Comments on: Boom to bust: The demise of Leafs & Blackhawks penalty kill

By: Friday Mashup: The Swarm & Coaching Duties | Toronto Maple Leafs

Friday Mashup: The Swarm & Coaching Duties | Toronto Maple Leafs — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 08:49:10 +0000

[…] and Polak, along with a new coach in charge and what will likely be a systems alteration from what the Leafs were using last season. Other options here will be Tyler Bozak, James Van Riemsdyk, and newcomer Mike Santorelli, who […]

By: Neo

Neo — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 02:16:34 +0000

In reply to Gus Katsaros. For the Hawks it was after Q's tirade on Dec. 6th. After that the Hawks started playing more aggressively on their PK. And after about a week, the Hawks went on a nice little run killing penalties.

By: Gus Katsaros

Gus Katsaros — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 19:49:56 +0000

In reply to Liz. I went back to check on some teams in a more concentrated effort and it seems more teams are using a wedge + 1 (or Czech Press). I'm curious on the resultant effect on a multitude of power play formations.

By: Gus Katsaros

Gus Katsaros — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 19:46:57 +0000

In reply to Neo.

Hi Neo. My apologies for the late reply here, but I wanted to go back and see if I could identify the more aggressive approach you mention with Chicago. I don’t really see from any point other than really early at the beginning of the season where both PK forwards were a little more passive as you put it. I would also agree that I don’t think I would advocate a full blown system change to a box, but perhaps this is a point where a hybrid system of sorts could be a benefit.

As far as the Leafs are concerned, they are the epitome of passive. Both in the defensive side, and for their PK, although there has been a more concentrated effort on the forwards to be more aggressive on the PK. I don’t think that this has successfully translated yet, and in the end, the strategy seems to be more successful against the overload than an umbrella or 1-3-1. It’s a tough analysis to do league wide, as when I’ve concentrated more on the other teams, it seems like more are actually using a form of a wedge + 1 (Czech Press) that on the surface looks like a box (Vancouver is an example).

By: AP’s Mailbag: Deadline targets, bottom 6, “impact” prospects, PK and shots against | goalpost360: Nigeria Football / Soccer, Highlights, Scores

Tue, 25 Feb 2014 19:35:40 +0000

[…] Gus Katsaros wrote a great piece on the PK troubles that I suggest everyone read. […]

By: AP’s Mailbag: Deadline targets, bottom 6, “impact” prospects, PK and shots against | Toronto Maple Leafs

Tue, 25 Feb 2014 19:30:41 +0000

[…] Gus Katsaros wrote a great piece on the PK troubles that I suggest everyone read. […]

By: Neo

Neo — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 04:35:23 +0000

Hawks have played the 1-1-2 on the PK since Kitchen joined the coaching staff four years ago. I think one of the supposed strengths of the triangle plus one is its ability to combat teams that switch between the umbrella and 1-3-1. Most people that describe the 1-3-1 power play usually say it is especially effective against a box. So I don’t think you will get much support suggesting either team abandon their preferred method and move back to a box.

The 1-1-2 migrates to an angled diamond when the umbrella or 1-3-1 has the puck on the half wall. I know this because people keep trying to say the Hawks play a diamond on the PK when they see that formation. It isn’t a diamond. The assignments are different.

In my opinion the Hawks had two problems with their PK this season. The biggest is a regression towards the mean with their goalies on the PK. I think CC’s SV% was above his career numbers last season and way below for the first part of this one. It currently is crawling back up over the last month or so. And the original backup goalie probably should have retired last season, so his numbers skew the Hawks results.

The other issue, imo, is that the Hawks became way too passive with their PK. Since Q’s announcement that the PK had hit rock bottom, the Hawks have significantly extended their positions relative to each other and become far more aggressive. F2 in the triangle wasn’t able to defend against cross passes; which was a significant problem early especially when Q was auditioning the kids. Since the Hawks have become more aggressive, they have shored that up considerably. And that has let F1 also become more aggressive. Kruger has stated there is more trust right now.

So the Hawks have mode some improvements recently but when they are having problems it is still against the 1-3-1 more so than any other PP strategy. So I’m not sure there is any comparison between the issues each team’s PK has seen this season. Unless the Leafs have had the same passivity issues.

By: Gus Katsaros

Gus Katsaros — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 16:55:05 +0000

In reply to Liz.

Hi Liz.

I was surprised to see them being the only two teams, but I haven’t seen another using that as the primary system. From an in-zone defensive stance, they both run the same.

I track the penalty kill efficiency as well and saw the uptick, but I’m cautious to suggest it’s based on a simple in-zone tweak. They didn’t seem to do things any different. I would suggest that as a whole they were better prepared with zone entries. I should take a look at that as well. They had a great stretch of 8 games mid January to early February too without allowing a powerplay goal against some mediocre powerplay teams too that suggest an uptick in efficiency.

I’m most curious to see how they emerge from the Olympic break and will have my eye on the penalty kill for both teams moving forward.

By: Liz

Liz — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 14:14:28 +0000

I'm surprised that there are only 2 teams using/have recently used this system. It's been a Blackhawks staple for most of the Quenneville era. While I've noticed this season that it's been coughing it up frequently to 1-3-1's, it's had its ups and downs in the past, so I'm not sure this is the full story. They had a more box-esque formation at one point earlier in the season and it was not good. And I don't know about the Leafs, but it looks like the Blackhawks, while I don't think they switched system completely, did tweak something in early December: 10-game rolling average

By: Boom to Bust: The Demise of Leafs & Blackhawks Penalty Kill | Sochi Olympics 2014

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 22:15:48 +0000

[…] – FULL ARTICLE […]