Shootout statistics, 2011-14

Extra points gained in the shootout last season didn’t mean much for the Los Angeles Kings, who finished 11 points south of San Jose and 11 points north of Phoenix to finish in the Pacific Division’s third seed. The Kings more or less knew they’d be getting the runner up in the Anaheim-San Jose battle for the Pacific Division with weeks before the season ended.

While single points weren’t as connected to Los Angeles’ postseason path as they had been, in 2012-13 the Kings broke a 57-point deadlock by defeating San Jose on the final day of the regular season, earning the (eventual) crucial home ice advantage in a second round series in which every game was won by the home team. In 2011-12, they finished five points up on Calgary – a 3-9 shootout team that year – for the eighth seed in their first Stanley Cup run.

OK, enough with the lectures about the importance of the shootout. Which teams, and which Kings have found the most success in the shootout over the last three seasons?

TEAM (SHOOTOUTS, 11-14) (SHOOTOUT RECORD 13-14, 12-13, 11-12): TOTAL RECORD
Pittsburgh (25) (7-3, 3-0, 9-3): 19-6
Colorado (24) (5-4, 2-2, 9-2): 16-8
San Jose (43) (10-7, 8-4, 9-5): 27-16
New York Islanders (23) (9-6, 4-3, 7-4): 20-13
Boston (28) (3-6, 4-3, 9-3): 16-12
Buffalo (37) (7-5, 7-4, 7-7): 21-16
Dallas (23) (4-5, 2-1, 7-4): 13-10
St. Louis (32) (9-3, 5-1, 4-10): 18-14
Columbus (25) (5-2, 5-4, 4-5): 14-11
Minnesota (42) (8-8, 4-2, 11-9): 23-19
Washington (32) (10-11, 3-0, 4-4): 17-15
Ottawa (32) (7-7, 4-4, 6-4): 17-15
Winnipeg (27) (8-6, 2-3, 4-4): 14-13
Tampa Bay (24) (8-6, 1-3, 3-3): 12-12
New York Rangers (24) (4-3, 4-4, 4-5): 12-12
Chicago (39) (6-8, 6-5, 7-7): 19-20
Florida (35) (8-6, 3-1, 6-11): 17-18
Detroit (33) (5-9, 2-5, 9-3): 16-17
Vancouver (38) (5-7, 5-6, 8-7): 18-20
Edmonton (24) (4-3, 2-3, 5-7): 11-13
Los Angeles (35) (8-6, 2-4, 6-9): 16-19
Montreal (31) (6-3, 3-2, 5-12): 14-17
Anaheim (28) (3-6, 6-3, 3-7): 12-16
Phoenix (39) (6-7, 4-6, 6-10): 16-23
Calgary (25) (7-3, 0-3, 3-9): 10-15
New Jersey (38) (0-13, 2-7, 12-4): 14-24
Toronto (37) (9-14, 0-5, 4-5): 13-24
Philadelphia (25) (3-8, 1-2, 4-7): 8-17
Nashville (29) (2-9, 2-6, 5-5): 9-20
Carolina (15) (2-4, 1-1, 1-6): 4-11

-YOUR HIGHS AND LOWS. No teams have gone to as many shootouts over the last three years as San Jose (43) and Minnesota (42). Meanwhile, Carolina has gained only 19 points from a league-low 15 shootouts over the same span.

-SKILL AND WILL. It’s only a three-year sample size, but it does appear as though there are more offensive teams at the top of the list and more defensive teams at the bottom of the list. Top-five shootout teams Pittsburgh, Boston and Colorado finished amongst the five highest scoring teams in the NHL a combined six times over the last three years, while the depths of the list feature lower scoring clubs in Phoenix, New Jersey and Nashville.

-THESE GUYS ARE GOOD. T.J. Oshie is 16-29 in shootouts over the last three years. Evgeni Malkin (12-18), Frans Nielsen (17-33), Jonathan Toews (15-31) and Zach Parise (16-36) will bury the puck regularly in the frequent opportunities they get in the shootout. Among those who have fallen off: Pavel Datsyuk has four goals in his last 15 attempts, while Patrick Kane is 7-for-his-last-22. Sidney Crosby is 5-for-10 over the last two years, while Logan Couture has developed into a good option with 11 goals over his last 20 attempts.

-COME BACK, ZACH. Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk combined for 19 shootout goals on 30 shots for New Jersey in 2011-12. Both players have moved on, leading to a lot of one-point nights in Newark. Devils skaters scored four times on 45 attempts in 2013-14, losing all 13 shootouts.

-IN BLOOM. Marc-Andre Fleury has set the pace amongst goaltenders, stopping 59 of 75 shots over the last three seasons for a .787 shootout save percentage.

Kings shooters, last three seasons:

Dwight King: 1-1
Marian Gaborik 6-13*
Dustin Brown: 6-18
Anze Kopitar: 9-26
Jeff Carter: 8-22**
Justin Williams: 4-11
Mike Richards: 6-21
Jarret Stoll: 2-11
Tyler Toffoli: 0-1
Trevor Lewis: 0-2
Drew Doughty: 0-2

*Includes statistics with Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers
**Includes statistics with Columbus Blue Jackets

-HAIL TO THE KING. Dwight King’s only career shootout attempt was the game-winner in a nine-round marathon in Martin Jones’ NHL debut in Anaheim on December 3, 2013.

-STOLLTENDER. Since his 9-for-10 run in 2010-11, Jarret Stoll has two goals on 11 attempts and hasn’t scored in the shootout since December 22, 2011, Darryl Sutter’s first game as head coach.

-ACCU-KOPI. Los Angeles’ best option is Anze Kopitar, who is 8-17 over the last two years after some early career shootout struggles. Marian Gaborik, who was 2-3 with the Kings, is clearly an asset as well. With Kopitar, Gaborik, Jeff Carter and Dustin Brown, the Kings have plenty of experienced options.

-QUICKTIME. Jonathan Quick has stopped 65 of 97 shots over the last three seasons. Martin Jones is a perfect 12-for-12.

Top NHL shooters, 2013-14
Top NHL goalies, 2013-14


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