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Originally Posted by GGG
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The money graf from the second link, to my eyes:
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Some other really interesting work being done recently is by former NHL goalie Stephen Valiquette where he is identifying higher quality shots as being those that (for the most part) result from plays with significant lateral movement. In particular he defines the “Royal Road” as the line down the middle of the ice from one end to the other and when the puck moves laterally across this line either by a pass or being skated across immediately before a shot is taken the shot is more likely to result in a goal. To me this makes a lot of sense and I think is really where the next great leap in shot quality analysis will come from. Speed of the play (i.e. rush shots) and lateral puck movement are likely the largest contributing factors to shot quality.
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Lateral movement, I believe, is the key. The Flames this year have excelled both at generating chances on the rush and at moving the puck quickly in the attacking zone.
As I've mentioned before, it's harder to defend against a five-man attack than a three-man attack. The Flames have (at the moment) four of the top 50 scoring defencemen in the NHL, and some combination of those four players has generally been on the ice for close to 50 minutes per game. When that happens, every skater represents an offensive threat that must be countered, and the defending team cannot cheat by keying on the most dangerous players and ignoring the plugs. The team takes advantage of this by frequent passes and rapid lateral puck movement, which (says Valiquette) contributes strongly to shot quality.
In the circumstances, it should not surprise anyone that they have a higher than average shooting percentage. Add to that the fact that they have a surprising amount of offensive talent now, thanks to the emergence of Monahan and Gaudreau.
I'd love to see that ‘next great leap in shot quality analysis’. And I think this year's Flames will be a textbook case, and the source of some excellent data that will help that next great leap to be made.