Scoring the first goal

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

No, I'm not saying just give the puck to the other team for an automatic 1-0 or put the puck in your own net for s**ts and giggles. I'm not dismissing the importance of scoring first for any confidence or momentum, but almost every game I watch you hear annoucers say more/less, "They've scored the all-important first goal, this makes them that much harder to beat now." I think it's overhyped, case in point we can just look back to the WIngs/Sharks series, the team that scored first only won once (Detroit game 6).

[Izzy24 44]

Overhyped. In every level of hockey I watch (NHL, college, men's league) it doesn't really seem to make that much difference.

[redwingslady87 130]

I think it was provened to be over-hyped throughout the entire playoffs this year. Wings v.s. Sharks entire series except for game 6. Game 5 in the series against the Ducks are just a few examples. Infact if you don't let the opposing team pick up the momentum from scoring first, It just gives you and your teammates a kick in the pants to start figuring out how you can put the puck in the net. First goal definetly means nothing. Especially in the playoffs.

[Earthhuman 8]

I hope a professional athlete doesn't let that get to him.

[SJCheechoo14 0]

Yeah, my Sharks ain't too great at keeping a lead, obviously. Their game starts usually from coming back for the win. So I'm almost to the point where I hope the other team gets the first goal, but I don't know...maybe next year it will be different and we will learn not to sit back on a lead. Cause other teams, like the Red Wings, will eventually figure that out.

Edited June 10, 2007 by SJCheechoo14

[Guest Crymson]

No, I'm not saying just give the puck to the other team for an automatic 1-0 or put the puck in your own net for s**ts and giggles. I'm not dismissing the importance of scoring first for any confidence or momentum, but almost every game I watch you hear annoucers say more/less, "They've scored the all-important first goal, this makes them that much harder to beat now." I think it's overhyped, case in point we can just look back to the WIngs/Sharks series, the team that scored first only won once (Detroit game 6).

I learned this season not to give a s***. I can't even count the number of victories which came after we were scored on first. We were nearly ALWAYS scored on first.

[Kp-Wings 3]

Completely overhyped. Unless the game is 0-0 going into the final minutes of the 3rd period, most teams aren't rattled by the fact that they are behind 1-0 early. It makes no difference.

[DRW Dominance 255]

Normally not a huge deal but I think the Quacks were 9-0 when scoring first in the playoffs.

[FUUFNF 1]

back in the good 'ol clutch' & grab days of the nhl, the 1st goal was probably more significant. but now it's much less important. naturally there are a few teams that play unquestionably better with the lead (for whatever reason), and for them it's probably more significant than to others, but overall, it doesn't really matter that much anymore.

[Vladinator 0]

I read an article awhile back (I think a couple of years ago) that showed that the team that scores first wins between 65 and 70 % of all regular season games and a little over 70% of all playoff games.

This could be a bit different in the "new" nhl, but I still think that the 1st goal is very important.

[Izzy24 44]

When it's 0-0 going into overtime, the first goal is definitely worth the hype.

[HenrikRules40 14]

When it's 0-0 going into overtime, the first goal is definitely worth the hype.

Well when you put it that way...

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

Definitely overhyped.

Honestly? There were times that I wished the Wings would get scored on first. Just a feeling I had. lol

Edited June 11, 2007 by HockeyCrazy3033

[spydrwebb 0]

don't believe the hype.

[adtthosa 5]

I would say it's important to get the first goal, but it's not the end of the world if you don't. I did a study on this a few months ago for a course I was taking, actually. I compared the number of times a team scored the first goal vs the number of wins they had at the end of the season (05/06 NHL season). I ended up getting a correlation that was moderately strong, but it wasn't overwhelming by any stretch.

THIS is also an interesting article that deals with the importance of scoring the first goal. It's for college hockey, but definately worth a read.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

It 100% situational if you ask me. When the Wings were playing the Ducks in 2003, scoring the first goal was *huge*. Playing against SJ this year, it didn't mean a d*mn thing. If you in a tight, low-scoring series it means a great deal. If you're in a series where both teams are consistently scoring, its not as big of a deal.

With that, its not that big of a deal to get scored on first in game 1 of playoff series, but if my team is in game 7, I sure as hell would like that first goal of the game. It doesn't mean you're going to win, but it definitely helps calm the nerves a little bit. Some here have said things to the effect of "their professional atheletes, and a 1-0 lead shouldn't rattle them" but they're still human, and are still susceptible to letting things get to their head, especially as the game wears on, and given that the team that scored first still holds a low-scoring lead (I.E. 1-0, 2-1).

All in all, it doesn't mean a thing in some situations, but in others it could mean the world.

Edited June 11, 2007 by Never Forget Mac #25

[OsGOD 3]

Aye, it only matters when the outcome is 1-0 after 60 mins o' battle.

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

No, I'm not saying just give the puck to the other team for an automatic 1-0 or put the puck in your own net for s**ts and giggles. I'm not dismissing the importance of scoring first for any confidence or momentum, but almost every game I watch you hear annoucers say more/less, "They've scored the all-important first goal, this makes them that much harder to beat now." I think it's overhyped, case in point we can just look back to the WIngs/Sharks series, the team that scored first only won once (Detroit game 6).

I think that statistics will show that it is significant. Maybe not in one series like the Wings/Sharks, which frankly isn't enough of a sample to be conclusive. One should really look at the entire playoffs this year and furthermore, probably the past 5 years to get a better indication.

This year though it seemed that the team scoring 1st didn't have as much of an impact in the series I watched. Specifically we get down to the Sharks a couple times and we beat them. I do remember we were up on the Ducks also and they beat us.

I'd like to see what the numbers are when a team goes up 2-0. I know the Wings beat the Sharks 2x in this scenario but it seems like in the Ducks series if we could've just gotten a 2 goal lead at some point we wouldn't have lost game 5 and it would've been an entirely different series going to Anaheim and still being able to lose that game and force a game 7.

I for one don't put alot of stock into who scores 1st unless it comes with 10 minutes left in the 3rd period. Playoff games are too closely contested, one powerplay away from a tie or a flukey bounce away. However, if you consistently have the 1 goal lead the other team will consistently have to work harder to tie and potentially run out of gas. Looked to me like Ottawa found that out against the Ducks. Too much time trying to come back where's you down mentally and physically.