Bad-angle shots a good tactic
Positioned outside the right faceoff circle and within several feet of the goal line, Cam Atkinson had no angle to shoot the puck into the net.
He shot it anyway. A few seconds later, Atkinson was in a group hug celebrating Boone Jenner’s first-period goal Sunday afternoon in the Blue Jackets’ 3-0 win at the New Jersey Devils.
Atkinson sent a wrist shot into a congested crease, hoping it might hit someone in front of goaltender Cory Schneider. Sure enough, the puck caromed off the backside of Devils defenseman Dalton Prout — a former Atkinson teammate — and fell to the ice, where Jenner shoveled into the net.
“You always want to make plays,” Atkinson said. “That’s the kind of player I am, but sometimes when it’s not there, you have to improvise.”
Such simple and gritty plays delight coach John Tortorella, who has been preaching the value of bad-angle shots for weeks.
The shooter is rarely going to beat a goaltender with a lowpercentage attempt, but those types of shots can create rebounds and havoc in front of the net. It’s also a good way to get behind a defense and generate a forecheck if the goalie kicks the puck into a corner.
Skilled players like Atkinson, a 30-goal scorer, hate giving up the puck so easily. They understand, however, that it’s the time of the season when highlightreel goals are difficult to score as teams go into playoff mode.
“No matter what era we’re talking about, the ice shrinks at this time of year,” said Devils analyst Ken Daneyko, a former defenseman who played 18 seasons in New Jersey. “Teams are more desperate and they want to take away the middle of the ice. That’s why those kinds of plays are so smart. That was great recognition from Atkinson.”
Bad-angle shots are tough on defensemen because they often have their backs to their goalies and no idea where the pucks are traveling. Meanwhile, the attacking players can see everything that is developing.
“That’s one way to break down a defense,” Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky said. “Get the puck on net and go for a rebound, because those rebounds are often unpredictable.”
Daneyko believes the Jackets are well-built to use bad-angle shots to their advantage once the playoffs begin.
“It’s hard work retrieving the pucks, but Columbus has that kind of team,” Daneyko said. “They have some skill, but they have those big, strong guys with good hands in tight. Let’s face it, those pretty plays, they aren’t there as much at this time of year.”
Slap shots
Tortorella offered no update on defenseman Ryan Murray, who suffered a lower-body injury in practice on Tuesday. … Wing Matt Calvert (oblique strain) returned to practice but isn’t expected to play in the weekend homeand-home with Buffalo.