Watch the Tape: Rangers Penalty Kill Stinks

[and 99 others]

A lot of the Rangers' recent woes can be blamed on any number of things: Lowest faceoff % in the league, Quinn juggling lines and not having a "system", Jack Johnson existing in general, etc. While all of those are reasonable explanations, I would like to throw one more in the ring - the penalty kill stinks.

After tonight's loss and allowing two more PP goals against Buffalo, the Rangers have the 6th worst PK in the league. Most teams currently use a "1-3-1" / umbrella powerplay setup with 3 guys fanned out up high as one timer threats, one guy as the "bumper" in the slot, and one guy down low in front of the net. (see images below).

The easiest way to defend against the 1-3-1 PP is to use a tight diamond-shaped PK, which blocks the lanes of of the one time options from the point/tops of the circles, while simultaneously staying tight enough to neutralize the bumper option int he middle. The Rangers PK is way too aggressive. The Rangers seem to think their best option is to have the high guy aggressively pressure the puck to force a turnover. And before you guys start with the "hurr durr why is Jack Johnson on the PK" just stop. You could have the league's best defenseman (K'Andre) on the ice and he would still get exposed (he does below) because the forwards are pressing too high.

Note the positioning of the Rangers PK units, moments prior to each of the 6 PP goals allowed this season:

high guy loses shape by pressuring point, forces the defenseman to push out to cover the near-side one timer, leaving the bumper wide open.

Rooney pressed too high up top, Jack Johnson left deciding whether to cover the shot or the one-time opportunity from the bumper.

Zibanejad chased too high, Buchnevich left his side of the ice and lost shape, nobody tracked the Penguins left-winger who is off screen to the left and ends up forcing the puck to the net for an own goal against Lindgren, who essentially was defending a 3-1.

Howden pressed too high. Cross-ice lane is wide open to Hughes, who gets the puck, drives low and feeds another cross-ice pass for an easy tap in.

broken record: high guy chases too high, forces K'andre out to cover Staal's shot, which leaves Trouba alone to pick between the bumper and the guy in front of the net. He chooses to cover the guy in front which leaves Cozens wide open for a one timer.

Rangers were really all over the place on the Eichel goal. Zibanejad chasing trying to get a loose puck, no idea why Jack Johnson came out that high and Buchnevich also chased. A quick pass down low from Dahlin leads to a 2-on-1 chance and Eichel buries an easy one-timer from the slot.

tl;dr - The Rangers are way too aggressive on the pk and it burned them tonight. They've lost 4 straight one goal games and have given up 4 power play goals in that stretch. Every team in this division uses a 1-3-1 PP, the Rangers can't keep playing this aggressively on the PK.

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[Row I Goon]

Damn - great analysis!

 

[LieutenantLackluster]

OP a better coach than Quinn

 

[CasusBelli]

They need a diamond shape to counter Buffalo’s umbrella. That loose box hardly challenges passing lanes, only pressing the puck carrier to offload the puck, via shot or pass. The man down low has no pressure and is free to pick up rebounds. I saw Taylor Hall wide open on the weak side by the net at for at least a few seconds and was shocked that a) no one realized he was there and b) Buffalo didn’t try to pass to him either. We were lucky even with this disastrous performance.

 

[NYSPORTS]

A lot of the Rangers' recent woes can be blamed on any number of things: Lowest faceoff % in the league, Quinn juggling lines and not having a "system", Jack Johnson existing in general, etc. While all of those are reasonable explanations, I would like to throw one more in the ring - the penalty kill stinks.

After tonight's loss and allowing two more PP goals against Buffalo, the Rangers have the 6th worst PK in the league. Most teams currently use a "1-3-1" / umbrella powerplay setup with 3 guys fanned out up high as one timer threats, one guy as the "bumper" in the slot, and one guy down low in front of the net. (see images below).

The easiest way to defend against the 1-3-1 PP is to use a tight diamond-shaped PK, which blocks the lanes of of the one time options from the point/tops of the circles, while simultaneously staying tight enough to neutralize the bumper option int he middle. The Rangers PK is way too aggressive. The Rangers seem to think their best option is to have the high guy aggressively pressure the puck to force a turnover. And before you guys start with the "hurr durr why is Jack Johnson on the PK" just stop. You could have the league's best defenseman (K'Andre) on the ice and he would still get exposed (he does below) because the forwards are pressing too high.

Note the positioning of the Rangers PK units, moments prior to each of the 6 PP goals allowed this season:

high guy loses shape by pressuring point, forces the defenseman to push out to cover the near-side one timer, leaving the bumper wide open.

Rooney pressed too high up top, Jack Johnson left deciding whether to cover the shot or the one-time opportunity from the bumper.

Zibanejad chased too high, Buchnevich left his side of the ice and lost shape, nobody tracked the Penguins left-winger who is off screen to the left and ends up forcing the puck to the net for an own goal against Lindgren, who essentially was defending a 3-1.

Howden pressed too high. Cross-ice lane is wide open to Hughes, who gets the puck, drives low and feeds another cross-ice pass for an easy tap in.

broken record: high guy chases too high, forces K'andre out to cover Staal's shot, which leaves Trouba alone to pick between the bumper and the guy in front of the net. He chooses to cover the guy in front which leaves Cozens wide open for a one timer.

Rangers were really all over the place on the Eichel goal. Zibanejad chasing trying to get a loose puck, no idea why Jack Johnson came out that high and Buchnevich also chased. A quick pass down low from Dahlin leads to a 2-on-1 chance and Eichel buries an easy one-timer from the slot.

tl;dr - The Rangers are way too aggressive on the pk and it burned them tonight. They've lost 4 straight one goal games and have given up 4 power play goals in that stretch. Every team in this division uses a 1-3-1 PP, the Rangers can't keep playing this aggressively on the PK.

thank you

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Would have been more effective with GIFS or video rather than still frames but I appreciate the effort.

 

[NYSPORTS]

Would have been more effective with GIFS or video rather than still frames but I appreciate the effort.

com’on dude lol

 

[Riche16]

As OP points out correctly... there's a lot wrong right now. This for sure is one of them.

Sounds funny but other teams do this to us (correctly) and have nullified our PP fairly well. Those teams have talent as do we, but more importantly they're aggressive while remaining structured.

HUGE difference

 

[Riche16]

Would have been more effective with GIFS or video rather than still frames but I appreciate the effort.

I get your take but you could do what I did and call up each video, refer to the photos and then watch it play out.

Very effective way of seeing what occurs and likely exactly what a video session looks like for the team while reviewing "tape"

(there's no tape, it's digital video but like making a Xerox copy the name sticks lol)

 

[Sayba]

Nothing against Buch, I believe he should be on PP1 and a top 6 player but he isn't a penalty killer on a Stanley Cup contender.

 

[Calad]

As others have noted, we have seen other teams play this to success. We are 6 games into a new PK scheme, I would hope the coaches are aware of this and the players continue to learn. Definitely a lot of work to do

 

[duhmetreE]

A lot of the Rangers' recent woes can be blamed on any number of things: Lowest faceoff % in the league, Quinn juggling lines and not having a "system", Jack Johnson existing in general, etc. While all of those are reasonable explanations, I would like to throw one more in the ring - the penalty kill stinks.

After tonight's loss and allowing two more PP goals against Buffalo, the Rangers have the 6th worst PK in the league. Most teams currently use a "1-3-1" / umbrella powerplay setup with 3 guys fanned out up high as one timer threats, one guy as the "bumper" in the slot, and one guy down low in front of the net. (see images below).

The easiest way to defend against the 1-3-1 PP is to use a tight diamond-shaped PK, which blocks the lanes of of the one time options from the point/tops of the circles, while simultaneously staying tight enough to neutralize the bumper option int he middle. The Rangers PK is way too aggressive. The Rangers seem to think their best option is to have the high guy aggressively pressure the puck to force a turnover. And before you guys start with the "hurr durr why is Jack Johnson on the PK" just stop. You could have the league's best defenseman (K'Andre) on the ice and he would still get exposed (he does below) because the forwards are pressing too high.

Note the positioning of the Rangers PK units, moments prior to each of the 6 PP goals allowed this season:

high guy loses shape by pressuring point, forces the defenseman to push out to cover the near-side one timer, leaving the bumper wide open.

Rooney pressed too high up top, Jack Johnson left deciding whether to cover the shot or the one-time opportunity from the bumper.

Zibanejad chased too high, Buchnevich left his side of the ice and lost shape, nobody tracked the Penguins left-winger who is off screen to the left and ends up forcing the puck to the net for an own goal against Lindgren, who essentially was defending a 3-1.

Howden pressed too high. Cross-ice lane is wide open to Hughes, who gets the puck, drives low and feeds another cross-ice pass for an easy tap in.

broken record: high guy chases too high, forces K'andre out to cover Staal's shot, which leaves Trouba alone to pick between the bumper and the guy in front of the net. He chooses to cover the guy in front which leaves Cozens wide open for a one timer.

Rangers were really all over the place on the Eichel goal. Zibanejad chasing trying to get a loose puck, no idea why Jack Johnson came out that high and Buchnevich also chased. A quick pass down low from Dahlin leads to a 2-on-1 chance and Eichel buries an easy one-timer from the slot.

tl;dr - The Rangers are way too aggressive on the pk and it burned them tonight. They've lost 4 straight one goal games and have given up 4 power play goals in that stretch. Every team in this division uses a 1-3-1 PP, the Rangers can't keep playing this aggressively on the PK.

Our PK practices against our PP. What do we expect.

We should be using a 1-3-1. We have the perfect personnel for it. Instead we telegraph everything and our go to play is to have Zibs wiff on a bad angle shot

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

com’on dude lol

My point is that still images don't really show anything. OP may be right (I haven't gone back to look at this plays), but I saw a Devil fan try to do this while defending Mukimadummy's play during the WJC (but in his case, it was even worse because he took a still shot of a video that was already provided for everyone.)

 

[and 99 others]

Our PK practices against our PP. What do we expect.

We should be using a 1-3-1. We have the perfect personnel for it. Instead we telegraph everything and our go to play is to have Zibs wiff on a bad angle shot

The rangers rotate between a 1-3-1 and an "umbrella" . The main difference with an umbrella over a 1-3-1 is having two guys down low, one at the side of the net and one in front, instead of having the bumper in the middle.

I can't find any clips at the moment but I know I've seen Kreider in the bumper slot with Fox, Panarin, and Strome fanned out up top.

 

[duhmetreE]

The rangers rotate between a 1-3-1 and an "umbrella" . The main difference with an umbrella over a 1-3-1 is having two guys down low, one at the side of the net and one in front, instead of having the bumper in the middle.

I can't find any clips at the moment but I know I've seen Kreider in the bumper slot with Fox, Panarin, and Strome fanned out up top.

Mika needs to be the bumper
Panarin and Buch/Laf need to be in the dots. They are not in shooting angles, they play way too wide and far. ( I'd even let KAM play on the right dot )
ADA needs to be in over fox.

It relies too heavily on Zibs banging in the bad angle shot. Yes, normally he would put some of those in but why is that the only option? A true 1-3-1 would spread it out and make it much harder to defend imo

 

[NYSPORTS]

My point is that still images don't really show anything. OP may be right (I haven't gone back to look at this plays), but I saw a Devil fan try to do this while defending Mukimadummy's play during the WJC (but in his case, it was even worse because he took a still shot of a video that was already provided for everyone.)

i think we can all see the point he’s making although the Pens image looks ok IMO.

A forward is chasing too high is his take. It’s a wait to be covered concept b/c once a guy commits to coming at you somebody else is has to be open. I think the image shows the player is high.

Regardless, the team has a lot of issues.

 

[and 99 others]

i think we can all see the point he’s making although the Pens image looks ok IMO.

A forward is chasing too high is his take. It’s a wait to be covered concept b/c once a guy commits to coming at you somebody else is has to be open. I think the image shows the player is high.

Yeah that one specifically is actually more of a mess than the image makes it look, so to @Uninstaaled 's point here are moving images:


(should be timestamped for 4:10)

For this one, Zibanejad doesn't need to be that high, he's already in Letang's shooting lane . When Letang moves the puck over to Rodriguez, Buch gets pulled out of position, leaving Buch and Fox both trying to block Rodrigues shooting lane. It allows the far guy (Buchnevich should be tracking) to start coming in down low and for a split second Lindgren thinks he's defending a 3 on 1. He actually does a great job of blocking the centering pass but decides to scoop it back into Shesterkin and into his own net.

So even though it was kind of well covered in the end, the breakdown begins with Zib and Buch being out of position up top, allowing Marino to drive back door and for the Pens to collapse towards the net.

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

. And before you guys start with the "hurr durr why is Jack Johnson on the PK" just stop.

I like how more and more people are prefacing their posts to try to pre-emptively kill the folks here who either can't help but construct idiot strawmen or the people who couldn't get a point if it was stapled to their forehead.

Great post, actual hockey talk, there's nothing really that can be added. Used pretty pictures. Reddit gold to you

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

Would have been more effective with GIFS or video rather than still frames but I appreciate the effort.

Reading what he wrote, it's more than effective enough.

Why didn't you just ask, "Hey where'd you get the video for this" instead of "correcting" the guy who did more than enough? Politely asking for something instead of condescendingly correcting a person is much more likely to get you what you want with a lot less headache for everyone involved

 

[romba]

Reading what he wrote, it's more than effective enough.

Why didn't you just ask, "Hey where'd you get the video for this" instead of "correcting" the guy who did more than enough? Politely asking for something instead of condescendingly correcting a person is much more likely to get you what you want with a lot less headache for everyone involved

No room for civility on the internet, thanks

 

[romba]

Due to the overaggressivenes a few well timed passes can break our PK down from a 5 on 4, to 2 for on 1 in no time, which is what leads to the gimme goals. Our own PP passes it around the perimeter while the PKers chill in their lanes and wait for forced cross ice passes or weak sauce wristers and easily cleared rebounds are the result.

On one PP Mika took the pass downlow wide behind the net, was left open and so he quickly brought it out in front for a rushed shot in tight and then a cleared rebound. He actually had time as he was uncovered and could have made a move to a higher percent chance or had CK 15 feet across for one timer, if he had the patience on that play.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Reading what he wrote, it's more than effective enough.

Why didn't you just ask, "Hey where'd you get the video for this" instead of "correcting" the guy who did more than enough? Politely asking for something instead of condescendingly correcting a person is much more likely to get you what you want with a lot less headache for everyone involved

It wasn’t meant that way at all lol.

I meant no ill will towards the OP. I’d just rather have to not use my memory or imagination to see what he was talking about. It wasn’t meant to bash the dude or anything, but pictures rarely capture everything in a sport that moves so quickly.

They weren’t offended, why are you?

 

[n8]

the thing about powerplays is you need different looks for different PP formations. Some PPs you need to be aggressive against. Some you want to have it quickly collapse. Not all PPs stack two players in front of the goalie.

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

It wasn’t meant that way at all lol.

I meant no ill will towards the OP. I’d just rather have to not use my memory or imagination to see what he was talking about. It wasn’t meant to bash the dude or anything, but pictures rarely capture everything in a sport that moves so quickly.

They weren’t offended, why are you?

Two people pointed out it was a bit of a shitty way to go about it. At that point why not admit "Ok maybe my default was to be a bit of an ass"

And offended? I pretty much handled this with kid gloves...You have to be really sensitive to think someone just bringing something up and pointing out an alternative is some kind of big "wow so offended" issue lol.

Not to mention it's kind of flawed to say "It doesn't matter if I could've done something better. As long as one person didn't say anything". Some people avoid conflict, some people don't even notice it. When someone does notice...actually two people...it should tell you something about your approach. Not like it's this horrible thing, you just came off kinda shitty

 

[Kakko Schmakko]

when PK sucks try to at least surprise the other team and score shorthanded goals. The PP unit usually sucks defensively. Don't just get the puck out of the zone.