theathleticuk
Kiefer Sherwood had a clear path to the net. On October 20, the San Jose Sharks forward intercepted a Montreal Canadiens turnover and raced down the middle for a third-period breakaway. As he entered the slot, Sherwood, a right wing, prepared to fire. He was inside the right faceoff dot, moving at full speed, with only goaltender Jakub Dobe between him and the goal.
Nine times out of ten, Sherwood admitted, he would take that shot. But this time, he hesitated. He knew he had support. Fellow Sharks forward Michael Misa had initiated the play by stripping Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson in the defensive zone. Once Sherwood gained possession, Misa's assignment was to join the rush and position himself for a far-post tap-in. Through game and practice repetitions, Sherwood understands how quickly Misa can arrive.
Sherwood also knows another crucial fact: "I don't know the exact number, but your analytics go up on a goal when you can go east-west and pass at some point," he said. "It doesn't matter who gets the goal as long as we get one. Usually I'm shooting that. But that play's going to work well if he can get open back-door. I can just sell it and wait for it to develop."
Dobe moved out of the crease to challenge Sherwood, squaring up to respect him as the primary threat. Meanwhile, Hutson hustled back, and teammate Noah Dobson tried to disrupt Sherwood's setup. But Sherwood slid the puck under Dobson's stick and onto Misa's blade. Dobe had no chance as Misa slammed it home.
"He's really fast," Sherwood said of Misa. "So if he can get open back-door, that's a tap-in, right? I've had a couple two-on-ones this year. One hit a post. Another might have hit a knob. I've been close. But if you can just make the goalie move, then the chances go up."
According to hockey data company Clear Sight Analytics, Sherwood had a 17.6 percent chance of scoring if he had shot. But by passing to Misa, the likelihood of a Sharks goal jumped to 40.4 percent. As counterintuitive as it may seem to players and coaches, the lesson is clear: in today's NHL, passing out of the slot can be more dangerous than shooting.
The Problem with Inner Ice
When it comes to generating offense, coaches view inside ice as prime real estate. Everyone is taught to go there, and for good reason: it's easier to beat a goalie from between the dots than from the blue line. However, coaches also defend this territory with tight stick-on-puck coverage, collapsing net-front defense, and squared-up goaltending.
During the 2025-26 season, according to Clear Sight Analytics, NHL players took 1,280 slot shots with defenders within a stick's length. Only 39 found the net (3.0 percent). The results are similar over a larger sample. From 2022-23 to 2025-26, including regular season and playoffs, there were 6,616 such slot shots, resulting in just 206 goals (3.1 percent).
Even the offensive elite struggle. Consider Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs, owner of one of the NHL's heaviest and most deceptive shots. From 2022-23 to 2025-26, Matthews scored 178 regular-season and playoff goals, including a career-high 69 in 2023-24. During that span, he took 31 slot shots with a defender within a stick's length and did not score on any of them. David Pastrnak went 0-for-43, Nathan MacKinnon was 2-for-56, and Cole Caufield went 1-for-20.
Even the best shooters would help their teams in such situations by progressing to what could be a higher-percentage sequence: giving up the puck. "Passing out of the slot is an absolute game-changer, if people ever start to figure that out," said Clear Sight Analytics chief operating officer John Healy. "It's very hard because we've always been told these are all good."
The primary reason slot shots may not be productive is goaltending excellence. Even if an attacker is in close range, goalies get square, stay on their feet, and make themselves big. But goalies have to adjust everything—from their feet to their angles to their sightlines—when a would-be slot attacker passes the puck.
"Let's put yourself in the goalie's shoes for a second," Healy said. "Because we've all been told, 'This is a home run of a play. We need to shoot this.' So what's the goalie thinking? 'Shot's coming. Shoot to score. Here we come.' So he's locked and loaded. The only way to create an advantage offensively in anything is through deception. Make everyone think you're going to do A. Then you do B."
According to Clear Sight Analytics, which was founded by former NHL goalie Steve Valiquette, 65 percent of passes that originate from the inner slot produce high-danger chances. Only 12 percent of such passes result in low-danger opportunities.
The next step would be for teams to practice passing out of the slot. Healy, who also works in player development, likes to run a three-on-three drill. If a player passes out of the slot and a teammate scores, the goal is worth two points instead of one. This encourages players to think pass first. For some NHLers, that already comes naturally.
Inside Out
On October 3, Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi carried the puck over the offensive blue line and handed it off to Ryan O'Reilly. The center's first move was to swat the puck around the stick of Esa Lindell. This maneuver freed O'Reilly to skate into red-alert territory for the Dallas Stars: inside the dots.
"Get it to the middle of the ice," O'Reilly said, "for a dangerous play." The Stars were in good shape, with three-on-three coverage against Nashville's power play. But by cutting inside, O'Reilly started the breakdown. Stars forward Justin Hryckowian, who was marking Steven Stamkos, had to release from his man to challenge O'Reilly. This freed Stamkos to load up at his left-dot office.
Given the regularity with which Stamkos, third in career goals among active players, has hammered pucks past goalies, O'Reilly knew his priority was to set up the one-timer. "When you've got one of the greatest goal scorers of all time over there," said O'Reilly, "you're just trying to get the puck to him."
O'Reilly also knows that his own strengths favor passing over shooting. He read that Lindell, Hryckowian, and Miro Heiskanen had their sticks stretched in his direction. Goalie Casey DeSmith, meanwhile, had his skates on the top of the crease. These data points, combined with Stamkos' one-time threat, convinced O'Reilly to backhand a pass instead of attempting a forehand slot shot.
"He's got 600 goals," said O'Reilly. "You know it's going to be a little bit better when he can shoot it than me, even if I'm in the slot." Had O'Reilly shot, per Clear Sight Analytics, his chances of scoring would have been 10.2 percent. But by backhanding the puck out of the slot and into Stamkos' wheelhouse, O'Reilly gave his teammate a 34.8 percent likelihood of a goal. DeSmith could not slide to his right quickly enough to stop Stamkos' rocket.
"Unless there's traffic or if you're an elite shooter, making the goalie move, that's how you beat them," said O'Reilly. "They're so good now. If they're straight on, it's so hard to beat them." The NHL operates faster than ever. It can be hard to decide on the fly to move the puck out of the slot. But the numbers say it's an easy call to make.
Originally reported by theathleticuk.