Detroit Red Wings: Importance of Increasing and Improving Shots on Goal

This season, the Detroit Red Wings have taken 422 shots on goal, which is well below the league average. In fact, this number is good for only 24th in the league.

Shots do not necessarily translate to good scoring opportunities, to be sure. But the oft-quoted motivational Wayne Gretzky line does contain a kernel of truth: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Roughly a sixth of the way through the 2018-2019 NHL season, the Detroit Red Wings are proving to be not very good. Entering the season, this was mostly to be expected. In 15 games, the team has won five, three times in regulation, dropping another four by a single goal.

Basically, with a few exceptions, the Wings are winning some games (and losing more) by a small margin. This may sound like the most obvious claim, but they simply are not shooting the puck enough.

Now, there is not a direct correlation between taking shots and winning. The Hurricanes lead the league by a wide margin yet, despite having 200 more shots on goal than the Red Wings, have only 2 more points in the standings. No, the high-caliber teams are also making their shots. Teams at the top of the standings are regularly making 1-2 more goals per 100 shots than the Red Wings. This may not seem like a lot, but when the average team only scores around 250 a season anyway, an extra goal every other game can make a difference.

More from Octopus Thrower

• Detroit Red Wings forward Carter Mazur injured in Prospect Tournament
• Detroit Red Wings: What does Klim Kostin’s role look like in 2023-24?
• Detroit Red Wings: 3 players who will make biggest impact in first year
• The Detroit Red Wings need Andrew Copp to start fast in 2023-24
• Detroit Red Wings had a busy off-season; but was it enough?

Of course, no one statistic is going to point directly to a team’s struggles or successes. The number of shots, though, is an easy metric to observe during a game to get a read on how the team is performing. When the team is struggling to put double-digit shots on the net in a single period–sometimes going minutes between shots–chances of scoring a goal are not high.

The team has taken more than 30 shots in four of their five wins. The one outlier was a 4-2 win over Dallas in which they needed only 23 shots. Perhaps more telling, they have been outshot in 13 of 15 games. The aberration here is outshooting the Kings 38-25 and still coming away with a loss. What can explain these exceptions? Quality of goalie work, types of shots taken, power plays, and so on. Again, shots alone is not a perfect indicator; it is merely a sign of something possibly larger.

Part of this problem will solve itself naturally as younger players become more confident in their play. Otherwise, what can the Red Wings do to improve their shots–or at least increase them? Steals and breakaways are never guaranteed so that they can start in their own zone. Spreading out the wingers and adding an extra pass or two can leave someone more open for a shot. Again, this is a straightforward solution that is far easier said than done.

More shots will lead to more goals. And more goals should lead to more wins. Although the rebuilding Detroit Red Wings may not be in the market for many wins this season, more goals will also lead to more player confidence. Such confidence will make for a stronger team going forward.