Our secondary forwards score there goals from great breakouts, it's been this way for years. We don't do that any more and our secondary forwards don't really know how to score any other way.

The chances these players are getting are from stationary scoring positions. Heatley is our only stationary goal scorer (Alfie to an extent too)

Our secondary forwards score there goals from great breakouts, it's been this way for years. We don't do that any more and our secondary forwards don't really know how to score any other way.

great post.

this is very noticeable in the games. does anybody really count the number of odd man rushes that vermette and kelly have per game?

they get great chances, but they need a great first pass from our zone to help them breakout fast. players like bell, picard, Lee, kuba all help that out.

does anybody else miss winchester on the line with kelly and vermette? I thought that game they were together they played great!

The chances these players are getting are from stationary scoring positions. Heatley is our only stationary goal scorer (Alfie to an extent too)

Our secondary forwards score there goals from great breakouts, it's been this way for years. We don't do that any more and our secondary forwards don't really know how to score any other way.

Cant say I agree. We are still getting many breakout chances per game (especially Vermette, who probably relies on the breakout more than anyone on the team).

Cant say I agree. We are still getting many breakout chances per game (especially Vermette, who probably relies on the breakout more than anyone on the team).

We have been getting chances with breakouts but it really is not quality breakouts. It's not a springing attack which this team relied on for years. When the Sens do breakout well, when they don't go up the boards the breakout starts earlier and the forwards have to carry the puck earlier then they did in years passed. This allows the opposition defense to better set themselves up against the chance.

Players can take all the shots they want, get all the chance they can dream of but if these shots and chances are not coming from the bread and butter of years passed not going to score because the forwards don't know how to any other way.

Hartsburg wants the roster to be a dump and chase cycling team, there is what three players on this team who can do that? Fisher, Alfie and Winchester looks to be strong on the walls. If the team wants to move away from the breakout, what we were great at, then new forwards who excel at this style need to be brought in to complement the style.

Those stats don't even include the amount of shots this team has missed the net on. It's getting frustrating to watch, so I can't even imagine how frustrated the players must be.

Volchenkov is our solution to secondary scoring, obviously. He would have had three by now if the refs played fair. :p:

I for one, subscribe to the theory that the little aliens from Space Jam have stolen our players' talents to play a game for the enslavement of our cartoon characters.

We have been getting chances with breakouts but it really is not quality breakouts. It's not a springing attack which this team relied on for years. When the Sens do breakout well, when they don't go up the boards the breakout starts earlier and the forwards have to carry the puck earlier then they did in years passed. This allows the opposition defense to better set themselves up [...]


It's a coaching issue then. I see it this way, when one player slumps the onus is obviously on the player. But when so many players are on pace for their worst seasons ever, it's the coaching. It's up to him to find a style that suits his players .

I for one, subscribe to the theory that the little aliens from Space Jam have stolen our players' talents to play a game for the enslavement of our cartoon characters.

That must be the reason. It didn't work out in basketball against the Looney Tunes so they come back and challenge them in Hockey.

Thats got to be it.

The chances these players are getting are from stationary scoring positions. Heatley is our only stationary goal scorer (Alfie to an extent too)

Our secondary forwards score there goals from great breakouts, it's been this way for years. We don't do that any more and our secondary forwards don't really know how to score any other way.

I's true to an extent. That's why we will need a guy like Zubov who will maybe show us another way of scoring goals. Foligno should go more to the net because he seems to be able to score garbage/rebound goals. We need more of those.

It's a coaching issue then. I see it this way, when one player slumps the onus is obviously on the player. But when so many players are on pace for their worst seasons ever, it's the coaching. It's up to him to find a style that suits his players .

Ya i think you are right. Players doesn't seem to adapt offensively to the new system in place... Most of us tought that it would take time defensively, but finally it's more offensively as the defense seems to be fine...


Its as though most of the Sens best forewards have lost their scoring touch all at once for some mysterious reason.

There is 60 games left though, maybe they can turn it around and do the opposite most of the games remaining. We can't stay snake-bittten like that all season! Please! :help:

Can you coach "hands"? That's been my biggest question so far this year. I think we're used to seeing Kelly fail to convert on his chances, but so far Heatley and Vermette are noticeably "off" when it comes to their shooting percentages.

So, I guess my question to the hockey coaches on the board is "what can you do to coach better hand-eye, or better shooting?"

Cheers.

Can you coach "hands"? That's been my biggest question so far this year. I think we're used to seeing Kelly fail to convert on his chances, but so far Heatley and Vermette are noticeably "off" when it comes to their shooting percentages.

So, I guess my question to the hockey coaches on the board is "what can you do to coach better hand-eye, or better shooting?"

Cheers.

I don't think it's a question of their abilities. I touched on this with Kelly, and his numbers have seemed to trend with the rest of our forwards, and it doesn't seem to have much bearing on whether or not they have nice hands or not.

I think Xspyrit and Suiteness is correct; our players haven't yet fully adapted to the change of system. Scoring does have a little bit with occasionally making a nice wrist shot from the slot, but the Senators have generally been a team that doesn't rely on individual efforts but rather team efforts to generate scoring. In that premise, player positioning and having designated offensive zone responsibilities can be just as important than those individual talents, and that's not exactly what I'm seeing.

My thoughts are, that in previous years the players were used to a coach like Murray or Paddock telling them exactly where they should be on ice, what lanes they should be trying to open, and who they should be passing it to. When we did the retooling of the coaching staff we retained Carvel, but we brought in Hartsburg and Curtis Hunt, both Defensive specialists. I'm having doubts that they're capable of putting in an ES Offensive zone system that works well for our other lines. Currently Hartsburg's system only seems to benefit energy guys and tough forwards like Foligno, Neil and Donovan.

So my thoughts are, one of two things needs to happen before they start clicking again. Hartsburg can either make some modifications to his even strength offensive zone system and put together something that our existing core of forwards are comfortable with. The other possibility is that they'll need to spend a lot more time and figure out how to score under Hartsburg's system, how long that's going to take, I really don't know. The only guys who seem to be competent with the way things are going right now is the Pizza line, but those guys have done what they've done for so long, they practically don't need any coaching.

Click here (http://www.mc79hockey.com/?p=2996) for a fantastic article that shows how shooting percentages on both extremes tend to gravitate back towards the middle over the course of a season.

Click here (http://www.mc79hockey.com/?p=2996) for a fantastic article that shows how shooting percentages on both extremes tend to gravitate back towards the middle over the course of a season.

We can only hope.

Click here (http://www.mc79hockey.com/?p=2996) for a fantastic article that shows how shooting percentages on both extremes tend to gravitate back towards the middle over the course of a season.

Interesting read... well i didn't read it because it's too long but i see the idea... Sens are snake-bitten and they used to be very efficient in shooting %, probably the best team in that area post lock-out. Hopefully, things go back to normal since the 1st quarter of the season is done, like that article tend to say...