The slapshot is not going the way of the dodo bird yet but it is continuing a downward spiral as an effective scoring tool in the NHL.

The Star analyzed all 828,620 shots attempted and 39,434 goals scored in the NHL since the 2010-11 season, with the slapshot’s decline and the rise of the snapshot emerging as the most notable trends.

In 2010-11, 960 goals were scored by slapshots — the most of any season in that stretch. Last season, that figure hit a new low of 822, a drop of 138. Players scored 7,192 times in 2010-11, but just 7,026 last season — down by 166.

“It’s the way the game is going,” said Sheldon Keefe, coach of the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. “Shot blocking is one reason. Very rarely can you get set, get in your stance and blast the puck by the goaltender.

“The big thing with the slapshot is that you give up the puck for a split second, and with pressure coming so fast now that’s a big factor. You have to take the stick off the puck, and a lot of things can change in that moment.”

Goals scored with backhand shots were also down — from 757 in 2010-11 to 702 last season.

“The quality and technology in sticks now has the players much more comfortable with shooting the puck without having to take a slapshot,” said Keefe. “More and more, you’re trying to teach them (to get) the puck past the shot-blockers. It’s wristers and snapshots that are the best tools to do that.”

The biggest gainer was the snapshot, which led to 1,075 goals (15.3 per cent of all scoring) — up from 911 (12.6 per cent). Shooters were successful 5.2 per cent of the time when unleashing snapshots last season, an increase from 4.7 per cent.

The wrist shot, though, remains the source of nearly half of all goals (3,500 of 7,026 in 2015-16).

The sweet spot for scoring? Once again, it’s what they call the “dirty area” in front of the net — close range for the wrister and snapshot. More than half of all goals were scored from within 20 feet of the net (3,857 of 7,026).

The study also showed consistently that one per cent of all shots hit either the crossbar or a goal post. That suggests the NHL could increase scoring substantially just by widening the net a bit and raising the crossbar by the width of the existing iron. Last year, 1,236 shots hit one of the posts, while 269 clanged off the crossbar.

Keefe said there’s room for all shots.

“In general, we want to get the puck to the net as often as we can,” said Keefe. “So we don’t want to turn down shots. But having traffic and timing is important as well. If we’re doing our job, we should have people doing their jobs. Putting the puck to the net is never a bad thing.”

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