Shot totals tell tales, but sometimes there's a twist

	Tomas Vokoun's stellar play in net enables the Predators to win even though they are routinely outshot. Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images
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Good teams outshoot their opponents. That old hockey axiom -- simple and yet so significant -- continues to stand the test of time. For this season's example, consider the early-season success of the Detroit Red Wings.

The Wings, tied with Nashville for the top spot in the Central Division with 26 points, have allowed a league-low 20.9 shots-against per game while firing an average of 32.7. That nearly plus-12 disparity is far and away the best ratio in the NHL (see chart below) and, correspondingly, the Red Wings have only been outshot twice thus far.

The next best such ratio belongs to another top team in the Western Conference: the Anaheim Ducks, at 33.1 shots for and 26.9 against.

That those two teams are leading this category makes sense when you think of the depth, talent and experience on their respective bluelines -- the Wings with Nicklas Lidstrom and Mathieu Schneider, the Ducks with Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger.

Now consider the other end of the spectrum: the Capitals and Penguins. Each night, they experience a shot-differential deficit on average of about nine and seven shots respectively. 

Both are young, scrappy developing teams with explosive offensive talent up front (Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin in Washington and Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh) and promising defensive corps that are inexperienced. That puts more pressure on the goaltending, which in both cases has responded and been a difference-making element of the fine starts in each city.

The Caps have the veteran tandem of Olaf Kolzig and Brent Johnson -- both proven battlers -- while Marc-Andre Fleury has had a breakthrough start to the season for the Penguins and is showing signs of delivering consistently on his highly regarded physical skills. Thanks in large part to the play in net, the Caps and Pens have managed to hang tough in their respective divisions. 

Speaking of difference-makers in goal, Ryan Miller and Martin Biron in Buffalo and Tomas Vokoun in Nashville are playing huge roles in their teams' successes.

The Sabres and Predators are in the 30-30 club -- teams that take and surrender an average of at least 30 shots per game. (The club includes the  Maple Leafs, Senators, Avalanche, Panthers and Bruins.)

Underscoring the excellent play in goal for the Sabres and Preds is the fact that they go against type for winning teams and are routinely outshot. Yet Buffalo is 9-2 in those situations and Nashville is 7-2-1. Buffalo at 10-1 on the road and Nashville is 8-3. Most often, the home team holds a shots-on-goal advantage, but the Sabres and Preds have the netminding to routinely weather such storms and win.

So, if you look a little deeper, how many shots a team gives up compared to how many they generate can give credence to its make-up. And if there is any change in that ratio, you can be it will be reflected in the only numbers that matter -- wins and losses.