Bruins shooting % 2018-2019

[Bergyesque]

(moderators, please merge if needed)

As of today, January 21, the Bruins have a Sh% of 6.3%. (here is the link to the nhl.com stat page: NHL.com - Stats)
That is awfully low. Why?

Here are some numbers:
Since the last full season (2014-2015), there have been 152 team-seasons.
The 2018-2019 Bs Sh% is ranked 7th, starting at the bottom.
Here is the "top" ten:
1-Arizona Coyotes // 2014-15 // 5.7 // league standings: 29/30
2-Buffalo Sabres // 2017-18 // 6.1 // league standings: 31/31
3-Carolina Hurricanes // 2014-15 // 6.2 // league standings: 26/30
4-Montréal Canadiens // 2017-2018 // 6.3 // league standings: 28/31
5-Colorado Avalanche // 2016-17 // 6.3 // league standings: 30/30
6-Los Angeles Kings // 2016-17 // 6.3 // league standings: 22/30
7-Boston Bruins // 2018-19 // 6.3 // league standings: 11/31, as of jan. 21
8-Toronto Maple Leafs // 2015-16 // 6.4 // league standings: 30/30
9-New Jersey Devils // 2016-17 // 6.4 // league standings: 27/30
10-Buffalo Sabres // 2016-17 // 6.4 // league standings: 26/30

All those teams were bottom feeders, except the 2018-19 Bruins!

Click to read more...

 

[BruinDust]

(moderators, please merge if needed)

As of today, January 21, the Bruins have a Sh% of 6.3%.
That is awfully low. Why?

Here are some numbers:
Since the last full season (2014-2015), there have been 152 team-seasons.
The 2018-2019 Bs Sh$ is ranked 7th, starting at the bottom.
Here is the order:
1-Arizona Coyotes // 2014-15 // 5.7 // league standings: 29/30
2-Buffalo Sabres // 2017-18 // 6.1 // league standings: 31/31
3-Carolina Hurricanes // 2014-15 // 6.2 //
4-Montréal Canadiens // 2017-2018 // 6.3 //
5-Colorado Avalanche // 2016-17 // 6.3
6-Los Angeles Kings // 2016-17 // 6.3
7-Boston Bruins // 2018-19

Wow, that's really bad.

The Bruins this year are basically what the Kings were last year. A very good defensive club that as it stands will likely be steam-rolled in Round 1 by a faster opponent.

 

[Emerz]

Shooting % is a combination of puck luck and finishing ability. Puck luck being goalies playing absurd games repeatedly, etc.

Right now we have 14 players with sub 10% shooting percentages.

Tampa on the other hand has 7 players with sub 10% shooting percentages... to be honest half their roster is shooting the lights out compared to their career averages. I guess when the going is good all the pucks are going in the net.

 

[Bergyesque]

Shooting % is a combination of puck luck and finishing ability. Puck luck being goalies playing absurd games repeatedly, etc.

Right now we have 14 players with sub 10% shooting percentages.

Tampa on the other hand has 7 players with sub 10% shooting percentages... to be honest half their roster is shooting the lights out compared to their career averages. I guess when the going is good all the pucks are going in the net.

And most Bs players are shooting under their career average.
Would it be reasonable to expect some kind of regression to the mean?

 

[Emerz]

And most Bs players are shooting under their career average.
Would it be reasonable to expect some kind of regression to the mean?

Reasonable enough over a large sample size, just hope the rest of the season and the playoffs is long enough for them to turn it around.

At the start of the year the Bergy line was scoring at will and all of them were shooting near 20%, that kept up for nearly 20 games so it's definitely something that can just "click"

 

[missingchicklet]

No surprises. Bs outshoot their opponents quite a bit and still lose routinely despite a large shot margin in their favor. And yeah it has been a problem for multiple seasons. That is why it has been frustrating to see the Bs management not address the lack of a scoring winger. The team has badly needed one for a while now. It is also why I get ticked that Acciari plays so much. Of course you want good D, but holy crap, you cannot afford to have a guy with 1 goal in 41 games playing regularly on a team with the worst shot pct in the NHL at 5 on 5. Let that sink in, the Bs have the WORST shot pct 5 on 5 in the entire league this season, just below Carolina, yet they have all season played guys who are horrible shooters without making any adjustments/trades. Thankfully they woke the hell up and called up someone who can shoot to replace the 4th winger du jour at 2nd line RW, but it took more than half the season to get to that point.

Perimeter shooting, lack of net front presence to put rebounds back in, some subpar talent, poor strategy, poor personnel decisions, and lack of action by the front office have all contributed to the Bs being last in the league in 5 on 5 shooting pct. Fortunately, almost all of that can change by the time the playoffs come around. Keeping my fingers crossed. If the Bs can get the scoring sorted out then they have a decent chance at a Cup run, provided injuries do not take over.

 

[Bergyesque]

Just to add:
All the Bruins teams ranks from 2014-15 to 2018-19, from lowest to highest Sh%:
7 - 2018-19 // 6.3 // league standings: 11/31, as of jan. 21
19 - 2016-17 // 6.8 // league standings: 13/30
34 - 2014-15 // 7.1 // league standings: 17/30
72 - 2015-16 // 7.7 // league standings: 16/30
85 - 2017-2018 // 7.9 // league standings: 4/31

 

[Bergyesque]

In the last days of the Julien era, I remember a discussion about shot quantity, shot quality and all that. (posters came up with some heat maps that were pretty interesting)
Fingers were pointed at Julien's no-mistake system, which generated lot of shots, but from long range.
Are the Bs really playing the same type of system under Cassidy?

 

[22Brad Park]

Wow, that's really bad.

The Bruins this year are basically what the Kings were last year. A very good defensive club that as it stands will likely be steam-rolled in Round 1 by a faster opponent.

Not if its Leafs or habs they won't.But it is clear by that % that they have alot of muckers .However they won 5-2 vs Blues then very next game change lineup and add an Acciari to it so it is on coaching a bit to.

 

[BruinDust]

Not if its Leafs or habs they won't.But it is clear by that % that they have alot of muckers .However they won 5-2 vs Blues then very next game change lineup and add an Acciari to it so it is on coaching a bit to.

A Leaf team firing on all cylinders will be tough to handle. I don't care about the media's narrative that the Bruins have some sort of mastery over them or that they are really in their heads.

The Habs don't have the top end talent to be consistent scoring threats. But they can run 3 fairly solid, pretty quick lines and I think they'd be a good test for the Bruins in a series.

 

[22Brad Park]

A Leaf team firing on all cylinders will be tough to handle. I don't care about the media's narrative that the Bruins have some sort of mastery over them or that they are really in their heads.

The Habs don't have the top end talent to be consistent scoring threats. But they can run 3 fairly solid, pretty quick lines and I think they'd be a good test for the Bruins in a series.

Well fair enough but I think Bruins can and will beat both them teams but not Tampa unless Sweeney comes out of his coma.Far as shooting % though you would think Bruins cannot go any lower so that should help to by rising a bit with more puck luck.

 

[Gator Mike]

FWIW...

 

[BruinDust]

Well fair enough but I think Bruins can and will beat both them teams but not Tampa unless Sweeney comes out of his coma.Far as shooting % though you would think Bruins cannot go any lower so that should help to by rising a bit with more puck luck.

I think they can too. But if they got steamrolled that wouldn't surprise me either.

But the shooting % is a lot of just the lack of shooting and scoring talent on this roster. That and teams are starting to figure them out, in particularly on the PP. If you can stop their 1st PP unit, your odds of beating the Bruins go up drastically. And with a PP set-up that is essentially the same now going back to even before Cassidy took over, its getting fairly easy to stop. Take away the cross-seem pass from right to left and you can shut down that unit.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

We can generate offense and chances most nights, but often times we just can't finish.

 

[easton117]

It’d be hard to quantify I guess. But I watch a lot of hockey. And I see no other team that shoots for a face off more than the Bruins.

Someone mentioned the other day that Washington shoots to score. Sounds silly when you say it but it makes a lot of sense.

Think Boston might have more puck luck with a little more patience. Instead of the ‘ can of corn’ into the goalie chest put that thing in the corner and get to work. Grind down some lines instead of allowing them to change. Might lead to higher danger chances on net.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

It’d be hard to quantify I guess. But I watch a lot of hockey. And I see no other team that shoots for a face off more than the Bruins.

Someone mentioned the other day that Washington shoots to score. Sounds silly when you say it but it makes a lot of sense.

Think Boston might have more puck luck with a little more patience. Instead of the ‘ can of corn’ into the goalie chest put that thing in the corner and get to work. Grind down some lines instead of allowing them to change. Might lead to higher danger chances on net.

Be co-head coach with Bruce please.

 

[McGarnagle]

To me it's a sign of three things:

1. Spamming low percentage shots
Shawn Thornton always did this and it frustrated me to no end. He'd just throw the puck at the goalie from impossible angles and give away the puck. A few years back the big thing was the theory that league save% was pretty standard so teams might as well just keep firing and they were bound to put one of every 20 shots in the net. Turns out peripheral shots don't go in nearly as much as ones from the slot. And additionally easy shots being turned away usually give possession to the other team, unless...
2. Lack of net front presence
...you have strong bodies in front to cash in on rebounds. There's no Lucic, Horton, or Iginla camping their thicc asses in the goalie's grill to A. screen/tip, turning bad shot opportunities into good ones or B. Bank home them rebounds. Seriously, who on this roster is willing to do that? Kuraly/Acciari want to play that style but they're not nearly big enough to muscle defenders like Looch/Horton used to. Backes might've been like that years ago, but he can't consistently do it now.
3. Talent. Look at the shooting percentages, who's above 10% for full-timers? The top line and Debrusk/Krejci. Also JFK and Lauzon but they've only taken 21 and 10 shots all year respectively, so sample size. I just think these players either don't have the scoring touch or can't create reasonable chances with proper shot selection. I lean toward the latter because Donato can snipe if he wants, but never finds himself with space to shoot. But some of the former applies to the rest of the roster.

Back in the 2011-2014 days, guys like Kelly, Soderberg, Peverley, Campbell and Paille were all around the 10% mark. That's telling.

 

[easton117]

Be co-head coach with Bruce please.

Lol wouldn’t turn down the salary for sure.

Doubt they want me though. Haven’t skated since snapping my ankle as a 16 year old

 

[Bergyesque]

FWIW...

So, does that mean that they are shooting farther away, compared to last year?

 

[BMC]

They have to stop looking for the perfect play and shooting from 20+ feet away as well. Get in close and then shoot the puck whether someone is there for the screen/tip in or not. It doesn't matter if it's pretty, all that matters is that it goes in the net.

We have all heard that cliché, "Good things happen when you go to the net". It's getting to the point where every Bruins winger needs to write this 1000 times on the whiteboard. Well maybe not the fourth line, they do a pretty good job of crashing & shooting.

 

[Bergyesque]

After one period against LA, 15 shots... no goal.
Can't watch the game, so maybe there is something else at play, and it's a small sample size.
Still, it seems like a sniper is needed here, big time.

 

[compan]

So, does that mean that they are shooting farther away, compared to last year?

That’s how I interpreted it.

That right side face-off dot red must be Bergeron from a Marchy or Pasta feed lol

 

[BruinDust]

After one period against LA, 15 shots... no goal.
Can't watch the game, so maybe there is something else at play, and it's a small sample size.
Still, it seems like a sniper is needed here, big time.

They are both one of the worst teams in the NHL scoring off the rush, and one of the worst at scoring from range outside of a handful of guys.

 

[Bergyesque]

As of today, February 27, the Bruins have a Sh% of 6.8% at 5-on-5. (here is the link to the nhl.com stat page: NHL.com - Stats)
On January 21, the Bruins had a Sh% of 6.3%. This was rank 7th among the worst shooters from 2014-2015 until today (that is 152 team-seasons).
Now they sit at 19th and 2 teams from the current have now a worst Sh%: the Ducks and the Coyotes.

From January 21 to February 27, the Bs have a Sh% of 8.5% (ranking 13th), which is near the league average. (link http://www.nhl.com/stats/team?aggre...gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=fiveOnFiveShootingPctg)
Maybe some type of regression is at work, I mean, it's not like the team added talent in the last month (not couting Coyle and Johansson obviously), they even lost Pasta!
Or maybe it was a change in strategy...