The Stanley Cup Finalists shared a very similar characteristic.
Taking the puck behind the net, or under the goal line, a very effective strategy. The area behind the goal line is prime real estate for generating scoring chances and maintaining offensive zone time.
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Passing Project honcho, Ryan Stimson, used passing project data to draw out some of the benefits of pressure from the behind the goal line.
While that isn’t the sole method of successfully generating scoring opportunities – and teams are becoming much more creative in scoring chance generation – pucks in deep has been a coaching mantra even before the era where data has lent heavy support to heavy play below the goal line.
Forechecking and offensive zone time is almost exclusively driven by forwards, so that’s where we will be focusing. Prototypical modern age blueliner, Brent Burns, can almost be classified as the mid between a forward than a traditional defenseman, utilizing a rover style that offers distinct offensive support and a point of attack but even his participation in the forecheck is limited.
The Sharks deployment of forwards carrying the play down low has a much-needed outlet in Burns at the point, but any team can adopt this as progressive philosophy and build within the confines of their roster, among different skillsets. That is, find their own Burns-rover type and capitalize.
Total hockey (the ability to interchange positions depending on the flow of play) is a bright idea, but not exactly malleable in the current climate. While blueliners are heavily involved in offensive aspects of the game, having forwards without formal defensive training through upbringing and repetition offers more risk than reward I feel, a testable theory, but difficult to find some of the variables in large enough sample sizes.
Elite forwards know how to manipulate defensemen’s feet and pivot/turning capacity. Untrained forwards are liabilities simply from the lack of repetitive practice involving distinct movements afforded by seasoned developed rearguards. Defensemen aren’t being defined by their defensive ability alone any longer and those with exceptional skills will be rewarded, but for the time being, traditional forechecks involve forwards mostly.
I’ve outlined how some teams find their points and use them as release points to generate an accordion cycle, where down low pressure dissipates in favor of stretching out forwards at the points and creating a middle shooting band of clear space. This also eases defensive zone pressure and regroups without having the puck leave the zone. The cycle down low can begin once again in earnest.
We can look at their success of the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins, and link it to using the behind the net area to generate their scoring. Before we do that, this is the sample size of tracked games from 2015-16 and 2016-17 in comparison to leaders in tracked time on ice.
Tm ’16-7 | TOI | Tm ’15-6 | TOI |
NYI | 255.751 | T.B | 638.005 |
PHI | 214.445 | CHI | 611.424 |
TB | 150.808 | N.J | 541.782 |
NYR | 150.521 | WSH | 524.857 |
TOR | 133.330 | DAL | 506.716 |
CAR | 127.699 | BOS | 465.395 |
SJ | 100.061 | S.J | 344.665 |
PIT | 319.430 | PIT | 114.048 |
The passing project data has been organized to be presented as rate stats, here. Stats for scoring chances, odd man rushes and behind the net plays are organized on a per-60 basis. The behind the net stats include shot assists/60 (the pass preceding a shot) and shots/60, with an all-encompassing metric combining bot shot assist and shots, labeled as contributions, on a per-60 basis.
In 2015-16, using passing project data to isolate behind the net shot assists, with the breakdown on every team’s forwards at 5v5 is below.
Listed down the first column is the distribution of behind the net shot assists per 60 (BtNSA/60) in increments of 0.5. Glance over to San Jose to see eight players contributing 1-1.5 shot assists per 60, in the second heaviest distributed band of players. In the column directly to the left, Pittsburgh hit double digits with 10 players contributing 0.5-1 shot assist per60 – the most common distribution band.
This distribution for both the Sharks and Penguins is a small indication of a balanced attack and forechecking pressure, exemplified by the versatility among forwards to contribute shot assists from behind the net. Video review should follow this as discovery. The variation of players taking on the roles of F1 as first contact, F2 as support offers relentless puck pursuit with strategized support and release points.
Recognizing the smaller sample for 2016-17, here’s what the landscape looks like so far.
A few points to consider here, the higher number of players for both the Penguins and Sharks contributing between 1.5-2 shot assists per 60 from behind the net. Pittsburgh in fact can boast a trio of players with 2-2.5 shot assists per 60.
Take a look at some of the teams that have struggled thus far this season. Tampa Bay has a majority of players only contributing at most 0.5 BtNSA/60, and the Islanders topped them with eight. Both clubs appear heavy in that range in comparison to the other distribution bands, offering some starting points for why they may have struggled so far in 2016-17. Philadelphia, Winnipeg, Boston and Calgary are all spread thin among the bottom distribution band.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were distributed heavily in the smallest range (0-0.5) in 2015-16, but have balanced themselves in this small sample where this young flock of talent is capitalizing on the area behind the goal and using it to power the club’s offense.
We can look at the Penguins and Sharks distribution for this season with these charts. Across the horizontal appears the distribution of player tracked time on ice (70-90, 90-110, or 110-130) and the distribution of players in each time band. The players generating shot assists while playing the most are a pair of Joes Thornton and Pavelski.
For the Pittsburgh Penguins I switched the distribution, using BtNSA/60 first, and then breaking down the time on ice within each shot assist band. Here we see the hierarchy of player contributions from behind the goal line. Patric Hornqvist, Scott Wilson and Conor Sheary lead the way, but the secondary group including Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby offers a skilled form of relentless puck pursuit.
Before finishing off, here’s the Leafs chart from this season. Auston Matthews is not just displaying scoring prowess, he contributes heavily with behind the net shot assists.
As teams acclimatize to many nuances of this NHL era, we’ll likely continue to see heavy low-offensive zone rotation as a more common tactic among successful teams. Coaches adapt fairly quickly in today’s environments. Can we see another iteration of the swarm to combat the heavy cycle game below the goal line?
Stay tuned.
