Game Day Guide: Stars vs Red Wings
First Shift 🏒
Robertson is on tempo to have the second highest shot whole in his profession.
With 226 pictures on objective by 65 video games, he is on tempo for a full season whole of 285. That’s considerably behind the 313 he had within the 2022-23 season (ninth total), but it surely’s additionally fairly a bit greater than the 211 he had final season. It’s an fascinating quantity for Robertson, as a result of it is typically an indicator on how concerned he’s in a recreation.
“I’m moving in areas where I can shoot the puck more,” he mentioned. “I’m getting pucks on net, I’m not getting blocked, so if I do that more and more, hopefully it goes in.”
Thursday’s two targets had been nice examples. On the primary, he was on a 2-on-1 and Edmonton took away the move. So he threw a shot off the close to put up and it deflected in. The second was a complete “Robertson moment.” The rangey winger entered the offensive zone, took a move from Johnston on his backhand, then spun to his forehand and snapped a shot in for his thirty sixth objective of the season.
“From what I see, it looks like a pretty tough release to judge,” Johnston mentioned when requested what a goalie sees on these performs. “He just has a knack for scoring goals. He can find a lot of different ways to score from different angles. He obviously has a lot of different shots and can put a lot of disappointment on it.”
Robertson is on tempo for 45 targets. That could be his highest whole since he had 46 in 2022-23 (and likewise had a career-best 109 factors). He’s not going to hit these totals, however he’s doubtless going to guide the workforce in targets and pictures on objective once more.
“I mean, for sure, you want to get better and I’ve worked to get better, so that’s the plan,” Robertson mentioned. “I think that’s true for a lot of things in my game. I’m working to get better on all of them.”
Robertson has improved his skating and defensive play, and sure, even his goal-scoring is totally different than it was over the previous few seasons. New coach Glen Gulutzan mentioned he doesn’t attempt to assist Robertson with goal-scoring, as a result of he is aware of how a lot the 26-year-old places into his recreation.
“If there is anyone who is into analytics, it’s Robo,” Gulutzan mentioned. “He knows exactly where his analytics need to be, should be, and are at, any given time. Those guys are artistic. You want to help them but they kind of know where there game is at.”
Still, that does not imply the coach is not conscious of what a particular participant Robertson could be. When he determined to fling a “spin-o-rama” on the internet – after which it’s profitable, the bench is impressed.
“There have been a few times this year when the coaches talk from the bench and say: ‘Did you see where he was going to shoot that from? I would have never thought to shoot that from that spot in that fashion,’” Gulutzan mentioned. “But the beauty of that is that’s not a normal thought pattern for a lot of players, that’s a special thought pattern, it’s a goal-scorer’s thought pattern, and you can’t teach that.”
Well, solely to your self.
