RALEIGH, N.C. – It is quite a challenge to place a black, vulcanized rubber disk past five players and a goalkeeper padded with equipment that presents the surface area of two people stopping shots in a 24-square-foot opening.
After the morning skate preceding the Carolina Hurricanes’ match-up with the Tampa Bay Lightning last Friday, players from both teams offered their perspectives on what it takes to score goals consistently in the National Hockey League (NHL).
“You try to practice as many situations as you can from angles, different types of shots, but most importantly you just gotta’ get your shots up quick and hit the net,” Hurricanes forward Nathan Gerbe said.
“Obviously, if you don’t hit the net, it’s not goin’ in.”
Gerbe, who’s gotten off to a quick start is still leading Carolina in goals scored with four, and has worked diligently to hone his offensive skills with help from others.
“I work a lot with a skills coach, working on shooting and the way you gotta’ move your body using your stick,” he continued.
“I think that’s important – that’s something that I always try to work on.”
In the opposing team’s dressing room, Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos highlighted what he’s done to evolve as not only a shooter, but a premier goal scorer in the NHL.
“You just have to find ways to get open,” Stamkos said.
“With all the video now and stats, teams know what players’ tendencies are and what they prefer to do and where they like to shoot. I think it’s more playing away from the puck – when you don’t have the puck – trying to get in those quiet areas as they say – gettin’ open for your teammates. That’s something for me personally I’ve tried to make adjustments on since coming into this league. You kinda’ have to reinvent the way you play every year and you can’t stick with the same tactics because teams are so good, they’ll pick up on you over time.”
Hurricanes forward Jiri Tlusty, who had a personal breakout season during the lockout-shortened 2012-2013 season scoring 23 goals, pointed out that simplicity is the key that he is now focusing on to increase his scoring output to last year’s level.
“It’s a tough question,” Tlusty said when asked about what different players do to improve their ability to successfully shoot and score.
“You know what? I think we are all trying to do too much. Maybe just kind of calm down and do the little things and do it right and it will actually go in for us. When everyone is trying to do too much, we are all over the place and that’s what’s causing us a little confusion. We have to just keep it as simple as you can keep it and things will open up.”
As Tlusty talked about how he and his teammates needed to simplify the formula for reestablishing their scoring touch, Stamkos pointed out that it is an evolving practice and one that never ends when becoming a productive scorer in the NHL.
“Well ya’,” Stamkos said when asked if he used all the technical and statistical information available to him in order to improve his shooting and scoring capabilities from game-to-game and year-to-year.
“When I first came into the league, the one-timer was obviously an effective scoring tool for me, especially on the power play. Teams take that away now, so not it’s gettin’ to the net, maybe scorin’ some dirty goals in some of the tough areas. In order to score goals in this league, it is hard. You have to go to different areas to score in different ways. That’s something I definitely picked up on in my five-and-a-half years in the league.”
Later that night, unfortunately for Gerbe, Tlusty and the rest of the Hurricanes roster, they couldn’t get one of their 31 shots past Tampa Bay goalkeeper Ben Bishop, and they suffered a 3-0 loss as a result.
With the hard work they put in to beat the six-foot-seven-inch keeper who covered the net much like there were two people in it – they just couldn’t do it.
At the other end, Stamkos scored a goal, a follow-up rebounder he put away in the slot, successfully connecting on one of the nine shots that he put on the net that night.
Regardless of a game’s outcome, one thing was clear from talking to all three players – putting the puck on the net will yield more goals scored.
Unfortunately, it will happen more often for some and less for others.