Writer’s note: With the season about to wrap up, a big thank you to all who are reading my stories, commenting on my stories, and even those who find mistakes in my stories. Of course, I only left the mistakes in to see if you were paying attention.😉Sincerely, thanks for being part of the DJLR community!
Kraken Made Difficult Shot Look Easy
The Seattle Kraken put on a “one-timer” clinic Tuesday in Chicago, using the difficult and deadly technique on four of their six goals in subduing the Blackhawks, 6-2.
We’ll explain why the shot is difficult to master in a moment. First, let’s review why it was deadly to Hawks goalie Spencer Knight.
Adam Larsson (6) takes a pass from Matty Beniers and rifles a one-timer past Knight to cut the Kraken deficit to 2-1 late in the 1st period.
In the 2nd period, Chandler Stephenson (left image, facing camera) finds Jordan Eberle (7). Notice that Eberle, though planning a one-timer, has elected to keep his stick close to the ice. As many shooters do on one-timers, Eberle (right image) gets more power behind his shot by dropping to one knee. His drive ties the game 2-2.
In contrast, Matty Beniers (left image) is holding his stick high, to be able to take a home run cut when Larsson finds him with a cross-ice pass. Look at the torque on that stick (right image), as Beniers catches and releases in one motion to increase Seattle’s lead to 4-2.
Shane Wright had already completed a four-goal Kraken outburst in the 2nd period. Now, in the 3rd, he’s back for more. Larsson again makes the cross-ice feed to Wright (left image). The beauty of a well-executed one-timer is that the goalie (Knight, #30) doesn’t have time to get across before Wright (right image) has released his shot for his 2nd goal of the game and a 6-2 Kraken advantage.
Perfecting One-Timers Takes Time (& Practice & Skill)
PureHockey.com says this about one-timers. “It is among the more difficult shots because several things must go right at once, since you don’t take the time to cradle the puck on your stick blade.”
The site says among those “many things” are (1) getting your body into shooting position, (2) locking your bottom wrist, (3) starting your stick backlift early, (4) timing your swing to the speeding puck’s arrival, (5) digging the heel of your stick blade into the ice at the point of contact with the puck, and (6) transferring your weight from your back leg to your front.
All this after finding a suitable patch of open ice, while opponents are racing toward you with their own sticks and malice on their minds. And you have only a second or two, and your shot has to be accurate. No wonder pro hockey players are considered elite, and no wonder they spend so much time practicing.
NHLSpecialTeams.com explains why it’s worth the effort. “Goaltenders have become so sound positionally, with most well over six feet tall and able to cover the majority of the net. Making them move has become a key to goal-scoring. One-timers accomplish that feat, as goalies are forced to move laterally without the ability to reset and square up before the puck is shot.”
Not everyone agrees. In an analysis for The Athletic, Fluto Shinzawa wrote in 2022, “Other one-timers now qualify as irrelevant. Take, for example, the one-timer from above the tops of the circles with no traffic in front. It’s where offense can go to die.” Shinzawa cites data showing bad-angle one-timers also have a low success rate.
Note that none of the four Kraken scores were taken from low-danger areas. As Larsson and Eberle’s goals showed, “snap” (pushed) shots, while lower in velocity, increase accuracy compared to “slap” shots using a full windup.
Numbers Game
My apologies if you were promised no math in your hockey stories, but these additional numbers should be fun reading for Kraken fans.
43 – Goals this season by Kraken defenseman. With Larsson’s tally against the Hawks, Seattle ties Columbus for the most in the league from blueliners.
9 – Kraken wins after deficits of two or more goals. Wednesday, they fell behind Chicago 2-0. Still not sure how great this statistic is, but it beats the number of multi-goal comebacks all of last season: zero.
17 – Truly a Kraken prime number; with two scores by Wright and one each from Beniers and Jared McCann, all three have 17 on the season. Eberle has also recorded eight points in his last five games.
9 – Points out of a possible 12 earned by the Kraken since the trade deadline (4-1-1). Their only two losses in that stretch came to Winnipeg (in overtime) and Washington, the NHL’s two top teams.
It would be folly to suggest Seattle is a better team minus the now-departed Yanni Gourde, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Brandon Tanev. But they sure are playing better. For instance, Mikey Eyssimont might have been considered a rest-of-season placeholder when traded from Tampa Bay to Seattle, but is making an impressive audition for a spot on the 2025-26 Kraken roster.
6th – New Kraken position for the NHL Draft Lottery. Nine standings points in six games has pushed Seattle below Philadelphia in terms of odds of winning the Draft Lottery. That winner can move up to 1st or 2nd position overall in the Draft’s 1st round.
