On the Forecheck
To block or not to block, that is the question
by Forechecker on 10/07/08 at 09:55 PM ET
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From the Calgary Flames blog Five Hole Fanatics:
Something I’ve noticed about the Calgary Flames the last few years is they don’t tend to block a lot of shots. I’ve heard it rumored they actually employ this as a strategy: the default setting in the defensive zone is “clear traffic so Kipper can see the shot.”
What follows is a detailed look at shot-blocking trends by team, in an attempt to determine which teams are actually blocking the greatest portion of attempted shots.
In terms of an overall pattern, it looks like Blocked Shots are continuing to become more prevalent. I looked at this in early 2007, and came up with average Blocks Per Game figure of 18.47 in 2005-6, and 20.48 in 2006-7. Kent’s chart over at Five Hole Fanatics implies a 2007-8 figure of 24.0.
I know for this slow footed beer-league defenseman, shot blocking can be an enjoyably challenging (if sometimes painful) part of the game.
Filed in: NHL Statistical Analysis | On the Forecheck | Permalink
Tags: Blocked+Shots,
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