Best penalty shot shooters (non-shootout)

whcanuck

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May 11, 2017
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I've been thinking about the best penalty shot players in NHL history. Guys who have A) gotten a lot of penalty shot opportunities and B) most importantly, scoring a lot of goals on penalty shots. Not shootouts though, that's something different. A penalty shot is mid-game and can win a game, give some insurance or put your team back in it.

Pavel Bure is one of the best I can remember. He had 12 penalty shots in his career and scored on 7 of them, that's extremely good! He might be best known for the one in the '94 finals where Richter stopped him.

Joe Sakic was unreal on penalty shots, a perfect 5 for 5 in his career. Simon Gagne was 3 for 3 too. Mario Lemieux was awesome at them, which isn't too surprising. He was 6 for 8 in his career.

Amazingly, two future HOFers, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, 10 combined penalty shot opportunities and no goals.
 

Big Phil

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Nov 2, 2003
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You said the right guys. Mario and Bure were the first ones I thought about too.

Just a side note, I was surprised Bossy and Messier never had a penalty shot in their careers, let alone score one.
 

DJ Man

Registered User
Mar 23, 2009
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Central Florida
My memory is that penalty shots were quite rarely awarded up until maybe the middle 1970s. Before that, when you saw one, the announcer or sportswriter tried to tell you when was the last time his team took one, and he usually had to give up or resort to hearsay. That someone could have eight or ten in a career would have been unthinkable.
 

Big Phil

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Nov 2, 2003
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Mario was the first one to come to mind for me.

Crosby, Malkin and Ovechkin for that matter are all bad at penalty shots I think...

Yeah, for whatever reason. Here are the stats:

Crosby 0/4
Malkin 0/6
Ovechkin 2/12

The best players of this generation are a combined 2/22 on penalty shots. Yet I know for sure Malkin is good in the shootout. Go figure.

More names you figure would be good, but aren't:

Stamkos 2/6
Kane 0/3
Iginla 2/9
 

MarkStone

Frankie Fryer
Mar 12, 2016
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Michael Frolik has had two memorable playoff penalty shot conversions. Against Vancouver in 2011, as well as against Detroit in 2013. Both were while he was with the Blackhawks.
 

Asheville

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Feb 1, 2018
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Mario Lemieux.....was 6 for 8 in his career.

Am I the only one less shocked by his 75% conversion rate and more shocked by the fact that he was stopped twice?

Short of an empty net (unless you are Patrik Stefan or Craig Smith), nothing is more certain to be a goal than Super Mario barrelling down with nothing between himself and the opposing goalie.
 

sr edler

gold is not reality
Mar 20, 2010
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As for a bit more obscure players Shean Donovan had 3 PS attempts in 2003–04 with the Flames and scored on two of them.
 

Staniowski

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Jan 13, 2018
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The Maritimes
Kovalchuk 3/4
Marchand 4/6
Reichel 3/6
Roenick 2/4
J. Mullen 4/4
Yzerman 3/6
Fleury 3/3
P. Turgeon 2/3
Mats Naslund 2/4
Lindros 2/2
Gartner 3/3
Sandstrom 2/2
Hejduk 2/3
Toews 2/3
Lecavalier 5/13
Tanguay 3/5
Nieuwendyk 2/4
Alfredsson 3/6
G. Courtnall 2/4
Rolston 2/3
John MacLean 2/2
R. Smyth 3/5
Bucyk 2/3
Thornton 2/3
Mr. Hockey 2/2
Huberdeau 2/4
H. Sedin 2/3
Filppula 2/4
Vrbata 2/3
Vyborny 4/4
Cheechoo 2/2
Legwand 2/3
Errey 2/3
Lehtinen 2/2
Lanny McDonald 2/4
Alex Shibicky 2/4
 
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Staniowski

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Jan 13, 2018
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The Maritimes
Hossa and Gaborik have both taken 10, only 3 and 2 goals, respectively.

Nash also 10, 2 goals.

Straka 9 shots, 3 goals.


Lecavalier, 13 shots...is this the most?

Ebbie Goodfellow (of the RedWings)...10 shots back in the 1930s, 2 goals.
 
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DJ Man

Registered User
Mar 23, 2009
771
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Central Florida
I've never seen any statistics on something so simple as NHL Penalty Shots per Season for pre-1970. Does such exist?

I'm guessing that it would be 3, 2 or 1 per year, until you hit upon some early year before 1940 when the calls were made differently.
 

Big Phil

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Nov 2, 2003
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Am I the only one less shocked by his 75% conversion rate and more shocked by the fact that he was stopped twice?

Short of an empty net (unless you are Patrik Stefan or Craig Smith), nothing is more certain to be a goal than Super Mario barrelling down with nothing between himself and the opposing goalie.

I could be wrong, but was it Bill Ranford and Hasek that stopped him? In 1997 for his 50th and final goal of the season (and for his career we thought at the time) he buried a penalty shot past Beezer.

Bure sans Richter attempt

That was one of the best efforts I have ever seen from a goalie to make a save. This is a prime Pavel Bure bearing down on you in the Stanley Cup final. He makes the same move where he scored on Vernon a month earlier. Bam! Richter does the splits and extends his right leg just enough to keep the puck out. How many of us would be in the hospital if we pulled a move like that on our body?
 

El Cohiba

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Jul 3, 2011
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under the sunshine
I could be wrong, but was it Bill Ranford and Hasek that stopped him? In 1997 for his 50th and final goal of the season (and for his career we thought at the time) he buried a penalty shot past Beezer.



That was one of the best efforts I have ever seen from a goalie to make a save. This is a prime Pavel Bure bearing down on you in the Stanley Cup final. He makes the same move where he scored on Vernon a month earlier. Bam! Richter does the splits and extends his right leg just enough to keep the puck out. How many of us would be in the hospital if we pulled a move like that on our body?

No kidding! I think he did the full splits. Absolute definition of clutch. I can vouch for the fact that I'd have a fully torn hammy if I attempted such a maneuver.
 
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