Taking a peek at the powerplay: what makes PP1 so good & what's fuelling PP2's blues

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Hmmm. No Backlund, Hanifin, or Ryan. Not sure I like all those changes.

Re-reading this thread, I thought the adjustments would be received well.

(And... Ryan? You don’t like removing him? Really?)

[puckedoff]

I like it! Hanifin is too slow on PP2 to get back when one of the shots inevitably goes off a defenders shin pad and results in a 2 on 1.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by puckedoff

I like it! Hanifin is too slow on PP2 to get back when one of the shots inevitably goes off a defenders shin pad and results in a 2 on 1.

And no more Ryan dependably shooting it in to that shin pad.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by David Struch

James Neal and the kids should be on the 2nd powerplay....

James Neal, Mark Jankowski, Austin Czarnik (right hand faceoffs)

Oliver Kylington, Rasmus Andersson (big point shot)

Close enough...

[DoubleK]

I like it.

Tweaks could be Ryan/Czarnik and Hanafin/Brodie depending on who's going on a particular night.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by puckedoff

I like it! Hanifin is too slow on PP2 to get back when one of the shots inevitably goes off a defenders shin pad and results in a 2 on 1.

Hanifin is one of the best skaters on the team. Too slow? We must be watching different players

[TheScorpion]

I'm glad they took Backlund off. Bennett too.

But Hanifin and Ryan? Eh, I guess. I'd sooner take off Neal.

[dammage79]

Janko and Neal need to be big net front presences and Brodie needs to Feed Andersson onetimers.

[DoubleK]

When did 'in front of the net' become 'net front'?

[Macho0978]

Take Backlund off and put Rasmus on. Adds a righty to the unit that can shoot and then crash the net.

I would take backlund off because his value is that first shift after failed pp. If he isn’t helping the pp might as well have him against what is usually a loaded line after a pk for other team. It also helps if we choose to have first pp out for extra time on pp not to have first line available for a few shifts after failed pp

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

When did 'in front of the net' become 'net front'?

Do you really think “in front of the net presence” sounds better than “net front presence”? Cause it doesn’t lol.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

I'm glad they took Backlund off. Bennett too.

But Hanifin and Ryan? Eh, I guess. I'd sooner take off Neal.

Ryan had to come off of that unit. Both Backlund and Bennett are better in the offensive zone than Ryan.

Very interesting that Czarnik has gone from the pressbox to PP2.

Originally Posted by Macho0978

Take Backlund off and put Rasmus on. Adds a righty to the unit that can shoot and then crash the net.

I would take backlund off because his value is that first shift after failed pp. If he isn’t helping the pp might as well have him against what is usually a loaded line after a pk for other team. It also helps if we choose to have first pp out for extra time on pp not to have first line available for a few shifts after failed pp

I think the same could be said for Hanifin. I don't think he should have been pulled from the unit but in doing so they now have their second D pairing and second forward line ready to be deployed at the end of the powerplay with Tkachuk being the only guy having been on the ice during the PP1.

I'll be very interested to see how they deploy this new PP2. Will it be in a similar 1-3-1 format as PP1 or will they go to more of a 1-2-2 set up? Also, will Andersson be on the right side or will they move him to the left for the one-timers?

[ComixZone]

I don't think Bennett should have come off the unit.

Bennett - Jankowski - Neal
Brodie - Andersson

That's how I would have done it.

Backlund and Ryan were the issues with PP2 in my eyes.

We shall see how it goes.

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by Wolven

Ryan had to come off of that unit. Both Backlund and Bennett are better in the offensive zone than Ryan.

Are they? Ryan has a higher career-high in points than Bennett, with 38 -- set last year. Ryan was also the highest scorer on PP2 and the only one to have multiple goals. I'll give you Backlund, but Ryan is better offensively right now than Bennett.

Ryan wasn't an ideal fit, but to say he "had to come off" is weird. Statistically speaking, he was the second-best player on the unit. However, statistically speaking, the worst player on the unit was the only one to survive the PP2 purge, so what do I know.

[midniteowl]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

I'm glad they took Backlund off. Bennett too.

But Hanifin and Ryan? Eh, I guess. I'd sooner take off Neal.

Nevermind, got my answers, thanks.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Are they? Ryan has a higher career-high in points than Bennett, with 38 -- set last year. Ryan was also the highest scorer on PP2 and the only one to have multiple goals. I'll give you Backlund, but Ryan is better offensively right now than Bennett.

Ryan wasn't an ideal fit, but to say he "had to come off" is weird. Statistically speaking, he was the second-best player on the unit. However, statistically speaking, the worst player on the unit was the only one to survive the PP2 purge, so what do I know.

He may have been the 2nd best player statistically, but that is because the PP always went through him. He was the setup guy, so if it was ever going to score, there was a good chance he was getting points.

Fortunately, we have more than just statistics with which to make decisions. Because anyone watching could see that plays die on his stick far too much.

I like Ryan, and I think he brings some useful things to the 4th line. But he is a dead zone on the PP.

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

He may have been the 2nd best player statistically, but that is because the PP always went through him. He was the setup guy, so if it was ever going to score, there was a good chance he was getting points.

Fortunately, we have more than just statistics with which to make decisions. Because anyone watching could see that plays die on his stick far too much.

I like Ryan, and I think he brings some useful things to the 4th line. But he is a dead zone on the PP.

Eh, I've come to hate the qualifier "plays die on his stick," because people around here love to say it and it's kind of meaningless. Not to pick on you specifically... but I don't like it for a number of reasons. People threw it around about Bennett incessantly last year and I didn't think it was wholly fair then either.

Anyway I'm just going to make a few points:

1) for a play to repeatedly die on a player's stick, it means he has to have the puck a lot which is good for possession
2) specifically in Ryan's case, he never receives credit for the good passes he made on the PP -- which were actually quite frequent -- but, because he always had the puck, as you say, he would frequently be in a position where he was prone to critique
3) he had the fewest giveaways of anyone on the PP and the best faceoff numbers of anyone on PP2. Emotional responses to the optics of a 4th-line centre being on the PP outweighed the actual facts: that he was actually reasonably effective for his role, comparably speaking
4) I included the words "comparably speaking" there because Ryan actually wasn't very effective -- nobody on the unit was. Ryan was not optimal, I say that in every post about him. But almost everybody was worse. Neal has been atrocious. Backlund has been awful. Bennett is bleh and unnoticeable. Ryan has been better, statistically and also just by my eye test. He doesn't give the puck away an innumerable amount and he actually does a decent-enough job at breaking the puck in. Mostly, the puck is turned over down low by Neal or Backlund, especially Neal. There's a reason that Neal has by-far-and-away the most PP giveaways on the team
5) That being said, I wanted to see Ryan replaced, but externally -- I don't think Andersson will necessarily be a better option, and Czarnik I think is almost sure to be worse.

I'm hoping that this post looks hilariously stupid in a short amount of time, and that the new PP2 proves me entirely wrong. But as it stands, people get mad at Ryan on the PP because he's Derek Ryan and the 4th-line centre, not because he's actually ineffective. He has a decent track record of good offensive play, but he isn't flashy. I think there are many worse options on the powerplay.

[Bunk]

It's an interesting opportunity for Jankowski. I can see him being effective on the PP too. It would be awesome for him to carve out even more of a niche on the other side of the special teams - the powerplay.

Just want to see constant bombs from Andersson and Neal.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Eh, I've come to hate the qualifier "plays die on his stick," because people around here love to say it and it's kind of meaningless. Not to pick on you specifically... but I don't like it for a number of reasons. People threw it around about Bennett incessantly last year and I didn't think it was wholly fair then either.

Anyway I'm just going to make a few points:

1) for a play to repeatedly die on a player's stick, it means he has to have the puck a lot which is good for possession
2) specifically in Ryan's case, he never receives credit for the good passes he made on the PP -- which were actually quite frequent -- but, because he always had the puck, as you say, he would frequently be in a position where he was prone to critique
3) he had the fewest giveaways of anyone on the PP and the best faceoff numbers of anyone on PP2. Emotional responses to the optics of a 4th-line centre being on the PP outweighed the actual facts: that he was actually reasonably effective for his role, comparably speaking
4) I included the words "comparably speaking" there because Ryan actually wasn't very effective -- nobody on the unit was. Ryan was not optimal, I say that in every post about him. But almost everybody was worse. Neal has been atrocious. Backlund has been awful. Bennett is bleh and unnoticeable. Ryan has been better, statistically and also just by my eye test. He doesn't give the puck away an innumerable amount and he actually does a decent-enough job at breaking the puck in. Mostly, the puck is turned over down low by Neal or Backlund, especially Neal. There's a reason that Neal has by-far-and-away the most PP giveaways on the team
5) That being said, I wanted to see Ryan replaced, but externally -- I don't think Andersson will necessarily be a better option, and Czarnik I think is almost sure to be worse.

I'm hoping that this post looks hilariously stupid in a short amount of time, and that the new PP2 proves me entirely wrong. But as it stands, people get mad at Ryan on the PP because he's Derek Ryan and the 4th-line centre, not because he's actually ineffective. He has a decent track record of good offensive play, but he isn't flashy. I think there are many worse options on the powerplay.

I would just point out something about the bolded, that I don't think that's what "plays dying on their stick" means. I think it means that they squander opportunities by exactly not being able to maintain possession when they do get it. Missed passes. Fanned shots. Bad passes. Poor decisions. Some of those require the puck, most of it is lack of skill/confidence issue type stuff.

[Enoch Root]

Also, he has the puck on his stick a lot on the PP because he is the guy they are trying to set plays up through. THAT is the problem.

Flames get the puck, over to Ryan on the right side... play dies.

Rinse, repeat.

Sorry if you don't like the phrase Scorp, but it fits here.