The Power Play - or lack thereof

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I thought since we discuss this in a few other threads, it would be good to have 1 thread to discuss the PP.

For background:

- From 2019-2022 the Canes had the NHL's 5th best PP in the regular season at 23.1%
- The 2nd half (41 games) of last season, the Canes PP dipped to 18.9%, 22nd in the NHL during that stretch.
- Across the 3 playoffs from those 3 seasons, the Canes PP was just 14.7%. In contrast:
2019/20: BOS 22.2%
2020/21: TBL 32.4%
2021/22: NYR 32.1%
- Currently the PP is sitting at 18.3%, good for 26th in the NHL

So the question is, why is it so bad and what needs to be done?
Personnel change?
Strategy change?
Coaching change?
Other?

Discuss!

Click to read more...

 

[Borsig]

Coaching and skill both.

We do not have elite scoring talent, and what we do have, is mismanaged to the point of a 2 minute game of keep away.
We score more on the PK lately than the PP.

 

[bleedgreen]

I couldn’t help it, I chose all.

It’s the shooting and chemistry imo though. Too many playmakers not enough dirty goal scoring and not enough shooting skill/swagger from the forwards. Necas has a fragile confidence with shooting, Svech generally doesn’t lack confidence he just wants to shoot in certain situations and hopefully Patches will influence him. Patches could change things, but we still seem short one D and are indecisive about the primary unit. And we need a primary unit imo.

 

[LostInaLostWorld]

No consistant net front.
Slow movement to open spaces.
^ Too much hesitancy.
^ Telegraph circle/dot snipes.
Canes love affair with goalie crests.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

We are 11th in xGF per 60 on the power play. If it was system we would be well lower in xGF.

Its a combination of guys not executing (shots or passes), bad luck, and not having enough shooters on the team(we have a lot of play makers)

We were 8th last year
We we 8th in the playoffs to include .7 of a goal higher than the Rangers
2 years ago we were awful in the playoffs as we were 13th with nearly half the xGF as last season.

 

[MrazeksVengeance]

I thought since we discuss this in a few other threads, it would be good to have 1 thread to discuss the PP.

For background:

- From 2019-2022 the Canes had the NHL's 5th best PP in the regular season at 23.1%
- The 2nd half (41 games) of last season, the Canes PP dipped to 18.9%, 22nd in the NHL during that stretch.
- Across the 3 playoffs from those 3 seasons, the Canes PP was just 14.7%. In contrast:
2019/20: BOS 22.2%
2020/21: TBL 32.4%
2021/22: NYR 32.1%
- Currently the PP is sitting at 18.3%, good for 26th in the NHL

So the question is, why is it so bad and what needs to be done?
Personnel change?
Strategy change?
Coaching change?
Other?

Discuss!

WHAT

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

In regards to 22-23, a lack of confidence. They’re capable of better in the regular season.

However, in the postseason, when teams buckle down and make adjustments, it’s a lack of talent. Look at what the playoff opponents that have ended seasons have had on the half-walls:

- Pastrnak/Marchand
- Stamkos/Kucherov
- Zibanejad/Panarin

An elite one-timer on one side and an elite playmaker on the other. Whatever 2 of Aho/Svechnikov/Teravainen/Necas is not close, as humbling as that is to admit.

 

[WreckingCrew]

If you're a dominant 5v5 team, there's absolutely no reason you shouldn't also be pretty successful on the PP

It's the coaching/strategy, lack of movement, predictability, etc. It's 2 min of perimeter play and off-hand passes...the other team doesn't even really have to pressure us, just be kind-of in the way and know we'll either shank it off them, or pass it around some more.

Every pass and shot is telegraphed seconds before it happens, everyone knows it's coming...the goalie who's squared up, the d-men who collapse, the forwards who can easily block our shots/passes, and us viewers who sigh halfway through each maneuver because it's not fooling anyone. There's nobody sneaking around, nobody moving to really draw opponents out of position.

 

[chaz4hockey]

Setup doesn't allow for proper one-timers...ie Svetch and Necas playing on wrong sides
Wrong deployment of PP Qb's....ie Pesce should not be out there & for some reason Burns has stopped shooting.
Stagment positioning

Patches may help but still need Coaching adjustments.

So, Coaching + players

 

[Svechhammer]

Not enough shooters, but our scheme on the PP flat out sucks. Very little off puck movement very deliberate passing. We allow a PK unit to clog up the lanes by standing in our spots until a guy has the puck at which point he tries to make something happen. We are way too easy to defend with the man advantage, and that does translate to 5v5 play when teams tighten up on us defensively to take away the odd man rushes.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

If you're a dominant 5v5 team, there's absolutely no reason you shouldn't also be pretty successful on the PP

It's the coaching/strategy, lack of movement, predictability, etc. It's 2 min of perimeter play and off-hand passes...the other team doesn't even really have to pressure us, just be kind-of in the way and know we'll either shank it off them, or pass it around some more.

PP and 5v5 play requires different skill sets. We have a roster with a ton of the skillset for 5v5, not a lot for PP too

 

[hblueridgegal]

If you're a dominant 5v5 team, there's absolutely no reason you shouldn't also be pretty successful on the PP

It's the coaching/strategy, lack of movement, predictability, etc. It's 2 min of perimeter play and off-hand passes...the other team doesn't even really have to pressure us, just be kind-of in the way and know we'll either shank it off them, or pass it around some more.

I often think Dean Smith would be really proud of this time killing clock management. It's almost like a rest period except when Burns can't keep it in and someone has to race down to retrieve the puck to prevent a shorty.

 

[ndp]

All of the above. I think there is a lack of shoot first skill, but there also seems to be no adjustments made other than rotating personnel every now and then.

I think teams have the Hurricanes figured out and they just don’t make adjustments. Trust the system, play our game, play the right way, and all that shit. When my wife who is a very casual hockey fan points out they they do the same thing over, and over, and over, and over on the PP then I can’t imagine what NHL teams with video coaches and paid professionals have figured out.

Pressure on the points, clog up the passing lanes from down low back to the point and you’ll be successful killing against the Hurricanes. They don’t do enough to get the goalie moving side to side. When they do is when the PP usually works.

Are they being coached to not make the cross ice pass?

Are they all so afraid of losing possession that they are unwilling to take certain chances?

 

[ndp]

Setup doesn't allow for proper one-timers...ie Svetch and Necas playing on wrong sides

I’ve often wondered about this. And for the life of me can’t figure it out. Do they purposely start out that way because of the face off? A few seasons ago TT and Aho seemed like they were both starting to get pretty good at cashing in on those little one timers from cross ice passes and then all of a sudden they’ve switched sides? Same with Svech and Necas? Am I dreaming this?

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

If you're a dominant 5v5 team, there's absolutely no reason you shouldn't also be pretty successful on the PP

The two parts of the game have different strategies and different skill sets so what works 5v5 doesn't apply to PPs.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

They don't have a playmaker who can beat his guy on the halfwall and hit the cross ice pass for a one timer on a lateral moving goalie.

They don't have a guy with an elite shot to defer to when nothing else is working.

The real shame of missing Pacioretty for half a season + is it was time he could have spent working with Necas to maybe form that elite playmaker/sniper combo @Big Daddy Cane mentioned

 

[ndp]

I was cruising YouTube looking for examples of successful Hurricanes power plays and came across this video.



Interesting stuff. I’ve always thought our PP units just don’t seem to have the chemistry as some other teams. But it’s interesting them talking about EDM’s lack of board battles, not letting the puck get into a position where that’s even an option for the penalty killers. Quick recovery quick resets and lots of E to W movement. Having two of the best players in the league helps.

Here’s two almost identical E to W goals from Necas to Turbo.





More of this please.

 

[Stickpucker]

Shooters: Svech, Aho, Patches, Burns (Necas and Teravainen can do pretty well when they decide to shoot more).
-That is a list of 3 or 4 30g scorers. They should be able to pick a corner on the pp
Passers/qbs: Necas, Turbo.
-These 2 get their guy open in different ways but should be enough to setup 1 timers.
Dirty bois: Noesen. (Should be KK also but he doesn't get the opportunity
-Need some net front to bang in rebounds.

I think the talent...especially scoring talent is there but they seem to be on the wrong wing to capitalize. This has already been called out. Same thing happened with Tolvanien in NSH and why he's scoring so much in SEA.

Coaching: Seems like the strategy has a really hard time with a collapsing PK and one that pressures heavily. When the pk collapses the boys don't skate into the space created for a more dangerous shot they just slowly pass around the outside and don't draw the defense out of position. When they're pressured heavily they just rim it around the boards until Burns whiffs or it's cleared. In those cases I'd like to see someone like Necas beat a man pressuring and create even more space.

I think all the talent is there to have a bare minimum top 10 pp.

Team PP rankings

Pretty sad some of the teams ahead of us...Buffalo, Dallas, Ottawa, Vegas, LAK, STL, Minnesota, Seattle. All above 21% on the pp.

There is no reason we can't put out a better pp than Seattle, Minny, LAK or the likes.

 

[Stickpucker]

I was cruising YouTube looking for examples of successful Hurricanes power plays and came across this video.



Interesting stuff. I’ve always thought our PP units just don’t seem to have the chemistry as some other teams. But it’s interesting them talking about EDM’s lack of board battles, not letting the puck get into a position where that’s even an option for the penalty killers. Quick recovery quick resets and lots of E to W movement. Having two of the best players in the league helps.

Here’s two almost identical E to W goals from Necas to Turbo.





More of this please.

A lot of the time the skaters aren't moving and aren't open. This leads to 1 guy with the puck and everyone but one person marked. That makes the pass predictable because unless they want to deke someone there is only one place to go. Just having 2 passing outlets with some movement will confuse the goalie and the pkers a lot more than what we normally see.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

There are ways it can be improved for sure but PPs can be streaky and this same group/coaching has shown the ability of a top 5-10 PP in the past. I chose other, to include "all of the above" and also adding in a degree of puck luck/timing/breaking out of funk.

 

[Identity404]

I'm not going to go into pointing out the problems of the PP, i'm going to offer a solution because that is they type of MAN I am.

Hear me out...

What this team needs to utilize on the POWER play is the mystical and divine healing powers of CHAKRA CRYSTALS.

I will suggest to the coaching staff that each member of the POWER play wear a specific type of crystal to harbor the powers they contain.

The players are free to wear the crystals however they like, but they must be on their body. Ideally they should have them implanted on their forehead between their eyes. This will increase the effectiveness of the healing POWER. The rapper LIL UZI VERT perfected this technique, though he made a misstep of choosing a diamond, a non-healing stone.

There are 7 main chakras. I will make some suggestions from these, but ultimately there may be a trial and error to find the perfect BALANCE between players as a unit and the players themselves.

Svechnikov & Pacioretty: Honey Calcite to increate the POWER and CONFIDENCE of their shots.

Aho & Teravainen: Angelite to further increase COMMUNICATION between the two. They are already great at reading each other on the ice. I am thinking this may increase the ESP between the two, like twin TELEPATHY. Think about the potential of having two prime Sedins on the POWER play.

Noesen & Kotkaniemi: Sodalite to increase INTUITION. This will help them in front of the net with deflections.

Pesce & Burns: Amerthyst to increase KNOWLEDGE and INTELLIGENCE. As defensemen QB-ing the POWER play we need someone making the correct moves distributing the puck. I think Burns in general could use this 5v5 as well.

Stastny: Carnelian. Stastny has been lifeless all year. Carnelian as been know to increase PASSION and sensuality.

Necas & Jarvis: Green Opal. This stone is often associated with good LUCK. This stone will increase lucky bounces that hopefully they can cash in on.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Another way to look at the numbers:

The PP the two season's Hamilton was at the helm (he didn't start there his first season here): 23.8% in 124 games.

The PP the two seasons after Hamilton left (TDA/Burns) : 20.5% in 126 games.

The PP the last 82 games for Carolina (TDA/Burns): 18.1% in 82 games.

Maybe part of it was that Dougie was both an excellent passer AND had a great shot. TDA and Burns are more 1 dimensional back at the point.

That said, NJ's power play isn't much better than ours right now so maybe not.

 

[zman77]

Carolina is 26th with PP% @ 18.30%
Edmonton is #1 @ 31.29%
All NHL Statistics:

NHL Stats 2022-2023 - Team Power Play

Get team power play stats for the 2022-2023 NHL season, including goals and shots for the regular season and playoffs.

www.covers.com

Team	GPG	SPG	PCT.	PPG	PP	PP%
Edmonton	3.64	32.87	11.09	51	163	31.29
Tampa Bay	3.59	32.22	11.13	42	144	29.17
Buffalo	3.85	32.32	11.92	42	152	27.63
Boston	3.76	34.33	10.96	40	145	27.59
Dallas	3.43	31.98	10.73	36	131	27.48
Ottawa	2.95	33.36	8.85	42	158	26.58
Vegas	3.27	32.43	10.09	30	119	25.21
Los Angeles	3.26	32.54	10.02	40	160	25.00
Toronto	3.34	31.52	10.60	35	142

 

[LakeLivin]

I'm not going to go into pointing out the problems of the PP, i'm going to offer a solution because that is they type of MAN I am.

Hear me out...

What this team needs to utilize on the POWER play is the mystical and divine healing powers of CHAKRA CRYSTALS.

I will suggest to the coaching staff that each member of the POWER play wear a specific type of crystal to harbor the powers they contain.

The players are free to wear the crystals however they like, but they must be on their body. Ideally they should have them implanted on their forehead between their eyes. This will increase the effectiveness of the healing POWER. The rapper LIL UZI VERT perfected this technique, though he made a misstep of choosing a diamond, a non-healing stone.

There are 7 main chakras. I will make some suggestions from these, but ultimately there may be a trial and error to find the perfect BALANCE between players as a unit and the players themselves.

Svechnikov & Pacioretty: Honey Calcite to increate the POWER and CONFIDENCE of their shots.

Aho & Teravainen: Angelite to further increase COMMUNICATION between the two. They are already great at reading each other on the ice. I am thinking this may increase the ESP between the two, like twin TELEPATHY. Think about the potential of having two prime Sedins on the POWER play.

Noesen & Kotkaniemi: Sodalite to increase INTUITION. This will help them in front of the net with deflections.

Pesce & Burns: Amerthyst to increase KNOWLEDGE and INTELLIGENCE. As defensemen QB-ing the POWER play we need someone making the correct moves distributing the puck. I think Burns in general could use this 5v5 as well.

Stastny: Carnelian. Stastny has been lifeless all year. Carnelian as been know to increase PASSION and sensuality.

Necas & Jarvis: Green Opal. This stone is often associated with good LUCK. This stone will increase lucky bounces that hopefully they can cash in on.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

That's one idea. Here's another. Between the two don't see how we could possibly miss?

 

[bleedgreen]

All of the above. I think there is a lack of shoot first skill, but there also seems to be no adjustments made other than rotating personnel every now and then.

I think teams have the Hurricanes figured out and they just don’t make adjustments. Trust the system, play our game, play the right way, and all that shit. When my wife who is a very casual hockey fan points out they they do the same thing over, and over, and over, and over on the PP then I can’t imagine what NHL teams with video coaches and paid professionals have figured out.

Pressure on the points, clog up the passing lanes from down low back to the point and you’ll be successful killing against the Hurricanes. They don’t do enough to get the goalie moving side to side. When they do is when the PP usually works.

Are they being coached to not make the cross ice pass?

Are they all so afraid of losing possession that they are unwilling to take certain chances?

Irony on the cross ice passes is that last year with Tony, Aho and TT there were too many cross ice passes that never resulted in good shots. It would trickle over to everyone who played on the pp….forcing cross ice pass after pass.