PP fix = ?

[chipsens]

The Sens have been playing well lately 5 on 5...but the PP looks like our Achilles heel. What can be done? Can we bring in another coach with special focus on PP?

Click to read more...

 

[2XPRO31]

We try to force too many passes when they aren't there. Another pp qb like Karlsson would be great.

 

[Knave]

We need an Alfredsson or Hossa - someone on the side boards who can control and open up space.

Because right now Karlsson isn't given much space and the 3 players not standing in the slot/in front of the net aren't able to move the puck into dangerous enough areas.

 

[Benjamin]

Its weird. Our PP percentage is average but when I watch other teams powerplay, our PP looks really good, relatively.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

We try to force too many passes when they aren't there. Another pp qb like Karlsson would be great.

Word or a bomb from the point beside Karlsson to keep forwards honest.

IMO, like Benny said, PP is not bad they just force stuff but when players become better like Zibane, Stone, Hoffman they will learn to ease the plays better.

 

[DrunkUncleDenis]

Without any roster moves?

a) Give Hoffman more PP time to adjust to the role (unfortunately this isn't the easiest thing to do now that we're trying to win and not just develop)

b) Put Zib in a position to wire cannons from the point. We need to work on one-timers and EK needs a partner at the point to do this.

c) Hope and pray something clicks..because we're stuck with the players we have.

 

[chipsens]

IMO we need to reduce the emphasis on Karlsson...he's the obvious focus of other teams. Maybe use him as decoy? Use Wier on PP w K. I liked the intentional rebound off the backboards in front of opposing net.

 

[aragorn]

We try to force too many passes when they aren't there. Another pp qb like Karlsson would be great.

Karlsson already plays the whole 2 mins most of the time, I doubt there is room for another PP quaterback. That said, they have tried Hoffman & Turris on the other point, Ceci will eventually develop into a PP quarterback type as can PW. I would actually argue the opposite & say they go through Karlsson too much & it is predictable. If I was defending against Ottawa's PP I would play a diamond in one & have that one guy always be on Karlsson to avoid him from being the guy that beats us. In fact, you see some teams do exactly that to us to nullify Karlsson's influence on the PP.

IMO what they need to do is shoot more & stop trying to be so damn fancy with their passes always trying for the highlight reel goals. They need to shoot it at the net & crash the net & get more ugly goals, look for rebounds & tip-ins. Way too much passing it around the perimeter & looking for that one clear shot to the net, put everything at the net all the time & crash the net with every opportunity. This would get them in the habit of going to the net everytime which they need to be ingrained in their DNA. They also need to stop trying to pass it through the middle when there are too many bodies in the way. Low shots about 2 feet off the ground at the net & get that rebound, keep it moving & keep shooting, no standing still. That's the ticket.

 

[chipsens]

^ this + PW

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

IMO we need Zibanejad with Karlsson.

Wier has been useless lately and what once was his most effective weapon(getting shot through) has been stymied.

Zibanejad is great passes, puck possession player and has BULLLET.

 

[krapsik]

Our PP itself is not bad at all, if we manage to enter the zone. But zone entering is our weakest link.

 

[Johnny Hanson]

Our PP itself is not bad at all, if we manage to enter the zone. But zone entering is our weakest link.

This is the problem right here folks

 

[DrEasy]

We're missing Alf, Spezza and Gonchar big time. We need guys with an effective one-timer (Ziba's not there yet: he has a bomb, but he often either misses the puck or the net), good passing at the half board, and a solid complement to Karlsson on the point.

 

[Micklebot]

Our PP itself is not bad at all, if we manage to enter the zone. But zone entering is our weakest link.

I don't really think that's the case tbh. If we were having that much troubles entering the zone, we wouldn't be getting pucks to the net at a frequency in line with some of the best teams in the league.

We are getting zone time (our CF/60 is 5th in the League since Cameron took over). We are getting shots(our Shots/60 is 12 in the league on the PP since Cameron took over). We are getting into scoring area's (our SCF/60 is 10th in the league on the PP since Cameron took over).

All that said, our PP is among the worst in the league since Cameron took over. We are running at 14.3%, which is to say, terrible. Only Buf and Colorado have been worse (OT, how is Colorado so terrible on the PP? Also, Pittsburgh has also bee terrible in the latter half of the season; they ran at almost 30% for their 1st 27 games, and have been around 14.6% for the last 38 games)

I'm at a loss as to how a PP can turn so quickly and quickly approaching the irrational desire to see Neil standing in front of the net as a screen, but seeing the same inconsistency in Pittsburgh's numbers makes me accept that PP% is probably subject to volatility.

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

I'm not sure why Ryan, the guy with the trickiest shot on the team, isn't in the "shooter" position more. It's odd they have him play the down-low playmaker behind the net role.

Other than that, I liked seeing Karlsson and Wiercoch together as it allowed a heavier shot from both sides. Unfortunately, as our friend 2Chainz has pointed out, PW can't seem to hit the net often.

The PP has looked better these last few games but it's still too cute at times. And Legwand should stay off it.

 

[krapsik]

The PP has looked better these last few games but it's still too cute at times. And Legwand should stay off it.

If i remember right, he leads team in PP goals. Or is it points ? So yeah, he need to sit more.

 

[NyQuil]

It seems as if we score a lot of goals through transition play or the cycle.

That doesn't really lend itself to the structured attack of a PP.

Basically you want 5 guys who can stickhandle out there in order to beat one guy and open up a lane or two.

We tend to have a lot of shooters on our team which means they just throw the puck around until they can get a shot.

 

[BonkTastic]

The PP has looked better these last few games but it's still too cute at times.

I think we've had slightly better results recently than we were getting maybe 10+ games ago, but I still think it looks absolutely awful.

I don't see a massive difference when Legwand is on or when he's not... and that's not meant to be a vote of confidence for David Legwand at all. Everyone is hesitant, there's no cohesiveness, no set plays, seemingly zero system in place... it looks like the kind of PP's you'd expect to see a junior team running in training camp.

 

[DrunkUncleDenis]

This is the problem right here folks

Really? I'll admit we struggle regularly to get it into the zone, but we lack creativity in the cycle, leading to standing still and forced cross-ice plays which inevitably get broken up. Good for Legwand having success on our PP, but when Legs is your highest scorer by getting greasy goals, there are serious o-zone issues.

We tend to have a lot of shooters on our team which means they just throw the puck around until they can get a shot.

Agreed. They pass it around like a hot potato praying something opens up. They are highly susceptible to aggressive penalty killing and blue line pressure because of our lack of movement, leading to rushes for the other team and SHG's.

 

[Lenny the Lynx]

We try to force too many passes when they aren't there. Another pp qb like Karlsson would be great.

Yeah lets just grab another Erik Karlsson at the Erik Karlsson store

 

[NyQuil]

Yeah lets just grab another Erik Karlsson at the Erik Karlsson store

There's a ****ing store and no one told me about it?

Do the GMs not know about this?

 

[Micklebot]

There's a ****ing store and no one told me about it?

Do the GMs not know about this?

Yeah, but have you seen the prices?

Just go to Kmart and get the knock off brand, Eric Carlsoon.

 

[BonkTastic]

Yeah lets just grab another Erik Karlsson at the Erik Karlsson store

There's a ****ing store and no one told me about it?

Do the GMs not know about this?

Yeah, but I checked their availability, and the only one they had left in stock was this one:

 

[NyQuil]

I'm decidedly underwhelmed by his flow.

 

[Xspyrit]

I don't really think that's the case tbh. If we were having that much troubles entering the zone, we wouldn't be getting pucks to the net at a frequency in line with some of the best teams in the league.

We are getting zone time (our CF/60 is 5th in the League since Cameron took over). We are getting shots(our Shots/60 is 12 in the league on the PP since Cameron took over). We are getting into scoring area's (our SCF/60 is 10th in the league on the PP since Cameron took over).

All that said, our PP is among the worst in the league since Cameron took over. We are running at 14.3%, which is to say, terrible. Only Buf and Colorado have been worse (OT, how is Colorado so terrible on the PP? Also, Pittsburgh has also bee terrible in the latter half of the season; they ran at almost 30% for their 1st 27 games, and have been around 14.6% for the last 38 games)

I'm at a loss as to how a PP can turn so quickly and quickly approaching the irrational desire to see Neil standing in front of the net as a screen, but seeing the same inconsistency in Pittsburgh's numbers makes me accept that PP% is probably subject to volatility.

I always seen it like that and in my views skill doesn't equal a good PP%, despite that I have been reading the opposite a lot on this board. Doesn't make it true. First it depends on many factors like luck, opposition goaltending, opposition PK, etc. but one big factor is the complementarity of the players deployed. You can't have too many players like Spezza or Karlsson who complicate things very often. Sure, they end up getting it done because they are elite but you need cohesion and sometimes the simple play instead of looking for the perfect play.