TSN: Toronto home to NHL’s most productive power-play unit

[Warden of the North]

Travis Yost crunched the numbers and declares our top unit is the best in the league

Toronto home to NHL’s most productive power-play unit - Article - TSN

"The table is sorted by goal production and, sure enough, the Kadri power-play unit ranks as one of the league’s most productive groupings, with 22 goals to their credit. Only three units rank above them – Nathan MacKinnon’s in Colorado, Matt Duchene’s in Ottawa, and Joe Thornton’s in San Jose – but all of those units have pretty limited ice-time together. Of the groups that have seen considerable power-play opportunity, the Kadri line has been the most productive, though the Crosby unit is just a goal or two behind from overtaking the lead."

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[ChickenMcNugget]

well if you create more GF/60 min with less ice time.. isnt that the definition of being more productive. So COL would be the most productive.

 

[Liminality]

well if you create more GF/60 min with less ice time.. isnt that the definition of being more productive. So COL would be the most productive.

I think they wanted to make it fair by using more evenly used icetime.
Holl leads the league in goals per game this season but nobody is calling him out on his goal scoring prowess. The bigger the sample size the better.

 

[Warden of the North]

well if you create more GF/60 min with less ice time.. isnt that the definition of being more productive. So COL would be the most productive.

Did you read the article?

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

we should swap Bozak and Matthews and play that unit more minutes

 

[The Apologist]

Or we could have two power plays that can score and not put all our eggs in one basket? Whats the saying about if it aint broke?

 

[Pookie]

we should swap Bozak and Matthews and play that unit more minutes

Not really seeing the correlation between Matthews and the 4 remaining guys not getting fatigued.

 

[BlueBaron]

Or we could have two power plays that can score and not put all our eggs in one basket? Whats the saying about if it aint broke?

Complain anyway?

 

[TootooTrain]

But...but...the plays they make are so predictable..

 

[ponder]

Yeah, it’s a terrific unit. Bozak/JvR/Marner have great chemistry, and it really shines on the PP - their main weakness as an even strength unit is defence and puck battles, which aren’t much of an issue on the PP. Naz and Rielly complement them really well too. 4 guys on the perimeter who can really pass, move, handle the puck and get accurate wristers on net, with JvR a skilled beast down low, it’s a great combo. They gain the zone and establish the cycle super easily too - Marner, Rielly and Kadri are all excellent in the neutral zone, and Bozak and JvR are both good too.

There’s a good chance JvR and Bozak leave this summer. At ES, I’m not worried, Kapanen and Brown can take bigger roles, Johnsson can make the team, etc. I am worried about our PP though, JvR and Bozak are both great there, the PP will take a big hit if they both leave.

 

[LeafsNation75]

Or we could have two power plays that can score and not put all our eggs in one basket? Whats the saying about if it aint broke?

I agree with this because the power play lines have worked so far this season and it shows in the numbers. It would be nice if the Matthews power play line combination can produce like the Bozak line combination, however this should be the least of any problems for the Leafs.

 

[Boutette]

There’s a good chance JvR and Bozak leave this summer. At ES, I’m not worried, Kapanen and Brown can take bigger roles, Johnsson can make the team, etc. I am worried about our PP though, JvR and Bozak are both great there, the PP will take a big hit if they both leave.

Certainly the tip-in PP that the team employs will have to change, probably to something more mobile than what we have right now with new players moving in to replace those moving out. There are other teams who employ a mobile PP that is pretty effective and hard to counter. Teams that are used to our powerplay have been starting to counter it. Our style seems to be most effective against bad teams and those we haven't played much. It will likely be less effective come the playoffs when we are up against Boston/Tampa who know our PP game pretty well.

 

[ponder]

Certainly the tip-in PP that the team employs will have to change, probably to something more mobile than what we have right now with new players moving in to replace those moving out. There are other teams who employ a mobile PP that is pretty effective and hard to counter. Teams that are used to our powerplay have been starting to counter it. Our style seems to be most effective against bad teams and those we haven't played much. It will likely be less effective come the playoffs when we are up against Boston/Tampa who know our PP game pretty well.

JvR isn't just there for tips, though. Very often we feed him down low, which sucks defenders down, and he makes a great pass to the open man, who either scores, or at least keeps the defence scrambling.

Don't get me wrong, I think letting both JvR and Bozak walk is likely the right choice. We'll absolutely miss them on the PP though, they're great there.

 

[Nithoniniel]

Yeah I've been talking about this quite a bit lately. It's interesting because so many clamored for a loaded PP unit. The reason to do this is to try and get tremendous results from one unit even if it means the other is not very effective. That's where we are at already. We have a superb first unit, but we also have great talent that should make for a dangerous second unit as well.

we should swap Bozak and Matthews and play that unit more minutes

I don't see how that swap doesn't change the dynamic of our unit. I'd say give the unit more minutes, and keep feeding Matthews and Nylander even strength minutes.

We'll likely see Matthews on that unit next year. They'll have to figure out a different kind of scheme without JvR though.

 

[ACC1224]

Marner is the catalyst, he should be part of both units.

 

[BertCorbeau]

Marner is the catalyst, he should be part of both units.

I mean it's clear to see that they use Marner to anchor the PP but he is so elusive and skilled with the puck that teams can't cheat and cover him solely on the PP - he just either makes a move to get some space or makes a pass.

The set plays that unit has have worked so well, it's incredible.

 

[Gary Nylund]

There’s a good chance JvR and Bozak leave this summer. At ES, I’m not worried, Kapanen and Brown can take bigger roles, Johnsson can make the team, etc. I am worried about our PP though, JvR and Bozak are both great there, the PP will take a big hit if they both leave.

It's true, you never know what happens when you mess with the chemistry. On paper we should be able to replace Bozak and JVR with say Matthews and Nylander and be even better but IRL it doesn't always work that way. The good news is that we have so much talent on this team that it should work out in the end one way or another. And even better news is that this is a future issue, the present has us trying to win a cup this spring!

 

[Raging Bull]

Marner is the catalyst, he should be part of both units.

Reminds me of when Kaberle was manning the point on the PP when it was so good. Everything runs through Marner.

 

[Liminality]

Yeah I've been talking about this quite a bit lately. It's interesting because so many clamored for a loaded PP unit. The reason to do this is to try and get tremendous results from one unit even if it means the other is not very effective. That's where we are at already. We have a superb first unit, but we also have great talent that should make for a dangerous second unit as well.


I don't see how that swap doesn't change the dynamic of our unit. I'd say give the unit more minutes, and keep feeding Matthews and Nylander even strength minutes.

We'll likely see Matthews on that unit next year. They'll have to figure out a different kind of scheme without JvR though.

It's interesting cause they usually use Matthews as one of the players on the point/halfwall but maybe they can look into him replacing JVR's role in front of the net? Matthews has to be one of the best puck tippers along with JVR on the team. Combine that with his big size and some of the best puck handling and it could be a big problem to contain him. It reduces his touches with the puck though and takes away his really good shot from the circle so I'm not sure which strength we should rely on more.

Maybe the Leafs start to use 2 defenders with the drop in offensive depth? They've got a couple of good options on defense and would give Dermott and Zaitsev or Carrick more PP icetime.

 

[Nithoniniel]

It's interesting cause they usually use Matthews as one of the players on the point/halfwall but maybe they can look into him replacing JVR's role in front of the net? Matthews has to be one of the best puck tippers along with JVR on the team. Combine that with his big size and some of the best puck handling and it could be a big problem to contain him. It reduces his touches with the puck though and takes away his really good shot from the circle so I'm not sure which strength we should rely on more.

Maybe the Leafs start to use 2 defenders with the drop in offensive depth? They've got a couple of good options on defense and would give Dermott and Zaitsev or Carrick more PP icetime.

Yeah I've been thinking along those lines as well. I would prefer to have him high slot, but they might put him in the JvR role out of necessity. I think he could do that well.

As for offensive depth, it's starting to irk me a bit. The coaching staff has been very careful to have not only a complete PK group no matter what, but also have depth there. But our second unit flounders unnecessarily, as we have weapons like Kapanen, Leivo, and Johnsson that goes unused. Meanwhile, Komarov and Marleau gets PP time and has contributed with absolutely zero there. Brown hasn't been much better.

That's why I'm so against Martin these days. He fills such a small role, fourth line even strength minutes only. Put Leivo in his role, and we gain another piece to fix that second PP unit. But that doesn't seem to get prioritized at all.

 

[deletethis]

But...but...the plays they make are so predictable..

And JVR only scores because he's the closest to the crease.

 

[Mess]

Leafs PP#1 is a stats padding machine based on their productivity and success.

What happens next year when JVR and Bozak are gone?

 

[deletethis]

Reminds me of when Kaberle was manning the point on the PP when it was so good. Everything runs through Marner.

I remember a chorus of "Shoot! Shoot!" as Kaberle was the quarterbacking that power play. At least we seem to have gotten past that.

 

[tom leafers]

we should swap Bozak and Matthews and play that unit more minutes

Its Babs master plan to stick Matthews on the 2nd pp with Hyman to suppress his production so hel get a cheaper contract, of course.

 

[Liminality]

Yeah I've been thinking along those lines as well. I would prefer to have him high slot, but they might put him in the JvR role out of necessity. I think he could do that well.

As for offensive depth, it's starting to irk me a bit. The coaching staff has been very careful to have not only a complete PK group no matter what, but also have depth there. But our second unit flounders unnecessarily, as we have weapons like Kapanen, Leivo, and Johnsson that goes unused. Meanwhile, Komarov and Marleau gets PP time and has contributed with absolutely zero there. Brown hasn't been much better.

That's why I'm so against Martin these days. He fills such a small role, fourth line even strength minutes only. Put Leivo in his role, and we gain another piece to fix that second PP unit. But that doesn't seem to get prioritized at all.

It's weird for Marleau cause this is the lowest amount of PP points he's gotten since 2001-2002. He's averaged 20.4 powerplay points a year the last 5 years. Maybe it's the way they're deploying Marleau, I'm not sure how they used him in San Jose but I guess having Joe Thornton on the team helps a lot.

Brown only had 6 PP points last year and 2 this year, he's definitely a more EV and PK type of guy. Komarov is just Komarov and I think tries to just create chaos to get his teammates open.

I think Leivo should be on the 2nd PP unit. That seems like what would give him the best chance for success but I'm not sure if he's a better option than a couple others at EV. If he's here next year, they've got to try him on a PP unit for a longer period of time.

Kap to me seems more like a north south type player or a player looking to cycle the puck, just plays that can abuse his elite skating instead of set up plays. I'm sure he could do some damage on the PP but I'm not sure if that uses his skill set properly.

I know they've pretty much never used a 2 D PP but I still think you can have one on the half wall kind of acting like the 4th forward. Probably won't happen next year.