from KEvin McGran of the Toronto Star,

When Scotty Bowman watches a hockey game, it’s not like anybody else watching a hockey game.

The legendary coach is a savant when it comes to breaking down plays, habits and tendencies. Tell him more goals are scored off rebounds than any other kind of play and he already knows why.

“That’s because they made big changes in the game,” says Bowman. “Defencemen used to be big, strong guys who could take people out in front of the net. They eliminated all the interference. They give out penalties for roughing and cross-checking. And they made the end zone bigger. They made it 64 feet (in 2005-06). I’m not a big proponent of that. That’s why players stand in front of the net blocking shots. The wingers used to be out at the point, but now it’s too far.

“Now they’re down below the circle blocking shots because that’s the scoring area. That means you don’t get as many counter-attacks. They want to protect the house.”

The Star analyzed data from every game sheet so far this season to track what happened just before each of the 3,710 goals scored.

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