First Shift 🏒
Robertson is on pace to have the second highest shot total in his career.
With 226 shots on goal through 65 games, he’s on pace for a full season total of 285. That’s significantly behind the 313 he had in the 2022-23 season (ninth overall), but it’s also quite a bit more than the 211 he had last season. It’s an interesting number for Robertson, because it’s often an indicator on how involved he is in a game.
“I’m moving in areas where I can shoot the puck more,” he said. “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 goals were great examples. On the first, he was on a 2-on-1 and Edmonton took away the pass. So he threw a shot off the near post and it deflected in. The second was a total “Robertson moment.” The rangy winger entered the offensive zone, took a pass from Johnston on his backhand, then spun to his forehand and snapped a shot in for his 36th goal of the season.
“From what I see, it looks like a pretty tough release to judge,” Johnston said when asked what a goalie sees on those plays. “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 deception on it.”
Robertson is on pace for 45 goals. That would be his highest total since he had 46 in 2022-23 (and also had a career-best 109 points). He’s not going to hit those totals, but he is likely going to lead the team in goals and shots on goal again.
“I mean, for sure, you want to get better and I’ve worked to get better, so that’s the plan,” Robertson said. “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 yes, even his goal-scoring is different than it was over the past few seasons. New coach Glen Gulutzan said he does not try to help Robertson with goal-scoring, because he knows how much the 26-year-old puts into his game.
“If there is anyone who is into analytics, it’s Robo,” Gulutzan said. “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 doesn’t mean the coach isn’t aware of what a special player Robertson can be. When he decided to fling a “spin-o-rama” at the net – and then is successful, 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 said. “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, only to yourself.
