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

[OppositeLocK]

I thought that was the Hulk? Doesn't the Thing look like rocks?

No, Hulk is the one that turns when he gets angry.

 

[AvroArrow]

"90%" I get what you're saying OP, but that number is closer to 50% to be quite honest.

 

[Weztex]

So, just to be clear...
low skill goal:


high skill goal:

Nobody here would describe the Crosby goal as a low skill goal. It doesn’t even fit the examples given by the OP. In fact, both of those goals aren’t common goals in their respective eras.

Weird choice.

 

[ThankGord]

Your percentage is obviously hyperbolic but a significant amount of deflection goals are intentional and require a lot of skill from the shooter/passer and hand-eye coordination from the goal scorer.

I think it's kind of cool that goaltending has gotten so good that it requires insane deflections to beat them.

 

[Confused Turnip]

Nobody here would describe the Crosby goal as a low skill goal. It doesn’t even fit the examples given by the OP. In fact, both of those goals aren’t common goals in their respective eras.

Weird choice.

It's a modern deflection goal that 100% needed a lucky bounce vs a typical unscreened slapshot past a standup goalie of yesteryear. Literally the comparison from OP. My point is to show that Sid needed to do an incredible amount of skill work to get that goal in, and it was far from a fluke.

 

[Right Wing]

I also have really noticed, this year the much higher percentage of “garbage” goals off sticks skates, double bounces etc. It’s not 90% but it is a multiple over double what it used to be with tic-tac-toe plays of the past era (80s. 90s)

 

[Bood12]

If a puck goes into a crowd the play is dead so I am not sure what highlight you saw where it hit the popcorn vendor

 

[ijuka]

That's what the small rink causes. Until NHL changes to wider rinks, this is what we'll see. Almost every goal is due to a bounce off someone's ass or shinpads because there just is no room for anyone to ever be out of position.

 

[Weztex]

It's a modern deflection goal that 100% needed a lucky bounce vs a typical unscreened slapshot past a standup goalie of yesteryear. Literally the comparison from OP. My point is to show that Sid needed to do an incredible amount of skill work to get that goal in, and it was far from a fluke.

It's neither a deflection nor a rebound. Crosby caught it in mid air and tapped it pass the goalie afterwards. We're far from a deflected puck on a skate or body. You post that goal like it is representative of most ''traffic'' goals while it is absolutely not and you know it. So yeah, weird choice.

 

[txpd]

90%? Come on. Which of these is fluky?

 

[txpd]

That's what the small rink causes. Until NHL changes to wider rinks, this is what we'll see. Almost every goal is due to a bounce off someone's ass or shinpads because there just is no room for anyone to ever be out of position.

seriously?

 

[Martin Skoula]

I don't think it's an issue of goalies as much as it is an issue of interference going uncalled most of the time. Problem is that if you get rid of interference, the game gets faster and more guys end up concussed. As much as Oiler fans whine about McDavid's lack of calls, there is validity to it. It shouldn't be this easy to shut him down without taking a penalty by interfering with him through the neutral zone just enough to not get called. Guys like Holl have no business shutting him down 3 games in a row. It gets worse in the playoffs because the bar for legal interference goes higher. Regular season interference should be called more strictly and the playoffs should be at the strictness the regular season is now.

 

[Trojans86]

Protection. It has nothing to do with stopping a puck but a lot to do we keeping goalies from getting injured. Ask Kevin Weeks about this.

There are ways to shrink some of the pads (not all) and not make it any more dangerous. This isnt even debatable.

 

[txpd]

Your percentage is obviously hyperbolic but a significant amount of deflection goals are intentional and require a lot of skill from the shooter/passer and hand-eye coordination from the goal scorer.

I think it's kind of cool that goaltending has gotten so good that it requires insane deflections to beat them.[/MEDIA]

Sick deflection. Diving goals. Insane moves. No flukes here

 

[Riddum]

Agreed, perhaps make the ice bigger and goalies smaller

Bigger nets too

Do you remember the Sochi Olympics? It was incredibly boring. Collapsing down the middle was even worse. And the pace of the game was slower.

 

[Canes]

And coming down the wing along the boards firing weak wrist shots that go in like it was common in the 80s isn't fluky?

 

[MikeK]

I think 90% is too much of an exaggeration but I definitely get the point. The amount of quality goals has decreased significantly in recent years and I believe it's because of the lack of space out there. Players, with all the armor they now wear, are much bigger than ever before. The player base as a whole are also much faster then ever. Add it all up and it equates to far less time and room to work with out there.

This is why I am a supporter of larger playing ice surface. I watch hockey today and a lot of times it looks like a pond hockey game because there just isn't any room out there.

 

[Last Gleaming]

Thanks for posting the Dryden article, FriendlySpungo. Hyperbole about 90% aside, the proportion of goals involving deflections, 'taking away' the goalie's eyes, just firing a puck into chaos, etc., is too high.

Larger ice surfaces are a non-starter. Adding space away from the scoring areas doesn't spread out the defense. And owners aren't about to remove seats.

Going on about the size of goalie pads, which has been reduced a few times now, misses the real game-changer, I think: leg pad rotation. Dryden identified this in his article but didn't pursue it. The goalie's leg pads should not come together to form a horizontal wall on the ice surface, full stop. That's the key that enables the butterfly to be used all the time. Take that away and longer shots would more often force reaction saves and create rebounds, forcing the defense to cover more ice in the offensive zone. Collapsing defenses giving up longer-range chances would be picked apart.

Unrealistic due to the NHLPA, but also would be helpful: reduce the gameday lineups to 15 skaters. The enforcer role is long gone, and we don't need a whole 4th line of low-skill, 'energy' forwards. This would reduce the pace of the game a bit, but allow for more bursts of speed and space for the stars.

 

[BlueBull]

You lost any credibility when you said there has been a decrease in offensive skill, also I would hardly say 90% of goals are from random deflections and most of those so called random deflection goals do take skill.

This is what I was trying to say in My Original Reply.

While mayyybe 50% of them are luck, There is no way that only 10% of Goals today are Skill Based.

 

[Marshmallow Man]

Creating deflections and rebounds within an offensive structure is a fluke?

By the literal definition of the word, yes.

The “offensive structure” is designed to generate fluke goals that bounce off opposing players in random ways. That’s my biggest problem with today’s game. It’s not just that goalies are so dominant, but how it’s affected the strategy of the game itself.

Sure, there’s a type of skill involved in creating congestion in front of the goalie and firing pucks in that general direction, but it’s not something I, or many other fans, find pleasing or impressive or entertaining.

Impossible to create stars in a game played this way. Watch Gretzky or Lemieux or Orr highlights. The goals generated by these stars are deliberate. They aren’t fluky or resulting from sheer luck.

This will be the last time I address anyone pretending not to understand the difference between a deliberate goal and a fluke goal. There’s a reason goalies aren’t usually blamed for goals that go in off deflections. It’s understood that, in most cases, they had no chance at stopping it and it mostly came down to bad luck.

 

[Just Linda]

I don't think it's an issue of goalies as much as it is an issue of interference going uncalled most of the time. Problem is that if you get rid of interference, the game gets faster and more guys end up concussed. As much as Oiler fans whine about McDavid's lack of calls, there is validity to it. It shouldn't be this easy to shut him down without taking a penalty by interfering with him through the neutral zone just enough to not get called. Guys like Holl have no business shutting him down 3 games in a row. It gets worse in the playoffs because the bar for legal interference goes higher. Regular season interference should be called more strictly and the playoffs should be at the strictness the regular season is now.

Bingo.

The amount of illegal picks that are set or plays disrupted by interference drives me crazy. It slows down the game so much, makes one on ones a matter of pushing the player rather than playing the puck. If interference was enforced, the game gets funner.

 

[Bevans]

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'd rather watch Kucherov rip one timers than a goalie, from the 80's, try to stop a shot with his toe like he's dipping it into a pool to check the temperature.

 

[BraveCanadian]

Agree 100%. I've mentioned it a few times recently that it seems like all the goals are deflections off a stick or legs in front, or a garbage goal rebound.

Goaltenders have been enabled by lighter and better equipment to play a style that maximizes their odds. Things went so far as to give them cheaters and landing pads for playing the butterfly more easily/effectively. Equipment literally changed everything.

This combined with better equipment on the skaters as well means everyone collapses into the middle and there are very few artistic plays or great shot opportunities to beat goaltenders. Teams now select goaltenders for size because of this..

To each their own but I think the NHL needs to do something about this.. it makes the game terribly boring to me and combined with how costs are escalating for players feeding into the league.. the future doesn't look so bright for the NHL.

 

[Price is Wright]

I honestly feel deflections are decreasing not increasing. It was getting stupid a few seasons back how often goals would only go in due to a ping pong off sticks. The speed of players is starting to lead to one on one chances on goalies more often. At least from my experience. Still not to my liking but it's better than it was a few years back.

 

[Garbage Goal]

Yeah people talk about how to market the game and why it’s number four of the big four. I think those discussions are valid, but it does mostly boil down to this. The game is stale and it needs to open up. Three on three OT was a great stride. Unless you’re a fan of a winning team games tend to be boring for the average person because goals are mostly based around fluke and game managed PPs.