Why Has Scoring Increased SO Much in the Past Couple of Years

[Iggys Dome]

There’s still about 12 games left in the season and there are effectively 5 players already at 100 points (Pasta and Breadman at 99 each). We’re about to hit the third year in a row of having a 60 goal scorer despite only having two between 1995 and 2022.

There haven’t been any rule changes in the past couple years have there? Nets aren’t any bigger. Are shooters just better now? It’s awesome to see, I think we’re in a golden era of NHL talent. I hope it continues and is the new norm, I just don’t think anyone saw this coming 10 years ago when Jamie Benn won the Art Ross with 87 points.

 

[JJTT]

Goalies suck now. We had Broudeur, Roy, Kiprusoff, Hasek, Rinne, Price, Lundqvist, Thomas, Luongo, Rask and many other elite goalies one after another. If one retired, another came to replace him.

Who is even close to that level now? Vasi and Helle maybe.

 

[Sky04]

Blaming goalies is stupid, the league has been actively trying to increase scoring for years and we're seeing the results of that. The average skill level of players is the highest its ever been. The speed and skill of the league with the decrease in interference/obstruction is why goalies look "bad". Give them the pads and rules of the DPE and every goalie today looks significantly better.

 

[Woodrow]

I think we are seeing the culmination of years of emphasis on puck moving defensemen rather than the stay at home type.

Also recent expansion has watered down the league somewhat.

 

[Killer Orca]

Big hitters are all but gone and small skilled players have become the norm. Everyone is fast these days and can shoot. Not too many play the trap anymore compared to before everyone wants to score these days.

 

[Coffey]

Nobody hits anymore. Buncha sissy martinis skating out there. Nobody risking their lives blocking shots either. It’s a game of finesse now with low physicality. And all the real defenseman have retired. Now you got all these offensive minded guys built like 100 lb soaking wet high schoolers and zero punish.

It’s like if all the Robyn Regehrs turned into Quinn Hughes. That allows a lot more offensive freedom and higher scoring.

 

[Azzuri]

Hasn't goal scoring gone up every time there's expansion? 40+ more players get NHL jobs and less talent means more open ice/worse defense.

 

[Buck Naked]

Hasn't goal scoring gone up every time there's expansion? 40+ more players get NHL jobs and less talent means more open ice/worse defense.

That assumes that every player in the NHL is the best player for the job. That's not true. There are many players outside the NHL who would be better options than players currently in the league. Look at a guy like Logan Stankoven. He's been outside the league almost all season. Would you say that he's a better player than Connor Brown now when you've seen both of them in the NHL?

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

I believe the main reasons to be decreases in size of the goalie gear and more stringent enforcement of penalties. The NHL has become better skating, more free wheeling, and what kinds of talent is getting drafted reflects this.

 

[devo09]

Smaller goalie equipment is a big factor.
But I think the biggest factor is the advancement in stick technology. Guys are ripping 90+ mph wrist shots Without telegraphing it at all.

 

[Azzuri]

That assumes that every player in the NHL is the best player for the job. That's not true. There are many players outside the NHL who would be better options than players currently in the league. Look at a guy like Logan Stankoven. He's been outside the league almost all season. Would you say that he's a better player than Connor Brown now when you've seen both of them in the NHL?

Roster politics definitely hold people back youre right. My argument was more in mind of defense. We've seen a large influx of new talented forwards but finding 6 component D-men is a real challenge for a lot of teams. Expansion makes that even harder.

 

[CatOTails]

This season we might see 10 (TEN!) 100 point players with 3 of them scoring over 130. Incredible.

 

[jigglysquishy]

Players at or above PPG (minimum 50% of games played) since the 2006 lockout, as well as 1.22 PPG (100 point pace)

Season	82 point pace	100 point pace
2005-06	36	10
2006-07	32	9
2007-08	23	5
2008-09	20	4
2009-10	21	5
2010-11	14	2
2011-12	9	1
2012-13	20	2
2013-14	12	1
2014-15	8	0
2015-16	8	1
2016-17	8	1
2017-18	24	7
2018-19	31	8
2019-20	22	9
2020-21	22	8
2021-22	44	18
2022-23	38	13
2023-24	35	13

In terms of 100 point play, 82 point play, the three seasons of 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 are producing fairly similar results. I think what's unique about this year is the specifics of how good Kucherov, MacKinnon, and McDavid are playing rather than a league-wide trend.

Goalie equipment was shrunk to start the 2017-18, and produced one of the largest spikes in scoring from year-to-year in NHL history.

The spike in scoring from 2020-21 to 2021-22 is harder to explain.

 

[JianYang]

I think there's a variety of reasons.

Obstruction is less tolerated but one of the big game changers has been the cracking down of the hacks and whacks to the hands. These used to be considered good checking plays but now it's giving the stars a real opportunity to show their release.

A continued crackdown on goalie size has also worked. It's much more difficult for goalies to close some holes now than it used to be thanks to some subtle changes.

More empty net situations seems to have increased output as well. There's a general mindset to leave empty nets for longer periods of time and to use them in more situations so that aggressive approach will inflate goals particularly towards the end of the game.

 

[Spirits]

Nobody hits anymore. Buncha sissy martinis skating out there. Nobody risking their lives blocking shots either. It’s a game of finesse now with low physicality.

I could tell which team you watched just by reading this lmao.

 

[Toby91ca]

Scoring is down this year vs. the prior 2 though....not a significant drop though.

 

[Coffey]

I could tell which team you watched just by reading this lmao.

We've talked before, you already knew which team I watched.

 

[Spirits]

We've talked before, you already knew which team I watched.

I don't remember you. Point stands, I could tell which team you watched by what you wrote.

 

[Ezpz]

Goalies suck now. We had Broudeur, Roy, Kiprusoff, Hasek, Rinne, Price, Lundqvist, Thomas, Luongo, Rask and many other elite goalies one after another. If one retired, another came to replace him.

Who is even close to that level now? Vasi and Helle maybe.

I think this is the main reason, but also that the next generation got screwed a little by the equipment changes as they had been practicing their entire lives with the bigger equipment and suddenly have no choice but to adjust.

The next generation will have grown up only with these changes and will be more adjusted, and I think we'll see the return of groin injuries as it's simply too physically demanding the occupy the entire net.

 

[AfroThunder396]

Strong increase in average skater talent while goalie talent has stagnated/declined. All the kids want to be like Crosby/Ovechkin/McDavid.

 

[eojsmada]

Defensive defensemen are becoming less of a thing in favor of high-scoring defensemen. Goalie pool is not just highly diluted, but also some countries that were staples of goalie development (finland, czechia, russia) aren't developing them at the same rates. I would also say, with the goalies, that poor techniques have crept in. The "Reverse VH" has been a problem for the last 5+ years, to the point that players are more easily banking in pucks off of goalies and the upper corners have never been more available, in modern times.

 

[ManofSteel55]

It's an all around more offensive game than it used to be. More emphasis on puck movement than grinding along the boards for possession.

I also agree with some of the other comments so far:

- Goalie equipment size makes it so the goalies have to be better to make the same number of saves. They aren't better. I wouldn't say they are objectively worse either, but its impossible to compare with the different sizes.

- Less "neutral zone trap".

- More scorers, fewer grinders.

- Less obstruction, more powerplays.

- More empty netters - coaches used to not pull the goalie until 1:00, religiously. Now it's 2:30, 3:00 or more sometimes. Leads to more goals on both sides of things.

 

[Elvs]

There's so much emphasis on offense today that players barely even defend anymore

 

[SkinsFan09]

Smaller goalie pads. More net to hit, more assists to be had. NHL has been trying to get a handle on goalie equipment for years.

 

[NVious]

#AustonMatthewsEffect, with the majority of the NHL growing up watching #BigPapi, they are trying their best to imitate their idol