Shooting to Score

[flyerman 0]

Good stuff, guys. Lots to think about and practice.

I should say that it's not like I never score; I gotta give myself a little credit here lol. But I miss a hell of a lot more that are true gimme's. Last night in a playoff game I got a perfect pass on the rush right in front of the net. I knew the pass was coming, I was wide open. But instead of just burying one-time (I was on my forehand on the off-wing), I stop the puck (cause in a split second I panicked thinking I'm gonna f-ing blow it here) and then slid a shot toward the far post. Of course the goalie had the pads stacked. Puck comes right back to me as I am pushed down and then I try to flip it up over him while down on the ice. Of course I can't get anything on the shot, and the goalie gobbles it up. Arrrrggggg!

I can count at least five or six times this season where I've had an "open net" to shoot at, only to shoot it directly into the the goalie's glove as he throws it up in desperation. I remember a rec game I played in a few weeks ago in which I actually was looking up and picking my corners -- these were low hard shots to the glove side. Every time the (rec) goalie kicked the pad out and made these, imho, spectacular saves. And then I am thinking, god, do I suck that bad? All of this has eroded my confindence and got me overthinking what used to be so fun and natural. And the higher the level, the more pressure I put on myself, the worse it seem to be.

One thing that one of my teammates noticed was that I pull the puck back really far before I shoot (wrist shot), instead of just snapping it off quickly. I'll have to be more mindful of these kind of things and work on getting the puck off more quickly without psyching myself out. Or maybe just stop thinking all together! Ahhh, I'm a mess.

[-brady2 0]

One thing that one of my teammates noticed was that I pull the puck back really far before I shoot (wrist shot), instead of just snapping it off quickly. I'll have to be more mindful of these kind of things and work on getting the puck off more quickly without psyching myself out. Or maybe just stop thinking all together! Ahhh, I'm a mess.

that was hurting me for a while, and it made a hgue difference, so try it out

[tips09 0]

Problem number one:

Thus when I am releasing the puck my head is down and I'm not aiming for a spot to shoot.

You should always be aiming for a spot and not just shooting. Beyond that, there are two though processes for trying to score. One is to see empty net and to try and hit it. Personally, I think this is the better way to look at it, it's positive. The other is to try and avoid hitting the goalie when you shoot. I'm not a fan of this method as you're focusing on the goalie and he's not the target. Obviously in either case, you have to be looking to see what he's giving you before picking your spot.

Also, you don't have to put the shot through the back of the net. Accuracy is more important than sheer velocity in many cases.

Chadd i agree with using your first suggestion, that really helped me this off season as the season before i would always look at the goalie and trust me scoring 10 goals in 40 games isnt to nice, always try to look at the mesh

[Jarick 5]

Oh I'm not in a slump, I score a goal every other game (which puts me at third on my admittedly low scoring team). I'm just looking to improve.

I remember taking a group class last year and the teacher said to shoot before you get to the hash marks, didn't really get into it much though. I can't really deke well and have a pretty good shot for my level, so I'm trying to take advantage of my strengths.

I do notice that when I feel like I'm playing really well or when there's no pressure, I play much better than in games. So that's another thing I have to work on. My teammates are always hassling me about playing so well in practice/pickup but not in games!

[ean 0]

If you really want to talk about "shooting to score", I definitely think there is more to the conversation than just putting the puck top shelf past the goalie.

Of course, there are many times you may have a good wide open shot, and it is favorable to try and rip a snapshot high blocker/glove or whatever. But if working on a 2 on 1 or 2 on 2 and get forced to the outside don't be a moron who tries to rip a shot high far side post. I see this type of crap way too often (mainly in pickups) and all it stems from his horrible development.

My point is, shooting to score is just as much about taking shots in the appropriate situations which themselves WON'T be goals, but will allow for your teammates to score via rebounds and what not. Think about that.

[flyerman 0]

Point well taken.

I think in my case it's primarily a mental thing. I'm clearly overthinking the whole thing, and that's my biggest problem right now. I'm not talking about shot selection or deciding on when to shoot or not shoot. I am talking about having excellent chances to score and not finishing because I either hesitate or simply don't look up when I shoot. Perhaps I should have named this thread: "How not to choke."

I'll practice using some of the drills and techniques you guys have suggested, but as a teammate of mine told me, "your biggest problem is between the ears." It's confindence. So that is really where my work is. Visualization, relaxing, getting out of my head to just do what I know I can do (but somehow forgot).

[jmiro 55]

I never look at the goalie. If i do i end up shooting it right in his chest.

[gxc999 7]

I never look at the goalie. If i do i end up shooting it right in his chest.

Me too. I'm finding more and more that there's almost always a good size hole glove side. Even I can score there, if I'm wide open <_<

[JR97 2]

I've been tearing it up the last 3 months or so. And I've NEVER been much of a consistent goal scorer. Always looking to pass. But I keep getting chances, so why not, eh?

Anywho, 3 months ago I was so frustrated with my inability to do anything let alone score that I almost hung them up. So I pretty much had to remind myself that I'm not in the NHL, no pressure, no hype, just have fun, blah blah blah. That did ok for my overall game, but what really got my head in the scoring frame of mind was to work on visualizing about 3-5 scoring chances and repeat them over and over. Sure enough, I've scored in those situations with no hesitation and a few times without even really looking at the net. Just sort of "seeing" it in my head as it was supposed to happen. Now it's almost automatic that I shoot to the 4 corners. I never go five hole because I usually put it right in the goalie's chest instead. I also don't really look directly at the net. I just see goalie when I do that. So I just sort of use peripheral visual and look for the red pipes or just go completely off of feel. I do survey things constantly when I'm out there so even if I'm not looking I've got a good idea where people are and what's going on.

Another stupid little thing I do on the drive in is tell myself that everything I've done before I can do again. The body remembers. The hands and feet remember. Usually if I miss a week it takes 2 or 3 games to get back into the mode. Recently I missed 6 weeks and was dreading how bad I was going to suck. That's when I got the idea to remind myself that I've been playing hockey for a long time and there's no reason I can't just step back into it. Conditioning was shot to hell but I scored a goal in each of my first 3 shifts as if I had never taken time off.

And finally, I simplified things. No dekes or fancy moves. Just lean on the stick and let'er rip. I'm not a hard shot guy. Probably the weakest shot in my league. But I'm having more success with just getting the shot off quick than I ever did trying to deke. Plus, I'm creating decent rebound opps when I don't score. Whereas, I've noticed that on saves off of a deke, the goalie is usually covering up or the puck is under a leg pad or something. Having said all of this, I probably jinxed myself and I won't score for another 2 or 3 months.

[flyerman 0]

Good points. Thanks for the advice. BTW, what level are you playing?

[thejackal 46]

just got 4 goals tonight (drop-in hockey with former HS teammates - decent caliber but not a great deal of backchecking and such). i kinda took mental note of my thought process and maybe it can help.

first goal - i was at the left point (i usually play wing, but move back because we were short on dmen), teammate makes a nice feed to me from the left boards, i take a couple of strides towards the right corner to open up a shooting lane, didnt see many legs out front, half-windup for a slapper and an easy swing just to put it on net. the shot was solid and went in low glove side, goalie didnt see it until it was too late.

second goal - i moved back to RW for a shift, and was hanging around the blueline when i got a chip pass of the boards. the other team was a bit slow to react and i was off to the races. i pick up speed across the other blueline and start cutting in to net. i got a backchecker breathing down my neck so i elect to shoot. at around the hashmarks i get a quick snapper off - i didnt really see a big opening anywhere, but i usually look high-glove first (shortest distance to the net, plus im comfortable picking that spot from anywhere in the slot). in hindsight i would have gone low-blocker, since it seemed to me that the goalie was cheating a bit to cover the short side. somehow it didnt matter, the puck squeezed between his shoulder and the post.

third goal: this time im playing right point. the action is in the left corner of the offensive zone so im standing in the center of the ice, 3-4 feet inside the blue line. the forwards do a good job cycling the puck and getting it back to me. big traffic out front so i curl right to find a lane. i kind of lost the handle of the puck and let it get away from me a bit, but i felt like there was a pretty reasonable chance of a shot getting through so i throw it low on net hoping for a deflection or a rebound. the goalie doesnt see this one at all, and it beats him low far post. i dont think it got tipped on the way in, but he must've gotten screened.

fourth goal - the puck cycled down to me when i was 10 ft inside the blueline on the right side. a late backchecker bumped me from behind, which actually lets me take a couple of strides in to meet the puck. i clap it about 15ft behind the faceoff dot. the puck goes off the goalie's shoulder and in high glove side.

i guess none of them (except the 2nd and maybe the 4th one) were primo scoring opportunities, especially for me since im used to working closer to the net and using accuracy and a quick release rather than power (i usually score 4-5 goals on wrist/snap shots for each slapper i score on). in retrospect i kind of got lucky on a couple of them, but thats obviously part of the game.

[Jarick 5]

Maybe threads on shooting to score help scoring? My last drop-in I had 3g 2a (usually only have 1 or 2 goals) and last night in my first league playoff game went end-to-end around everyone for a goal. I kept thinking about shooting early, and sure enough, shot from the top of the circle to beat the goalie top far corner.

Regardless, I'm in a different frame of mind now, shooting to score instead of shooting to get a shot on net. And as a result, my shots are actually on net a lot more and hitting the corners. Hopefully it keeps up!

[Aussie Joe 0]

I certainly don't shoot at the goalie. I look for the holes that appear, and through watching them play I make sure they aren't creating holes to just take them away.

If there isn't any holes I move the goalie to where I want him to be. Watching goalies for weaknesses like moving stick and poor blocker side are crucial as well.

There are holes on any goalie no matter how good he/she is, find them and bury it! ;)

[thejackal 46]

i have to say, with the amounts of posts on how much a certain stick "kicks," im surprised there aren't more threads like this one

[romdj 26]

Good points. Thanks for the advice. BTW, what level are you playing?

I know this was a while ago, but I find this thread very interesting and I wondered what worked and what did not...

[Law Goalie 147]

Whoa, filonecromancy! Well, if it's alive, I may as well poke it with a stick...

I have an odd perspective on this for two reasons: first, because I'm a goalie, and second, because I spend a great deal of time shooting around goalies, as a coach, in ways that deliberately challenge them beyond the bounds of normal games.

Against a modern butterfly goaltender, there are a few generally dangerous shot-placements that will work against anybody who isn't extremely quick and/or phenomenally good at reading releases.

1) 12" to 16" off the blocker-side post and in, or as close to it as you can get (ie. above the 11" wide pad, but below the usual blocker position). Because of the rotation of the hip in butterfly movements, the ability of the goalie to reach down his leg quickly and extensively is severely limited, compared to a toe-up reaching split-save, a la Mike Richter. Because of the way the trapper extends from the palm, and the way the blocker's position is dictated by the stick, the glove side is much less accessible with this shot than the blocker, though it can still be effective against goalies who constantly butterfly with their gloves tucked against their hips on every shot.

2) Dead centre five-hole, just above the stick blade. When a goalie drives his knees down into the butterfly, the last part to touch are the tops of the pads (the thigh-rises) right between his knees. More important, however, is the puck's perspective, which all good shooters and goalies intuit. The close you get to the goalie - NOT the goal - when the goalie is in his stance (ie. on his feet) the more the five-hole becomes not only the biggest area of open net but also the *closest* one. This makes it the best place for a quick shot in tight -- even more so if you see that the goalie's feet aren't set in his stance, since it's harder to drive the knees down when the feet are moving. It's also a lethal place to shoot when the goalie is already down, but about to or in the process of executing a lateral butterfly slide; when that backside knee pops up, the five-hole is a massive target. Because goalies know and fear this shot, right up to pro hockey, it's also an ideal place to *fake* a shot, because if successful it generates a predictable response (a hard butterfly) that removes the goalie's skate-blades from the ice, delaying any lateral response to a deke or pass, and opening up the next shot...

3) Bar-down over the glove-side elbow. Against shorter goalies, especially from moderate distance (15' to 25'), this can be expanded to include the areas extending from both ears to the shoulders, since their shoulders don't cover the aerial angle (from the puck to the crossbar) unless they challenge out into the angle significantly. However, even against goalies whose shoulders cover the crossbar when they're kneeling on the goal-line, shooting above the glove-side elbow can be extremely effective. If you expect (whether from experience, or because you're going to fake a five-hole shot to create it) that the goalie will react to your release by driving into a passive butterfly (elbows tight to the ribs, gloves pinned to the hips - no holes along the body), the location of the glove-side elbow and forearm in the stance represents the space where a reactive save against the release will be slowest and least likely during and after the knee-drive into the butterfly. This can be murderous to goalies: I was once told a very amusing story about how a certain, formerly much touted NHL prospect was obliterated in a shootout competition by a bunch of local junior C/B players because they were all instructed to fake five-hole and shoot over his glove-side elbow. The fact that he didn't pick up on this did not auger well for his future. Generally, the blocker-side elbow is less available here because of the way that the blocker board extends to cover the space. A goalie with active hands in the butterfly - gloves held forward from the plane of the body, open to face the puck - will be *much* less susceptible to this shot, though not invulnerable to it, since even active butterfly goalies will sometimes employ a passive, hands-in butterfly in order to make a blocking save (ie. where a reactive save it not possible, eg. a one-timer from short distance).

4) Corner-bars and in. Yes, it's obvious, but it's still a pretty good bet that if you can hit the upper corners with consistency, speed, and above all a quick release, even under pressure, you'll score a lot of goals.

All of these are, as Aussie Joe suggested, dependent on your ability to read the goalie. If he's camping out on the 16" blocker shot - loading up his left leg to push across, holding the blocker out from his body to cut the angle - you're rarely going to hit it; Carey Price is brilliant at baiting guys to shoot here when he wants it. By all means, test goalies with these shots, and if they can't stop them, keep doing it until they do. (During shootout games at my goalie clinics, I often tell the shooters to do nothing but shoot five-hole until they get stopped twice in a row.)

However, any of these can and will be stopped with 70+% efficiency by competent goalies -- just not 95%. The most difficult shot to stop is the one the goalie can't read -- because he can't see the release (which is why using defenceman as screen is so bloody effective, and why throwing your stick in front of a shooter's release is the worst possible thing you can do to your goalie), or because the shooter himself doesn't know where the shot is going. Ask any good goalie, and they'll tell you that they're much less effective than they should be against very weak competition. Why? Because the game doesn't unfold reasonably, and nobody knows where or how they're shooting: you're as likely to get a knuckle-ball or a dribbler on the ice as a placed shot. Even at the highest levels, if a player misfires on a shot and it doesn't hit the goalie, it's going in unless it's from so far away and so clearly visible that the goalie can get a bead on it.

A quick, disguised release in traffic that misses the goalie trumps a hard shot ringing in off a bar any day; if you can put those together like, say, Stamkos, you'll be signing $100 million contracts, or at least for Luc Robitaille money.

[flyers10 57]

Great tips Law Goalie! Things to work on this summer.

[Morten 2]

This is a very good thread, will certianly start to use my head a bit more and "try to" analyse goalies from now on, still have to work on my shot aswell.

Especial 5 hole shots, if they are as wide open as said!!

Thanks Law.

[tareatingrat 4]

I dunno. I find the biggest thing is just to put a lot of pucks at the net. Honestly, when I practice, I am AMAZING. In a game, it's never the same as in a practice, at least not for most beer leaguers.

I would have to say the majority of my goals are from me just putting the puck at the net. Some look pretty, but what I planned and what the outcome was were two completely different things :D. I'd wager that most people are the same, whether they want to admit it or not.

There is a big difference between knowing where to shoot, and actually getting that shot off properly in a game. I'm not saying you shouldn't practice and strive for that...but my philosophy is "puck at net." Simple. Seems to work well.

Whenever I try to get fancy, I hit a scoring drought, almost without fail.

[Chadd 916]

Being able to shoot when the puck isn't in perfect position makes a huge difference as well. If you have to set it up on a tee, you're in trouble.

[romdj 26]

Being able to shoot when the puck isn't in perfect position makes a huge difference as well. If you have to set it up on a tee, you're in trouble.

which could explain why the drury curve is one of the most popular curve in the nhl... (kind of off subject)

Reading this thread makes me crazy, as I have an urge now to hit the ice....which is impossible right now..

[Law Goalie 147]

Chadd is absolutely right: shooting when the puck isn't in perfect position makes it significantly harder for the goalie to read the release; teeing it up gives the goalie time to tweak his position, drop into a shot-ready stance, and get a read on you. Quick release without adjustment and hitting the net, as I said, trumps speed and precise placement most of the time -- and if you can reliably shoot the puck when it's up on edge, it can be infuriatingly hard to track. If, however, you've got time for a sandwich and you *know* you're going to get read by the goalie, you're going to have to beat him with more than quickness, and just throwing it at the net when the goalie has time and space to close you down is a recipe for putting another black smudge on his crest.

[farhanshak 1]

just my two cents...i had this exact same issue for a while.

i got myself a shooting board, hockey net, and about 50 pucks. since my biggest issue in mens leage (senior B) was time I had to shoot, i needed to make sure i could work on release and shot placement as quickly as possible.

about 2 times a week i go into the backyard and just practice shooting pucks from different areas (forehand, and backhand)...this has helped me a lot. I still may not score a lot, but more often. I also found the puck feel when playing was alot better.

i make a game out of it as well sometimes. Top shelf blocker 10 times before moving on, etc, etc.,

[Chadd 916]

just my two cents...i had this exact same issue for a while.

i got myself a shooting board, hockey net, and about 50 pucks. since my biggest issue in mens leage (senior B) was time I had to shoot, i needed to make sure i could work on release and shot placement as quickly as possible.

about 2 times a week i go into the backyard and just practice shooting pucks from different areas (forehand, and backhand)...this has helped me a lot. I still may not score a lot, but more often. I also found the puck feel when playing was alot better.

i make a game out of it as well sometimes. Top shelf blocker 10 times before moving on, etc, etc.,

One of my favorite drills (don't think I mentioned it in this topic) is to line up a bunch of pucks around the top of the crease, then run through them all as fast I can. Forehand, then backhand, trying to roof every one of them with no windup at all. No stickhandling, no moving the puck, Just stick down and shoot (trying to roof it) as fast as I can. It really helps on those rare times I'm down around the net as well as loose puck battles or clearing the puck up and off the boards in traffic.

[memphishockey06 0]

First off I was too lazy to read through the entire post so I apologize if I'm reiterating what someone else has said........

One thing to think about when picking a spot is that you're not always shooting at what you can see, but you're shooting based on where the puck is. Your stick is a good 2-3 feet out from your body, which gives you a different angle than what you're looking at. The next time you go to a drop in, line up like you're going to take a shot, then stand directly over the puck and look at the same spot you were shooting for. You'd be surprised how this may open up angles that you didn't think the goalie was giving you.

Another great way to get quality chances is to work on your release. If you head in and stop stickhandling you're making it pretty clear to the goalie that you're looking to shoot. Handling the puck, pulling to the side and a quick snap can be just as good as winding up a hard wrister and trying to beat him clean.

One of my favorite drills that help with both release, angles, and with shooting in stride is fairly straightforward and something you can do without a goalie. Put a bunch of pucks in each corner and just do figure eights and quick shots. Pick up a puck, STICKHANDLE around the tops of the circles, let it go at the hash marks, repeat.