Line Combos: Should the Leafs split up the PP units?

Should the Leafs split of the PP units?


  • Total voters
    48

PuckMagi

Registered User
Apr 13, 2013
5,459
1,965
Toronto
Only Babcock would stack one unit, and then constantly put that unit out second.

Stack one unit. Let they play minimum 90 seconds per PP (ideally, they play the full 2 minutes). I don't care if they are tired when they draw the penalty... the top unit should start every PP from now on.
 
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Mr Hockey

Toronto
May 11, 2017
11,156
3,660
Only Babcock would stack one unit, and then constantly put that unit out second.

Stack one unit. Let they play minimum 90 seconds per PP (ideally, they play the full 2 minutes). I don't care if they are tired when they draw the penalty... the top unit should start every PP from now on.

a tired line is a useless line, have you never played hockey? lol
 

member 147413

Guest
Take Kadri off unit 1

Matthews - Tavares - Nylander
Rielly - Marner

Kapanen - Kadri - Marleau
Gardiner - Johnsson

Never gonna happen though
 

BorntoLose

Registered User
Nov 4, 2014
1,398
450
just review the tape and make adjustments to how teams have adjusted to them. nothing wrong with a little adversity its not like the Tampa/Pitt units which have so much experience playing together this units still relatively getting used to each other. Doesnt help that we have the lowest PP time in the league.
 

Coachcorner

Senor Martinez
Sep 28, 2017
6,285
4,989
Defnitely not sire. We needs that one killa hill PP that gets them scared and done. It's always, always the best way and the one way ticket. Put the best personel out there and light that thang up byg time.
 

Maplebeasts

I See Demons!!!!!
Oct 26, 2014
20,706
12,323
Barrie, Ontario
No they just need to demote Kadri to unit 2, move Nylander up and have Kapanen take over for Ennis on Unit 2. The top unit has become predictable, no thanks to Kadri being nothing but a decoy. Putting Nylander where he offers another option in that he can both pass and shoot with the best on the team.
 

IPS

Registered User
Sep 28, 2017
15,462
24,488
A weak-side shooting threat is the most obvious thing lacking on the PP. No f***ing clue why this hasn't been fixed yet. If it ever does get rectified, watch the magic happen. Running a 1-3-1 PP without a shooter on his weak side is just so annoying to watch.
 
Last edited:

TheMadHatTrick

Registered User
Nov 2, 2008
6,631
2,676
I move Johnsson or Kappy to Kadri's spot (probably Mango as he's a lefty and a better tipper). Switch Gardiner with Rielly from time to time to give them a different look from the point.
 

TheMadHatTrick

Registered User
Nov 2, 2008
6,631
2,676
They've become predictable .

Bingo. They have exactly three plays:

-Marner through the cross seam to Kadri or Matthews.
-Matthews just shoots it.
-Marner passes down low to Tavares who passes to Kadri in the middle.

Teams have cut off the cross seam pass by stacking 1-1-2 instead of the 2-2 box formation on the PK.

To counter this Marner needs to shoot more (as he did last night), and Rielly has to be more of a threat to shoot from the point.
 

LeafingTheWay

Registered User
May 31, 2014
6,726
1,855
Bingo. They have exactly three plays:

-Marner through the cross seam to Kadri or Matthews.
-Matthews just shoots it.
-Marner passes down low to Tavares who passes to Kadri in the middle.

Teams have cut off the cross seam pass by stacking 1-1-2 instead of the 2-2 box formation on the PK.

To counter this Marner needs to shoot more (as he did last night), and Rielly has to be more of a threat to shoot from the point.

Or just replace Marner with Nylander.

Nylander can do what Marner does on the PP (his vision for the Tavares/Kadri tips aren't as good but still) + has a lethal shot.
 

LeafingTheWay

Registered User
May 31, 2014
6,726
1,855
Only Babcock would stack one unit, and then constantly put that unit out second.

Stack one unit. Let they play minimum 90 seconds per PP (ideally, they play the full 2 minutes). I don't care if they are tired when they draw the penalty... the top unit should start every PP from now on.

That's not how it works ...

This isnt NHL 19 where you can play your players non-stop.

Our top unit draws penalties like crazy. That's why Babcock plays the 2nd PP a lot. 4 of our top-6 penalty drawers are on our PP1 (32 penatlies drawn). If you look at Washington, they only have 2 for a combined 9 penatlies. Their non-star players draw a lot of penalties, which is why WSH PP plays a LOT of minutes.

^ The solution is to split the PP units. In my opinion, it's a good idea. We have the star talent to do it, and it would make us better.
 

TakeTheBody

Registered User
Jan 10, 2018
2,106
1,486
The PP aka our enforcer has become predictable?

Sounds like all the other enforcers in the league.

The two or three that remain anyways.....
 

Prospero

Registered User
Feb 23, 2013
290
97
Buffalo
Scottie Bowman was effusive in his praise on 1050 last Friday for the Leafs Powerplay.

I think Tavares is just doing JVR's job beside the net, directing Marner's slap-passes cross-crease or deflecting them. The money shot position is in Mathews spot. I'd like to see JT play that on the 2nd unit with Nylander, and if he's better than AM, that's greatness.
 

Prospero

Registered User
Feb 23, 2013
290
97
Buffalo
Mathews and Marner could switch positions any 2 games, and duck any opponent for a bit.

Same in Nylader and Tavares' new positions.
 

Optimist

Wendel and I
Feb 16, 2015
1,213
1,995
Ontario Canada
We have too much dipsy doodling on our power play. We don't have a guy that will one time the shot. Laine and Ovechkin thrive on the one timer and are two of the best goal scorers in the league. Stamkos got a beauty tonight where his stick was raised in the air for the shot well before the puck got to him. Why don't we ever do that? Apparently it works.
 
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zeke

The Dube Abides
Mar 14, 2005
66,937
36,957
They should do the opposite - they should stack the top unit even more (by putting Willy in there in stead of Kadri), and then play that top unit even more.
 

Havoc

Registered User
Jul 25, 2009
7,271
7,483
Hate to say it but Kadri has not brought his elite skillset this season.

He doesn't look when he passes. Most of his passes are to no one and he's struggling to thread the needle.

It's confusing because he has elite hands but is playing very low IQ offensive hockey. It's been frustrating watching him kill play after play as if he's taking notes from Marleau.

Put Nylander and let the big 3 take over like they've done since we drafted them.
 

m1ker

Registered User
Apr 11, 2014
894
666
Nylander shoots right so put him where Matthews is. Matthews where Reilly is. Good luck blocking the cross ice pass.
 

inthe6ix

Registered User
Oct 3, 2008
5,497
1,870
Toronto, Canada
the 1st unit is fine but it's obvious the book is out and teams are putting constant pressure on our guys attacking them as soon as they touch the puck even if it means sacrificing an odd man on the back side elsewhere

our guys have to do a better job adjusting to the pressure and move the puck faster or move themselves instead of staying in stationary positions waiting for the tip in the slot or down low play with JT trying to do his JVR impression (now that he's gone, it makes me appreciate even more how easy JVR made it look)

how we're not getting more pp's in the first place is boggling, but somehow we also gotta draw more from the refs - we have the speed and talent to get them, but they're not coming... crash the net more instead of playing the perimeter, make them grab us/haul us down
 

DarkKnight

Professional Amateur
Jan 17, 2017
31,321
47,715
We always come full circle, now we want to spread out the talent. LOL. PP will be fine, it's a constant battle of adjustments, we have too many horses to fail.
 

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