Everett won another shootout Tuesday when the Tips topped Tri-City, winning a six-round shootout 1-0.
The victory was Everett’s fourth in a shootout this season, and the Tips at 4-1 sit at the top of the WHL’s shootout standings.
This is a stark contrast to recent history. From 2010-2013 Everett was by far the worst shootout team in the league, going 4-16 in the tiebreaker over those three seasons. Last season was better, but nothing special as the Tips went 3-3.
So what’s the difference? Well, let’s look at the numbers. Here’s Everett’s data for the past five seasons. It includes Everett’s record, Everett’s shootout attempts, and the opponent attempts:
2010-11: 1-4, 2-for-13 (.154), 6-for-12 (.500)
2011-12: 2-8, 8-for-37 (.216), 14-for-34 (.412)
2012-13: 1-4, 4-for-19 (.211), 9-for-19 (.421)
2013-14: 3-3, 6-for-20 (.300), 6-for-21 (.286)
2014-15: 4-1, 7-for-32 (.219), 3-for-32 (.094)
The reason for Everett’s turnaround in shootout results is crystal clear. The Tips’ success rate in its shootout attempts hasn’t improved one bit. It remains at a percentage that isn’t particularly impressive.
Where the big change has occurred is in the performance of the goaltenders, with Everett’s netminders going from allowing half of opposing shootout attempts to succeed to less than one-in-ten.
Of course, Austin Lotz has been the main source of this season’s numbers. In his past three shootouts, which include the epic 15-rounder against Kamloops, Lotz has turned away 25 of the 26 attempts he’s faced. That’s a staggering statistic. Think about that. Lotz’s save percentage in those three shootouts is 96.1 percent. His save percentage in games is 90.6. He’s been 5.5 percent better in shootouts, and that’s when he’s facing nothing but breakaways.
How much does that matter? Well, consider this. Last season Everett went to a shootout against Portland in its last game of the season and lost. The Tips finished tied with Seattle in the standings, with the T-birds getting the edge on the tiebreaker. Those teams faced one another in the first round of the playoffs with Seattle having home-ice advantage, and the T-birds won the series 4-1. While it’s impossible to say whether home ice played a role in the outcome, there’s a chance that it did. So each of those shootout points could be critical when all is said and done.
There was one bit of news out of Thursday’s practice. Everett defenseman Ben Betker, who sat out Tuesday’s game, has a concussion and will remain out this weekend.
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