SHOOTOUT STRUCTURE NOT A PRECISE SCIENCE
Flames coaches mostly rely on ‘gut feel’ to pick out pool of hopefully lucky shooters
Asked if his players ever lobby to be included in a shootout, Glen Gulutzan smiled.
“Every time,” chuckled the Calgary Flames coach of a selection process that starts with regular post-practice shootout attempts.
“I can see guys looking back at me.
“That’s such a good thing. It’s like, ‘pick me, pick me.’ The guys you worry about are the guys that don’t look back, who don’t want to be picked.”
In the midst of the shootout that clinched Sunday’s 5-4 win over the New Jersey Devils at the Saddledome, Micheal Ferland took another stab at it.
“Ferly had a great game and I think he said, ‘Am I next?’’’ said Gulutzan, well aware the surging forward had earlier been rejected by Devils netminder Keith Kinkaid on a penalty shot.
“He wanted a re-do, I think. He had him with his move, he just didn’t get it up high enough.”
Exactly how Gulutzan comes up with his shootout list is an interesting study that includes a number of factors, including statistics, coaches’ input and, most of all, a gut feeling.
“It’s fun, it’s stressful, it doesn’t always work,” laughed goalie coach Jordan Sigalet, whom Gulutzan leans on most to decide his top three.
“As soon as we go into overtime, we start looking at who has been playing well. (Assistant coach) Marty (Gelinas) and I talk a little bit and then we radio down to the bench to get his thoughts, too,’’ said Sigalet. “If it comes to the end of overtime, we finalize the shooter and Gully picks the order. We’ll give him a couple names and sometimes he’ll have a different feel and he’ll override us. He’s got the hammer at the end of the day and has the best feel down at the ice.”
So far this season, the Flames have used the same three shooters in both shootouts.
The latest hero was Matthew Tkachuk, who clinched Sunday’s win with a goal with the third shot of the skills competition. He did just the same in Nashville two weeks earlier.
It marks the first year the 19-year-old sophomore has ever participated in an NHL shootout, giving him a perfect 2 for 2 lifetime record, making him the only NHLer this year to have two shootout clinchers.
He and Sean Monahan are the only two NHLers this year who are perfect in two attempts, with the team’s third shooter, Kris Versteeg, going 0-for-2.
It begs the questions, why wasn’t Tkachuk used last year and why the sudden change of heart?
“Chucky in Nashville was having that type of game where he scored that big goal (late in the game),” said Gulutzan.
“It’s the way the players perform that is what helps your gut feeling.”
Sigalet said when Tkachuk arrived last year they asked his thoughts on the shootout. Not surprisingly, the uber-confident teenager said he was good at them and loved them.
The calm fashion in which he deposited the two game-clinchers — carbon copies of one another, going high glove side with light snapshots — prove he wasn’t lying.
“I talked to Chucky after the game (Sunday) night and I said, ‘that’s the same move two shots in a row, so you’ll have to get something else out of the tool box,’” said Sigalet, who prepares the shooters before the game with video of all the opposing goalie’s breakaways and shootouts shown as the players are dressing.
“You have to have something in your back pocket in case somebody starts to figure you out.”
Tkachuk said after the game he has three moves he likes to use, which we’ll likely see as the season progresses.
Sigalet said his four shootout cornerstones are currently Monahan (11-for-27, career), Versteeg (9-for-30), Johnny Gaudreau (3-for-14) and Tkachuk (2-for-2). However, he has plenty of options in mind in case the shootout goes long or a hot hand proves worthy of an early chance.
“We’ve used (Mikael) Backlund (0-for-5 career). His name comes up,” said Sigalet.
“Janko’s name (Mark Jankowski) has come up this year because he’s an unknown. Sometimes saving Johnny for that fourth guy, if it’s tied, is good as you have a solid fourth coming in there.”
Michael Frolik said he might soon state his case for a shot.
“I don’t think they know I have the NHL record for penalty shot goals in the playoffs. I might mention it someday,” smiled Michael Frolik, who converted two such penalty shots.
“I think we are doing pretty good in shootouts, so I’ll leave it up to (the current shooters).”
For the record, Jaromir Jagr is 7-for-32 in his career.
Five of the seven Flames players used last year went scoreless, including Gaudreau (0-for-3), Sam Bennett (0-for-2), Brouwer (0-for-1), Mark Giordano (0-for1) and Backlund (0-for-1). Yet, the Flames went 4-2 in shootouts last season thanks to Versteeg’s four goals in five chances, as well as Monahan’s lone goal on six attempts.
Sigalet says the odd time, if there’s a goalie who is weak, say, five-hole, they’ll pick a shooter who has a good five-hole move.
Lots of variables, lots of options, but it all comes down to a 50-50 chance any given night to see if their gut was right.
“It’s not that hard a decision in the end because you know what guys have done it and had success,” said Sigalet, who said defencemen like Matt Bartkowski tends to chirp the most in practice with an eye on getting a tryout.
“You’re not always going to be right, but it’s fun when you are.”