What is there to do about Special Teams

[FBI]

Try the down low play more with Gaudreau behind the net to Monahan in front of the net.. Like that one goal where he came out behind and roofed it..

[buyakasha]

It's improving. At the beginning of the season there was little to zero movement and rotation on the powerplay. Everyone would be standing still except the puck carrier, but now you can see a lot more movement without the puck which is a nice effort to see. The pp has looked decent the past two games which is a good sign and hopefully it only gets better from here. 29th PP in the league here we come

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by heep223

Right now they play some sort of overload system where the guy on the half wall is the quarterback. It is not working.

They seem to be running a 1-3-1 on the PP.



So I did some digging around on the 1-3-1, and here's what I gleaned:

A Complete Idiot's Guide to Hockey Special Teams

As you can see from this image, this strategy creates four triangles to pass around and take one-timer shots. You can also QB this setup from four different areas (either half boards, the point, or below the goal line). This system forces the defense to focus on the middle players causing the PK to shrink. As a result, it can be very, very effective.

The problem with the 1-3-1 is that every player must be extremely skilled with the puck. With only one player at the blueline, you’re also leaving the defense completely exposed.

SB Pens: Mike Johnston Wrote the Book on the 1-3-1 PP, so why don't the Pens use it?

Right and Left Side Half-Boards
Players Set up with the right shot on the left boards and the left shot on the right. These two players are definitely the quarterbacks. Both must be a threat to shoot or fake the shot and pass while also being calm under pressure. They should work the puck up to the high D as number one option, and don't force plays through the box - often the play through the box will open up after recovering a rebound.

Mid-Ice Point Man
An important strategy for this defenseman is to keep his feet on the blue line to allow more room to make a play or step into a shot. Slide along the line with deception while looking to find an open lane to the net. Quickly work the puck from left to right if the shot isn't there, and then look to shoot again. Wrist shots to the net are also good, but it there is a chance for a slapshot, use it. In the 1-3-1 setup, the puck should revolve around this player.

Slot Player
This can be a defenseman who slides in or a forward who plays defense and then moves into the slot area. Move into this position once the puck is under control. Depending on whether this player is a right or left shot, from one side he must be ready for a quick release shot and from the other side a shot pass. The shot pass is a play where the outside players shoot to the stick of the slot player for a redirect on the net. The slot player should move around in the space to distract the penalty killers. It is key that this player is ready to support both half-boards players when they are in trouble.

Net Man
The net man, as the name indicates, plays the net area unless support is needed to settle the puck out. He may release to the strong side for a low pass and the potential to make a quick inside play. This is a good strategy, but the player has to read whether the high players are shooting or whether they need a low option. Stay active, and get into shooting lanes at the right time.

Right/Left Side Half-Boards - Johnny, Wideman

Mid-Ice Point Man - Gio

Net Man - Bennett

Slot Player - Monahan

Gelinas has the right personnel for this formation, but he's deploying them weird. In the Flames formation above, you have a leftie on the left side and a righty on the right side, neither being good options for one timers. Instead Johnny and Wideman should be on the half boards as 3's with Gio as the 1. Like right here. Magic!



Put Dougie in place of Wideman on that PP and I think we'll see more pucks being put on net instead of being blasted high and wide.

[polak]

If Gelinas can't figure out that he should switch his pointmen so they have opposite shots...

[Enoch Root]

I hate the 1-3-1.

The guy in the high slot is useless - he doesn't have time to shoot, and he often has his back to the net. He is under pressure the moment he gets the puck. He also becomes quite stationary.

Also, When the point man shoots, there are too many men in the way, due to the high slot guy.

Finally, he also creates problems for the 2 guys on the wall: they can't pass to each other because the high slot guy and the defenders are all in, or near, the lane.

I like a guy in front of the net, but in this case, it is hard to get him the puck because the guy on the wall has to pass it through a defenseman to get it to him. And as mentioned, the point shot is difficult, making a guy in front less effective.

Hate the 1-3-1. No movement, no lanes.

[heep223]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

I hate the 1-3-1.

The guy in the high slot is useless - he doesn't have time to shoot, and he often has his back to the net. He is under pressure the moment he gets the puck. He also becomes quite stationary.

Also, When the point man shoots, there are too many men in the way, due to the high slot guy.

Finally, he also creates problems for the 2 guys on the wall: they can't pass to each other because the high slot guy and the defenders are all in, or near, the lane.

I like a guy in front of the net, but in this case, it is hard to get him the puck because the guy on the wall has to pass it through a defenseman to get it to him. And as mentioned, the point shot is difficult, making a guy in front less effective.

Hate the 1-3-1. No movement, no lanes.

Interesting, I'm not sure if I agree. I view the 1-3-1 as pretty much the umbrella except that there's a slap pass option (which Monahan has scored on a few times before). Also the slot man is in a perfect spot for rebounds, and he really shouldn't be in the way of the point shots because they're coming from the angle while he's in the middle of the slot.

I think the issue is that in the Flames iteration, they're not set up for one timers, which is what IMO the strategy is ideal for. Wideman and Gio should be set up on their off wings blasting away while the guy at the top feeds whoever is more open.

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by polak

I hate the 1-3-1.

The guy in the high slot is useless - he doesn't have time to shoot, and he often has his back to the net. He is under pressure the moment he gets the puck. He also becomes quite stationary.

Also, When the point man shoots, there are too many men in the way, due to the high slot guy.

Finally, he also creates problems for the 2 guys on the wall: they can't pass to each other because the high slot guy and the defenders are all in, or near, the lane.

I like a guy in front of the net, but in this case, it is hard to get him the puck because the guy on the wall has to pass it through a defenseman to get it to him. And as mentioned, the point shot is difficult, making a guy in front less effective.

Hate the 1-3-1. No movement, no lanes.

The problems you've described are more a product of not having the right people in the right places rather than just the system itself. The Flyers were the #3 powerplay in the league last year using this, and they did deploy it properly - they built their 1-3-1 on having multiple one-timer options available, where the slot or net guy doesn't need that much time or space to shoot. Bennett and Monahan have quick enough releases for that role.

The '1' point shot shouldn't even be taken unless there's a clear lane - he should have either of the high boards players available as a shooting option. The idea is to keep the PK moving side to side until a lane opens up for someone. However, Gio only has the D-to-D pass to Wideman (who takes really bad shots) or he can force a play to the net himself. He could dish it back to Johnny, but that's just a reset and nothing ever gets done.


Here's what I'd like to see, with the names subbed out:

PP1 (left side):




PP2 (right side) :



In either scenario the puck distributor has multiple options available for one-timers.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

The PK is another issue. It was pretty bad last year and that was with both Byron and Bouma. We just have bad PK personnel, especially down low in front of our net. Just not enough big tough defensemen to clear the front of the net and let our goalie see the puck, hence the extremely poor save percentages.

This. We have the worst d-corp down low in the NHL. Positioning, size, tying guys up - fail, fail, fail. It's why the PK is so bad, and one of the reasons the GAA is so bad. It's a personnel issue that will need to be addressed.

The problem with the PP is coaching.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

This. We have the worst d-corp down low in the NHL. Positioning, size, tying guys up - fail, fail, fail. It's why the PK is so bad, and one of the reasons the GAA is so bad. It's a personnel issue that will need to be addressed.

The problem with the PP is coaching.

Smid in might help. He's better down low and at clearing the net than pretty much everyone else, and better at clearing the puck out of the zone than Russell or Engelland.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Gaskal

The problems you've described are more a product of not having the right people in the right places rather than just the system itself. The Flyers were the #3 powerplay in the league last year using this, and they did deploy it properly - they built their 1-3-1 on having multiple one-timer options available, where the slot or net guy doesn't need that much time or space to shoot. Bennett and Monahan have quick enough releases for that role.

The '1' point shot shouldn't even be taken unless there's a clear lane - he should have either of the high boards players available as a shooting option. The idea is to keep the PK moving side to side until a lane opens up for someone. However, Gio only has the D-to-D pass to Wideman (who takes really bad shots) or he can force a play to the net himself. He could dish it back to Johnny, but that's just a reset and nothing ever gets done.


Here's what I'd like to see, with the names subbed out:

[

NSFW!

B]PP1 (left side):[/B]




PP2 (right side) :

In either scenario the puck distributor has multiple options available for one-timers.

I like the system. Your two units are pretty unbalanced - not much size on the first and not much skill on the second one. Maybe put Bennett on the second and throw a Jones or Colborne onto the first (for size).

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I like the system. Your two units are pretty unbalanced - not much size on the first and not much skill on the second one. Maybe put Bennett on the second and throw a Jones or Colborne onto the first (for size).

You could switch Jones for Bennett then, that gives Johnny another RH one-timer option down low on PP1.

The one-timer to Bennett on the 2nd unit then becomes more of a slap pass-redirect option, which isn't really that bad considering how the middle would be clogged anyway.