ATD#8: Powerplay & Penalty Kill Analysis

[VanIslander]

Here is a place to analyze powerplays and penalty kills.

Refrain from outright ranking but feel free to talk about strengths and weaknesses, those that impress most and why and least and why.

Notice that coaches are listed: it is a big part of effectiveness. Yes, assistants will be hired but a head coach's forte, offense or defense, often translated into effectiveness.

And of course a goalie is a team's number one penalty killer.

(Some teams have listed extra special team players or extra units. See their roster post for details or see them mention it on this thread)

It'd be great if some posted all-time statistics (like pnep table box lists) regarding penalty kill time, SHGs, PPPs career, etcetera.

Click to read more...

 

[VanIslander]

The Foster Hewitt division
(in alphabetical order)


Dartmouth Subways

Coach: Ted Nolan
Goalie: Patrick Roy

PP1: Malone - Hawerchuk - Selanne - Coffey - Iafrate
PP2: Bailey - Nilsson - Mullen - Svoboda - Wilson

PK1: Bain - Graves - Svoboda - Burrows
PK2: Broten - Tocchet - Wilson - Foote



Dubai Mighty Camels

Coaches: Anatoly Tarasov, Arkady Chernyshev
Goalie: Gump Worsley

PP1: Firsov - Fedorov - Mikhailov - Kelly - Park
PP2: Gottselig - Almetov - Gare - Mantha - Liapkin

PK1: Gottselig - Pahlsson - Kelly - Numminen
PK2: Grahame - Fedorov - Mantha - Park



Gwinnett Gladiators

Coach: Scotty Bowman
Goalie: Georges Vezina

PP1: Kharlamov - Cowley - Verbeek - Leetch - Bondra
PP2: Shutt - Morenz - Hedberg - Sologubov - Tsygankov

PK1: Sanderson - Peplinski - S.Smith - Tsygankov
PK2: Carpenter - Young - Sologubov - Tregubov



Oakland Seals

Coaches: Cecil Hart, Tom Gorman
Goalie: Jiri Holocek

PP1: Kariya - Gretzky - Bathgate - Cameron - Clancy
PP2: Howe - Federko - Dillon - Griffis - Vasiliev

PK1: Laprade - Finnigan - Vasiliev - Horner
PK2: Phillips - S. Howe - Griffis - Norstrom



Ottawa 67s

Coach: Mike Keenan
Goalie: Bernie Parent

PP1: Thompson - Francis - Leach - Shore - Stackhouse
PP2: Elias - Apps - Dineen - Reardon - Turnbull

PK1: Pavelich - G.Sheppard - Goldham - Ramsey
PK2: Francis - Lehtinen - Reardon - Shore



St. Louis Eagles

Coach: Jan Starsi
Goalie: Glenn Hall

PP1: Naslund - Yzerman - Nolan - Babych - Svedberg
PP2: Brian Sutter - Stastny - Gartner - Pospisil - Bubla

PK1: Yzerman - Lonsberry - Langway - Johansson
PK2: Brent Sutter - Koroll - Pospisil - Bubla



Victoria Cougars

Coach: Glen Sather
Goalie: Chuck Gardiner

PP1: Yakushev - Nilsson - Lafleur - Pilote - Taylor
PP2: Blake - Damphousse - Bellows - Carlyle - Jonsson

PK1: MacTavish - Ramsay - Pilote - Johnson
PK2: Taylor - Curry - Smith - Lowe

​

 

[VanIslander]

The Bob Cole division:
(in alphabetical order)


Boston Bruins

Coach: Art Ross
Goalie: George Hainsworth

PP1: Mahovlich - Abel - T.Kerr - Harvey - Geoffrion
PP2: Bobrov - Burch - A.Smith - Stapleton - Larson

PK1: Metz - Otto - Harvey - Magnuson
PK2: Abel - Lepine - St. Laurent - Heller



Calgary RCAF Mustangs

Coach: Terry Crisp
Goalie: Vladislav Tretiak

PP1: n/a
PP2: n/a

PK1: n/a
PK2: n/a



Detroit Falcons

Coach: Pat Burns
Goalie: Frank Brimsek

PP1: Goulet - Mikita - Drillon - Ross - Johnson
PP2: Dumart - Schmidt - Bauer - Laperriere - Harmon

PK1: Backstrom - Provost - Laperriere - Johnson
PK2: Schmidt - Dumart - Van Impe - Talbot



Edmonton Oilers

Coach: Jacques Lemaire
Goalie: Jacques Plante

PP1: n/a
PP2: n/a

PK1: n/a
PK2: n/a



Montreal Wanderers

Coach: Roger Neilson
Goalie: Terry Sawchuk

PP1: R.Martin - Sakic - Bure - Tremblay - Hollett
PP2: Secord - Savard - Larmer - Perreault- Bouchard

PK1: Poulin - Larmer - Tremblay - Bouchard
PK2: Sakic - Noble - Reise Jr. - Dutton



Nanaimo Clippers

Coach: Hap Day
Goalie: Clint Benedict

PP1: Schriner - Primeau - Conacher - Orr - Kuzkin
PP2: K.Stevens - Nighbor - Litzenberger - Conacher - Rousseau

PK1: Weiland - Rousseau - Conacher - McCrimmon
PK2: Skov - Nesterenko - Day - Hitchman



Winnipeg Jets

Coach: Lester Patrick
Goalie: Martin Brodeur

PP1: Joliat - LaFontaine - Jagr - Housley - Drinkwater
PP2: Robitaille - Smith - Gilbert - Savard - Plager

PK1: McKenney - Peca - Daneyko - Harper
PK2: Pandolfo - Madden - Savard - Plager


​

PM me with your completed 5-man pp and 4-man pk units, including any changes.

 

[VanIslander]

The Don Cherry division:
(in alphabetical order)


Aurora Tigers

Coach: Harry Sinden
Goalie:Tiny Thompson

PP1: Oates - B. Hull - Esposito - Suchy - Hatcher
PP2: Shadrin - Lewis - Hodge - Chelios - Ragulin

PK1: Klukay - Shadrin - Chelios - Hatcher
PK2: Lewis - Draper - Flaman - Ragulin



Dallas Blackhawks

Coach: Herb Brooks
Goalie: Tony Esposito

PP1: Jackson - Trottier - Hextall - Ozolinsh - Robinson
PP2: Heatley - Modano - Kurri - Murphy - Duchesne

PK1: Carbonneau - MacLean - Robinson - Boon
PK2: Modano - Kurri - Jovanovski - Murphy



Flin Flon Bombers

Coach: Pete Green
Goalie: Grant Fuhr

PP1: n/a
PP2: n/a

PK1: n/a
PK2: n/a



Guelph Biltmores

Coach: Bob Johnson
Goalie: Chuck Rayner

PP1: Bobby Hull - F. Boucher - Nedomansky - Sjoberg - Stanfield
PP2: Sid Smith - Kennedy - Mosienko - Mohns - Toppazzini

PK1: Marshall - Toppazzini - Brewer - E.Seibert
PK2: Bobby Hull - Kennedy - Mohns - Coulter



New Jersey Devils

Coach: Dick Irvin Sr.
Goalie: Harry Lumley

PP1: Olmstead - M.Lemieux - Iginla - Niedermayer - Crawford
PP2: Gillies - Petrov - Darragh - Pronger - MacKay

PK1: Walker - MacKay - Johnson - Morrow
PK2: Muller - Nevin - Pronger - Wentworth



New York Rangers

Coaches: Pat Quinn, Jacques Martin
Goalie: Billy Smith

PP1: Propp - Beliveau - Broadbent - M.Howe - Patrick
PP2: C.Lemieux - Forsberg - Redmond - Goodfellow - Korab

PK1: Drury - Rolston - n/a - n/a
PK2: Bourne - C.Lemieux - n/a - n/a



Toronto Maple Leafs

Coachunch Imlach
Goalie: Ed Belfour

PP1: Tkachuk - Sittler - Bossy - MacInnis - Suter
PP2: Kovalchuk - Sundin - Vaive - Thomson - Salming

PK1: Labine - Oliver - Chara - Salming
PK2: Pappin - Sundin - MacInnis - Kaberle

​

 

[VanIslander]

The Jim Robson division:
(in alphabetical order)


Halifax RCAF

Coach: Tommy Ivan
Goalie: Johnny Bower

PP1: D. Bentley - M. Bentley - Neely - D. Hull - Bourque
PP2: Tikkanen - O'Connor - Taylor - Stanowski - Stanley

PK1: Armstrong - D.Bentley - Bourque - Mortson
PK2: Taylor - Tikkanen - Stanley - Stanowski



Montreal Canadiens

Coach: Al Arbour
Goalie: Turk Broda

PP1: Simmer - Lalonde - Cournoyer - Potvin - P. Martin
PP2: Hadfield - Ratelle - H. Smith - Pronovost - Ramage

PK1: Marcotte - Jarvis - Potvin - Howell
PK2: Ratelle - T.Murray - Hajt - Barilko



New York Raiders

Coach: Fred Shero
Goalie: Dominik Hasek

PP1: Ogrodnick - Lindros - Ciccarelli - Lapointe - Gadsby
PP2: Andreychuk - Gilmour - Martinec - Stevens - Huddy

PK1: Luce - Gilmour - Stevens - Gadsby
PK2: Brind'amour - Parise - Lapointe - Watson



Portage la Prairie Plains

Coach: Toe Blake
Goalie: Gerry Cheevers

PP1: Lindsay - Lach - Bill Cook - Pitre - Gerard
PP2: Tonelli - Crosby - Aurie - Cleghorn - Ivanov

PK1: Bun Cook - Tkaczuk - Stewart - Pulford
PK2: Aurie - Lach - Cleghorn - Gerard



Regina Wildhearts

Coach: Lindy Ruff
Goalie: Bill Durnan

PP1: Denneny - Dionne - Dye - Lidstrom - Gonchar
PP2: Clark - Nicholls - Stewart - Boucher - Svehla

PK1: Langenbrunner - Mellanby - Lidstrom - Watson
PK2: J.Thornton - Smyth - Baun - Boucher



Seattle Thunderbirds

Coaches: Jack Adams, Ken Hitchcock
Goalie: Ken Dryden

PP1: Foyston - Ullman - Howe - Stuart - Blake
PP2: Conacher - Barry - Northcott - Siebert - Nielson

PK1: Ron Sutter - Westfall - Shoenfeld - White
PK2: Kasper - McPhee - Siebert - Blake



Castors de Sherbrooke

Coach : Jacques Demers
Goalie: Alex Connell

PP1: Moore - Keats - M.Richard - Zubov - Quackenbush
PP2: Anderson - H.Richard - Steen - Barber - Russell

PK1: Pulford - Keon - Quackenbush - Vasko
PK2: Ellis - Watson - Abel - McDonald

​

 

[VanIslander]

PM me with your completed 5-man pp and 4-man pk units, including any changes.






(i'll be away for a good part of the day but I will update the units tonight for sure)

 

[VanIslander]

Only the Foster Hewitt division is complete.

Keep PMing those special teams for those who hadn't posted them.

It's an important part of the game.

 

[BM67]

Using PPGF numbers from +/- stats

Top 25 PPGF/game single season

Player|Season|Games|PPGF|PPGF/GP
Mario Lemieux|95-96|70|102|1.457
Paul Coffey|87-88|46|67|1.457
Mario Lemieux|88-89|76|110|1.447
Mario Lemieux|87-88|77|106|1.377
Mario Lemieux|92-93|60|82|1.367
Paul Coffey|88-89|75|102|1.360
Pat Lafontaine|91-92|57|70|1.228
Ron Francis|95-96|77|92|1.195
Al MacInnis|89-90|79|94|1.190
Denis Potvin|80-81|74|85|1.149
Phil Housley|92-93|80|91|1.138
Mario Lemieux|89-90|59|67|1.136
Gary Suter|88-89|63|71|1.127
Jaromir Jagr|95-96|82|90|1.098
Ray Bourque|93-94|72|79|1.097
Mario Lemieux|91-92|64|70|1.094
Denis Potvin|75-76|78|85|1.090
Dave Ellett|87-88|68|74|1.088
Brian Leetch|90-91|80|87|1.087
Gary Suter|89-90|76|82|1.079
Dale Hawerchuk|91-92|77|83|1.078
Stefan Persson|80-81|80|86|1.075
Dave Andreychuk|91-92|80|86|1.075
Dale Hawerchuk|92-93|81|87|1.074
Randy Carlyle|81-82|73|78|1.068

Al MacInnis has spots 26 & 27.

I left out guys that played less than half a season or were undrafted.

The list is very era and team heavy.

Top 25 PPGF/game career through 03-04

Player|Games|PPGF|PPGF/GP
Mario Lemieux|889|918|1.033
Bobby Orr|596|535|0.898
Al MacInnis|1416|1186|0.838
Paul Coffey|1409|1147|0.814
Ray Bourque|1612|1272|0.789
Wayne Gretzky|1487|1164|0.783
Brian Leetch|1144|879|0.768
Gary Suter|1145|879|0.768
Denis Potvin|1060|809|0.763
Phil Esposito|1047|776|0.741
Kent Nilsson|553|402|0.727
Stefan Persson|622|452|0.727
Craig Hartsburg|570|407|0.714
Marcel Dionne|1348|961|0.713
Dale Hawerchuk|1188|843|0.710
Mike Bossy|752|531|0.706
Phil Housley|1495|1048|0.701
Paul Reinhart|648|453|0.699
Pat Lafontaine|865|601|0.695
Peter Stastny|977|664|0.680
Doug Wilson|1024|686|0.670
Joe Sakic|1155|772|0.668
Brad Park|1113|738|0.663
John Bucyk|785|516|0.657
Sergei Zubov|856|557|0.651

Ron Francis, Larry Murphy, Steve Larmer, Steve Yzerman and John McKenzie are the next 5.

 

[pitseleh]

I just wanted to note that the Clippers will be going with three forward units on the PK, with the third being Nighbor-Prentice. Orr will also get PK time if the team is ahead, but will likely be saved for ES/PP if we're playing from behind.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Portage la Prairie Plains

Coach: Toe Blake
Goalie: Gerry Cheevers

PP1: Lindsay - Lach - Bill Cook - Pitre - Gerard
PP2: Tonelli - Crosby - Aurie - Cleghorn - Ivanov

PK1: Bun Cook - Tkaczuk - Stewart - Pulford
PK2: Aurie - Lach - Cleghorn - Gerard

 

[Rick Middleton]

The Foster Hewitt division
(in alphabetical order)​

I'll limit myself to reviewing the PK and PP units of my division.

Dartmouth Subways

Coach: Ted Nolan
Goalie: Patrick Roy

PP1: Malone - Hawerchuk - Selanne - Coffey - Iafrate
PP2: Bailey - Broten - Mullen - Svoboda - Wilson

PK1: Bain - Graves - Svoboda - Burrows
PK2: Broten - Tocchet - Wilson - Foote

Two great wingers on the 1st PP unit, and a great passer (Coffey) and howitzer of a shot (Iafrate) from the back end should lead to success for the PP unit. However, this line might be victimized for SH goals as Coffey and Iafrate are not terribly defensively responsible. Roy might not want to take a nap during the PP. The 2nd unit has a bit of a drop-off in talent. I love Joe Mullen, but Svoboda doesn't provide a lot of UMPH from the blueline (only scored more than 40 points once). I would actually switch Iafrate and Wilson. Wilson is more defensively responsible than Iafrate, and Svoboda may be able to make up for Iafrate's brainfarts.

I'm not sure about the forwards on your 1st PK line. I don't know **** about Dan Bain, so I can't comment on him. Graves is a good all-around player but I don't know if he's going to be the type of shut-down forward on a 1st PK unit. Your defense pairings are rock-solid, though. They should be able to clear the crease and keep Patrick happy. And as with most PK units, the most important player is your goalie, and Roy should be more than up to the task.

Dubai Mighty Camels

Coaches: Anatoly Tarasov, Arkady Chernyshev
Goalie: Gump Worsley

PP1: Firsov - Fedorov - Mikhailov - Kelly - Park
PP2: Gottselig - Almetov - Gare - Mantha - Liapkin

PK1: Gottselig - Pahlsson - Kelly - Numminen
PK2: Grahame - Fedorov - Mantha - Park

Puck movement on your 1st PP unit should be Pejorative Slured. Park may have to intervene from time to time at the point and just blast the puck, though. That unit may have the tendency of getting too cute. Not a critique though. Odds are the opposition goalie will be twisted in knots trying to keep up with the puck movement. Your 2nd unit might struggle. Danny Gare is the only legitimate scoring threat. Gottselig was a solid scorer throughout his career but never a 'lights-out' type of scorer. I think Almetov is miscast as well. According to Chidlovski (http://www.1972summitseries.com/otheralmetov.html)

Almetov, like most Russians, was a well trained forward when it came to skating, puckhandling and passing, though he was never an elite scoring threat. Part of that was because Almetov was a superior defensive forward. In fact he was a mainstay on the Russian penalty killing units perhaps the best PK man they ever had

As such, he should probably be on one of your PK units. I'd put Tumba Johansson and Alfredsson on your 2nd PP unit instead of Gottselig and Almetov.

Which leads me to your PK units. I'd move Gottselig out and put Almetov in the 1st PK unit (no, I don't have a hate-on for Gottselig). And given that the 1st PK unit will be matched up against the 1st PP unit of most teams, I'd switch Park and Numminen. I think with those switches your PK units are extremely good.

Gwinnett Gladiators

Coach: Scotty Bowman
Goalie: Georges Vezina

PP1: Kharlamov - Cowley - Bondra - Leetch - Sologubov
PP2: Shutt - Morenz - Hedberg - Pratt - Tsygankov

PK1: Sanderson - Peplinski - S.Smith - Tsygankov
PK2: Carpenter - Young - Sologubov - Tregubov

I won't do my own team. However, I'm completely open for suggestions.

Oakland Seals

Coaches: Cecil Hart, Tom Gorman
Goalie: Jiri Holocek

PP1: Kariya - Gretzky - Bathgate - Cameron - Clancy
PP2: Howe - Federko - Dillon - Griffis - Vasiliev

PK1: Laprade - Finnigan - Vasiliev - Horner
PK2: Phillips - S. Howe - Griffis - Norstrom

Gretzky on a PP unit is pretty much all you need to ensure success. But when you have a great passer and shooter in Kariya and a player like Bathgate to get dirty and dig the puck out of the corners you're well on your way to success. The 2nd PP unit has a bit of a drop off, but should still be successful. Howe is a great scorer, as is Dillon, and Federko, even though I'm not a fan, can put up the points. Griffis and Vasiliev should make an interesting tandem, with Griffis doing the shooting and Vasiliev the passing. The only weakness I can see on the 2nd unit is the lack of a bigger body to do the digging. If you have a larger winger with scoring ability I might put him in instead of Dillon or Howe (probably Dillon).

Your 1st PK unit has a tonne of defensive talent. Laprade and Finnigan should handle the point men quite easily, and Vasiliev and Horner should keep the crease clear. From what I've read on Syd Howe indicates that he did kill penalties, although I'm not sure if he should be substituted for someone else. I'd put Jiri Holik in his place. Griffis and Norstrom should be quite effective as well down low.

Ottawa 67s

Coach: Mike Keenan
Goalie: Bernie Parent

PP1: Thompson - Francis - Leach - Shore - Stackhouse
PP2: Elias - Apps - Dineen - Reardon - Turnbull

PK1: Pavelich - G.Sheppard - Goldham - Ramsey
PK2: Francis - Lehtinen - Reardon - Shore

Arguably one of the weaker 1st unit PP's of the group. Francis is money in the bank and the Shore-Stackhouse combo should be able to produce from the blueline, but Thompson and Leach would likely be 2nd line PP players for most of the other teams in the division. I'm not sure if you would want to re-jig your 1st unit to give them a little more firepower. Again, your defensive pairing is the strongest part of your 2nd PP unit. The 2nd unit is a little more diverse in the forward combination that the 1st line. Dineen is strong down low, Syl Apps should be able to circulate the puck and Elias should be able to bury it. Honestly, I'm not sure if the 2nd unit might be more successful than the 1st.

Love the PK units. Not sure I see any weakness or a position that you should sub someone else into. The only thing you might consider is moving Lehtinen up to the 1st unit (IMO he's that good as opposed to someone on the 1st unit not being worthy).

St. Louis Eagles

Coach: Jan Starsi
Goalie: Glenn Hall

PP1: Naslund - Yzerman - Nolan - Babych - Svedberg
PP2: Brian Sutter - Stastny - Gartner - Pospisil - Bubla

PK1: Yzerman - Lonsberry - Langway - Johansson
PK2: Brent Sutter - Koroll - Pospisil - Bubla

Solid all around 1st PP unit. Nolan to dig for the puck, Yzerman to circulate it, Naslund to snipe it home. The D pairing isn't overwhelming but should do the job. The 2nd unit I'm not sold on. I'd sub in Lanny McDonald for Sutter. He could provide more pop than Sutter. Plus he's a bigger body to dig for the puck.

What, not Sutter brothers on one of the PK units? C'mon, you know you have to unite them Is Pospisil-Bubla the better combination for the 2nd PK unit? I'd have Dave Babych out there somewhere. Great PK'r in my estimation. I think you have the makings for some great PK units with your players, but you may want to juggle some of them around somewhat.

Victoria Cougars

Coach: Glen Sather
Goalie: Chuck Gardiner

PP1: Yakushev - Nilsson - Lafleur - Pilote - Taylor
PP2: Blake - Damphousse - Bellows - Carlyle - Jonsson

PK1: MacTavish - Ramsay - Pilote - Johnson
PK2: Taylor - Curry - Smith - Lowe

Running out of steam. Must make it through last team. Don't want to have to do work today. OK, the Yak-Nilsson-Lafleur line should be money. Yak's big body digging out the puck or sitting in front of the net, Lafleur on the 1/2 boards and Nilsson circulating the puck. On the 2nd unit I'd sub in Bill Guerin for Bellows. It'll give that line some size. I've always liked Damphousse more as a component of a line than the focus of the line, but I'm not sure who you could put in his stead.

Very good 1st PK line, but sub in Carlyle for Pilote. Carlyle is probably the better defensively out of the two. No changes on the 2nd line.

**** I'm knackered.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

PP1: Kharlamov - Cowley - Bondra - Leetch - Sologubov
PP2: Shutt - Morenz - Hedberg - Pratt - Tsygankov

PK1: Sanderson - Peplinski - S.Smith - Tsygankov
PK2: Carpenter - Young - Sologubov - Tregubov

I won't do my own team. However, I'm completely open for suggestions.

I'd move Bondra to the point, where he usually played for the Capitals. This lets him use his excellent slap shot (one of the best in the draft), and he would still sneak in from the point when necessary (though increasing the risk of a SHG against). You can move Tsygankov to the 2nd unit, and I'd probably take Pratt off the PP. He really inflated his stats during the WWII years and wasn't otherwise a top scorer. To replace Bondra on the top unit, I'd add Pat Verbeek. Obviously not the most talented player, but he can protect the rather small, non-physical PP1 teammates and he can do the dirth work digging the pucks out of the corner and screening goalies.

 

[God Bless Canada]

A couple of things:

*On the PP, we will likely take pappy's advice and move Max Bentley to the point on the power play.
*On the penalty kill, we have four forward units and three defence pairings. That's the advantage of depth.

PK1: Armstrong-D.Bentley
PK2: Taylor-Tikkanen
PK3: Schmautz-Primeau
PK4: Maltby-Risebrough
Defence:
PK1: Bourque-Mortson
PK2: Stanley-Stanowski
PK3: Green-Macoun

Our first PP unit is, in our estimation, one of the best in the league. Bourque is one of the best PP pointmen, with his ability to run the power play, shoot the puck and keep the puck in at the blue-line. Bentley, as pappy noted in another thread, excelled at playing the point. We have Neely to work the front of the net, and the sheer skill of D. Bentley and O'Connor.

Primeau will likely move onto the second PP unit, and give us a big, talented presence for the front of the net. Taylor and either Tikkanen or Hull will play the other wing. Both have powerful shots. Stanowski (who has excellent creativity) and Stanley will work the points.

We think our penalty killing is the best in the league. We have four units of forwards, and three pairings of defencemen. Tikkanen played all three forward positions effectively in his career. D. Bentley played centre late in his career, and even though he was named to the second team all-star LW spot in 49, he played most of the year at centre. Our units are quick, aggressive and smart. And we're backstopped by Johnny Bower.

 

[Rick Middleton]

I'd move Bondra to the point, where he usually played for the Capitals. This lets him use his excellent slap shot (one of the best in the draft), and he would still sneak in from the point when necessary (though increasing the risk of a SHG against). You can move Tsygankov to the 2nd unit, and I'd probably take Pratt off the PP. He really inflated his stats during the WWII years and wasn't otherwise a top scorer. To replace Bondra on the top unit, I'd add Pat Verbeek. Obviously not the most talented player, but he can protect the rather small, non-physical PP1 teammates and he can do the dirth work digging the pucks out of the corner and screening goalies.

Good points. Duly noted.

 

[Evil Sather]

NYR: Haven't put much thought in this. Keane obviously plays the PK a lot if he's in the lineup.

PP1: Propp-Beliveau-Broadbent Howe-Patrick
PP2: Lemieux-Forsberg-Redmond Goodfellow-Korab

PK1: Drury-Rolston
PK2: Bourne-Lemieux
PK3: Beliveau-Propp

Defense it'll be all hands on deck.

 

[MXD]

Coach : Jacques Demers
Goalie: Alex Connell

PP1: Moore - Keats - M.Richard - Zubov - Quackenbush
PP2: Anderson - H.Richard - Steen - Barber - Russell

PK1: Pulford - Keon - Quackenbush - Vasko
PK2: Ellis - Watson - Abel - McDonald

- Bill Barber will take the place of Ron Ellis if I need a goal.

PK 3 : Bridgeman - Barber
PK 4 : Pocket - Keon

- Expect Phil Russell to take a shift here and there against bigger teams as well, when he isn't in the penalty box. Also expect Zubie to play a little with Bucko whenever we're down, late in the game.

 

[Sturminator]

Thanks for the good advice, Rick. We'll mull over switching Howe and Holik. One thing that doesn't concern me about Syd Howe is icetime, as he was known as a player with tremendous stamina. Jiri Holik could certainly handle a bit more, though, if we so desire.

The 2nd unit PP lacking a big body may be a concern. We may have to consider giving Bruce Stuart a more prominent role on special teams, as we have done at even strength, though you don't seem to think very highly of him so I doubt that's the solution you had in mind.