Speculation: 2024-2025 General Lightning Discussion I

[Rschmitz]

I am trying to understand moving Kucherov away from the right circle.

Maybe better opportunities for him to shoot against the goalies blocker side?
Hedman being a lefty actually makes the distance for the puck to travel from the point not so bad?

This is a pretty big change and not something done on a whim.

 

[StammerHammer]

If they keep Kuch on the left side, which I don't think they will, you can kiss his Art Ross for the upcoming season goodbye.

 

[JoVel]

That experiment will last approximately three power plays. Kucherov's one touch ability is exactly the key to what has made this power play so good for years.

 

[These Are The Days]

If Kucherov goes to the left side he might bag 100 assists again.

Without exaggeration, the 2020 playoff power play was probably the most unpredictable and spontaneously generated attack we have had in the Jon Cooper Era minus Drouin/Kucherov/Hedman. Just re-watch the 2020 playoff games. Kucherov would seemingly wander off and get lost low in the corner and then bam, he'd come back into the picture to do something productive and unpredictable. Whether to feed Point in the slot for a goal. Or something like an unexpected pass to the blue line that no one was covering and suddenly there's a screen that the goaltender cannot see through.

I absolutely love this and it's a welcome change for me. We have had masterful powerplay efficency in recent years but it's because we have such dominant players. Our strategy was "Lol you know it's coming, so stop us then" and I was very ready to get away from it. 18,000 people a night knew the puck was going to Stamkos and I actually cannot believe it worked as well as it did for as long as it did.

I might be wrong about the 100 assists but we're gonna see some Gretzky lite stuff out there. Kucherov doesn't really need to be on his forehand to be efficient. He's going to dissect every inch of ice and defenders are gonna be too scared to even come at him

 

[Felonious Python]

PP1 is favoring the left side, but Point is netfront while Guentzel is bumper, which makes a lot more sense, IMO.

Who is in the left circle doesn't really matter too much. There's nothing special about that spot. The question is who is the one to take the Stamkos role, and that's Hagel.

If I had to guess PP2 (favor right)
netfront: Cirelli
left circle: Raddysh (as reported)
bumper: Atkinson
right circle: Paul
blueline: Moser

PP2 (favor left)
netfront: Atkinson
left circle: Raddysh
bumper: Cirelli
right circle: Paul
blueline: Moser

Nick Paul and Anthony Cirelli are somewhat interchangable on either side, but I think of Cirelli as more of a distributor, and Paul as more of a shooter.

Having both PPs prefer the same side makes more sense, IMO. It makes players more interchangeable between units, and partial line changes less confusing.

 

[DFC]

I am trying to understand moving Kucherov away from the right circle.

Maybe better opportunities for him to shoot against the goalies blocker side?
Hedman being a lefty actually makes the distance for the puck to travel from the point not so bad?

This is a pretty big change and not something done on a whim.

I'm wondering if it's something Kucherov himself wanted to try to give himself a bit more protection with the puck. I'll bet it's happening now because they're not married to the idea.

I suspect we will see Kucherov back on the right by Game 1.

Really wondering if we might put Point in Stamkos's spot, not for one timers so much as just good decisions. If Guentzel can be even close to as effective as Ppint in the bumper, it might pay off to put Point in a spot where he can control and (most importantly) retrieve pucks.

 

[DFC]

If Kucherov goes to the left side he might bag 100 assists again.

Without exaggeration, the 2020 playoff power play was probably the most unpredictable and spontaneously generated attack we have had in the Jon Cooper Era minus Drouin/Kucherov/Hedman. Just re-watch the 2020 playoff games. Kucherov would seemingly wander off and get lost low in the corner and then bam, he'd come back into the picture to do something productive and unpredictable. Whether to feed Point in the slot for a goal. Or something like an unexpected pass to the blue line that no one was covering and suddenly there's a screen that the goaltender cannot see through.

I absolutely love this and it's a welcome change for me. We have had masterful powerplay efficency in recent years but it's because we have such dominant players. Our strategy was "Lol you know it's coming, so stop us then" and I was very ready to get away from it. 18,000 people a night knew the puck was going to Stamkos and I actually cannot believe it worked as well as it did for as long as it did.

I might be wrong about the 100 assists but we're gonna see some Gretzky lite stuff out there. Kucherov doesn't really need to be on his forehand to be efficient. He's going to dissect every inch of ice and defenders are gonna be too scared to even come at him

It worked because it didn't always go to Stamkos. We had a guy scoring even more often in front of the net. So giving Kucherov both options, and a semi-third option to hit the low man to relay to Point, is what made us near impossible to stop. Can't double team everybody.

The only guy he couldn't hit for a split second goal was Hedman...

Which is maybe why they're trying this out. Give Kucherov the option to hit Hedman for a one-timer too. All about the bang-bang(sometimes -bang) plays.

 

[BoltSTH]

PP1 is favoring the left side, but Point is netfront while Guentzel is bumper, which makes a lot more sense, IMO.

Who is in the left circle doesn't really matter too much. There's nothing special about that spot. The question is who is the one to take the Stamkos role, and that's Hagel.

If I had to guess PP2 (favor right)
netfront: Cirelli
left circle: Raddysh (as reported)
bumper: Atkinson
right circle: Paul
blueline: Moser

PP2 (favor left)
netfront: Atkinson
left circle: Raddysh
bumper: Cirelli
right circle: Paul
blueline: Moser

Nick Paul and Anthony Cirelli are somewhat interchangable on either side, but I think of Cirelli as more of a distributor, and Paul as more of a shooter.

Having both PPs prefer the same side makes more sense, IMO. It makes players more interchangeable between units, and partial line changes less confusing.

I think that Moser will only be PP2 QB if he is not being paired with Hedman even strength.

 

[Rschmitz]

I'm wondering if it's something Kucherov himself wanted to try to give himself a bit more protection with the puck. I'll bet it's happening now because they're not married to the idea.

I suspect we will see Kucherov back on the right by Game 1.

Really wondering if we might put Point in Stamkos's spot, not for one timers so much as just good decisions. If Guentzel can be even close to as effective as Ppint in the bumper, it might pay off to put Point in a spot where he can control and (most importantly) retrieve pucks.

I think it goes without saying that it was Kucherov's idea. Only an idiot coach would change up what was working last year, when everything is run through Kucherov and not Stamkos.

 

[DFC]

I think it goes without saying that it was Kucherov's idea. Only an idiot coach would change up what was working last year, when everything is run through Kucherov and not Stamkos.

I need to qualify the following statement by first mentioning that I do believe this was probably Kucherov wanting to try it out:

...I mean... it's not like we've never seen Cooper try to out-think the league.

 

[Point21]

Kuch and Guentzel are gonna be buddies real quick

 

[Fan from AK]

Just freaking start the season already!!!!!!!! Go Bolts and welcome Jake!!!!

 

[Rschmitz]

I need to qualify the following statement by first mentioning that I do believe this was probably Kucherov wanting to try it out:

...I mean... it's not like we've never seen Cooper try to out-think the league.

I don't put anything past Cooper, but I think even he would need to get the OK from Kucherov here. We also know our guy Kuch loves to experiment with shit, someone will ask soon enough and we'll know.

 

[DFC]

I don't put anything past Cooper, but I think even he would need to get the OK from Kucherov here. We also know our guy Kuch loves to experiment with shit, someone will ask soon enough and we'll know.

Coop: "You know, Kuch, I'm thinking you should play the left this year on the PP."

Kuch: "OK, coach."

Coop: "You know, I'm just thinking, you came back from summer a few lbs heavy. And the right circle is really a thin man's circle...."

Kuch: (psychopath stare)


And that's the story of Nikita Kucherov's 200 point season.

 

[Felonious Python]

Kuch on the right makes it basically last year's PP with Hagel in for Stammer, and Guentzel in for Hagel down low.

In the coming days, I think we could see Raddysh, Atkinson, and Point audition for left circle. Atkinson can play netfront, bumper, or left circle, depending on the need. He'd also allow for Point to move to the left circle, since he's a right shot as well.

 

[These Are The Days]

It worked because it didn't always go to Stamkos. We had a guy scoring even more often in front of the net. So giving Kucherov both options, and a semi-third option to hit the low man to relay to Point, is what made us near impossible to stop. Can't double team everybody.

The only guy he couldn't hit for a split second goal was Hedman...

Which is maybe why they're trying this out. Give Kucherov the option to hit Hedman for a one-timer too. All about the bang-bang(sometimes -bang) plays.

Well that's not how I meant the context. Defending the one-timer was often the defensive priority of "You can't cover everyone" and we spammed the living crap out of it to any team not disciplined enough to give Stamkos a baby sitter for the night. But I digress because I don't want to get into semantics over a point you made that I actually agree with.

Given how often Hedman shoots wide (I think it's intentional at least 1/4 of the time to get a bounce to a player) I'm wondering how a bang bang with Hedman will work. He can pepper a shot with the best of them but it would be interesting to see him start doing bang bang plays at this point of his career

 

[Felonious Python]

Well that's not how I meant the context. Defending the one-timer was often the defensive priority of "You can't cover everyone" and we spammed the living crap out of it to any team not disciplined enough to give Stamkos a baby sitter for the night. But I digress because I don't want to get into semantics over a point you made that I actually agree with.

Given how often Hedman shoots wide (I think it's intentional at least 1/4 of the time to get a bounce to a player) I'm wondering how a bang bang with Hedman will work. He can pepper a shot with the best of them but it would be interesting to see him start doing bang bang plays at this point of his career

Powerplays work well when there are a bunch of shooters. Ovi had scoring issues at the start of last season, partly because of the lack of other options on his unit. Penalty killers could actually focus on him.

If PKs worried about Stamkos too much, then they were leaving someone else open.

 

[Stammertime91]

PP1 was a no brainer. Top five offensive threats all together. Moving Kucherov to the left is weird even for different looks. If anything, you'd rework the triangle down low to play behind the net, but to switch the entire dynamic and flow by putting Kucherov on the left is a stretch. He could do it if we had a lefty capable of hitting bombs but we don't. I like Hagel, but his one timer is nowhere close to being at the level to make the powerplay effective on that setup.

 

[Felonious Python]

PP1 was a no brainer. Top five offensive threats all together. Moving Kucherov to the left is weird even for different looks. If anything, you'd rework the triangle down low to play behind the net, but to switch the entire dynamic and flow by putting Kucherov on the left is a stretch. He could do it if we had a lefty capable of hitting bombs but we don't. I like Hagel, but his one timer is nowhere close to being at the level to make the powerplay effective on that setup.

Do the Lightning have a guy with a heavy shot, left or right?

Look at the Edmonton PP. McDavid, a lefty, is on the left, and Draisaitl, a lefty, is on the right. Draisaitl doesn't have a scorcher, and generally scores closer to the net.

 

[LordStanlersCup]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1837870488917344273

you love to see it

 

[LordStanlersCup]

Do the Lightning have a guy with a heavy shot, left or right?

Look at the Edmonton PP. McDavid, a lefty, is on the left, and Draisaitl, a lefty, is on the right. Draisaitl doesn't have a scorcher, and generally scores closer to the net.

I mean the thing with Draisaitl's shot is it's just so accurate and we really don't have another player with that type of accuracy now that Stammer's gone. Would be curious to see what Raddysh would look like on the left side, he had one of the hardest recorded shots in the last few years, granted it was a slapshot but still. Maybe Heddy for a similar idea or wait until Huuhtanen or Geekie get called up to see what that could look like. Geekie's game is a lot like Draisaitl's but I don't think he has the shot accuracy yet. For now I am fine with giving Hagel a look at the start of the season in some capacity, being 8th in even strength points has earned him a look

 

[DFC]

Do the Lightning have a guy with a heavy shot, left or right?

Look at the Edmonton PP. McDavid, a lefty, is on the left, and Draisaitl, a lefty, is on the right. Draisaitl doesn't have a scorcher, and generally scores closer to the net.

Our two heaviest shots (arguably) are gone. I don't think the PP will be built around feeding a one timer this year.

 

[Felonious Python]

Our two heaviest shots (arguably) are gone. I don't think the PP will be built around feeding a one timer this year.

I think we're underestimating how much pre-shot puck movement matters (and overestimating how important our particular PP set up was).

TB had the top regular season PP at 28.6%
Edmonton was fourth at 26.3%

There flat out aren't many guys who fit the Stammer mold. Heavy, right-handed shot.

NHL Stats

The official source for NHL Stats including skaters, goalies, teams stats and more.

www.nhl.com

Look at the right-handed shots. Hyman was netfront. Point was bumper. Jarvis was netfront. Boeser was bumper.

Teams can succeed without a right handed turret in the left circle, but also look at how the goals are scored, and there tends to be a lot of cross-crease passes.

 

[Felonious Python]

 

[DFC]

I think we're underestimating how much pre-shot puck movement matters (and overestimating how important our particular PP set up was).

TB had the top regular season PP at 28.6%
Edmonton was fourth at 26.3%

There flat out aren't many guys who fit the Stammer mold. Heavy, right-handed shot.

NHL Stats

The official source for NHL Stats including skaters, goalies, teams stats and more.

www.nhl.com

Look at the right-handed shots. Hyman was netfront. Point was bumper. Jarvis was netfront. Boeser was bumper.

Teams can succeed without a right handed turret in the left circle, but also look at how the goals are scored, and there tends to be a lot of cross-crease passes.

We've done it before. I'm not overly worried about the PP.