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Man “Dis-”advantage?

 

During the holiday season, how could anyone look little Virginia in the eye and say, “Yes, there is a Santa Claus” when all we really, really, really wanted for Christmas was a power play, and he didn’t deliver? I don’t know about anyone else, but I wanted it just as badly as that bespectacled little boy in A Christmas Story craved, yearned, longed for that Red Rider BB gun.

Recent History…

I have had my share of frustration watching the Penguins’ power play over the past few seasons, but it finally reached the precipice of the point of no return on my sanity during the Sunday 5PM game against the Florida Panthers, when the Pens drew a juicy 4-minute penalty from Cory Stillman that would tick out the finish of the game. The Pens were down 4-2 at that point, but no worries, dude! We’ve seen it before with barely 2-minutes left when they work their collective magic to force an OT and increase their chances of a win or at least a coveted point for the effort.

I was hopeful. I was energized. Tons of time. Scads of time. If they got one in the first 2 minutes, there would still be the other 2 minutes to contend with and tie-up the game…at the very least. Am I right? Am I right?!! Like Charlie Brown, I believed that Lucy would not pull that blasted ball away at the last second and send me on my head for the umpteenth painful and humiliating time.

Lucy, you are a cold, cruel child.

Pop culture references aside, on the eve of the Calgary Flames game on Wednesday night, I no longer found it funny anymore. The Pittsburgh Penguins are a Stanley Cup-winning team with not only 2 “elite” players in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but a coveted 3-line deep and not too shabby 4th line team of solid players as well as two strong goaltenders. Yet they sat a befuddling 29th out of 30 (above only the Ottawa Senators) on the power play.

Here are some notable stats revealing that position prior to their road trip to western Canada:

• In 47 games, the Pens earned 196 power play opportunities, tied with the Dallas Stars who to that point played one less game than the Pens.
• In those 196 opportunities, they scored only 28 goals (14.3%).
• At home, they earned 98 opportunities over 23 games they hosted, scoring 18 goals (18.4%).
• On the road, they earned the other 98 opportunities over 24 games, scoring 10 goals (10.2%).

Maddening, isn’t it? With Crosby and Malkin in the points race, with Bill Guerin and Jordan Staal putting in improved and consistent offensive performances, these things beg the question of how? How is this possible?

It begins with a simple truth: in order to score, one must shoot.

Translation: The only chance of getting a puck in the goal is to send it in the direction of the goal.

That’s for starters, at the most basic level. The purpose of the power play is to score more easily because the team on the power play has the extra man. That’s the consequence of taking a penalty. Break a rule, commit an infraction, and the offender goes into the “sin bin” to serve his punishment, quaking in his skates, praying to the hockey gods that his transgression does not cost his team a goal.

As with fighting in hockey, power plays (at least successful ones) are designed as a deterrent, to control the nonsense because to commit a crime in the face of a team with an effective power play means there is  certainty of a high price to pay. There are consequences.

Conversely, an ineffective power play is no different than the parent who keeps threatening a consequence but never delivers. The result is an unruly child. There is no longer fear of committing penalties, of taking runs at guys, of chancing dirty and dangerous play because the chances are the offending team will be no worse off at the end of it. No one is shaking in his skates.

Teams awarded a power play are supposed to relish it, jump on it, put on their own form of additional punishment by taking it to the four poor slobs who drew first-watch guard duty in front of their stalwart netminder. These four guys are supposed to be run into the ice, rendered dead on their feet by the relentless barrage of shots as they bravely stand up under the seige. Moreso, this should be felt when staring across the ice at the likes of Malkin, Crosby, and Gonchar.

In short, the power play is not meant to be synonymous with a Saturday afternoon cotillion, and yet, the way the Pens have executed their power play for the better part of the last two seasons–a power play that four septagenarians on double-blades with walkers could defend, it seemed they were hell bent to fall on their own sword.

So, let’s look at the set-up.

The lead power play unit generally consists of Crosby, Malkin, and Gonchar as staples. Either Alex Goligoski or Kris Letang works opposite Gonchar, and Guerin generally serves as the third forward. But of late, the power play has comprised replacing Goligoski/Letang with Malkin on the left point, bringing Chris Kunitz (when healthy) or Matt Cooke up front. Gonchar runs the point, as he should. Crosby sets up on the right halfwall/circle opposite Malkin. Guerin trolls the front of the net with Cooke. The effect is an “umbrella” across the top near the blue line where Crosby, Gonchar, and Malkin connect the dots with passes.

It might work if the passes are quicker because again, the idea of shifting a puck laterally at speed forces the penalty-killers to have to shift back and forth, not unlike a squeeze play in baseball where a runner is trapped between bases, and the two field players toss quickly back and forth as the guy in the middle tries to find a way to either advance or get back to base. The effect of speed passing in alternately opposite directions on a power play is that after a while, the defenders get tired and no longer sync up with the passers, creating an opening for a shot. But if the passes are lackadaisical, PKers can follow it in sync all day long…and have.

The second problem is utilizing the slap shot too much. A slap shot requires a wind up. A wind up takes time and gives time to the defender to get in the shooting lane to block the shot. Snap shots require less wind up, but can deliver a pretty forceful shot, and there’s nothing wrong with a wrist-shot.

The third problem is with entering the zone. It’s a tricky thing because the forwards still have to time it with the puck-carrier so that they enter the zone with speed but do not commit an off-sides infraction. Still, the set-up and carry through neutral ice is entirely too slow. This was most starkly seen in the recent Penguins-Flyers game, and as painful as it is for me to admit that Philadelphia does anything better than Pittsburgh, they are the No. 1 power play in the league, and that bears some respect and some careful notetaking. Their set up and entry is fast, hard, and efficient on the stick of all people: the dreaded Scott Hartnell. If they lose the puck out of the attacking zone, they go get it, and they do so with controlled urgency.

So what’s this team to do? Let me revisit two arguments I’ve made since last season:

1. Get Sid down on the goal line and off the right half wall! A guy with his speed and his hands in tight spaces is the perfect person to madden goalies and literally take out the trash on nearly every shot on net. Miles of footage exist where he has managed some amazing stick work in close, showing his almost superhuman hand-eye coordination. He’s an explosive player who can get the biscuit in the basket in the middle of a scrum before a goalie can bat one eye. Putting Sid on the right circle wastes his talent. It also causes him to fall into this semi-quarterback role where he will slow that puck down to a crawl and look everything over, thinking pass ahead of shot. That’s not his forte’. Additionally, while Malkin has improved as Gonchar’s other half on the point, he is not comfortable on the left side and cannot set-up for that killer one-timer that he can bury from the right side.
2. The Penguins have most arguably the toughest, shut-down 3rd line that manages a bucketload of points, especially this season. They run a sustained cycle in the offensive zone better than anybody while peppering the opposing goalie. This would serve a power play well in two ways. First, they still manage to get off several shots, which is sorely needed on the power play, AND, probably even more importantly, when they shoot, they still manage to be first on the puck to keep it in the offensive zone, rarely letting a puck take off past the Pens’ blueliners for a break the other way. Short-handed goals against the power play this year have become embarrassing. Utilizing the 3rd line this way would curtail that.

Of course, this second suggestion begs the question of what to do with Crosby and Malkin. Have them follow as the second unit. It’s not a demotion; it’s a brutally effective strategy, sending them in for the mercy-killing. If the Staal line manages to wear down a PK unit, a quick change bringing the Crosby-Malkin-Guerin line on has an excellent chance of resulting in a goal. Even strength, last season, the Staal line was followed by Crosby with Malkin and did result in goals against tired legs.

Do these suggestions bear out? YES! Guess what?

• In the game against the Calgary Flames, the Malkin-Crosby-Guerin line was out with Gonchar and Goligoski on the blue line. Both Guerin and Crosby were buzzing the goal line, driving Flames goalie Miika Kiprosoff to distraction. Gonchar took his characteristic slap shot and Guerin guided it in as both he and Crosby stood in front of the net. Perfect.
• In the game against the Edmonton Oilers, it was the second power play unit that got the job done, and that unit was 2/3 of the Staal line, comprising Staal and Cooke (who got the goal off Staal’s helper) and Ruslan Fedotenko (instead of Tyler Kennedy), supported by Kris Letang and Mark Eaton. They ran the cycle and broke down penalty killers and the goalie.
• In the recent game against the Islanders, the Pens scored their first 5-on-3 goal of the season with Malkin firing a one-timer from the right circle as Staal screened the goalie. In the same game, Bill Guerin scored a man-advantage goal with a new, but effective wrinkle: Crosby set up in the “box” area between the circles. He drew people to him when he got the puck, faked a close shot on his forehand, which froze the goalie, and flipped a quick backhand pass to Guerin, resulting in Guerin’s backhand goal in the open net behind Dwayne Roloson.

The good news seems to be that the Pens are coming around to these kinds of configurations, utilizing the strengths and talents of their players. What is worrisome is that it seems they are loathe to stick with it for very long. In one of their recent games, the Pens were ending a second period in the power play that would extend into the first 40 seconds or so of the third period. The first 1:20 at the end of the second period was strong with the Malkin-Crosby-Guerin scenario as the latter two ran the goal line and Gonch and Malkin alternated teeing up shots from their comfort zones. It was refreshing. Then the third period started, revealing Crosby on the right circle up high and Malkin on the left side. GEEZ OH MAN, BOYS, WHY?! And it went right back to that lazy, hazy, summer-breeze day.

The Penguins coaching staff needs to settle on the new formats and stick to them until they don’t work anymore. They have worked, and without a working power play, this team will be hard pressed to get far in the play offs, and that’s not acceptable for a team with the kind of individual talent and collective chemistry that this great bunch of hockey players has. They do seem to be working on it and getting comfortable with a few different looks, and as of their last win in which they scored on a power play, the Pens are 22-2 when they score at least one power play goal. All of this  gives the fans something to smile hopefully about.

Pens Come From Behind to Win 4-2

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -Sidney Crosby needed a little time to get warmed up in his first NHL game in Western Canada.

Crosby had three assists in the third period to help the Pittsburgh Penguins rally for a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night.

“In the third everybody came to play and that’s why we won,” Crosby said. “We skated better and we capitalized. We did a good job of taking advantage of the opportunities we had.”

It was the first time Crosby played in Edmonton due to the unbalanced schedule. The 20-year-old star will play his first NHL game in Calgary on Thursday night, then make his Vancouver debut Saturday night.

Kris Letang, Maxime Talbot, Ryan Whitney and Colby Armstrong scored for Pittsburgh, playing its first game in Edmonton since Dec. 6, 2003.

Robert Nilsson and Shawn Horcoff countered for Edmonton.

The Penguins have won five out of their last six to improve to 13-12-2.

“I thought we sat back and tried to hold the lead too much,” Oilers forward Sam Gagner. “It’s something we have to improve upon.”

Fernando Pisani said the Oilers gave Crosby too much room.

“We can’t just let him do what he wants,” Pisani said.

With Pittsburgh down 2-0 early in the third period, Talbot controlled a loose puck in front of Dwayne Roloson and backhanded it past the sprawling goalie.

Pittsburgh tied it 21 seconds later. Letang took a pass from Crosby in the high slot and wristed a whistling low shot past Roloson.

Crosby set up the go-ahead goal at 10:57. He dug out the puck from behind the net and fed it to defenseman Mark Eaton at the point. Eaton’s shot bounced off Armstrong at the side of the net and went past Roloson.

Crosby finished it off at 13:30, firing a hard pass through the slot for Whitney’s one-timer. Crosby has points in six straight games – three goals and seven assists.

Nilsson opened the scoring at 5:39 of the first period, and Horcoff made it 2-0 late in the second.

Notes: Ales Hemsky returned to the Oilers’ lineup after missing two games because of a bruised right knee. … Pittsburgh’s Michel Therrien coached his 350th NHL game. … Penguins winger Mark Recchi cleared waivers Wednesday, but the Penguins haven’t decided whether to buy out his contract or send him to the minors.
 

Player Spotlight: #17 Petr Sykora

Born Nov 19, 1976 in Plzen, Czechoslovakia, Petr Sykora entered the NHL in 1995 being selected 18th overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 1995 Draft, and has accumulated 568 points (249G, 319A) to date in 766 career NHL games.  Among his 1995 draft class, only Jarome Iginla has scored more points in their NHL career.  He spent 7 seasons playing for the New Jersey Devils (1995-2002), 2.5 seasons playing for the Anaheim Ducks (2002-2006), 0.5 season with the New York Rangers (2005-2006) and one season with the Edmonton Oilers (2006-2007).  As a free agent over the summer, he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 2, 2007. 

Sykora began his NHL career on the prolific New Jersey Devils “A Line” alongside Patrik Elias and Jason Arnott, and scored 42 points (18G, 24A) in 63 games during his first year.  In the next two seasons (96-97/97-98), he split his time between the New Jersey Devils and Albany (AHL), playing 77 NHL games total where he scored 39 points (17G, 22A).  He scored 50 points (24G, 26A) in 45 AHL games for Albany in those two years.  He earned a full time spot on the New Jersey roster during the 1998-1999 season, scoring 72 points (29G, 43A) in 80 games.  He went on to win the Stanley Cup championship with the Devils in 1999-2000, and came within a game from winning a second Cup in 2001.  That year, Sykora scored a career high in goals (35), assists (46), and points (81).  He went on to play one more year with the New Jersey Devils before being traded.

In 2002, Petr Sykora was traded to the (then Mighty) Ducks of Anaheim in exchange for Jeff Friesen and Oleg Tverdovsky.  In his first year with the Ducks (2002-2003), he contributed 59 points (34G, 25A) in 82 games.  In the following year, he was instrumental in carrying the Ducks to the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to his former teammates, the New Jersey Devils. 

During the NHL lockout, Sykora maintained his skills and proficiency by playing for Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Russian Super League, where he scored 31 points (18G, 13A) in 45 games.  An interesting sidenote, one of his teammates on the Magnitogorsk was a young Evgeni Malkin who scored 32 points (12G, 20A) in 52 games that year.   

Early in the first post NHL lockout season (2005-2006), Sykora contacted New York Rangers general manager Glen Sather looking to move from the Ducks to the Rangers via trade.  The trade was eventually executed on January 9, 2006, with Sykora going to the Rangers for defenseman Maxim Kondratiev and a 4th round draft pick that the Rangers had previously traded to Anaheim.  During the 2005-2006 season, Sykora played 34 games for Anaheim (7G, 13A) and 40 games for the New York Rangers (16G, 15A), for a season total of 51 points (23G, 28A) in 74 games.  On July 7, 2006, it was announced that he would not be rejoining the Rangers for the 2006-2007 season, and on August 11, 2006, he signed a one-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers. 

Sykora played a full 82-game slate with the Oilers in 2006-2007, scoring 53 points on the year (22G, 31A), but with a career low +/- rating of -20.  He finished first on the club in goals, tied for first in scoring, and came in thirs in assists.  It was his seventh season scoring 20+ goals.  He complete dthe season and his one-year term deal with the Oilers and became an unrestricted free agent over the summer. 

On July 2, 2007, Sykora signed a 2-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.  He comes to the team with a record of achievement and signiciant Stanley Cup playoff and finals experience that will be invaluable to the team.  Playing on the wing with the league’s most valuable player could buoy his game to a potential career high season if he can maintain his health and speed.  Scouting reports note his speed and deceptive shot that he can employ from almost anywhere on the ice.  Scouting also suggests that he can get rattled in physical contests, still needs work in his own zone and needs to find a level of consistency in his offensive game.    He is earning a reported $2.9M this season playing for the Penguins, and has contributed 3 points (2G, 1A) in 2 regular season games.