Follow @james_tanner123 The NHL has a huge problem:
Scoring a goal is too hard. Games are thus boring, and things people like - 50 goal scorers, 100 point seasons, power-plays, offense - are all becoming rare.
Even people who like defensive hockey should want a higher scoring league - if you get a shut-out in a high-scoring league, it means more. A shut-out in the 1980s was certainly a bigger accomplishment than it is today.
The NHL saw a large goal scoring increase when they increased the size of the league beyond the Original Six after the 1967 season, and again in the late Seventies when the WHL was folded into the NHL and they had 21 teams.
The rest of the 1980s through the 1992-93 season saw goal scoring stay just below the 4 goals per game mark. In 1992-93 there were 3.63 goals per game scored, and that's the last time it was that high.
1995-96 was the last year there was over 3 goals per game, with one exception. The exception is the 2005-6 season after the lockout that cost an entire year. That season saw 3.08 goals per game, and while that is still almost a full goal less than in the 1980s, it was the highest we've seen in 20 years.
If the game was better today it wouldn't be an issue, but it isn't.
The NHL needs more goals, and one way to do that would be to increase the amount of penalties called. Check out this sweet graph I made!
I made this really ugly graph about Power-Plays per/ game in the NHL. Note that last year was the lowest of all-time. pic.twitter.com/NhFS9Q4oTO
— James Tanner (@James_Tanner123) July 30, 2017
Last year, teams got a record low power-play opportunities per game - 2.99. There were less penalties called than ever before. Part of this is definitely the influence of analytics on hockey - nothing saps a players value quite like taking a lot of penalties (since the only way to really score consistently in hockey is on the PP).
But part of it is also that refs require players to commit four or five infractions before they call a penalty. Sure, trip a guy in open ice and you'll get called every time. But if you're trying to clear the crease, you can do a few cross-checks to the neck, and how many are 'legal' just depends on which ref you have that night.
There is a clear correlation between penalties called per game and goals scored per game. Back in the high flying period from 1979 to 1993, teams could count on four or five PPs per game. Now they might get three.
The NHL could fix this so easily. They must call penalties like they did in the post-canceled season. Then, they have to stick with it despite complaints.
This would cut down on parity, this would cut down on games decided by shootout, it would make games better, hockey pools more exciting and there isn't a single down side.
The NHL needs to call more penalties.
stats from hockey-reference.com