overpass
Registered User
- Jun 7, 2007
- 5,271
- 2,807
I've always been interested in how some teams would play a forward on the point on the power play and some teams wouldn't.
As a Senators fan, I saw firsthand the benefits that it could bring, as Daniel Alfredsson quarterbacked Ottawa's powerplay to terrific results in the early 2000's. Of course, we also saw the downside of playing a forward on the point in the 2006 playoffs.
From a historical perspective, the frequency of this practice has changed over time. Several decades ago, it was far more common to play a forward or two on the point. Max and Doug Bentley each manned a point for the 1953-54 Rangers, and likely each had done so on earlier teams. Star forwards Bernard Geoffrion and Andy Bathgate were point men for their respective power plays in the '50s and '60s, to name a couple.
Here are some numbers to show the overall development in this area since 1968. The table shows, for each year, the percentage of (PGF by D-men)/(League PGF), where PGF=power play goal that a player was on the ice for. Essentially, it's an estimate of the % of power play minutes played by defencemen.
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Role of Defencemen on the Power Play
Defencemen played on the power play less frequently in the years after expansion. There was a gradual change in their role during the decade from 1975 to 1985, at which point defencemen were playing 35% of the available power play minutes, up from about 25% a decade earlier. That's a major change, about the equivalent of 0.5 more defencemen per team on the ice for a power play.
This trend reversed to some degree in the late 1990s, and since the lockout defencemen play about 31-32% of the available power play minutes, down from their peak level of ~35% in the late 80s and 90s.
Finally, here's a look at the teams which had the highest % of forwards or the highest % of defencemen on the power play.
Most Forward-Heavy Power Plays
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Many people probably remember the 2001 Penguins power play. They also loaded up with forwards in 2000, even without Mario. Scotty Bowman had a very good power play in St Louis in 1970 with 5 forwards on the ice most of the time.
Most Forward-Heavy Power Plays since 1980
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You can see here how the practice of using a forward on the point has become more common recently.
Most Defenceman-Heavy Power Plays
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These teams, appear to have deployed three defencemen occasionally on the PP (unless they played a lot of 4-on-3's). All were deep in skilled defencemen (or light on skilled forwards, in Oakland's case).
Finally, I'll make one more comment. I've always been puzzled why more coaches in international hockey in best-on-best tournaments don't put a forward on the point on the PP. The best countries always have an abundance of skilled forwards who can get PP time. And when there are fewer PP spots for defencemen, you can focus on filling the blueline with defenders who excel at even strength and shorthanded. A classic example was Canada putting Bryan McCabe on the team in 2006, when he was basically a big shot on the PP who had holes in the rest of his game, and they had guys like Joe Sakic and Brad Richards who could play the point. That roster spot could have been used for any one of dozens of Canadian blueliners who were better at EV and on the PK than McCabe. I'm not as familiar with the power play units in earlier tournaments like the Canada Cups, did Canadian teams or others ever play 4 forwards then?
Anyway, thoughts on this area? Any examples of forwards who played the point well (or poorly?) How often did teams played 4 or 5 forwards on the power play pre-1968? What caused the changes over the years in PP usage of defencemen? Should teams play 4 or 5 forwards on the PP more often?
As a Senators fan, I saw firsthand the benefits that it could bring, as Daniel Alfredsson quarterbacked Ottawa's powerplay to terrific results in the early 2000's. Of course, we also saw the downside of playing a forward on the point in the 2006 playoffs.
From a historical perspective, the frequency of this practice has changed over time. Several decades ago, it was far more common to play a forward or two on the point. Max and Doug Bentley each manned a point for the 1953-54 Rangers, and likely each had done so on earlier teams. Star forwards Bernard Geoffrion and Andy Bathgate were point men for their respective power plays in the '50s and '60s, to name a couple.
Here are some numbers to show the overall development in this area since 1968. The table shows, for each year, the percentage of (PGF by D-men)/(League PGF), where PGF=power play goal that a player was on the ice for. Essentially, it's an estimate of the % of power play minutes played by defencemen.
Year | PPGF (D-men) | PPGF (Total) | % |
1960 | 266 | 1126 | 24% |
1961 | 263 | 1217 | 22% |
1962 | 256 | 1191 | 21% |
1963 | 281 | 1144 | 25% |
1964 | 259 | 1191 | 22% |
1965 | 339 | 1449 | 23% |
1966 | 380 | 1468 | 26% |
1967 | 273 | 1259 | 22% |
1968 | 611 | 2411 | 25% |
1969 | 770 | 2709 | 28% |
1970 | 812 | 3242 | 25% |
1971 | 924 | 3699 | 25% |
1972 | 989 | 3612 | 27% |
1973 | 998 | 3874 | 26% |
1974 | 1112 | 3911 | 28% |
1975 | 1668 | 5716 | 29% |
1976 | 1699 | 5860 | 29% |
1977 | 1340 | 4685 | 29% |
1978 | 1426 | 4776 | 30% |
1979 | 1610 | 5151 | 31% |
1980 | 1980 | 6320 | 31% |
1981 | 2661 | 7930 | 34% |
1982 | 2447 | 7588 | 32% |
1983 | 2410 | 7431 | 32% |
1984 | 2570 | 7659 | 34% |
1985 | 2592 | 7443 | 35% |
1986 | 2968 | 8571 | 35% |
1987 | 2616 | 7571 | 35% |
1988 | 3184 | 9285 | 34% |
1989 | 3010 | 8882 | 34% |
1990 | 2699 | 7989 | 34% |
1991 | 2647 | 7445 | 36% |
1992 | 2957 | 8492 | 35% |
1993 | 3478 | 10353 | 34% |
1994 | 3517 | 9816 | 36% |
1995 | 1689 | 4810 | 35% |
1996 | 3145 | 9596 | 33% |
1997 | 2362 | 7083 | 33% |
1998 | 2571 | 7417 | 35% |
1999 | 2466 | 7645 | 32% |
2000 | 2491 | 7453 | 33% |
2001 | 3008 | 9333 | 32% |
2002 | 2563 | 7967 | 32% |
2003 | 2742 | 8869 | 31% |
2004 | 2765 | 8514 | 32% |
2006 | 3988 | 12608 | 32% |
2007 | 3264 | 10381 | 31% |
2008 | 3114 | 10026 | 31% |
2009 | 3036 | 9642 | 31% |
2010 | 2529 | 8286 | 31% |
2011 | 2397 | 7828 | 31% |
2012 | 2169 | 7014 | 31% |
2013 | 1269 | 4346 | 29% |
2014 | 2192 | 7183 | 31% |
2015 | 2055 | 7008 | 29% |
2016 | 2027 | 7136 | 28% |
2017 | 1918 | 7014 | 27% |
Role of Defencemen on the Power Play
Defencemen played on the power play less frequently in the years after expansion. There was a gradual change in their role during the decade from 1975 to 1985, at which point defencemen were playing 35% of the available power play minutes, up from about 25% a decade earlier. That's a major change, about the equivalent of 0.5 more defencemen per team on the ice for a power play.
This trend reversed to some degree in the late 1990s, and since the lockout defencemen play about 31-32% of the available power play minutes, down from their peak level of ~35% in the late 80s and 90s.
Finally, here's a look at the teams which had the highest % of forwards or the highest % of defencemen on the power play.
Most Forward-Heavy Power Plays
Year | Team | PPGF (D-men) | PPGF (Total) | % |
1965 | DET | 16 | 282 | 6% |
2001 | PIT | 31 | 375 | 8% |
1979 | ATF | 22 | 262 | 8% |
1970 | STL | 31 | 361 | 9% |
2011 | NJD | 15 | 167 | 9% |
1967 | DET | 24 | 228 | 11% |
1971 | BUF | 32 | 279 | 11% |
1966 | DET | 24 | 209 | 11% |
1964 | DET | 24 | 208 | 12% |
1971 | STL | 32 | 265 | 12% |
1970 | MNS | 34 | 276 | 12% |
2013 | COL | 14 | 104 | 13% |
1960 | BOS | 33 | 232 | 14% |
1971 | MNS | 27 | 188 | 14% |
2008 | CAR | 73 | 445 | 16% |
1968 | DET | 34 | 206 | 17% |
1977 | CLE | 49 | 294 | 17% |
1965 | CHI | 41 | 237 | 17% |
2000 | PIT | 47 | 270 | 17% |
1999 | PIT | 57 | 326 | 17% |
1973 | NYI | 24 | 137 | 18% |
1962 | DET | 34 | 194 | 18% |
2010 | NJD | 45 | 254 | 18% |
2007 | EDM | 47 | 265 | 18% |
2007 | CAR | 58 | 326 | 18% |
1974 | DET | 53 | 294 | 18% |
2003 | MIN | 44 | 244 | 18% |
1969 | CHI | 50 | 274 | 18% |
1963 | DET | 45 | 246 | 18% |
1961 | DET | 34 | 185 | 18% |
Many people probably remember the 2001 Penguins power play. They also loaded up with forwards in 2000, even without Mario. Scotty Bowman had a very good power play in St Louis in 1970 with 5 forwards on the ice most of the time.
Most Forward-Heavy Power Plays since 1980
Year | Team | PPGF (D-men) | PPGF (Total) | % |
2001 | PIT | 31 | 375 | 8% |
2011 | NJD | 15 | 167 | 9% |
2013 | COL | 14 | 104 | 13% |
2008 | CAR | 73 | 445 | 16% |
2000 | PIT | 47 | 270 | 17% |
1999 | PIT | 57 | 326 | 17% |
2010 | NJD | 45 | 254 | 18% |
2007 | EDM | 47 | 265 | 18% |
2007 | CAR | 58 | 326 | 18% |
2003 | MIN | 44 | 244 | 18% |
2004 | MIN | 40 | 211 | 19% |
2017 | TBL | 59 | 311 | 19% |
You can see here how the practice of using a forward on the point has become more common recently.
Most Defenceman-Heavy Power Plays
Year | Team | PPGF (D-men) | PPGF (Total) | % |
1991 | WIN | 172 | 369 | 47% |
1985 | NYR | 169 | 364 | 46% |
1992 | NJD | 137 | 296 | 46% |
1970 | OAK | 101 | 220 | 46% |
1985 | WAS | 178 | 391 | 46% |
1987 | CGY | 181 | 399 | 45% |
1986 | NYR | 166 | 366 | 45% |
1972 | VAN | 106 | 238 | 45% |
1984 | BOS | 180 | 408 | 44% |
1981 | BOS | 189 | 431 | 44% |
1982 | BOS | 139 | 322 | 43% |
1986 | CGY | 198 | 459 | 43% |
1995 | DAL | 83 | 195 | 43% |
1994 | EDM | 156 | 367 | 43% |
1979 | TOR | 122 | 292 | 42% |
2001 | MIN | 75 | 180 | 42% |
These teams, appear to have deployed three defencemen occasionally on the PP (unless they played a lot of 4-on-3's). All were deep in skilled defencemen (or light on skilled forwards, in Oakland's case).
Finally, I'll make one more comment. I've always been puzzled why more coaches in international hockey in best-on-best tournaments don't put a forward on the point on the PP. The best countries always have an abundance of skilled forwards who can get PP time. And when there are fewer PP spots for defencemen, you can focus on filling the blueline with defenders who excel at even strength and shorthanded. A classic example was Canada putting Bryan McCabe on the team in 2006, when he was basically a big shot on the PP who had holes in the rest of his game, and they had guys like Joe Sakic and Brad Richards who could play the point. That roster spot could have been used for any one of dozens of Canadian blueliners who were better at EV and on the PK than McCabe. I'm not as familiar with the power play units in earlier tournaments like the Canada Cups, did Canadian teams or others ever play 4 forwards then?
Anyway, thoughts on this area? Any examples of forwards who played the point well (or poorly?) How often did teams played 4 or 5 forwards on the power play pre-1968? What caused the changes over the years in PP usage of defencemen? Should teams play 4 or 5 forwards on the PP more often?
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