Pop Quiz Hotshot: your stick breaks in the D-zone...what do you do!?!?!

[powderjunkie]

Seeing a lot of posts about Dubé making the conventional choice of remaining in the play without his stick.

My personal flow chart (presuming a forward w/o stick):
1a. O-team has clean possession = stay in play
1b. Major puck battle = go to bench for change
1c. Minor puck battle/loose puck = go to #2
2c. Long change = stay in play
2d. Short change = go to bench for change

If going for a change, the replacement player needs to be ready and take a big liberty on the line change. The cardinal rule is that once you start to go to bench, there is no turning back.

Stick breaks are common enough these days that I think this is worth more attention (in training camp of a regular season). Just need a couple code words so everyone is aware when the stick is broken, and then when the player leaves.


It's a no-win situation, but one has to think that stat-wonks have looked at this? Though there probably isn't a large enough sample size for 'go-to-bench', and I don't think you can extrapolate regular PK stats b/c teammates may not aware/able to adjust quickly enough.

I recall a past big game (maybe in a Ducks series?) where a Flames stick broke on the PK - he left to get a new one/change, but the puck immediately ended up in our net...anyone remember the details more clearly and have a clip?

[Coach]

People saying players are useless without a stick are out to lunch. If the other team has full possession you have to stay in the zone. You can still use your body to block passes or put pressure on players.

Blowing coverage and forcing your team to defend 5-4, especially if there’s a long change, even for 10 seconds, can definitely result in a goal.

[Flashpoint]

Put my body on the ice and block the F out of anything I can.

[robbie111]

If you are a forward you go to one of the defenceman from the other team at the point and shadow him completely follow him everywhere.

[wretched34]

Originally Posted by robbie111

If you are a forward you go to one of the defenceman from the other team at the point and shadow him completely follow him everywhere.

Was just about to say this as well. If you're out of the play, take someone else with you. I don't know why we don't see this more often. If you take away the high point, and that pass, the other 4 defensive players can box out the rest of the offense. It makes no sense to me why the forward without a stick floats in the high slot, shadowing the puck, just pick the defenseman with the better point shot, rush him, and stay within 6 inches of him til you can get off the ice.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Coach

People saying players are useless without a stick are out to lunch. If the other team has full possession you have to stay in the zone. You can still use your body to block passes or put pressure on players.

Blowing coverage and forcing your team to defend 5-4, especially if there’s a long change, even for 10 seconds, can definitely result in a goal.

I'm of the opinion that if you don't have a stick, you either get off the ice for a change, or you go physically pressure the point up close so that the other four guys can at least play 4 on 4. Essentially - you need to play a 4+1 at that point.

The worst thing you can do is what Dube did there.

[activeStick]

Skate directly into the net and stay inside the net behind your goalie.

[Moneyhands23]

Skate at the point player with the puck then if the pass is made grab a stick from the bench

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by robbie111

If you are a forward you go to one of the defenceman from the other team at the point and shadow him completely follow him everywhere.

And be very careful not to take a penalty. Without a stick, it's very obvious if you grab or obstruct.

[heep223]

Double smash their best player over the head with the broken halves

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Shoot the hostage.

[Monahammer]

I think it's definitely situational- if you are in a position to block a shot or otherwise disrupt the play you have to do it.

That being said, I think there are relatively few situations that emerge where it wouldn't be best just to sprint to the bench for a change. Most of the time the broken stick does result in an ineffective defender or odd-man situation against- regardless of whether it has to or not, most players I have watched over the years aren't quick enough to adapt sans stick in this scenario to make it worthwhile.

If I was coaching the instruction to any of my forwards with a broken stick is to haul ass to the bench right away so I can send another player over the boards. Potential exists for this to result in a rush the other way too.

[Gaskal]

1.) Immediately drop broken stick because I don't want to take a penalty
2.) Scream at the nearest official, "#### off!! That was a ####ing slash ref!!" even if it wasn't actually one
3.) Find my check, don't leave him, shove him Regehr style if the puck comes close
4.) If your check just happens to be on the correct side of the ice just go change and scream "PK! PK!" to make your other four teammates on the ice go into penalty kill formation for the 5 seconds it takes for you to go change.

[indes]

Get the goalie to 'accidentally' knock the net off

[Enoch Root]

Shadowing another player will often result in a penalty, because you have two empty and free hands with nothing to do but reach out and grab your check.

It takes less than 10 seconds to go get a stick in the 2nd period, and more like 5 seconds in the 1st and 3rd periods. The offensive team isn't getting a 5 on 4 situation set up in that amount of time.

[Kidder]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

It takes less than 10 seconds to go get a stick in the 2nd period, and more like 5 seconds in the 1st and 3rd periods. The offensive team isn't getting a 5 on 4 situation set up in that amount of time.

Issue with this is that a team down a man on penalty kill knows this and the players adjust accordingly, playing a zone.

If a player breaks a stick and beelines to the bench, the rest of the defensive team is playing man to man and the now uncovered player can float in to prime scoring position unmarked.

It would take a concentrated team effort of ok, teammate has broken his stick, we will shift to PK structure and let him race to bench.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Kidder

Issue with this is that a team down a man on penalty kill knows this and the players adjust accordingly, playing a zone.

If a player breaks a stick and beelines to the bench, the rest of the defensive team is playing man to man and the now uncovered player can float in to prime scoring position unmarked.

It would take a concentrated team effort of ok, teammate has broken his stick, we will shift to PK structure and let him race to bench.

Yes, and that's a great point.

It is also easily coached. Easy thing to work on in pre-season: this is what we do when someone breaks a stick.

[FlamesPuck12]

I would prefer that the skater just skate to the bench and grab a stick.

It takes 10 seconds at most to skate to the far bench (center ice) and back so that's about 10 seconds of being on the PK.
Staying in the zone without your stick allows the other team to setup a perfect play and you're effectively playing shorthanded for longer than 10 seconds.
The situation gets a lot worse if the other team is able to put extended pressure and your team ends up taking a penalty, now you're shorthanded for more than 2 minutes.

In the qualifier game, 2 of the Leafs players broke their sticks, and after awhile, Matthews decided to just dash to the bench while the other team had clean possession. I wish our players did that as well when they break their stick.

I was shocked when Rieder broke his stick near the bench (I think it was 2nd period, so we were closer to the offensive zone) and then decided to skate back into our D zone instead of just changing.

[Enoch Root]

It is faster to skate to the bench and have someone else jump out for a change than it is to grab a stick and turn around. IMO, that is the ideal response: race to the bench and let someone else jump on (cheating by the marginal amount that you can get away with).

Very minimal downtime, with fresh legs coming out.

[Stud_McCool]

For me, I would be cursing all the way to the bench because that stick cost $300.