I was just going to mention something on the old board and was denied! I checked out the highlights and it looked like Yakupov was on the left wing and on his goal did a quick little shift to his "honey spot" around the right face off circle. I expect that if Krueger wants him on the left side he will be doing a lot of that here.
Or you could replace Petry with Whitney. Personally IMO if Whitney isn't in our long term plans, I'd play Petry there even though he'd be the 3rd RH shot on this group.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Nuge
Those are decent, but potential problems I see with that are (and it's strictly my opinion)
PP 1
-I'd rather Hall be able to use his shot and get someone good at garbage goals and can take a beating or who can roof it from in front in his spot
-Yakupov's one timer is eliminated
I'd prefer to put Horcoff in Hall's spot and Hall in Yakupov's
PP2
-Gagner and Hemsky are the best passers on the unit and they're on the same side
-Neither can set up Petry
-Smyth can't cycle the puck well enough
-I like using Paajarvi on the point, but if we're going to use him, I'd much rather him be the guy at the blueline. He's good defensively, doesn't like going hard into the corners, and can use his speed to get back if something happens. I still prefer Petry or Whitney though.
I'd change Paajarvi out for Yak, and flip Gagner and Smyth to get Gagner available to cycle the puck and have him and Smyth alternate being in front of the net when the other goes into the corner
Hall is great around the net on the PP, IMO you don't waste his talents there just to have someone that's better at screening the goalie.
Yakupov can still onetime the puck from Eberle, Schultz, and back passes from RNH.
Petry will be more of a passer than a shooter on the 2nd unit anyway.
I don't see Gagner or Hemsky working very well on the RW boards.
Smyth is a net presence first and foremost.
Paajarvi needs to use his speed to gain possession and his size to keep the puck in the zone, he plays enough high in the offensive zone at ES, he needs to get more used to playing down around the circle and below. He also has a decent onetimer and can move the puck pretty well from the right side.
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Does anyone know if Nail had an attempt in the shootout in the last game?
He didn't.
According to the KHL stat site the SO went like this:
2:1Shootout by 26.Michal Repik (Lev) vs 30.Matt Dalton (Neftekhimik). Miss.
2:1Shootout by 42.Petr Koukal (Neftekhimik) vs 1.Drew MacIntyre (Lev). Goal.
1:1Shootout by 61.Erik Christensen (Lev) vs 30.Matt Dalton (Neftekhimik). Goal.
1:0Shootout by 18.Tomas Netik (Neftekhimik) vs 1.Drew MacIntyre (Lev). Goal.
0:0Shootout by 71.Juraj Mikus (Lev) vs 30.Matt Dalton (Neftekhimik). Save.
No idea if he would have been their 3rd shooter or not, but they only needed 2.
A.Hall is great around the net on the PP, IMO you don't waste his talents there just to have someone that's better at screening the goalie.
B. Yakupov can still onetime the puck from Eberle, Schultz, and back passes from RNH.
C. Petry will be more of a passer than a shooter on the 2nd unit anyway.
D. I don't see Gagner or Hemsky working very well on the RW boards.
E. Smyth is a net presence first and foremost.
G. Paajarvi needs to use his speed to gain possession and his size to keep the puck in the zone, he plays enough high in the offensive zone at ES, he needs to get more used to playing down around the circle and below. He also has a decent onetimer and can move the puck pretty well from the right side.
A. I agree Hall works well by the net, but we can throw pretty much anyone there to do that job. Hall has one of the harder shots on the team and is a good playmaker. I think it makes more sense to utilize him in a more skilled role than simply getting pushed around in front of the net.
B. He definitely could one time it from there, but it's such a short distance from Nuge that it's not very effective and him and Hemsky are our best playmakers so it's good if one of them was the one feeding him the puck to get as many through as possible.
C. Petry has a cannon. Why not utilize it?
D/E. It's mostly just to keep the cycle going. I'm as big of Smyth fan as you'll find, but the play dies on his stick. I didn't really feel like trying to do a diagram on my phone before (or now lol), but basically Smyth would be the main guy in front of the net, Gagner would play down low opposite Hemmer, and Yak would be a little higher up in the slot and then when the puck went in the left corner, Smyth goes to the corner and Gags moves out towards the net.
G. I agree with you on PRV completely, but is precious PP time best used teaching him to be more gritty? Why not use someone more effective and when PRV figures it out, he can be worked in
A. I think it's crazy to move Hall from the current PP design. 13 PPG ties him for 5th on the list behind Neal (18), Hartnell (16), Moulson (14) and Perry (14); tied with Ovechkin (13) and Callahan (13). These guys had the benefit of playing ~17 games more than Hall. What he's doing on the PP is working and I wouldn't change it.
B. That's too awkward a position for Yakupov. Yakupov's a weapon that needs a juicy perch in the right faceoff circle. It should be a featured option on the 2nd unit.
Because he misses the puck when it requires reflex.
People over estimate the need for a screen.
Hall got a hat trick without anyone in front of the goalie on the pp
Because he surely did something right on the 1st PP unit last year for us to well.. ya know have such the awesome PP we did. And don't just say it's ALL the kids...
Horcoff has hands of stone. I still get nightmares from that pass he bobbled from Hemsky in the slot for an empty netter. I would like to see Hartikainen or maybe Jones there instead. They're both grittier than Horcoff.
I've posted these multiple times. I think they are the best possible units.
Other than a few little tweaks to where exactly people are, that's pretty much what I'd like to see as well. It's nice to see other people recognize Horcoff as actually being a contributer to our PP success last year
I've posted these multiple times. I think they are the best possible units.
This x10000000000000000000000000
Quote:
Originally Posted by YakuBOT
Umm..why is Horcoff on the PP.
who else do you want to take faceoffs and take a beating in front of the net?
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Nuge
Other than a few little tweaks to where exactly people are, that's pretty much what I'd like to see as well. It's nice to see other people recognize Horcoff as actually being a contributer to our PP success last year
I want no tweaks. Tweaks would ruin these perfect designs. Every players shot is facing the inside of the ice, giving them the option to both shoot and pass, and the opportunity for one timers.
I guess he did increase his impressive PP numbers to 13 points last season from 10 and 10 the two previous seasons.
For once I would like to see a coach that uses Horc the only way he deserves to be used.
Third line and PK the **** out of him. Nowhere near the PP please.
Horcoff has hands of stone. I still get nightmares from that pass he bobbled from Hemsky in the slot for an empty netter. I would like to see Hartikainen or maybe Jones there instead. They're both grittier than Horcoff.
Horcoff can win faceoffs and makes good meat to just take up space in front of the net. Yes, I would prefer Hartikainen, but is he ready to be an everyday NHLer? I don't know.
Because he misses the puck when it requires reflex. People over estimate the need for a screen.
Hall got a hat trick without anyone in front of the goalie on the pp
Are you kidding me? When I was goaltender nothing was more frustrating than not being able to see the puck. You have to change your balance to find a view and that's how goals that LOOK bad go in.
who else do you want to take faceoffs and take a beating in front of the net?
I want no tweaks. Tweaks would ruin these perfect designs. Every players shot is facing the inside of the ice, giving them the option to both shoot and pass, and the opportunity for one timers.
Notice in those lines that Smyth is doing that role on the second line. You could definitely make a case for flipping them, but why change something that worked?
I checked out the highlights and it looked like Yakupov was on the left wing and on his goal did a quick little shift to his "honey spot" around the right face off circle. I expect that if Krueger wants him on the left side he will be doing a lot of that here.
