Learn To Train Hockey Newsletter #15
After a short hiatus the newsletter is back just in time for the beginning of the NHL playoffs. Last night was an exciting way to kickoff NHL playoff hockey with two of the four games going to overtime, including a double-OT win for the Minnesota Wild over the Dallas Stars. Three games overall were 1-goal games, while the Stanley Cup favorite Boston Bruins defeated the Florida Panthers by a 2-goal margin.
The hockey played in night #1 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs was as good as hockey has ever been and a clear difference maker for the winning teams in last night’s games was power play success. Overall, all teams were 9/ 30 (30%) and we saw both the Carolina Hurricanes (2-1 vs. the Islanders) and Los Angeles Kings (4-3 in OT vs. the Oilers) win their games due to two big power play goals each.
In this edition of the newsletter we will examine a pair of power play goals from last night’s games that occurred shortly after faceoff wins for the scoring team. We’ve discussed the importance of faceoffs in previous articles and the importance of winning faceoffs is also critical for power play success.
Goal #1 - #19 Alex Iafallo Game-Winning Power Play Goal vs. Edmonton
After the Kings tied the game in the last minute of the 3rd period with a power play goal by Anze Kopitar, they were fortunate to gain another power play almost midway through the first overtime period. While the Kings executed a great quick passing play which resulted in the Alex Iaffalo score 16 seconds into the man-advantage, the key to this power play success lies in the faceoff effort by #33 Viktor Arvidsson (the inside winger) as he beats his check clean off the draw and extends his stick to intercept the puck from the Oilers defenders. Although the Oilers centerman won this draw clean, Arvidsson’s jump on the play nullifies the win and enables the Kings to gain puck possession. The important lesson for players here is to play on your toes on the faceoff and be ready to get the puck whether your center wins or loses the draw. Due this mindset by Arvidsson on the power play faceoff, the Kings were able to convert their opportunity and snatch Game #1 from the series favorite Oilers.
Goal #2 - #24 Roope Hintz Power Play Goal vs. Minnesota
With this quick power play tally off the faceoff by forward #24 Roope Hintz, the Stars were able to tie the game early in the 2nd period against the Minnesota Wild. The event of the goal is straight-forward. The Stars’ #14 Jamie Benn wins the faceoff clean to Hintz lined up at the point and he attacks mid-ice immediately and rips home a shot that beats Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson clean. That being said, the strategy of the play by the Stars is the theme we will touch on. At higher levels of hockey, attacking the net as quick as possible after a power play faceoff win is a primary strategy shared by most teams. The reason for this is that the penalty kill will likely not be setup in its defensive structure, thus giving the power play team an even greater advantage. We can see in this clip, the Wild have zero time to get into structure and are racing desperately to get into Hintz’s shot lane. Since they cannot do this in time, Hintz gets a shot off from the scoring area with traffic moving in front of Gustavsson in the process. This is certainly a strategy that can be employed at younger levels as hockey as well, especially as we want to find ways to encourage our players to shoot the puck on the power play. Shooting as quick as possible off of faceoff wins can help all teams develop that shot mindset on the power play.