It seems like every time that Michael Ryder skates to center ice in the shootout he tries the same move (or in reality, non-move): he skates straight in, gets to the hash marks between the circles and fires a quick wrister or snap shot. I thought it would be interesting to go back and look at the tape of all of Ryder's 16 shootout attempts since joining the Bruins prior to the 2008-'09 season.
2008-'09 Season (1 for 3)
10/25/08 @ Montreal: Ryder dekes and tries to stuff the puck in on the forehand at the right post (saved) [Video]
10/20/08 vs. Pittsburgh: Ryder dekes to the bankhand at the left post and is kicked out by the right pad (save) [Video]
1/21/09 @ Toronto: Ryder's snap shot from between the circles beats Vesa Toskala (goal) [Video]
2009-'10 Season (2 for 10)
10/22/09 @ Philadelphia: Ryder rings a wrister from between the circles off the left post [Video]
11/12/09 vs. Florida: Ryder goes wide and cuts across the front of the crease and tries a backhander from in close that is stopped. (save) [Video]
11/28/09 vs Ottawa: Ryder gets the game-winner. Skates in and snaps a shot from the slot over the glove. (goal) [Video]
1/14/10 @ San Jose: Ryder goes to the forehand at the right post. loses control of the puck before getting off a weak shot that is stopped by the goalie. (save) [Note: Video is available to NHL GameCenter Live subscribers, but I could not find it anywhere else]
1/30/10 vs. Los Angeles: Ryder scores on his patented wrister from between the cirlces. (goal) [Zapruder-esque Amateur Video]
2/4/10 vs. Montreal: Ryder goes to the backhand at the left post (save) [Grainy Camcorder recording on French Canadian TV]
2/9/10 @ Buffalo: Ryder snaps a shot high on the stick side from the slot that Ryan Miller gets a piece before it sails over the net. (save) [Video]
2/13/10 @ Florida: Ryder snaps a shot from between the circles and tries to go high on the stick side that is stopped by Tomas Vokoun. (save) [Video]
3/4/10 vs. Toronto: Ryder tries a snap shot from the slot. He did switch it up by coming wide this time, but it was really the same sytraight-forward approach. (save) [Video]
4/11/10 @ Washington: Ryder skates straight in and his low wrist shot on the stick side is kicked out (save) [Video]
2010-'11 Season (0 for 3)
11/6/10 vs. St. Louis: Ryder skates to the hash marks between the cirlces and rings one off the post. [Video]
11/20/10 vs. Los Angeles: Ryder fakes the shot from his usual "hot spot" and goes with a backhander from in close on the left post, which is kicked out by Jonathan Quick. (save) [Video]
12/4/10 @ Toronto: Stop me if you have heard this one before. Ryder skates to the hash marks between the circles, tries to got high on the stick side, and rings one off the post [Video]
What I found was that he doesn't always go with the wrist/snap shot from the slot, but he does rely on it often (especially lately). Ryder is 3 for 16 in shootouts since joining the Bruins (4 for 25 lifetime). Of those 16 attempts, he has shot a wrister or a snap shot from between the circles 10 times, including 6 of his last 7 shootout attempts. Not surprisingly, Ryder is 0 for his last 8 shootout bids.There is no denying that Ryder has a great snap shot, but it doesn't work in the shootout. Ryder needs to switch things up and find something that works in the skills competition or Claude Julien needs to find someone else on the roster that can put the puck in the net.