Shootouts are a controversial part of the new NHL. Fans and players alike routinely bemoan the use of a skills competition to decide the outcome of a game. A new stat category, ROW (Total number of Regulation plus Overtime Wins) , was created so shootouts wouldn’t impact the standings. At the same time, shootouts are exciting and nerve wracking. It’s an opportunity for some of the world’s best players to go one on one in a battle for supremacy. But what if your best players aren’t the best in these scenarios? The Lightning face a conundrum like this with Steven Stamkos. He’s a fixture in the shootout, even though he has struggled in them historically. He may be one of the best snipers in the league, but the Lightning would be better served giving his spot in the shootout to other members of the team.
In the 2013-14 season, the Lightning have taken part in 12 shootouts and won six of them. The last shootout that saw the Bolts earn the victory was against the Ottawa Senators on January 23rd. So far this season, Stamkos is one for three. The best Bolts in the SO this season are Valtteri Filppula ( 4 for 12 – 33%) and Nikita Kucherov (3 for 7 – 43%). Ryan Callahan is 6 for 22 (27%) on the season, though most of those came as a member of the New York Rangers. In contrast, the player with the highest shootout percentage in the NHL this year is T.J. Oshie of the St. Louis Blues (8 of 11) at 72.7%.
It can be argued that Stamkos has missed a significant amount of time due to injury this season and his numbers are suffering. This is partly true, but he hasn’t set the world on fire in previous seasons either. In 30 career shootout attempts, Stamkos has converted on six of them for a 20% rating. Filppula tops the list of active Bolts in the shootout again with six goals on 22 attempts (27%). He is followed by Ryan Malone (3 for 13 – 23%), Teddy Purcell (4 for 18 – 22%) and Victor Hedman (3 for 14 – 21%).
For a team blessed with a ton of innate speed and scoring ability, why do the Lightning continue to struggle? It could be argued that they continue to lean on their star players in the shootout even though their highest paid players may not be the ones best equipped to help them. For example, take a look at former Bolt Dominic Moore. Moore has a career shootout percentage of 42.9% and is six for 14. That has him in the top 30 of all active NHL players in this statistic. Moore isn’t a household name, but he has a certain set of skills that makes him dangerous in the SO.
The Lightning have a ton of talented offensive players that have broken into the line up this season. Both Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson have matured into skilled scorers. Players riding hot scoring streaks tend to find their way into shootouts, but that hasn’t been the case for these rookies. Palat is 0 for 3 in shootouts this season while Johnson is 0 for 1. Small sample sizes, but given what they’re able to do in regulation, these forwards definitely deserve more of a look in this scenario.
Some hockey pundits like Mike Milbury have called out the Lightning for utilizing “plumbers” in shootouts instead of their big name players. It makes sense. Star players ascend to that level for a reason. It’s exciting to imagine guys like Stamkos facing off against a goalie with the opportunity to win the game with one shot. Statistics show that the Bolts are better off putting another player over the boards when trying to secure the second point in overtime.
*Statistics Referenced from Sporting Charts
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