I hate how 90% of goals are fluky in today’s game.

Marshmallow Man

Registered User
Nov 6, 2020
250
355
The modern game is all about creating as much congestion in front of the net as possible, then firing the puck in the general direction of the goalie and hoping it bounces off 6 different skaters before going in the net. 99.99% of the time, if the goalie can see the puck, he is going to stop the puck.

I guess a lot of modern fans grew up on this stuff, so they don’t know any different. But those who watched during the 80s and 90s, and have been paying attention, it’s sad to see not only the decrease in scoring and offensive skill, but the way the game has changed to accommodate how dominant goalies have become.

In watching highlights (if you want to call them that) damn near 90% of goals are scored off random deflections. How can you be impressed by what is essentially a goal scored by accident? It’s almost comical watching the goal scorer celebrate, as if he meant to have the puck bounce off one defenseman’s skate, off another defenseman’s stick, hit the popcorn vendor in the 12th row, bounce off the scoreboard and into the net.

I’d love to see a Gretzky, a Lemieux, or a Hull score by beating the goalie straight-up with an accurate shot or completing a beautiful play. Instead, nearly every goal is scored off a fluky deflection, or a rebound, or a goalie-screen.
 
Last edited:

Summer Rose

Red Like Roses
Sponsor
May 3, 2012
90,720
20,411
Gainesville, Florida
Absolutely not. I fully meant to bank that goal in with my ass.

So you put yourself in a position to score.

You didn’t mean that outcome specifically, but it works time and time again. You score by going to the net, and if it banks off your ass and in, it wasn’t a complete accident. Did the defender let you park there for free? No, you battled for that position. An ass goal is a goal.
 

OppositeLocK

Registered User
Nov 18, 2017
1,587
2,097
So you put yourself in a position to score.

You didn’t mean that outcome specifically, but it works time and time again. You score by going to the net, and if it banks off your ass and in, it wasn’t a complete accident. Did the defender let you park there for free? No, you battled for that position. An ass goal is a goal.

Indeed. I am very proud of my ass.
 

Zaddy

Registered User
Feb 8, 2013
13,058
5,850
I agree but only to a certain degree. There's definitely a large portion of goals that are scored off random deflections and bounces which isn't particularly entertaining to watch, but there is also an incredible amount of skill in the league right now. Look at McDavid, Draisaitl, MacKinnon, Makar, Kane, Pastrnak, Kaprizov, Barzal etc. These guys are a lot of fun to watch and do incredible things. So in general I think the game is at a pretty decent level, but the one thing I'd lobby for is to crackdown on infractions and call more penalties so these guys and their skill can shine more instead of being interfered and obstructed with as much as they are. That's the real issue IMO.
 
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OppositeLocK

Registered User
Nov 18, 2017
1,587
2,097
I’d probably have scored a few more goals with a bigger ass myself. Unfortunately, I’m pretty skinny so shooting at me while I’m crashing the net isn’t a great idea.

Side note: glad we could throw shade at each other without getting mad. :)

That's the thing...

R326b18303597787e316632d2fa56cedb
 

SwedishFire

Registered User
Mar 3, 2011
5,332
1,863
The modern game is all about creating as much congestion in front of the net as possible, then firing the puck in the general direction of the goalie and hoping it bounces off 6 different skaters before going in the net. 99.99% of the time, if the goalie can see the puck, he is going to stop the puck.

I guess a lot of modern fans grew up on this stuff, so they don’t know any different. But those who watched during the 80s and 90s, and have been paying attention, it’s sad to see not only the decrease in scoring and offensive skill, but the way the game has changed to accommodate how dominant goalies have become.

In watching highlights (if you want to call them that) damn near 90% of goals are scored off random deflections. How can you be impressed by what is essentially a goal scored by accident? It’s almost comical watching the goal scorer celebrate, as if he meant to have the puck bounce off one defenseman’s skate, off another defenseman’s stick, hit the popcorn vendor in the 12th row, bounce off the scoreboard and into the net.

I’d love to see a Gretzky, a Lemieux, or a Hull score by beating the goalie straight-up with an accurate shot or completing a beautiful play. Instead, nearly every goal is scored off a fluky deflection, or a rebound, or a goalie-screen.

The goalie pads are still insanly big. I dont care if some say that players also got more adventage, the game dies. You just dont beat a goalie clean nowadays. If you do, the goalie will be out of NHL after the season.

De crease all stupid pads on a goalie, let them not look like a big overeating pig in the net.
 

Daximus

Wow, what a terrific audience.
Sponsor
Oct 11, 2014
38,856
24,729
Five Hills
The goalie pads are still insanly big. I dont care if some say that players also got more adventage, the game dies. You just dont beat a goalie clean nowadays. If you do, the goalie will be out of NHL after the season.

De crease all stupid pads on a goalie, let them not look like a big overeating pig in the net.

Goalies get beat clean all the time. Hell the playoff series between the Jets and Oilers had a few just in that series alone. I assume your an Oilers fan with your avatar. Which games are you watching?
 

CanadienShark

Registered User
Dec 18, 2012
37,357
10,608
90% of goals are not fluky.

Those "random deflections" take a ton of skill/hand eye coordination. The game is so well coached/managed now that players have to find ways to outdo their competition anyway they can. It's a game of centimetres and smart players are able to adapt to changes.
 

Garbageyuk

Registered User
Dec 19, 2016
5,522
5,164
I like that it's like this. To me, there is more strategy involved; you need to play the percentages, and adapt your gameplan to the opposing team's attributes, players, tendencies, and tactics. As opposed to the other end of the spectrum, 80s pond hockey, where you just needed to get the puck to your best player who would then deke the other team's defensemen and goalie out of their skates and tuck the puck in, or score from a long wind-up slapshot from just inside the Blueline off the rush. Imo, there is way more nuance and skill involved in today's game.
 

rumrokh

THORBS
Mar 10, 2006
10,107
3,285
The modern game is all about creating as much congestion in front of the net as possible, then firing the puck in the general direction of the goalie and hoping it bounces off 6 different skaters before going in the net. 99.99% of the time, if the goalie can see the puck, he is going to stop the puck.

I guess a lot of modern fans grew up on this stuff, so they don’t know any different. But those who watched during the 80s and 90s, and have been paying attention, it’s sad to see not only the decrease in scoring and offensive skill, but the way the game has changed to accommodate how dominant goalies have become.

In watching highlights (if you want to call them that) damn near 90% of goals are scored off random deflections. How can you be impressed by what is essentially a goal scored by accident? It’s almost comical watching the goal scorer celebrate, as if he meant to have the puck bounce off one defenseman’s skate, off another defenseman’s stick, hit the popcorn vendor in the 12th row, bounce off the scoreboard and into the net.

I’d love to see a Gretzky, a Lemieux, or a Hull score by beating the goalie straight-up with an accurate shot or completing a beautiful play. Instead, nearly every goal is scored off a fluky deflection, or a rebound, or a goalie-screen.

I agree with you in some ways, but you overstate the prevalence of fluky goals. Even if fluky goals are up, they're usually only partly fluky and still almost always involve a lot more skill than the oh-so-common unscreened medium power slap shot from the blue line or boards sailing past a stand-up goalie in the 80's and early 90's.

I'm in favor of shrinking pads more. Not just so we see more types of goals, but also so we can see more acrobatic saves, which are one of the most exciting things in hockey. Unfortunately, shrinking pads or increasing the net size will also only increase the number of goals like the ones you describe, which are largely due to player size, speed, and advances in systems and shot blocking technique (and protection). But these things tend to go in waves. In a few years, we could see an influx of players who have learned to shoot around blockers better than ever and you'll complain about the number of screened goals from distance that go straight in and aren't interesting because the goalie didn't see the shot. Then we might see a shift in shot blocking strategies and so forth. I'm all for improving the game, but some improvements can be allowed to happen naturally.
 

7even

Offered and lost
Feb 1, 2012
18,569
14,126
North Carolina
it’s sad to see not only the decrease in scoring and offensive skill

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I don't agree with your point, but if I did, I'd say that as the ability of players and coaches rises, and the differences between skill diminishes, then the greater role luck plays in outcomes, necessarily. This is a very easy phenomenon to see. The CHL is a league dominated by stars, with high scoring games. Are junior players more creative and talented than NHLers? No. It's because that league is populated by both guys who are 20yr old bonafide NHL prospects and also 16 year olds playing their first games. It's not a level playing field. The NHL is the top of the top of the top, and their athletes train as a full time job, have regimented nutrition, have full access to specialized skill coaches, and work with a head coach who is among the 30 best coaches in the world, who in turn have a suite of assistants, video guys, etc working for them. They study systems, drill technique, and train a full 10 months out of the year. And everyone has that dedicated support, from your superstars to your fourth line centers.

Which is all just a long way of saying that I'm sorry hockey players were worse in your favorite era.
 

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