Why the Predators struggle with 3 on 3 overtime
- Thread starter klt2001
- Start date
glenngineer
Registered User
Problem is we play a similar style in OT that we do in regulation and it kills us. Relax, take your time, don't rush the play. Also, look for good scoring opportunities as opposed to just firing the puck on net. We miss the net far too often and the puck comes out the other end and the other team is on a 2 on 1 situation.
One thing I noticed is our guys tend to go for the big play that isn't there as opposed to the safe play. It was a few weeks ago that Forsberg tried to intercept a pass coming out of the offensive zone and he missed which led to a 2 on 1. He has to make the smart play, not the one that may reward you but if you miss it's going to cost you. If he had gotten the pass and goes the other way and scored hurray but he missed and we lost.
It's about thinking smart in OT. It's about being patient.
I see people harping on Ribeiro the other night for being lazy. He actually got back in to the play, he just chose the wrong side of the player he was defending to be on. Why be in back of him? If he fronts the defender he has a chance to knock the puck down and cause that player receiving the puck to have to see what he's doing through a body as well as trying to get a stick out with someone in front of him.
I hope Fiala can help us up front when it's his time. I also wonder who else we have in the system or on the team now that would be a good fit for this style of play.
I'd love to see us get the puck and just try and possess it for the full 5 minutes. Play keep away, wear the other team down and if a good scoring opportunity presents itself go for it, if not, hold on to the puck.
One thing I noticed is our guys tend to go for the big play that isn't there as opposed to the safe play. It was a few weeks ago that Forsberg tried to intercept a pass coming out of the offensive zone and he missed which led to a 2 on 1. He has to make the smart play, not the one that may reward you but if you miss it's going to cost you. If he had gotten the pass and goes the other way and scored hurray but he missed and we lost.
It's about thinking smart in OT. It's about being patient.
I see people harping on Ribeiro the other night for being lazy. He actually got back in to the play, he just chose the wrong side of the player he was defending to be on. Why be in back of him? If he fronts the defender he has a chance to knock the puck down and cause that player receiving the puck to have to see what he's doing through a body as well as trying to get a stick out with someone in front of him.
I hope Fiala can help us up front when it's his time. I also wonder who else we have in the system or on the team now that would be a good fit for this style of play.
I'd love to see us get the puck and just try and possess it for the full 5 minutes. Play keep away, wear the other team down and if a good scoring opportunity presents itself go for it, if not, hold on to the puck.
The problem is that our system is the total opposite of what you should do 3 on 3 and it is hard for the guys to totally change their mindset. They go into 3 on 3 doing exactly what they do 5 on 5 and get burned. It is a totally new concept for the players as 4 on 4 they know and do all the time so OT wasn't that much of a change before. Younger players usually adjust faster then older ones plus they used it in the AHL first so I would think the rookies like Arvy, Salomaki, and Sissons would have a better grasp of it then the vets.
Seems to me that you guys above have pretty much nailed it.
Our regular time system is a run'n'gun drive shots on net.
3v3 is all about puck possession and working for an open shot. But mostly, its about possessing the puck. Something we don't do and aren't very good at.
The real question is, after 11 OT losses, why aren't we changing some things?
Our regular time system is a run'n'gun drive shots on net.
3v3 is all about puck possession and working for an open shot. But mostly, its about possessing the puck. Something we don't do and aren't very good at.
The real question is, after 11 OT losses, why aren't we changing some things?
Because the season is almost over and there is no 3 on 3 OT in the playoffs. It is all about getting points and 1 pt is better then zero pts and it is unlikely we are going to move up unless the teams in front of us all go on losing streaks and we now have a confortable lead for the WC.
NSH615
...
- Feb 13, 2013
- 11,119
- 981
Just because the season is almost over doesn't mean you have to accept failure. They can start experimenting with something that could work for next season, especially since the stupid NHL World Experiment will mess with start of the season and training camp (if there even is one). And by that I am not saying that the players will remember it, but the coaches will have something to look back on that could work.
This isn't a new problem.
If steps were taken to fix this when we were 1-6 we might have caught StLou in the standings by now.
To me, our biggest issue is going all-in on so-so opportunities. Yeah a 3 on 2 is nice; in OT it can be a dagger to your own team if you don't score. We have lost so many OT frames going on the rush to immediately be countered by an easy 2 on 1 or similar.
The thing that blows my mind the most about our OT games this year is how many times we give up a goal on the very first shot of the OT period. It defies all logic.
And because of that, I will say something that will probably won’t be a popular opinion on here: I think we have been pretty darn unlucky in the OT games this year.
Before everyone jumps on me, hear me out- I know we have been flat out awful this year in OT- I am absolutely not suggesting otherwise.
But I have watched just about every OT game in the NHL this year, and in almost every one of them teams trade glorious chances back and forth before someone eventually scores.
But with us, the very first breakdown we have winds up in our net- it is uncanny. Other games you will see teams on a 2 on 1 or 3 on 1 mess a pass up, or shoot wide. Or hit the post. Or the puck rolls off a stick. Or get stoned on a breakaway. It happens all the time. But in our games, our opponents make the perfect play every time. Just once you would think we would catch a break and a team would mess up a glorious chance that we gave them on a silver platter.
I go back to the game in Montreal. We have a wide open net and Smith somehow manages to do something that would never happen again in a million tries- blocks his own shot. If that play were against us, it’s in the back of the net 100% of the time. Montreal got very lucky there- and that is the kind of luck we never, ever get in OT.
Again, I know we are terrible at 3 on 3- I understand that. I get it. I just think we have also been a little bit unlucky as well. And when you combine awful and unlucky? That equals 1-12.
And because of that, I will say something that will probably won’t be a popular opinion on here: I think we have been pretty darn unlucky in the OT games this year.
Before everyone jumps on me, hear me out- I know we have been flat out awful this year in OT- I am absolutely not suggesting otherwise.
But I have watched just about every OT game in the NHL this year, and in almost every one of them teams trade glorious chances back and forth before someone eventually scores.
But with us, the very first breakdown we have winds up in our net- it is uncanny. Other games you will see teams on a 2 on 1 or 3 on 1 mess a pass up, or shoot wide. Or hit the post. Or the puck rolls off a stick. Or get stoned on a breakaway. It happens all the time. But in our games, our opponents make the perfect play every time. Just once you would think we would catch a break and a team would mess up a glorious chance that we gave them on a silver platter.
I go back to the game in Montreal. We have a wide open net and Smith somehow manages to do something that would never happen again in a million tries- blocks his own shot. If that play were against us, it’s in the back of the net 100% of the time. Montreal got very lucky there- and that is the kind of luck we never, ever get in OT.
Again, I know we are terrible at 3 on 3- I understand that. I get it. I just think we have also been a little bit unlucky as well. And when you combine awful and unlucky? That equals 1-12.
There's some poor luck involved and your examples are valid, but you don't go 1-12 in the 3 on 3 through luck. There is a systemic issue in our approach to the 3 on 3 game. I am dead serious when I say that 3 on 3 play should be the #1 area of attention in the offseason and training camp. If we play somewhere near 0.500 in OT, we are almost tied with the Hawks and challenging for the division lead.
Just to be clear (and I emphasized it in my post)- I never said bad luck was the only reason we were 1-12. We are horrible at it- period. But luck has been a factor as well.
