Tyson Barrie talks about what makes the Oilers PP so good

[IBatch]

On 11/21/2021 at 1:12 AM, *Buzzsaw* said:

PLAYER MOVEMENT, FAST PUCK MOVEMENT AND UNPREDICTABILITY...

 

Those were the characteristics he mentioned in the After Hours interview after the Hawks game... like a lot of others he says the Oilers' PP is the best he's every seen.

 

Everyone is moving, the positioning is not static, the passes are quick and players don't always shoot from the same spot.

 

All of these are exactly what seems to be missing in the Canucks' PP> 

For sure.   We are also missing two of the best players in the world, don't forget to mention that.    BTW, the peak Sedin era PP, which was number one in the league at the time too, was 24.3%.   Brown had our PP clipping at 24.2%, virtually exactly the same EPs rookie season.    Ours doesn't work because it's freaking predictable,  QHs and Miller are both trying so hard to get EP to score a goal i feel sometimes .... instead they should just shoot the puck.   Plus the net presence is not very good.   Sure EP has an elite shot, but we can't expect him to turn into Mike Bossy, and pick a tiny little opening every time.   Not even Ovi could do that.   Wayne could but that wasn't his role on his PPs either, it was puck distributor.    We don't have a great point shot either other then OEL.   They should mix it up and try EP on the point.   Or even BB.   Someone who can hammer the thing.   That said it had been a little better ... Garland and OEL at least at a layer of unpredictability because the entire team figured out the Lotto line PP soon after we were 4th best in the league a few years ago, and they haven't adapted to keep it going.   The Sedin PP also got figured out in 2011...always going for the pretty impossible play looks amazing when it works ... but it's not the way to do it.   

[IBatch]

On 11/21/2021 at 2:25 PM, Patel Bure said:

Barrie is 100% correct.  That goal that Barrie scored on the PP last night was a direct result of all three.  I was fortunate enough to flipping channels last night and caught the Oilers PP goal.   
 

What makes Edmonton particularly scary right now is that McDavid draws penalties like nobody’s business.  He’s just so fast out there.  Oilers then get on the PP and dominate.   These guys have arguably the two best centers in the game right now (debatable because of MacKinnon) and their defense is a lot better this year as well.  Like their 2006 counterparts, these guys could make a cup run if they get a top goalie.

Like their counterparts, they have a pretty solid vet to make that run with.   What they don't have, is Pronger.    At that time he was one of the best players on the planet.   He did what EK failed to do with OTT, which was take a pretty decent team at best, all the way to game 7 on his back.   Didn't like Pronger because he wasn't on my team lol...but he was one of the best all around D's the game ever had.   And better then Lidstrom at the time.   Glad he went to ANA and helped them win the cup - was the last and final team the league will ever see ever like that.   Burke created the team that he loves to see and IMO deserves a shot himself at the HHOF because of that and became of what he did in Vancouver for both the WCE and Sedin era.    Imagine already having Parros, Scott Thornton, Moen, Pronger and a four or five other guys that played the way they did and adding Brad May at the deadline lol.   OTT had the best line on hockey at the time .... didn't stand a chance ... they tore them to shreds.  

[Kumquats]

It was amazing that Fleury made the same save 3 times in a row on the same PP with 3 shots by Pettersson. It's like he knew that's where the puck was going! 

Edited November 23, 2021 by Kumquats
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[mll]

Can't embed the clips.  2 of the examples were vs Vancouver - Anaheim and Dallas.  He has Geoff Ward running Anaheim's PP not Newell Brown.

 

Dave Barr, a former assistant with the Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks, breaks down the top five power plays in the NHL and why they are successful.

 

https://www.nhl.com/news/top-five-power-plays-in-nhl-finding-success/c-328227436

 

For 12 years I coached special teams in the NHL, six running the power play and six running the penalty kill. 

One constant has always been that the power play gets what the penalty kill gives it. 

Another constant is power-play success is based on personnel. We see that because most teams appear to run similar-looking power plays with a 1-3-1 set up, but the personnel and how their coached makes the biggest difference in success.

With that in mind, I thought it would be interesting to analyze what is making the biggest difference for the top five power plays in the NHL this season entering play Monday. They were all different.

 

1. Edmonton Oilers (39.6 percent)

I've always believed net-front presence is the key to a successful power play, but the Oilers don't rely on it for their success because of how dangerous they are on the flanks with forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

The majority of Edmonton's power-play chances and goals are off flank plays because a flank-to-flank seam pass from McDavid to Draisaitl is deadly. McDavid generates all the attention when he has the puck and Draisaitl has one of the best one-timers and releases in the NHL. 

Those two are also effective at making the play to settle the puck down after a controlled entry to prevent the penalty killers from pressuring.

https://www.nhl.com/video/draisaitls-second-ppg-of-game/t-326177738/c-9501656

 

2. Nashville Predators (28.9 percent)

The Predators were 23rd last season (17.6 percent), 25th in 2019-20 (17.3 percent) and last in 2018-19 (12.9 percent). Now, they're second.

What has changed?

The power play now relies on interchangeability. Instead of everyone trying to get to their respective spots when they enter the zone, their forwards now set up at the spot nearest to where they are upon entry.

That is huge because it means they aren't missing opportunities or openings that they otherwise might have missed if they were trying to get to set positions on the power play.

A penalty-kill coach scouting the Predators now has a harder time deciphering who will be where on the power play. Nashville is less predictable to opponents because of its interchangeability. 

In one instance, the Predators might have a left-shot at the net-front position, but other times it could have a right-shot there. It makes it harder to game plan against.

They're also winning an NHL-best 64.2 percent of their face-offs on the power play. That's up from 51.0 percent last season and 55.2 percent in 2019-20. 

A friend who works in analytics told me an improvement of 10 percent on face-offs will help create on average one more scoring chance per power play. If you have three or four power plays per game, that means you're getting another three to four scoring chances per game. The Predators are slightly above that.

Defenseman Roman Josi is shooting more from the middle-top of the zone. In the past, Ryan Ellis was their best shooting threat, but it was more from the left top. The defenseman was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers on July 17.

A long shot from the middle has a better chance of going in or creating a scoring chance because a team is almost guaranteed to have a net-front presence, and a rebound, if there is one, is likely to come out into the middle slot. A shot from the flank could lead to a rebound that bounces out toward the boards, and the net-front presence might cheat in that direction too.

https://www.nhl.com/video/josi-drills-one-timer-for-ppg/t-326178552/c-9517241

 

3. St. Louis Blues (28 percent)

The Blues have an incredible power play unit filled with veteran players. If you look at power-plays units that are successful, they're mostly filled with veteran players.

Defenseman Justin Faulk is a great power-play quarterback with a big shot. Forward David Perron on the left flank and forward Vladimir Tarasenko on the right make a dangerous flank-to-flank combo. Tarasenko has the big shot off the right side and Perron is a super skilled player.

Forward Ryan O'Reilly is in the bumper position and is the glue that keeps it together. Forward Brandon Saad is in front of the net and is always willing to get into the goalie's face.

The Blues have five legitimate pieces who all bring something to the table and who have that ability to make the one play that slows things down and make the one play that creates a scoring chance.

https://www.nhl.com/video/kyrous-power-play-goal/t-326178780/c-9532038

 

4. Anaheim Ducks (26.8 percent)

The assistant coach on the power play deserves kudos when it's warranted, and in the Ducks case it's warranted for Geoff Ward. The Ducks have not adjusted their power-play personnel too much, but they're getting more out of it than they did last season, when they were last at 8.9 percent.

A big reason is Ryan Getzlaf, their 36-year-old captain who is shooting the puck more than he did last season. 

Getzlaf had 13 shots on the power play in 18 games entering Monday; he had 12 shots on the power play in 48 games last season.

He's a brilliant passer, but now that he's shooting much more teams have to respect that. They can't just play against the seam pass coming off Getzlaf's stick, now they have to respect the fact he's throwing pucks to the net. 

The other difference is the Ducks, like the Predators, are winning more face-offs on the power play; 60.4 percent this season up from 54.3 percent last season.

https://www.nhl.com/video/zegras-roofs-rebound-for-ppg/t-326178694/c-9533589

 

5. Dallas Stars (26.7 percent)

The power-play goals that the Stars create are scored within five to six feet from the net, right around the blue paint, because they are getting pucks into that dirty area.

They rely on outnumbering the penalty killers, getting pucks to that spot with a net-front presence and having flanks and the bumper, the guy in the middle of the ice, coming down.

The Stars were fifth on the power play last season at 26.7 percent when they did not have forward forward Tyler Seguin. He's back, but the uptick in percentage could be attributed to the addition of defenseman Ryan Suter, who has scored two power-play goals and has three assists on it.

Suter is adept at getting pucks to the net from the middle-top of the zone. Like I mentioned with the Predators and Josi, shots from the middle-top are more likely to create goals or scoring chances than shots from the flank.

The other notable aspect is the Stars balance their two units well. Seguin leads them in power-play time on ice per game at 2:25 and forward Roope Hintz is 10th at 2:02. It's an advantage for the coaching staff to feel comfortable with both units rather than always starting the same one.

https://www.nhl.com/video/suter-scores-ppg/t-326178440/c-9457762

 

Edited November 23, 2021 by mll

[24K PureCool]

The answer start and end with McDraisaitl.

[Hairy Kneel]