Curious Case of Running the Leafs Powerplay

[Albus Dumbledore]

Was thinking the other day about who should be running the powerplay from the point for the Leafs as far as having the one dmen per unit(occasionally we have 2 but for the most part it's one).

Zaitsev: 1g 12 points, pp time 2 mins
Gardiner: 2g 13 points, pp time 2:32 mins
Rielly: 1g 5 points, pp time 0:58 sec

Last 3 years Jake Gardiner has been in the 8-12 points range for the pp avg anywhere from 2:17-2:30 of pp time(not including this season)

Zaitsev only has one year to go on

Last 3 years Rielly has scored 8-12 points avging 1:50-2:27 of pp time (not including this season)


In terms of moving the puck up the ice, id say the order is Gardiner, Rielly then Zaitsev. As for passing that's hard to say I'll let you guys squabble. And shot goes Gards, Rielly then Zaitsev. Zaitsev has a powerful shot but he almost never scores, he had one goal this year where it wasn't bounced around or an empty net.

Personally, I think while Zaitsev had a successful rookie campaign running the 2nd unit I feel like him and Rielly should switch places and Gardiner continue getting 1# minutes. Rielly brings a different element than Gardiner does on the pp. Both Zaitsev and Gards love to clap a good shot and Gards is much better at it. While Rielly has that wrister that finds its way and I feel like he's still developing it.
That and Rielly is better at moving the puck from one zone to the other then Zaitsev.

So who do you guys think should be getting #1 #2 and #3 minutes on the pp?

EDIT can a mod change the thread title from power point to powerplay please.

Click to read more...

 

[Polaris1010]

On the power play, when the team has possession inside the offensive zone, seems like Zaitsev is much better at passing and moving the puck to the open man than the other two heroes.

That's what I saw. Now I am going to get by mutt flamed.

 

[Nithoniniel]

This is hard. I think Gardiner has the dexterity to handle the switching back and forth very well, but I think Rielly might do the presentation better. I don't think we have a #1 powerpoint guy in the organization as of right now, it's a job that has to be done by committee.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

I read this as who will be running the power point presentations. AKA the worst job on the team.

 

[Nithoniniel]

On a more serious note, I think Rielly is likely our best PP option with Gardiner as #2. Zaitsev hasn't translated his PP ability to the NHL yet, but maybe that will happen. Give him some time to see if he'll get it together for his second season, otherwise he should be the clear #3 choice here.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

On a more serious note, I think Rielly is likely our best PP option with Gardiner as #2. Zaitsev hasn't translated his PP ability to the NHL yet, but maybe that will happen. Give him some time to see if he'll get it together for his second season, otherwise he should be the clear #3 choice here.

I think Carrick may be the best option. Gardiner,Rielly and Zaitsev don't really seem to have a shot that scares anyone.That needs to be a potential threat to the opponent(the point shot).

 

[Bullseye]

I read this as who will be running the power point presentations. AKA the worst job on the team.

Who's serving coffee?

Gardiner has the best shot I think. Carrick had much success with the Marlies there. Maybe give him a chance?

 

[Rare Jewel]

Just two days ago I was in Rielly's thread advocating for him and he's my preference there. But going into the season I wouldn't stray too far from the defense with their roles and TOI allotment as we left it against Washington.

Rielly can't play a hard match up against the best line all night and play on the PP, at least not yet - so I understand why Babs had it the way he did so that he wouldn't be burnt out by December. So if the Gardiner - Zaitsev pairing are trusted with more defensive responsibility i.e. more DZS, harder match ups there's more room to get the most out of Rielly's offensive potential.

However, the OPs question is about who I'd have running the PP, presumably on both units. Rielly is one, my other would be Marner on a 5 forward PP unit.

The change to 1-3-1 (4F, 1D) has been backed statistically to be more proficient then then the old 3-2 (3F, 2D) which is why every team in the league changed to it. So why not take it to the next level a go with 5 forwards? Very few teams can spread out their offensive balance doing so, but we're probably one that can. So I think it's something to be looked into, at least on a trial basis.

Marner is also tailor made for it as well. Already one of the better puck distributors in the league (certainly for his age) and has the engine and hockey sense to do some defensive work when needed.

Lastly, it also may give us a chance to see all of the "big 3" on the ice together.

 

[lifelonghockeyfan]

Does it really matter? Thought I think Gardiner and Zaitsev might be the best combo. Leafs seem to have four Dmen that can work the PP. Also Nylander might see time at the RHD.

 

[moon111]

Timothy Liljegren

 

[Terrible GM]

Was thinking the other day about who should be running the powerplay from the point for the Leafs as far as having the one dmen per unit(occasionally we have 2 but for the most part it's one).

Our power play is not run by Dmen. Our PP runs more east/west using wingers passing or cyling. The point Dman passes to open wing more so than shooting. This is a big reason why PP points for our Dmen is rather low, even though we had one of the best PP in the league last year.

So it doesn't really matter which of the top 3 you use, they are all capible of puck distribution.

 

[Duke16]

Rosen could surprise in this aspect.

 

[Battle Lin]

rielly is our best D at rushing the puck and carrying it up ice, but nylander and marner do this on our 1st and 2nd unit and they are great and can be elite at it...once in the zone they also play the point and are dam good at that too, zaitsev and gardiner are our best Ds from the point

 

[Pyrophorus]

What this boils down to is that we have no threat from the point.
I agree-its why I hoped we could get Pulock, or Hobbs away from Washington as guys who have big bombs.

 

[cookie]

Our power play is not run by Dmen. Our PP runs more east/west using wingers passing or cyling. The point Dman passes to open wing more so than shooting. This is a big reason why PP points for our Dmen is rather low, even though we had one of the best PP in the league last year.

So it doesn't really matter which of the top 3 you use, they are all capible of puck distribution.

This is correct: Jack Han actually has a decent breakdown of the Leafs powerplay and the "hole" they try to use. Zaitsev was even instructed to take fewer point shots and instead focus on distributing the puck to the forwards (there's a Toronto Sun article somewhere that says this). A lot of the advantages this powerplay has over others is the focus on the guy in the slot (ie Kadri) and the plays made in the corners that drive PKers out of position which in turn creates chaos in assignments.

Defensemen that can facilitate safe zone entries and who can distribute the puck well are tailored to this system. Right now, we don't have any problems with the PP.

 

[Prominence]

On the power play, when the team has possession inside the offensive zone, seems like Zaitsev is much better at passing and moving the puck to the open man than the other two heroes.

That's what I saw. Now I am going to get by mutt flamed.

One problem I have with Zaitsev is he has trouble holding the line and his shot is over-rated. In terms of the passing game, Gardiner and Rielly are similar, but both are better than Zaitsev.

I think Carrick may be the best option. Gardiner,Rielly and Zaitsev don't really seem to have a shot that scares anyone.That needs to be a potential threat to the opponent(the point shot).

Carrick's shot is the worst. He can't pick corners. I would argue Gardiner has the best shot even though it is not as great.

 

[Mikeyg]

Another curious case huh. I was wondering when another one of these would open.

 

[TheDoldrums]

Shots from the point are low percentage. I love our system and how little we emphasize them. Nashville's PP was really frustrating to watch for me, they worked so hard just to get really long point shots. We have elite playmakers at forward on both units, much better chance of a dangerous shot by passing between them closer to the net.

Frankly it doesn't really make a big difference who is back there at the point.

 

[Pyrophorus]

Shots from the point are low percentage. I love our system and how little we emphasize them. Nashville's PP was really frustrating to watch for me, they worked so hard just to get really long point shots. We have elite playmakers at forward on both units, much better chance of a dangerous shot by passing between them closer to the net.

Frankly it doesn't really make a big difference who is back there at the point.

It would be nice to have something like a Shattenkirk/Weber to produce more.

 

[Muston Atthews]

It would be nice to have something like a Shattenkirk/Weber to produce more.

Yeah it'll allow Matthews and JVR to go to work