Batis
Registered User
The ability to kill off time on the clock by keeping the puck away from your opponents while penalty killing is one that has always impressed me. The Soviet penalty killing system was to a certain degree built around puck possession and Soviet hockey history saw its fair share of players who excelled at this specific skill but in my opinion the most shining example of this is the members of the Green Unit. Over the last couple of months I have watched a large number of Soviet national team and CSKA Moscow games from the 80s with a focus on the penalty killing of the members on the Green Unit and I will here present a large number of examples of them keeping puck possesion while penalty killing.
The main penalty killers on the Green Unit were the Fetisov-Kasatonov pairing on defence and Krutov-Makarov as forwards. Larionov was the stand in penalty killer on the Krutov-Makarov "pairing" and would replace one of Krutov and Makarov when they were injured or in the penalty box. And at times he would replace one of them even without them being injured or in the box. But the main penalty killing forwards on the unit was clearly Krutov and Makarov. What made this penalty killing unit so special was in my opinion that they both could keep puck possession as a unit by passing the puck between each other but also keep puck possession individually by skating and deking with the puck.
Here we have Krutov, Makarov, Fetisov and Kasatonov killing a penalty against the Quebec Nordiques during the 85/86 Super Series. From the time Krutov intercepts the missed pass from the Nordique defenceman in the neutral zone until the referee blows the whistle the unit kills off almost 30 seconds of penalty time with a combination of passing and skating. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmOBYdu2DFQ&t=28m17s
This next clip is from the 1987 Rendezvous and Krutov, Makarov, Fetisov and Kasatonov kills off more than 30 seconds against a powerplay unit with Gretzky, Kurri, Messier, Bourque and Wilson. Pretty incredible stuff in my opinion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZW9eEqtQ_U&t=65m57s
Here we have Makarov, Larionov, Fetisov and Konstantinov against the Hartford Whalers during the 88/89 Super Series. They kill off about 25 seconds on the clock with puck possesion before Makarov makes the Whalers draw a penalty and lose their man-advantage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9c6Q5vSvvQ&t=24m8s
A more famous clip. Here is the brilliant shorthanded goal that the Krutov-Makarov combination scored against Canada at the 1987 Canada Cup. And yes the opponents were Gretzky, Lemieux, Messier, Bourque and Coffey. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeIsITzLz1s&t=64m11s
Here we have Makarov, Larionov, Fetisov and Kasatonov against Czechoslovakia during the 1987 WHC. They kill off about 25 seconds on the clock. Unfortunately the camera man decides to film Krutov on the bench for a couple of seconds so we miss the play that happens just before Fetisovs rush at the end. But look at Makarovs skating. It looks so effortless when he accelerates around the defenceman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcNxp8qj3Hk&t=91m2s
This is from the semifinal game between the Soviets and Canada at the 1984 Canada Cup. Krutov and Larionov is out there against the likes of Gretzky, Bossy, Bourque and Robinson. Pretty nifty stickhandling from Krutov here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E94QdnpoAMI&t=28m54s
Here is a clip from Game 1 of the Soviet-Canada final series at the 1987 Canada Cup. Makarov, Khomutov and Fetisov combines to kill some time and create a scoring chance. Makarovs skating and stickhandling is once again on display here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FeJ3lCpU6U&t=57m30s
Here we have Makarov, Larionov, Fetisov and Starikov against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 88/89 Super Series. They hold on to the puck for almost 30 seconds here too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqKE0XCxxQ8&t=76m9s
Krutov, Makarov, Fetisov and Gusarov keeps the puck away from Team Canada for about 20 seconds at the 1988 Olympics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRd7hLrsRQ0&t=65m58s
As some of you may have noticed the 3 players who were the most capable of holding on to the puck on a individual level by skating around with it was Fetisov, Makarov and Krutov. And in my opinion the most skilled in this department was Makarov. Here we have some more examples of him killing off time on his own.
This clip is from before the birth of the Green Unit (both Makarov and Kasatonov was on the ice though) at the 79/80 Super Series. Makarov uses both his stickhandling and skating to keep the puck away from the Quebec Nordiques at the end of a boxplay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ACzSWmGQqo&t=26m57s
Here Makarov is killing off time by himself against the Gretzky, Kurri, Messier, Bourque and Wilson unit for about 15 seconds before Wilson takes him down. Also watch Makarov coming back and pokechecking the puck away from Gretzky just after. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZW9eEqtQ_U&t=88m36s
Like the commentator says here Makarov does an excellent job of ragging the puck and killing time against Sweden at the 1987 Canada Cup. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u06yewzXc1I&t=18m26s
So coming back to the play of the entire unit one thing that struck me when watching the games focused on the penalty killing was how the members of the Green Unit never lost their composure even the few times when they made mistakes by being overconstructive on the penalty kill. In fact when they made a mistake they pretty much always came back during the same shift and created a scoring chance or even scored a shorthanded goal. Here is some examples of this.
Here we have Krutov, Makarov, Fetisov and Kasatonov on the penalty kill against West Germany at the 1987 WHC. First Kasatonov fans on a pass while trying to keep possesion instead of getting the puck deep which gives Germany a chance but then Makarov recovers the puck in the corner and makes a good rush to get the puck deep with help from Krutov. When Germany tries to make another rush Krutov backchecks and wins the puck for Fetisov who passes it to Makarov. Then Makarov skates the puck up the ice and protects it in the corner before he finds Kasatonov in the slot who passes it to Bykov (who just came onto the ice when Krutov changed) for a shorhanded goal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTDDs3ad69A&t=61m40s
Here Makarov, Krutov and Fetisov makes some great plays to keep possesion but in the end it becomes overconstructive and Makarovs pass to Fetisov gets intercepted and Ruzicka gets a chance to move in on the Soviet net but the Soviets manage to recover the puck and instead of just throwing it away in panic after what happened they hold on to the puck again and Krutov gets a scoring chance at the other end after a brilliant pass from Kasatonov. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDrSAm2OhKg&t=48m19s
Here is another example of where the unit recovered after a mistake. Fetisov makes a really strange pass to Kasatonov back in his own zone when Kasatonov already is covered by a swedish player. But Kasatonov and Makarov manages to recover the puck and pass it to Fetisov who rushes up ice and takes a slapshot towards the swedish net. This is from a game against Sweden during the 83/84 season. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vweTp2-mAQE&t=38m28s
Here Fetisov makes a risky move at the beggining but get the right bounce. Look at the rest of the shift though. Great puck-movement from the unit again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTDDs3ad69A&t=105m28s
Here Makarov is abit overconstructive against Team Canada at the 1987 Canada Cup and Lemieux can keep the puck in the offensive zone but Makarov quickly recovers and forces a turnover against Messier and scores a shorthanded goal against Fuhr. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FeJ3lCpU6U&t=40m30s
What I believe to be one of the main reasons for the Green Units success when it comes to keeping puck possession while penalty killing was the breakout speed of Krutov and Makarov. My impression is that the teams where so scared of the speed of the two wingers which made it easier for them to turn back and kill time. Here we have some other examples of quick counter attacks and shorthanded goals from the unit.
Here Makarov gets a shorthanded breakaway against Edmonton Oilers at the 85/86 Super Series when he gets into a footrace with Kurri. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xQAQyiLbyY&t=71m45s
Krutov scores a shorthanded goal against Sweden at the 1987 Canada Cup. Look at how he controlls the rolling puck at top speed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u06yewzXc1I&t=49m25s
Makarov scores a great shorthanded goal against USA at the 1985 WHC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyLkjl25ueE&t=95m10s
Krutov gets a breakaway against Czechoslovakia at the 1985 WHC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDrSAm2OhKg&t=68m59s
Makarov makes a good move on a quick counterattack against Czechoslovakia at the 1983 WHC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-a8aR_vkcc&t=4m56s
Here is another shorthanded goal. Makarov steals the puck and gets it to Krutov who combines with Kasatonov before scoring against USA at the 1987 Canada Cup. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFsfKFGuHoE&t=99m26s
I have some other clips too which I will post later but I think that this is enough for today. Anyway like you can see in these clips the members of the Green Unit could at times turn penalty killing into real entertainment. And it did not seem to matter who the opponent were because the Green Unit could play keep-away while penalty killing against anyone.
The main penalty killers on the Green Unit were the Fetisov-Kasatonov pairing on defence and Krutov-Makarov as forwards. Larionov was the stand in penalty killer on the Krutov-Makarov "pairing" and would replace one of Krutov and Makarov when they were injured or in the penalty box. And at times he would replace one of them even without them being injured or in the box. But the main penalty killing forwards on the unit was clearly Krutov and Makarov. What made this penalty killing unit so special was in my opinion that they both could keep puck possession as a unit by passing the puck between each other but also keep puck possession individually by skating and deking with the puck.
Here we have Krutov, Makarov, Fetisov and Kasatonov killing a penalty against the Quebec Nordiques during the 85/86 Super Series. From the time Krutov intercepts the missed pass from the Nordique defenceman in the neutral zone until the referee blows the whistle the unit kills off almost 30 seconds of penalty time with a combination of passing and skating. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmOBYdu2DFQ&t=28m17s
This next clip is from the 1987 Rendezvous and Krutov, Makarov, Fetisov and Kasatonov kills off more than 30 seconds against a powerplay unit with Gretzky, Kurri, Messier, Bourque and Wilson. Pretty incredible stuff in my opinion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZW9eEqtQ_U&t=65m57s
Here we have Makarov, Larionov, Fetisov and Konstantinov against the Hartford Whalers during the 88/89 Super Series. They kill off about 25 seconds on the clock with puck possesion before Makarov makes the Whalers draw a penalty and lose their man-advantage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9c6Q5vSvvQ&t=24m8s
A more famous clip. Here is the brilliant shorthanded goal that the Krutov-Makarov combination scored against Canada at the 1987 Canada Cup. And yes the opponents were Gretzky, Lemieux, Messier, Bourque and Coffey. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeIsITzLz1s&t=64m11s
Here we have Makarov, Larionov, Fetisov and Kasatonov against Czechoslovakia during the 1987 WHC. They kill off about 25 seconds on the clock. Unfortunately the camera man decides to film Krutov on the bench for a couple of seconds so we miss the play that happens just before Fetisovs rush at the end. But look at Makarovs skating. It looks so effortless when he accelerates around the defenceman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcNxp8qj3Hk&t=91m2s
This is from the semifinal game between the Soviets and Canada at the 1984 Canada Cup. Krutov and Larionov is out there against the likes of Gretzky, Bossy, Bourque and Robinson. Pretty nifty stickhandling from Krutov here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E94QdnpoAMI&t=28m54s
Here is a clip from Game 1 of the Soviet-Canada final series at the 1987 Canada Cup. Makarov, Khomutov and Fetisov combines to kill some time and create a scoring chance. Makarovs skating and stickhandling is once again on display here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FeJ3lCpU6U&t=57m30s
Here we have Makarov, Larionov, Fetisov and Starikov against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 88/89 Super Series. They hold on to the puck for almost 30 seconds here too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqKE0XCxxQ8&t=76m9s
Krutov, Makarov, Fetisov and Gusarov keeps the puck away from Team Canada for about 20 seconds at the 1988 Olympics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRd7hLrsRQ0&t=65m58s
As some of you may have noticed the 3 players who were the most capable of holding on to the puck on a individual level by skating around with it was Fetisov, Makarov and Krutov. And in my opinion the most skilled in this department was Makarov. Here we have some more examples of him killing off time on his own.
This clip is from before the birth of the Green Unit (both Makarov and Kasatonov was on the ice though) at the 79/80 Super Series. Makarov uses both his stickhandling and skating to keep the puck away from the Quebec Nordiques at the end of a boxplay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ACzSWmGQqo&t=26m57s
Here Makarov is killing off time by himself against the Gretzky, Kurri, Messier, Bourque and Wilson unit for about 15 seconds before Wilson takes him down. Also watch Makarov coming back and pokechecking the puck away from Gretzky just after. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZW9eEqtQ_U&t=88m36s
Like the commentator says here Makarov does an excellent job of ragging the puck and killing time against Sweden at the 1987 Canada Cup. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u06yewzXc1I&t=18m26s
So coming back to the play of the entire unit one thing that struck me when watching the games focused on the penalty killing was how the members of the Green Unit never lost their composure even the few times when they made mistakes by being overconstructive on the penalty kill. In fact when they made a mistake they pretty much always came back during the same shift and created a scoring chance or even scored a shorthanded goal. Here is some examples of this.
Here we have Krutov, Makarov, Fetisov and Kasatonov on the penalty kill against West Germany at the 1987 WHC. First Kasatonov fans on a pass while trying to keep possesion instead of getting the puck deep which gives Germany a chance but then Makarov recovers the puck in the corner and makes a good rush to get the puck deep with help from Krutov. When Germany tries to make another rush Krutov backchecks and wins the puck for Fetisov who passes it to Makarov. Then Makarov skates the puck up the ice and protects it in the corner before he finds Kasatonov in the slot who passes it to Bykov (who just came onto the ice when Krutov changed) for a shorhanded goal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTDDs3ad69A&t=61m40s
Here Makarov, Krutov and Fetisov makes some great plays to keep possesion but in the end it becomes overconstructive and Makarovs pass to Fetisov gets intercepted and Ruzicka gets a chance to move in on the Soviet net but the Soviets manage to recover the puck and instead of just throwing it away in panic after what happened they hold on to the puck again and Krutov gets a scoring chance at the other end after a brilliant pass from Kasatonov. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDrSAm2OhKg&t=48m19s
Here is another example of where the unit recovered after a mistake. Fetisov makes a really strange pass to Kasatonov back in his own zone when Kasatonov already is covered by a swedish player. But Kasatonov and Makarov manages to recover the puck and pass it to Fetisov who rushes up ice and takes a slapshot towards the swedish net. This is from a game against Sweden during the 83/84 season. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vweTp2-mAQE&t=38m28s
Here Fetisov makes a risky move at the beggining but get the right bounce. Look at the rest of the shift though. Great puck-movement from the unit again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTDDs3ad69A&t=105m28s
Here Makarov is abit overconstructive against Team Canada at the 1987 Canada Cup and Lemieux can keep the puck in the offensive zone but Makarov quickly recovers and forces a turnover against Messier and scores a shorthanded goal against Fuhr. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FeJ3lCpU6U&t=40m30s
What I believe to be one of the main reasons for the Green Units success when it comes to keeping puck possession while penalty killing was the breakout speed of Krutov and Makarov. My impression is that the teams where so scared of the speed of the two wingers which made it easier for them to turn back and kill time. Here we have some other examples of quick counter attacks and shorthanded goals from the unit.
Here Makarov gets a shorthanded breakaway against Edmonton Oilers at the 85/86 Super Series when he gets into a footrace with Kurri. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xQAQyiLbyY&t=71m45s
Krutov scores a shorthanded goal against Sweden at the 1987 Canada Cup. Look at how he controlls the rolling puck at top speed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u06yewzXc1I&t=49m25s
Makarov scores a great shorthanded goal against USA at the 1985 WHC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyLkjl25ueE&t=95m10s
Krutov gets a breakaway against Czechoslovakia at the 1985 WHC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDrSAm2OhKg&t=68m59s
Makarov makes a good move on a quick counterattack against Czechoslovakia at the 1983 WHC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-a8aR_vkcc&t=4m56s
Here is another shorthanded goal. Makarov steals the puck and gets it to Krutov who combines with Kasatonov before scoring against USA at the 1987 Canada Cup. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFsfKFGuHoE&t=99m26s
I have some other clips too which I will post later but I think that this is enough for today. Anyway like you can see in these clips the members of the Green Unit could at times turn penalty killing into real entertainment. And it did not seem to matter who the opponent were because the Green Unit could play keep-away while penalty killing against anyone.
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