The 82-game NHL regular season is in the books, and that means it's time to look at those who put the most rubber on the net, and how they fared in the process.
Here's a look at the top-10 shooters by volume in 2016-17, and they all have one thing in common: they score a lot.
All Skaters
| Rank | Skater | Position | Shots | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brent Burns | D | 320 | 29 |
| 2 | Alex Ovechkin | F | 313 | 33 |
| 3 | Patrice Bergeron | F | 302 | 21 |
| 4 | Tyler Seguin | F | 301 | 26 |
| 5 | Patrick Kane | F | 292 | 34 |
| 6 | Vladimir Tarasenko | F | 286 | 39 |
| 7 | Jeff Skinner | F | 281 | 37 |
| 8 | Auston Matthews | F | 279 | 40 |
| 9 | Max Pacioretty | F | 268 | 35 |
| 10 | David Pastrnak | F | 262 | 34 |
Takeaways:
- Burns is the only defenseman on the list, and he's atop it. He's a freak, the best kind, and there's no other way to put it.
- Ovechkin finished second and yet his 313 shots were well off the pace he was firing at over the past three seasons. He had 398 shots in 2015-16, 395 in 2014-15, and 386 in 2013-14. Fewer shots resulted in 36 assists, his most since 53 in 2010-11.
- Bergeron (Seven percent) and Seguin (8.6 percent) didn't have much luck.
- Skinner's 281 shots were a career high, as were his 37 goals.
- Matthews finished as the only player in the league to record at least one shot on goal in each game he played (and he played in all of them).
- Pacioretty's 268 shots were his lowest in a season in which he's played at least 73 games and yet he still bagged 35, good for a tie for sixth in the NHL.
Defensemen
| Rank | D-Man | Shots | Goals | SH% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burns | 320 | 29 | 9.1% |
| 2 | Dustin Byfuglien | 241 | 13 | 5.4% |
| 3 | Justin Faulk | 225 | 17 | 7.6% |
| 4 | Aaron Ekblad | 225 | 10 | 4.4% |
| 5 | Dougie Hamilton | 222 | 13 | 5.9% |
| 6 | Erik Karlsson | 218 | 17 | 7.8% |
| 7 | Roman Josi | 217 | 12 | 5.5% |
| 8 | Torey Krug | 208 | 8 | 3.8% |
| 9 | Oscar Klefbom | 201 | 12 | 6% |
| 10 | Shayne Gostisbehere | 198 | 7 | 3.5% |
Takeaways:
- Burns is legit like no other player in the league. Appreciate what you're watching when you're watching him play.
- Defensemen often have low shooting percentages, since a large number of their shot attempts are coming from non-dangerous scoring areas. It makes what Burns and Karlsson do that much more impressive - they score at rates some forwards do.
- Ekblad played only 68 games, and his 225 shots were a career high, far more than his 182 in 78 games in 2015-16.
Rookies
| Rank | Rookie | Shots | Goals | SH% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthews | 279 | 40 | 14.3% |
| 2 | Sebastian Aho | 214 | 24 | 11.2% |
| 3 | William Nylander | 205 | 22 | 10.7% |
| 4 | Patrik Laine | 204 | 36 | 17.6% |
| 5 | Zach Werenski | 188 | 11 | 5.9% |
| 6 | Michael Matheson | 179 | 7 | 3.9% |
| 7 | Mitch Marner | 176 | 19 | 10.8% |
| 8 | Ryan Hartman | 170 | 19 | 11.2% |
| 9 | Ivan Provorov | 161 | 6 | 3.7% |
| 10 | Artturi Lehkonen | 158 | 18 | 11.4% |
Takeaways:
- Watch Laine play and you can be convinced his 17.6 percent shooting rate is truly reflective of his talent, and sustainable. He's that good, his release that wicked and already elite.
- Everything went right for the Maple Leafs this season - look at the shooting percentages of their star rookies. That's a big reason why they're in the playoffs.
- In any other season, Aho and Werenski are Calder Trophy finalists. Both only 19, you're going to be hearing and reading a lot about them in the coming years.
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