Shoot better on the move

Two principles for making the most of your downhill scoring chances

Here’s a play from last night’s Florida Panthers win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Morgan Rielly has a glorious chance to even the game 1-1, but makes a strange decision on a downhill shot attempt.

TOR jumps on a failed FLA clear.

TOR44 Rielly activates through the middle.

Instead of trying to beat a goalie deep in his crease (or setting up a TOR88 Nylander one-timer to his left), Rielly sends a weak shot-pass for an unsuccessful redirection.

One can argue that Rielly’s decision-making is problematic, that he makes a mental mistake by opting for the lowest-quality play available.

I would instead identify Rielly’s posture as the core problem.

Here are two principles that allow an athlete in any stick sport (hockey, tennis, baseball, cricket, etc.) to strike a moving projectile with power, accuracy and consistency:

• Reception should be made in front of the eyes

• Release should be made near the front foot

Reception and Release are one and the same (a.k.a. contact) in tennis, baseball and cricket. In hockey those phases can be uncoupled unless we’re hitting a one-timer.

However, regardless of shot type (one-timer, catch-and-shoot or on-stick shooting) we should still respect those principles as much as possible in order to develop a quick, effective release that holds up under intense game pressure (callback to yesterday’s article).

Why certain players plateau

Let’s look at Rielly at the exact moment when he receives the puck.