SHOOOOOOOOOOT!

KuklasKorner : Mike Chen’s Hockey Blog : SHOOOOOOOOOOT!:

While some people may have called you an impatient fan that doesn’t understand the “nuances” of the game, new Sharks coach Todd McLellan says you’re right.

McLellan has the numbers to prove his point. In studying the statistical charts from 2007-08, one number popped out at him: shots taken by defensemen. Detroit, the best team in the league, had more than 800 shots from the blue line. Sharks defensemen took only 536 shots.

I know I’m opening up a can of worms here, but…

He is right. The Sharks are too passive on the blueline on the power play (but how often have we had a serious quarterback of the PP on the blueline? When you’re throwing forwards back there, you’re admitting you have a problem).

But.. .the fans don’t get it right all the time, either. Common occurences in San Jose (and other arenas) that I see include:

yelling SHOOOOT when the defenseman has his shooting lane blocked by a defender; if they shot, it’d be blocked. If it’s shot and hits the defenders shinpads, there’s a good chance it goes for a breakaway the other way.

yelling SHOOOOT when the player has the puck in his skates, with his face to the boards and back to goal and a defender on his butt. Now, how in the heck is he supposed to shoot, anyway?

yelling SHOOT when the player is behind the goal line…

Do the sharks need to shoot more on PP? definitely, especially on the blueline, but it’s not really about shooting the puck. It’s about being more aggressive about getting the puck at the net. Shooting the puck into a defender for a turnover isn’t a smart tactic, but you’d never know that from listening to some fans.

Of course, when the sharks DO shoot it and it does hit a defender and go out of the zone, the fans boo….

Unfortunately, getting 17,00 fans to yell “move laterally and stop standing there, you idiot” at the same time is rather hard… Maybe the guys in the both can do a graphic to help….

(and congrats to Kukla on the new site and Mike chen for joining the KK family, but more on that later…)

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