High Danger
Despite the sign...You should definitely NOT keep out of this area!
This week's video is courtesy of NHL.com who provided the compilation of all 102 goals from Tuesday's Frozen Frenzy in which all 32 teams played with staggered start times every 15 minutes from 6-11pm. As a hockey fan, it doesn't get much better than that.
The focus for us when watching this compilation is the number of goals that come from the High Danger & Mid-Range Zones (between the dots, below the tops of the circles). 91 out of the 102 goals scored last night came from these zones. Of the 11 goals that came from outside those areas, the majority of them were empty net goals, one-timers directly from a pass that crossed through the high danger zone, and a couple shots from the point through traffic.
https://www.nhl.com/video/all-102-frozen-frenzy-goals-6339826520112
So what does this mean? It means players and coaches need to do develop a few things to consistently score...
1. Get to the High Danger Zones aka Middle aka Good Ice.
2. Develop puck possession, skating, and passing skills to get the puck into those areas.
3. Play within an offensive structure that is designed to get the puck into or to pass through those zones.
4. Work on finishing touches in the immediate areas around the net as well as puck redirection and reactionary skills within those areas.
In addition to watching the goal compilation video, it worth a few minutes (or more if you have the interest or the time) to check out the NHL's new EDGE page within their STATS section of their website. It provides additional insight into various statistics and player tracking data for an in-depth look into the game and the science behind a lot of the tactics used by NHL hockey operations staffs in an effort to win more games.
