Speculation: The Power Play's Missing Mojo

[maacoshark]

First, Johansson can suck it.

Second, he was better at playing a dumbed-down low position on the PP than Kuznetsov. Pass to Backstrom, pass to Oshie, wrap around to the crease. Pick one of those and do it quickly. Kuznetsov is making way too much out of a very simple situation and is keeping the puck stationary for way too long. We don't have any player movement on the PP, so the puck has to be in constant motion.

Sometimes Kuznetsov pushes Backstrom to the low position. Why the hell would we want Backstrom below the goal line? He is one of the best half-wall guys in the league.

I agree. Backstrom should be the half wall man all the time. And I agree that Kuzy is hanging on to the puck too long.

 

[RandyHolt]

Our PP is very static. It has to be one of the most static in the league. Everyone has their defined role and spot. MJ brought the puck in. Good for him.

When a guy like Kuzy improvises, it sticks out because our PP is etched out in stone. As I fan I want to see players trying some new moves before our annual 2nd round exit.

I feel like we often waste too much time trying our damnedest to get everyone into their ideal spot, deferring scoring chances to do so. Is Nick better in his spot vs Kuzy if it costs us 20 seconds to get him there? Nick getting stuck down low for 30 seconds shouldn't derail us.

 

[Hivemind]

The power play is static because the power play formation is optimized. It is built around a superlative talent in Ovechkin, and designed around his generational goal scoring abilities. The efficacy of PP1 has rarely faded when it can establish its formation. The formation has been so pivotal that since it was implemented by Oates/Forsythe, the vast majority of the NHL has switched to some variation of the 1-3-1 formation (where-as before that point, it was only Vancouver and a few other teams using the 1-3-1, while most teams used an overload or umbrella formation). Improvisation shouldn't be required often if all the key personnel are present, as the formation is built around feeding the puck to quality shooters on their forehand for one-time opportunities. Improvisation would largely result in less-than-ideal shooters taking up less-than-ideal shooting locations.

Which player is on the half wall is also not critically important. This power play formation was lethal with Ribiero on the half wall instead of Backstrom, as well. While there's certainly not a huge impetus to shift away from Backstrom, given that he's excelled in that role for years and is one of the league's best pure passers, Kuznetsov should also be able to handle the half wall duties without any substantial issue.

Where the Caps power play has seen dips and surges comes from their zone entries, both in terms of %success and also time to reach their formation. This article from a few years back covers that. When the Caps PP was at its most lethal, it was not only because they gained the zone successfully, but also because their zone entries allowed them to get into formation very quickly. Some combination of personnel changes and tactical changes have seen that zone entry success erode over the past few years. At this point, a safe bet would be that the swap from Johansson to Kuznetsov does have at least a degree of responsibility in terms of the Capitals decreased ability to gain the zone effectively on the power play.

 

[g00n]

It's speed of decision making and then execution. Move the puck at a better tempo and with more purpose and they'll be fine. Each guy holding the puck and going through a visible decision process of "shoot, pass, skate" is bogging the whole thing down.

 

[maacoshark]

It's speed of decision making and then execution. Move the puck at a better tempo and with more purpose and they'll be fine. Each guy holding the puck and going through a visible decision process of "shoot, pass, skate" is bogging the whole thing down.

I think you are absolutely right. Our puck movement has been very slow on the pp

 

[Revelation]

Has any other player in NHL history been touted as a zone entry expert more than Jojo? I'd call that a PP specialist. I cannot even recall a single one ever mentioned before him, nor since. Somehow, even the worst teams pull off ZEs, at ES no less.

Not to poo poo obvious solid overall skills but he mostly road the coattails of our great PP. Like Laich. Our PP was great before him and is currently very good without him.

If I were an opposition coach I would have had my top D/PK step up hitter target him aggressively every single ZE.

It's like Boudreau and Tomas Fleischmann lol, if you have a pedestrian player you want to pump up just meme him as being good at some small unquantifiable part of the game even if he's not.

Only comparable zone entry hypeman is Scott Gomez and his zone entries made Johansson's look like Brashear's, though he didn't have a clue what to do with them after getting across the blue line.

 

[Langway]

Do we have zone entry numbers that back up there being a drop-off this season? My spotty eye test suggests it's less the issue than moving the puck softly/lazily and not playing with urgency. Neither 92 nor 19 shoot enough or want to go to the net at all. The other thing Johansson was decent at on the PP was net front play and there's been very little of that in his absence.

It is concerning that they've largely gone without an even basically competent PP2 all season. They've got to do a better job establishing that unit or trying to mix things up, whether it's trying out Stephenson, Wilson or whoever.