Why is scoring so much higher this year

[wgknestrick]

It is clearly the goaltending equipment regulations are the #1 impact to the uptick of goals. Ave SV% is down around 90%, and I love it. PP opportunities are nowhere near the Ovi peak years (so not that). About the only other factor could be way more competition in tanking for better draft picks, (which would also impact SV% indirectly). I don't remember so many teams having such awful goal differential (probably end up with 3 teams having -100 or more)

 

[Block]

Officiating standard creating a much more free flowing game with small skilled players and less physicality which lets players go to the formerly dirty areas without a care

This is a big one. You don't have to be nearly as strong to get a shot off in high danger areas as you used to be cause hitting is almost gone.

 

[Non Player Canadiens]

didn't read OP, but, answer is tonight's Habs-Flyers game

 

[ForumNamePending]

I dunno... Lots of reasonable sounding explanations and theories out there.

My worry is the folks saying talent dilution are correct. Actually not so much dilution of talent caused by expansion, but more a shrinking of the pool the NHL is drawing talent from. Perhaps the escalating costs of playing (and training for) youth hockey at the levels required to have any shot of playing it at a pro level is finally starting to impact the upper echelons of the sport. Moving forward I got to think trying to roster up a ~1000 player league solely with dudes who grew up in upper 10% households and/or the sons of well connected former pro players/hockey lifers is sub-optimal. I think if it really is cost having an impact it would also explain why goaltending seems to have fallen off so much... Between the equipment and all the specialized training developing goalies is especially expensive.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

I see a much bigger gap in skill between forwards and defensemen than 10 years ago, same thing with goaltending. Kucherov, McDavid and MacKinnon, Matthews etc. are able to do whatever they want with the players they’re facing.

There aren’t that many outstanding defensive D anymore. The guys who win the Norris now are all high scoring D in the mold of Erik Karlsson.

Not many Nick Lidstrom or Chris Pronger type players anymore who just shut down the opposition.

Of course there are more high end forwards than before, so you see more dynamic duos than before.

 

[JukofYork]

There use to be Haseks, Roys, Cujos, Belfours, Richters, Lundqvists etc. The goalie today are quite average. Nobody wants to be a goalie anymore. Go to any league and there is usually a shortage in goalies.

 

[Goose]

Scoring is actually lower this season than it was last season and the one prior.

At the top end it is higher, but across the League it's lower.

Still over 6.00 goals per game, though.

View attachment 848429

It's amazing how many people start these types of threads without first looking at the stats.

 

[PensPlz]

There are only like a handful teams with really good goalies. They rest are pretty mid at best. So scoring will go up.

I honestly couldn't tell you even half the current playoff team's starting goalies....

 

[wetcoast]

I think there's just a bumper crop of insane talent that's in their prime. That, and advances in sports medicine mean that primes extend longer - back in the day goal scorers peaked in their early 20s, now we see guys like McDavid and Matthews lead the league in their mid to late 20s.

More aggressive power play formations - some teams don't even dress a defenseman on the PP anymore.

High risk, high reward zone entries at even strength and 5 on 5 lead to more scoring chances off the rush in both directions.

Stick technology that's light years ahead of even 10 years ago means players can rip shots from anywhere in the o zone with minimal time and space with the velocity of slap shots

Smaller goalie pads

Illuminati

3 on 3 OT means more goals than 4 on 4. Also teams know that 3 on 3 is kind of a crap shoot so they play more aggressively late in the game to break a tie

Teams pull the goalies sooner and more often

Emphasis on speed and skill means that "energy line" players, enforcers, and defensive specialists aren't taking up as many roster spots

I wonder has anyone done a year by year look at 3 on 3 scoring and ENP?

 

[Elvs]

Officiating standard creating a much more free flowing game with small skilled players and less physicality which lets players go to the formerly dirty areas without a care

I think this something that doesn't get talked about enough. Whenever I watch highlights these days there's always goals from the slot or at the top of the goal crease that I'm thinking "this goal wouldn't happen 20 years", or at least not with the nearly the same frequency.

There's no emphasis on players having a mean streak in front of their own net anymore. Then again, the refs seem to calling a lot more of the rough stuff happening in or near the slot, so that could be why.

 

[BraveCanadian]

There use to be Haseks, Roys, Cujos, Belfours, Richters, Lundqvists etc. The goalie today are quite average. Nobody wants to be a goalie anymore. Go to any league and there is usually a shortage in goalies.

That isn’t new

 

[wgknestrick]

There use to be Haseks, Roys, Cujos, Belfours, Richters, Lundqvists etc. The goalie today are quite average. Nobody wants to be a goalie anymore. Go to any league and there is usually a shortage in goalies.

This was ALWAYS the case, even during the golden era of goalies. Few have the means and desire to play goalie along with the availability of good coaching for it. Its the exact same situation in soccer. As a head coach, you need a 2nd specialized coach to dedicate themselves to improving this position while ignoring the rest of your players.

I just think the goalie population is much closer to each other (than it used to be), and that the position has pretty much been optimized. You can coach most pro level players into being a serviceable NHL goalie now.

I think the next break through in goaltending will have to come from creative utilization like using 2 goalies for every game to limit their fatigue/wear. I don't understand why 1 player is asked to consistently play the entire 60min while others play 20-24min. Its a sacred cow that no one has ever questioned or challenged.

 

[airforceones25]

because Anaheim allowed John Gibson to play 45 games...

 

[The Panther]

As noted, scoring is lower this season than the previous two.

But, in general, the reason there are more high-end point seasons lately is the reduction in goalie equipment c.2017. There was a small spike right after that. (What's hilarious is that it took the NHL and its owners about 20 years to deal with the low-scoring problem.)

Not only was there a spike then, but I also noticed (almost overnight) more distance shots going in, more short-side shots, more shots upstairs, more tricky shots by the goalies' ears, etc. All this has become common strategy by 2024. So, the offensive players have adapted to the advantages that the high-tech whippy sticks gave them.

And yes, over-expansion of the NHL means there are more AHL-level players now with big-league jobs. But that doesn't necessarily increase scoring (see: late-90s). It's more that the teams' strategies have shifted and high-end players have developed new and better strategies, aided by the equipment.

I think the next break through in goaltending will have to come from creative utilization like using 2 goalies for every game to limit their fatigue/wear. I don't understand why 1 player is asked to consistently play the entire 60min while others play 20-24min. Its a sacred cow that no one has ever questioned or challenged.

I actually questioned this, on the History forum, about a year ago and we had a brief thread about it.

I agree. There is really no legit reason why only 1 goalie should play an entire game.

 

[Roksta]

Goalies not wearing XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXL gear to be 2x their size helps it seems

 

[JianYang]

As noted, scoring is lower this season than the previous two.

But, in general, the reason there are more high-end point seasons lately is the reduction in goalie equipment c.2017. There was a small spike right after that. (What's hilarious is that it took the NHL and its owners about 20 years to deal with the low-scoring problem.)

Not only was there a spike then, but I also noticed (almost overnight) more distance shots going in, more short-side shots, more shots upstairs, more tricky shots by the goalies' ears, etc. All this has become common strategy by 2024. So, the offensive players have adapted to the advantages that the high-tech whippy sticks gave them.

And yes, over-expansion of the NHL means there are more AHL-level players now with big-league jobs. But that doesn't necessarily increase scoring (see: late-90s). It's more that the teams' strategies have shifted and high-end players have developed new and better strategies, aided by the equipment.


I actually questioned this, on the History forum, about a year ago and we had a brief thread about it.

I agree. There is really no legit reason why only 1 goalie should play an entire game.

Stick technology has been improving for years, far before scoring actually went up. But the stick technology didn't matter as much when you could freely whack and hook at the hands.

So it's really a combination of things. Goalie equipment reductions is one. You can't play the giguere style anymore and expect success. Stick technology is another, but it is is also in conjunction with star players having their hands and mid sections freer from hooks and whacks.

Also, the mindset of being far more aggressive in extra attacker situations has inflated goal totals at the end of games too, imo.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

The raw stats show # of shots hasn't really icreased, that has remained relatively the same while Sv% decreased.

The meta for mid-teens for a lot of teams, made popular by the Peter DeBoer Devils, was zone entry-->kick it to the point --> point shot into traffic, and grind out a win by gaming #corsi. Teams have since moved on and focused on generating higher quality chances.

So the answer, as per usual, is the New Jersey Devils ruined hockey.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

Less checking and teams are more likely to play pond hockey

 

[boredmale]

Less checking and teams are more likely to play pond hockey

That's what I would go with, it seems like the league for the most part is trying to get away from the clutch and grab ERA

 

[HamiltonNHL]

the league for the most part is trying to get away from the clutch and grab ERA

great point.

 

[Strangle]

I repeat the same thing in every one of these threads: analytics have led to an improvement in offensive output. I do think the talent in the league is at a really high level, and that plays a factor, but it's what those talented players are doing that's evolved, IMO.

The other day, Slafkovsky made a crazy no-look pass through the middle of the ice that ended in a gorgeous one-timer goal. Regardless of whether or not he was purposely trying to get the puck all the way over or he was just throwing it blindly, that's a play that's encouraged now where a few years ago the coach would've been in Slafkovsky's ear to choose a safer play most of the time. As in, "great that it worked that time, but we don't want to see you trying that too often." We see cross-ice attempts at a much higher rate than we used to and that change is data driven.

I'll also like to mention, while I'm not a devotee of analytics really (I think most of the public data models to be fairly flawed), it's crazy to me that none of the analytics devotees on this site ever come in these threads making this point.

Higher than what? Its actually still down

 

[Mike C]

Diluting talent, AND a lot fewer career #1 goalies, also the skill is pretty crazy these days

Don't forget the juiced pucks!

 

[Kryten]

View attachment 848728

 

[Gnashville]

The Goalies suck

 

[Raistlin]

Goalies not wearing XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXL gear to be 2x their size helps it seems

and the current skaters are getting stronger and stronger each year, a "beanpole-like" guy like Pettersson is using a 102 flex and just cannons one timers at goalies from the halfboard. good luck. them getting stronger, and the goalies cannot start reactingto pucks like an A.I. is a big issue.