Is the Coyotes PP actually good (or passable) ?

[SniperHF]

So this has been a matter of some confoundment around here I think we should all get on the record


From 2015 to 2019 the Coyotes have the league worst PP at 16%

This season it's 19.6%, good for 11th place.

Is the PP actually good now? Or is something else going on?

Personally I think it's mostly just luck. We're one of the worst at both shooting and scoring chances on the PP. That will catch up eventually.
I know when I watch the power play it certainly doesn't strike me as terribly dangerous. I think a lot agree. But maybe we're all just a little deluded and looking too closely at every little thing. Wouldn't be the first time on the internet

Does the PP% and our league rank tell the story or not?

Click to read more...

 

[Name Nameless]

Based on the title, I assume you include passable in good, so I voted good.

But that was an interpretation. It's not really good, though.

 

[SniperHF]

Based on the title, I assume you include passable in good, so I voted good.

IMO passable is good compared to where we usually are. 4 years worth of games at only 16% is really bad

 

[XX]

PP is complete garbo unless it scores on the gimmick rush zone entry. Only unprepared teams let that happen.

They switched to a true 1-3-1 recently and it looks better. Guys are rotating more. Shot selection, especially from OEL, is still bad.

A good PP needs credible shooters at all 3 outside positions. Keller is not firing the puck, so that needs to change. An okay shot done quickly is better than a slow, perfectly placed shot.

Stepan should not be on PP1 or maybe even 2.

 

[MIGs Dog]

Need a third choice. I think it's moderately acceptable. 5 on 5 scoring is where we need to improve the most. The power play is not costing us games (statistically speaking).

 

[SniperHF]

The power play is not costing us games (statistically speaking).

Here's kind of an odd thought though, what if the talent is there to actually be better than 11th in the league and it's not actually living up to its potential and should actually be an outright strength? Impossible to prove, but it seems quite possible to me that it could actually be even better than 11th given that we're already 11tth yet it looks so damn awful sometimes.

 

[Tom Polakis]

It may be scoring, but it is definitely not good. The zone entries that look so effortless for other teams are so often a challenge. Then, players are standing around when we do gain the zone. The talent level is middling, at best, but at least we could expect some structure. A couple of the power plays and the 6-on-5 in the Pens game were encouraging, though. Can someone like XX dig up a stat like shooting percentage while on the PP? It seems unsustainably high.

 

[XX]

Can someone like XX dig up a stat like shooting percentage while on the PP? It seems unsustainably high.

They're 10th, about 2% higher than the last two seasons combined. Doesn't seem unsustainable.

In terms of GF/60, they are 13th. 30th last 2 years, they are a full goal better this year.

Down 1 goal in the game, they have the 21st best PP...

Fun fact: the previous two years, the PP was a full goal better when the team was trailing by 1 vs this year. So that's something.

Scott Allen's PK was a full goal better per 60 than MacLean's lol If you just measure last year alone, it was 2 goals better per 60.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

Stepan should not be on PP1 or maybe even 2.

Can't say this enough. Stepan should not be on the PP period.

 

[Mosby]

Getting rid of that stupid drop pass thing would be a big help ... OEL did it in the Philly game. Skating toward the Philly zone then all of the sudden turn 180 and pass the puck to a Coyote behind him. When there was a Flyer right there who the puck had to get through. Really thought they'd stop this after they got their asses burned by Toronto. We'd have a lot more time to enter the zone if we stopped with this shit.

 

[XX]

Getting rid of that stupid drop pass thing would be a big help ... OEL did it in the Philly game. Skating toward the Philly zone then all of the sudden turn 180 and pass the puck to a Coyote behind him. When there was a Flyer right there who the puck had to get through. Really thought they'd stop this after they got their asses burned by Toronto. We'd have a lot more time to enter the zone if we stopped with this ****.

They keep going for the gimmick goal on the rush. It has worked a couple times.

If teams are going to stack 4 at the blueline then it's worth trying. Better than dumping it in.

 

[Tom Polakis]

Getting rid of that stupid drop pass thing would be a big help ... OEL did it in the Philly game. Skating toward the Philly zone then all of the sudden turn 180 and pass the puck to a Coyote behind him. When there was a Flyer right there who the puck had to get through. Really thought they'd stop this after they got their asses burned by Toronto. We'd have a lot more time to enter the zone if we stopped with this ****.

Every team in the league does the drop pass on the PP. They're just not executing it the right way. The player receiving that pass should get it with speed that he can bring into the offensive zone.

 

[hbk]

Getting rid of that stupid drop pass thing would be a big help ... OEL did it in the Philly game. Skating toward the Philly zone then all of the sudden turn 180 and pass the puck to a Coyote behind him. When there was a Flyer right there who the puck had to get through. Really thought they'd stop this after they got their asses burned by Toronto. We'd have a lot more time to enter the zone if we stopped with this ****.

There’s only two places you should never attempt a drop pass. Home and away.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

There’s only two places you should never attempt a drop pass. Home and away.

 

[rt]

There’s only two places you should never attempt a drop pass. Home and away.

God I love this post. So, so much.

 

[Jormungandr]

I disagree. I like the drop pass as a way to gain space between the puck carrier and the defense. I just wish that it wasn’t our only way of entering the zone on the power play. They do this about 95% of the time and it’s obvious.

 

[tucknroll]

The drop pass is meant to catch the defence standing still. Problem is they drop the puck so far back that it gives the back checkers time to get back in position and all it does for the Coyotes is force one player to either skate it in himself because everyone on his team is standing still due to being so far ahead or dump it in when he gets trapped by the D who were able to get back in position.
If you're doing a drop pass you should be doing short passes that allow everyone to stay in stride and allowing your puck carrier to catch the defender cutting the opposite direction to open up the ice more.
My biggest problem is watching the defender (usually OEL) get basically around the first defender which is exactly where you want to be to gain the offensive zone with possession, but he then decides to drop the pass back anyways with a huge drop so it gets the team no where other than having one less defender incase of a turnover in the neutral zone.

Then the majority of their powerplay's this year when they have possession the coaches like to put Keller and Kessel on their off wings.. which is idiotic. Neither player is good at taking one timers which is why you'd put them on their off wing. All having them on their off wing does is limit their ability to protect the puck while taking it to the net. Then if they are forced to the corner it makes it even more difficult for the player to open up and find an open player. Schmaltz is the best example of this from a Coyotes perspective.

 

[MIGs Dog]

Power play is killing it!

Who wants to change their vote?

 

[Jamieh]

They don't ask how, they ask how many.

 

[SniperHF]

Man my timing was aces on this thread.

 

[XX]

Keller looks good as PP QB. It's a goal against if he f***s up a pass, but he looks good.

 

[LuckyNumber11]

I think it's not so black and white, but I think we have a decent powerplay. When we get it set up, it looks really good. We just struggle to actually set it up

 

[DOTS13]

I don’t think it’s the zone entry that kills them as much as it is the first few passes once they are in the zone. They need to be crisp, fast, and frequent passes to get the defense out of position. Until recently, those passes weren’t where a player could easily receive it, and if it was received, there was no one to pass it to since everyone else was glued to their position.

I think the last 4-7 games, they have been moving their feet and the puck more fluidly in the zone. Even if a guy is surrounded, he’s able to get it off his tape and to an open player (Keller was a good example in that 3rd period tonight, giving Kessel and Dvo a glorious look).

PS - how the heck do I cast a vote? I just see the results and no obvious place to make a selection.

 

[SniperHF]

PS - how the heck do I cast a vote? I just see the results and no obvious place to make a selection.

Joined:
Wednesday


I'd have to check the settings but I'd guess it's cause of that^. It wears off after a few weeks or whatever it is.

 

[Sinurgy]

Problem is they drop the puck so far back that it gives the back checkers time to get back in position and all it does for the Coyotes is force one player to either skate it in himself because everyone on his team is standing still due to being so far ahead or dump it in when he gets trapped by the D who were able to get back in position.

It's so cringy when they do a drop pass to a player who is still 100ft behind them.