Making the PK better

[pylon]

When I read the title I thought it was going to contain some sort of weird 3rd person self help article written by P.K. Subban.

Leaving disappointed.

[Enoch Root]

Goaltending was a big factor for sure. And I think there is merit to the random argument (as they were decent the year before).

But I think there were other factors. Not only did Frolik and Bouma both wiss time with injuries, but Backlund was getting PP time.

If Bennett's line can emerge as a secondary scoring threat, and take over the #2 PP unit, that will leave Backlund and Frolik to be able to take more PK time.

And hopefully Monahan spends less time on the PK.

Getting players into proper roles will help as much as new systems will, IMO

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by puffnstuff

Decent goaltending will help improve it. And simplicity in our own zone, nothing fancy, but quick and pressuring in your own zone and hard outs. Less reliance on trying to shot block, fill lanes instead.

Also, I have mentioned it before but the NHL really needs a better way to track PK and PP efficiency. A 10 second man advantage, due to staggered penalties, counts the same as a 5 minute major PP. Same for PK. Do something along the lines of GF - GA per minute of PP - PK.

Agreed.

I think a simple and obvious solution is to track the actual time on the PP, instead of the number of events.

[Da_Chief]

I think he's already a good guy. Donated $10 mill to children's hospital and all.

[GioforPM]

Goaltending is the biggest factor, and I think the D will be better with Hamilton having more confidence and maybe putting Kevin in. Faceoffs matter and Monahan is getting a lot better. If Monahan has bulked up any it would help too, in front of the net.

I know it's been poo-pooed before but watching those WC highlights, Gaudreau wins a ton of board battles and finds himself on the correct side of the puck a lot. Look at the OT goal against Sweden, and a whole bunch of other plays behind the net and in the corner.

I know he's small and can't be a physical PK guy, but he'd sure know what to do with the puck when he retrieves it, and wouldn't panic.

[Cactus Jack]

Originally Posted by getbak

Bollig led the team in PIM, but yes, most of those minutes were fighting majors or 10 minute misconducts, which wouldn't have resulted in a powerplay. He had 14 minors, which tied him with Backlund for 7th-most on the team. He only had 4 more minor penalties than Gaudreau.

Not to crap on Bollig, as 14 minors isn´t a lot. However, look at his PIMS per minute played and it´s probably pretty high. He doesn´t play 20+ mins a night like Johnny or Gio, for example. He doesn´t contribute 10% of what they do, so for him to take minors with the limited minutes he sees is extremely counter-productive.

[Bandwagon In Flames]

Originally Posted by Cactus Jack

Not to crap on Bollig, as 14 minors isn´t a lot. However, look at his PIMS per minute played and it´s probably pretty high. He doesn´t play 20+ mins a night like Johnny or Gio, for example. He doesn´t contribute 10% of what they do, so for him to take minors with the limited minutes he sees is extremely counter-productive.

You should be looking at the types of penalties he's taking, not the amount.

I'm perfectly fine with him getting 60 PIMS worth of roughing because most of those penalties are going to be coincidental minors. As long as they are penalties for playing his physical game I'm happy. If he's racking up hooking penalties then that's a whole new ball game.

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by Cactus Jack

Not to crap on Bollig, as 14 minors isn´t a lot. However, look at his PIMS per minute played and it´s probably pretty high. He doesn´t play 20+ mins a night like Johnny or Gio, for example. He doesn´t contribute 10% of what they do, so for him to take minors with the limited minutes he sees is extremely counter-productive.

I posted this in another thread but feel it is relevant here too

Looking at the list of league leaders for PIMs, Bollig sits 13th on overall PIMs but only 1 player in the top 50 for PIMs has fewer (two are tied with Bollig) minor penalties than Bollig. In fact in the top 100 there are only 9 players with fewer minor penalties (3 are tied with him) than Bollig.

Bollig looks more undisciplined because the Flames as a team take so few penalties, as they have taken the second fewest amount of penalties in the last two years.

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by Bandwagon In Flames

You should be looking at the types of penalties he's taking, not the amount.

I'm perfectly fine with him getting 60 PIMS worth of roughing because most of those penalties are going to be coincidental minors. As long as they are penalties for playing his physical game I'm happy. If he's racking up hooking penalties then that's a whole new ball game.

Of his 14 minor penalties

6 were for roughing
3 were for delay of game (puck over glass)
2 were for hooking
1 was for kneeing
1 was for interference
1 was for elbowing