Johnny Gaudreau’s plan was to shoot more this season.
One of the game’s most creative playmakers admitted as much after potting Monday’s overtime winner with his season-high seventh shot of the game.
It has worked.
His ninth of the year put him in a tie for fifth place in goal scoring with noted finishers like Connor McDavid, Brad Marchand and Joe Pavelski.
Where the Flames winger ranks even higher is with a shooting percentage of 25.7 per cent, which puts him in rarified air amongst the league’s top snipers this season.
To put in perspective how efficient he’s been, consider the fact that over his career he has been a 12.5-per cent shooter, with a season-best 14.6 per cent coming two years ago when he topped out with 36 goals.
“I think I’m just getting a little better chances to shoot throughout the season,” said Gaudreau, who has indeed been set up for some pretty sweet opportunities by Sean Monahan.
“If the pass is there I’m obviously going to make the pass, but I’ve been shooting a little bit more and finding the net a little bit more.”
Truth is, Gaudreau's 35 shots through the first 15 games puts him on a pace for 189 shots over an 82-game schedule, his lowest shooting rate in the last six seasons.
What’s changed this year is his ability to bury them.
“He shoots the puck pretty well and I think he’s just getting better looks,” said coach Geoff Ward. “When you’re getting looks inside the scoring area everybody encourages each other to shoot.
"It’s great for him and his confidence and it’s great for our team.”
Ward chuckled while declining to go into specifics on how Gaudreau has managed to create better scoring chances.
Monahan’s underrated playmaking ability has plenty to do with it, as does Gaudreau’s jump as he bounces back impressively from a tough season and the criticism that followed his playoffs.
With points in all but two games this season, he has shown a remarkable consistency at a time of year when he generally takes a while to find his form.
He stopped short of saying it was his best start, though.
“Ask anyone in our lineup if this is their best start personally and I don’t think anyone would say it would be,” said Gaudreau, whose club looks to up its 8-6-1 record Wednesday night with their fourth-straight game against Vancouver.
“There’s one player on our team that’s probably been playing his best and that’s Marky (goalie Jacob Markstrom).”
Fair enough.
“We’ve played a little too much in the defensive zone to say this is personally my best start,” continued Gaudreau, who sits tied with Elias Lindholm with 16 points in 15 outings.
“There’s a lot of things we need to clean up. Obviously I’m fortunate to find the net and make some plays at the right time to help this team win some games.”
His three game-winners are a testament to that.
“Points are part of the game but you try to worry about your team first,” said the 27-year-old, who only fired seven shots on net once last season.
“It’s been nice to find the net and consistently make plays. Like a lot of players would say, when you’re feeling it the puck is going in the net for you. It feels like every shot you take it’s finding the net and every game you play you’re getting good looks. Right now, personally, I’m getting the looks, and I feel comfortable on the ice. I feel like I’ve got a lot of momentum on my side right now so hopefully I can keep that going.”
Although Gaudreau said on the last Sportsnet broadcast he was trying to shoot more, he also understands that the element of surprise he’s counting on dissipates when goalies hear him say that.
On Wednesday morning the man known for being a “pass-first” playmaker downplayed his latest approach.
“There’s nothing changed in my game and no one has asked me to change anything,” said Gaudreau, who had a career-high 99 points two years ago.
“Just getting good looks. But it’s a long season and there’s a lot of ups and downs. When I’m not playing my best and not finding the net and getting my chances, hopefully there’s another player feeling it and going through what I’m going through now.”
