The Power Play

[Isles Junkie]

The line combo thread seems to just be about the even strength lines so that's why I'm posting this here. It won't be anything earth shattering or profound, but it's amazing capuano/weight haven't fixed this yet.

#1 - Put John Tavares on the right side & leave him there.
#2 - Take Andrew MacDonald off of the PP all together. Not only is he not a good PP QB, but I firmly believe that because he's getting all this PP time, it's actually wearing him out. If you take away the 5 or so minutes of PP time per night, then perhaps he'll be fresher to actually play some solid defense (something he hasn't done all season)
#3 - Put de Haan on the first unit PP. This is one of the reasons we drafted him. It's time we started putting him in a position to succeed offensively. Hell I wouldn't even mind Ness in this spot who also was drafted for his offense
#4 - Since #2 & #3 obviously won't happen, how about we just stop with this umbrella PP. I realize that the entire league has adopted this, but with our shooters missing the net 9 times out of 10, all that's happening is the puck is rimming around the boards & going out at the point where no one is covering. Strome has played point in his career. Okposo has also. I'd also LOVE to see Hamonic on the left side on the PP so he can 1 time the puck. the passing around the perimeter stuff isn't working for us. Yet game after game they keep sending the same unit with the same philosophy out there.

I've never seen a coaching staff so unable to adapt to the situation as this coaching staff. I'm not asking for Steve Stirling wholesale levels of changes on a minute to minute basis, but holy hell, try something else, this clearly isn't working nearly as well as it ought to be.

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[Islanderfan17]

A-Mac is horrendous on the PP and has been pretty horrendous at everything else in general. My biggest pet peeve with him is that he does the classic Mark Streit take the puck up the ice in slow motion, making everything you do from that point extremely predictable, which not only kills time in and of itself but allows the other team to key in on whatever move is made really easily.

Don't even get me started at how much he sucks when we're actually IN their zone on the PP.

De Haan should without a doubt be on the PP with JT and company, it's ridiculous that he isn't.

 

[On Edge]

The line combo thread seems to just be about the even strength lines so that's why I'm posting this here. It won't be anything earth shattering or profound, but it's amazing capuano/weight haven't fixed this yet.

#1 - Put John Tavares on the right side & leave him there.
#2 - Take Andrew MacDonald off of the PP all together. Not only is he not a good PP QB, but I firmly believe that because he's getting all this PP time, it's actually wearing him out. If you take away the 5 or so minutes of PP time per night, then perhaps he'll be fresher to actually play some solid defense (something he hasn't done all season)
#3 - Put de Haan on the first unit PP. This is one of the reasons we drafted him. It's time we started putting him in a position to succeed offensively. Hell I wouldn't even mind Ness in this spot who also was drafted for his offense
#4 - Since #2 & #3 obviously won't happen, how about we just stop with this umbrella PP. I realize that the entire league has adopted this, but with our shooters missing the net 9 times out of 10, all that's happening is the puck is rimming around the boards & going out at the point where no one is covering. Strome has played point in his career. Okposo has also. I'd also LOVE to see Hamonic on the left side on the PP so he can 1 time the puck. the passing around the perimeter stuff isn't working for us. Yet game after game they keep sending the same unit with the same philosophy out there.

I've never seen a coaching staff so unable to adapt to the situation as this coaching staff. I'm not asking for Steve Stirling wholesale levels of changes on a minute to minute basis, but holy hell, try something else, this clearly isn't working nearly as well as it ought to be.

Exactly right and that you are actually talking about a common sense change that Capuano probably would never even consider because it is sensible!

 

[Tavares2TheRescue]

The most important of all of these things is #2. Every time the puck goes to AMac the play just dies immediately.

 

[MJP]

Amac has not had a great year defensively as he is being over utilized, but he has done nothing wrong on the PP. He is our only dman who is capable of carrying the puck into their zone, he has hands, and he is also our only dman who is able to put a shot on net. Unlike streit, he actually shoots and he does have an above average shot. deHaan had 3 points in 17 AHL games and was a -5. To suggest putting him on the #1 unit, knowing we only use 1 defenseman, is very capuanoish. Andy is not even close to the reason our PP is not working.

 

[Incarnadine Sea]

Amac has not had a great year defensively as he is being over utilized, but he has done nothing wrong on the PP. He is our only dman who is capable of carrying the puck into their zone, he has hands, and he is also our only dman who is able to put a shot on net. Unlike streit, he actually shoots and he does have an above average shot. deHaan had 3 points in 17 AHL games and was a -5. To suggest putting him on the #1 unit, knowing we only use 1 defenseman, is very capuanoish. Andy is not even close to the reason our PP is not working.

I disagree about Amac, but I think we can all agree that the PP is terrible. Why does Capuano refuse to make changes?

 

[Frankie41987]

Amac has not had a great year defensively as he is being over utilized, but he has done nothing wrong on the PP. He is our only dman who is capable of carrying the puck into their zone, he has hands, and he is also our only dman who is able to put a shot on net. Unlike streit, he actually shoots and he does have an above average shot. deHaan had 3 points in 17 AHL games and was a -5. To suggest putting him on the #1 unit, knowing we only use 1 defenseman, is very capuanoish. Andy is not even close to the reason our PP is not working.

The problem with Amac is his is about a second too slow which leads to about half of his shots being blocked. Have you not noticed that? It's not coincidence, and it doesn't make him a bad defensemen but it certainly doesn't help our PP.

 

[MJP]

I disagree about Amac, but I think we can all agree that the PP is terrible. Why does Capuano refuse to make changes?

Bc he is an awful coach. That's my only explanation at least.

And who else could we put on the PP? Hamonic who thinks hes Bobby Orr, we'd give up so many shorthanded breakaways. Same if it was Hickey or Ness too. Also they don't have bombs. While some of his shots might get blocked, he still gets the puck on net. PP's are successful when you generate rebounds, Hamonic firing nowhere near the net won't help.

 

[Incarnadine Sea]

Bc he is an awful coach. That's my only explanation at least.

And who else could we put on the PP? Hamonic who thinks hes Bobby Orr, we'd give up so many shorthanded breakaways. Same if it was Hickey or Ness too. Also they don't have bombs. While some of his shots might get blocked, he still gets the puck on net. PP's are successful when you generate rebounds, Hamonic firing nowhere near the net won't help.

Well, whether amac is the problem or not, he's going to be the PP quarterback until visnovsky returns. Vis is the ONLY good option on the PP. Amac, Hickey, Hamonic, Ness...they're all bad options. Amac may be the best option out of all of those, but he's still bad and a major problem for the PP. I can't wait until Vis returns.

 

[MJP]

Well, whether amac is the problem or not, he's going to be the PP quarterback until visnovsky returns. Vis is the ONLY good option on the PP. Amac, Hickey, Hamonic, Ness...they're all bad options. Amac may be the best option out of all of those, but he's still bad and a major problem for the PP. I can't wait until Vis returns.

Yea there's no doubt Vis is missed. I wanted to try to get Liles b/c hes was stuck down in the A on the Marlies, great puck mover and a good veteran presence, would have fit perfectly on our PP, but Garth/Wang will never do that. They'd rather pay for ****heads like PMB or Clutterbuck. Things that won't actually help our team.

 

[Kevin27NYI]

I would drop the umbrella, work more around the corners down low.

Also, hell no to Hamonic. Don't need him ripping it into the shins of PKers and then have it out of the zone.

 

[Sheva7]

And who else could we put on the PP?

are you joking?

 

[MJP]

are you joking?

umm no?

 

[It Was 4 to 1*]

none of our dmen have good shots. i'd put de haan on the pp because he can pass adeptly and is a great skater. i think okposo has the best shot from the point on the team now

 

[Tavares2TheRescue]

Amac has not had a great year defensively as he is being over utilized, but he has done nothing wrong on the PP. He is our only dman who is capable of carrying the puck into their zone, he has hands, and he is also our only dman who is able to put a shot on net. Unlike streit, he actually shoots and he does have an above average shot. deHaan had 3 points in 17 AHL games and was a -5. To suggest putting him on the #1 unit, knowing we only use 1 defenseman, is very capuanoish. Andy is not even close to the reason our PP is not working.

Are you even watching the games?

Defensemen that can move the puck better than Andrew MacDonald:

• Calvin de Haan
• Aaron Ness
• Travis Hamonic
• Thomas Hickey
• Possibly Brian Strait

Not to mention, his shot is horrendous. This season, he has attempted 132 shots, and hit the net on just 46 of them. That means 65% of the shots he takes are either blocked or miss the net. And on the off chance he does hit the net, it's not likely to go in, as evidenced by his meager 6.5 shooting %.

 

[MaryChristine*]

Are you even watching the games?

Defenseman that can move the puck better than Andrew MacDonald:

• Calvin de Haan
• Aaron Ness
• Travis Hamonic
• Thomas Hickey
• Possibly Brian Strait

Ditto

 

[MaryChristine*]

Amac has not had a great year defensively as he is being over utilized, but he has done nothing wrong on the PP. He is our only dman who is capable of carrying the puck into their zone, he has hands, and he is also our only dman who is able to put a shot on net. Unlike streit, he actually shoots and he does have an above average shot. deHaan had 3 points in 17 AHL games and was a -5. To suggest putting him on the #1 unit, knowing we only use 1 defenseman, is very capuanoish. Andy is not even close to the reason our PP is not working.

wth? On what planet does AMAC have an above average shot? HE HAS HANDS?!
Mind... Blown

 

[MJP]

Are you even watching the games?

Defensemen that can move the puck better than Andrew MacDonald:

• Calvin de Haan
• Aaron Ness
• Travis Hamonic
• Thomas Hickey
• Possibly Brian Strait

Not to mention, his shot is horrendous. This season, he has attempted 132 shots, and hit the net on just 46 of them. That means 65% of the shots he takes are either blocked or miss the net. And on the off chance he does hit the net, it's not likely to go in, as evidenced by his meager 6.5 shooting %.

Defenseman who constantly get burned by jumping in on the play and giving up odd man rushes
-Aaron Ness
-Travis Hamonic
-Thomas Hickey

Ill have nothing against deHaan, just don't see it smart to play a guy whose played a handful of professional games on the first PP unit where there it only 1 defenseman. His -17 in the AHL doesn't help either.

Also I guess you didn't bother to look up the rest of our defenseman's shooting %?

In the Montreal game this weekend, we had a 4 on 1, puck got dropped back to Strait, and he took a slapshot from the middle of the circles, missing the net and blowing a golden opportunity.

Yup, I'll continue to roll with Amac. I don't think hes a great PPqb, but he's currently our best option.

 

[MJP]

wth? On what planet does AMAC have an above average shot? HE HAS HANDS?!
Mind... Blown

When you compare him to the rest of our current defensemen

 

[MikeT98213]

The power play sucks because we do not have any defensemen who can even remotely fill the role of power play QB. The losses of Viz and Streit have had a dramatic impact on the PP as well as the offense in general. Is there any team in the league getting less offense from the backline? Unfortunately, none of these guys are even capable of filling that role.

In my mind they need to promote Donovan and demote Ness (or simply waive Carkner). Donovan is the only defenseman they have at both the NHL and AHL level that has the capacity to run the power play, the instincts to lead and join the rush and the shot to get through the defense. They will have to live with some defensive mistakes and some offensive overzealousness but, given where the team is, this is clearly the time to bring Matty back and coach those mistakes out of him.

 

[GrandmaSlices51631]

Put Grabner on the powerplay!!! We could use that kind of speed, let him play one of the points....

Logic: He can chase down loose pucks and keep them in our O Zone & hes security in the event we allow a fast break on the PP. We've allowed a couple horrendus short handed goals because our guys in back weren't fast enough to contest.

He hasn't seen 20 minutes of ice time in his past 5 games and we know hes got some energy. Everyone here seems to sleep on Grabner, you forget hes scored 34 goals in a season. Cappy scratching him and benching him is obviously affecting his confidence. In addition to that, he may not be one to pull the weight of the team but he is good at what he does and that's complementing others game (JT,KO,etc.) except the lack of opportunityto do so has resulted in 8 points thus far.

 

[bigtim1988]

The line combo thread seems to just be about the even strength lines so that's why I'm posting this here. It won't be anything earth shattering or profound, but it's amazing capuano/weight haven't fixed this yet.

#1 - Put John Tavares on the right side & leave him there.
#2 - Take Andrew MacDonald off of the PP all together. Not only is he not a good PP QB, but I firmly believe that because he's getting all this PP time, it's actually wearing him out. If you take away the 5 or so minutes of PP time per night, then perhaps he'll be fresher to actually play some solid defense (something he hasn't done all season)
#3 - Put de Haan on the first unit PP. This is one of the reasons we drafted him. It's time we started putting him in a position to succeed offensively. Hell I wouldn't even mind Ness in this spot who also was drafted for his offense
#4 - Since #2 & #3 obviously won't happen, how about we just stop with this umbrella PP. I realize that the entire league has adopted this, but with our shooters missing the net 9 times out of 10, all that's happening is the puck is rimming around the boards & going out at the point where no one is covering. Strome has played point in his career. Okposo has also. I'd also LOVE to see Hamonic on the left side on the PP so he can 1 time the puck. the passing around the perimeter stuff isn't working for us. Yet game after game they keep sending the same unit with the same philosophy out there.

I've never seen a coaching staff so unable to adapt to the situation as this coaching staff. I'm not asking for Steve Stirling wholesale levels of changes on a minute to minute basis, but holy hell, try something else, this clearly isn't working nearly as well as it ought to be.

I agree with the bolded parts, and somewhat agree with #3. the collapsing umbrella pp is not working at all, jt is money on the right side, and Amac isnt a PP QB. ugh just visualizing it is getting me aggravated, the powerplay as a whole seems useless because of these deficiencies

 

[Frankie41987]

Defenseman who constantly get burned by jumping in on the play and giving up odd man rushes
-Aaron Ness
-Travis Hamonic
-Thomas Hickey

Ill have nothing against deHaan, just don't see it smart to play a guy whose played a handful of professional games on the first PP unit where there it only 1 defenseman. His -17 in the AHL doesn't help either.

Also I guess you didn't bother to look up the rest of our defenseman's shooting %?

In the Montreal game this weekend, we had a 4 on 1, puck got dropped back to Strait, and he took a slapshot from the middle of the circles, missing the net and blowing a golden opportunity.

Yup, I'll continue to roll with Amac. I don't think hes a great PPqb, but he's currently our best option.

So you want Amac on the power play because of his defensive game? I agree that those guys get burned when jumping into the play more often than they should. The power play is different though, we are looking for our D man to be at the point and move the puck and put shots on net (something Amac has arguably had trouble doing). With 4 forwards on the ice, the Dman is rarely going to be pinching down low. On the power play there will be more turnovers/clears/breakaways from shots being blocked and the puck being mishandled than simply getting burned by opposing players. In that regard, i would actually trust a guy like de haan or even possibly hickey over Amac.

 

[SI90]

I would like to see as a 1st unit

----------[ ]----------
---------Vanek--------

Strome---- ------Tavares


----Okposo. de Haan-----

 

[Strome18]

We have a PP unit? REALLY?
I know we have no PK unit!
Coach, what coach? We have an intern, learning on the job.