[JJ1532]

With the PP, is it worth totally switching things up and using 4 forwards and 1 defenceman? A number of other teams use this set up, so is it worth a try? Boston I'm pretty sure use it, and they have the best PP in the league. I know its not as simple as just switching things up, but for me, the 3-2 system we use now just isn't working, nor is switching personnel around. So now is the time to make some more radical changes.

The reason I think why we are struggling is because there seems to be no strategy. We also seem to really struggle with the basics like winning the face off to allow the immediate set up and with zone entries. We don't seem to know who takes what role on each unit, there is no pace, no direction, nobody leading it. It just seems like a disorganised mess. Is that coaching? Is that personnel? I don't know, but it has to improve, otherwise we'll find making the playoffs goes from hard to almost impossible.

As for the PK, yes the goaltending has been a consistent let down, but the PK units for me stink. Remember 2 years ago when we led the league in shorthanded goals? This season, not a dickiebird and we don't even look like getting one. We rarely get break aways, never get odd man rushes, never look like squeaking a shortie. Why is that?

In more detail, the face off winning percentage on the PK is garbage.

Take the last 3 seasons including this one for PK face-offs:

13/14: Backlund(84-85) 49.7% Stajan(74-97) 43.3%
14/15: Backlund(29-45) 39.1% Stajan(43-49) 46.7% Monahan(51-51) 50%
15/16: Backlund(16-28) 36.4% Stajan(23-19) 54.8% Monahan(8-23) 25.8%

Stajan has gotten better over the last 2 years, but man, Backlund and Monahan have been brutally bad and they have both been worse than last season. That has got to have an impact on the PK effectiveness surely?