Goals by right handed shot.

[GVM]

My competitive playing days are long gone, but I remember thinking that the odd time I'd face a right handed goalie.... as a lefty I saw more net, and had a better chance of scoring when shooting.

Was reminded of this last week, when I suited up for the first time in more than 10 years to play with friends from high school. The opposing goaltender was a right side mitt. Goalies tend to cheat stick side, and I was seeing net from both wings as well as center. Never having to shoot across my body.

At the NHL level, great majority of goalies are left hand mitt. Always thought that it was easier to score for a right hand shot. Not sure if I have proven anything, but here are the numbers

Data was gathered from the following link:
http://www.nhl.com/stats/rest/skaters?isAggregate=true&reportType=basic&isGame=false&reportName=skatersummary&sort=[{%22property%22:%22points%22,%22direction%22:%22DESC%22},{%22property%22:%22goals%22,%22direction%22:%22DESC%22},{%22property%22:%22assists%22,%22direction%22:%22DESC%22}]&cayenneExp=gameTypeId=2%20and%20seasonId%3E=19171918%20and%20seasonId%3C=20182019
Summed results list of all NHL players since 1918.

Resulting JSON was imported into a .csv file, and I used Pandas to mess with the data.
Was unable to publish the notebook on this forum, have to copy and paste from it.

Initial shape of data: 7034 rows

Players in list with 0 goals: 1532
New shape of data: 5502 rows

Goals scored in NHL since 1918 : 340333
Goals scored by positions since 1918: C: 111040 D: 47877 L: 86185 R: 95231

Player not listed as right of left shot : 70
Goals scored by above mentioned players : 3514
Percentage of total NHL goals scored by above player : 1.03%

Bunch of stuff I could do with these players... I chose to drop them from the list as impact is minimal for what I'm trying to achieve.

New shape of data: 5432 rows
Goals scored in NHL since 1918 with the above 70 players removed: 336819

Percentage of left and right hand shots with at least one goal since 1918: L: 62.8 % R: 37.2 %
Sum of goals scored by left and right shot since 1918: L: 207731 R: 129088
Percentage of goals scored by left and right shot with at least one goal since 1918: L: 61.67% R: 38.33%

Repeating the process but with players that have score at least 200 goals.
New shape of data: 467 rows
Sum of goals scored by left and right shot for players with 200 and more goals : L: 91122 R: 58960
Percentage of left and right shots for players with 200 and more goals: L 60.71% R 39.29%

Repeating the process but with players that have score at least 200 goals.
New shape of data: 467 rows
Sum of goals scored by left and right shot for players with 200 and more goals : L: 91122 R: 58960
Percentage of goals scored by left and right shot for 200 and more goals : L 60.71% R 39.29%
Repeating the process but with players that have score at least 200 goals.
New shape of data: 467 rows
Sum of goals scored by left and right shot for players with 200 and more goals : L: 91122 R: 58960
Percentage of goals scored by left and right shot for 200 and more goals : L 60.71% R 39.29%
Repeating the process but with players that have score at least 200 goals.
New shape of data: 467 rows
Sum of goals scored by left and right shot for players with 200 and more goals : L: 91122 R: 58960
Percentage of goals scored by left and right shot for 200 and more goals : L 60.71% R 39.29%
Repeating the process but with players that have score at least 400 goals.
New shape of data: 467 rows
Sum of goals scored by left and right shot for players with 200 and more goals : L: 91122 R: 58960
Percentage of goals scored by left and right shot for 200 and more goals : L 60.71% R 39.29%
New shape of data: 97 rows
Sum of goals scored by left and right shot for players with 400 and more goals : L: 28882 R: 20982
Percentage of left and right shots for players with 400 and more goals : L: 59.8% R: 40.2%

Repeating the process but with players that have score at least 400 goals.
New shape of data: 467 rows
Sum of goals scored by left and right shot for players with 200 and more goals : L: 91122 R: 58960
Percentage of goals scored by left and right shot for 200 and more goals : L 60.71% R 39.29%
New shape of data: 97 rows
Repeating the process but with players that have score at least 500 goals.
New shape of data: 45 rows
Sum of goals scored by left and right shot for players with 500 and more goals : L: 14093 R: 13088
Percentage of left and right shots for players with 500 and more goals : L: 51.8% R: 48.2%

It seams as if when player reaches a certain level of ability, he is better off shooting from the right.

Click to read more...

 

[puckpilot]

Interesting take. One factor that may influence results is geography. According to the article below 60% of Canadians shoot left. For players in the US, 60% shoot right.

Now, for a lot of the history of the NHL, most players were Canadian. This seems to line up with the results from the bulk of your data. 60% of goal scorers are left shot.

I'm no expert, but the way I'm reading things, if I'm reading them correctly at all, the data seems to indicate that there isn't an optimal direction to shoot from. The breakdown for the most skilled players, 500 goals+, is pretty much 50/50. Gretzky vs Lemieux.

Hockey Stick Divide: Canada Leans Left, U.S. Right

On a side note, being a left shot, I've always considered stick side to be the easier side to beat the goalie, specifically low stick. Haha. Go figure.

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

I'm a RHS and have never cared what hand the goalie is but I've always preferred playing my off-wing as I get to see much more of the net and can cut across on the forehand - not really even sure why it's called the off-wing, other than playing in the defensive zone it's a detriment IMO

 

[Anaheim4ever]

I'm a RHS and have never cared what hand the goalie is but I've always preferred playing my off-wing as I get to see much more of the net and can cut across on the forehand - not really even sure why it's called the off-wing, other than playing in the defensive zone it's a detriment IMO

I think Snipers being on the offwing can be a great thing, Russians typically like be on the offwing for that reason. The one timer on offwing is deadly too

In the EA NHL video games i always put my lineups with players on the offwing so i can get better shooting angles & win games. D-men however i leave the RH shots on right side.

 

[filinski77]

Interesting, for myself personally, I have always thought righties were at a disadvantage, as it's easier to hit top corner on the goalies blocker side than their glove side.