Video breakdown: Penguins breakout breakdown

[mikey]

@crusherstasiak and @shafnutz05 were asking in a recent GDT about the Penguins breakout. So I threw together, as quickly as I could, so please excuse the brevity of it, some of the Penguins tactics in terms of their breakouts and the different looks that they can give. Doesn't require a lot of wind-up as there isn't much to it and I don't go in much depth...but I'd be happy to address any follow-up questions/discussions that may arise from it...



(Editor's note: Florida has the worst camera angle the NHL for watching games, so bad choice on my part. I compounded my problem by using the Penguins feed, when they lead the league in cut-aways from the main camera...so the first round of shots is on me for that goofballishness...)

[crusherstasiak]

Thanks, mikey

[meow]

What are your thoughts on Florida’s F1 in the first clip? Do you think he should have chased the puck on the d to d like he did or turned and bailed and gummed up the nz instead?

[mikey]

Good question. That's a little bit of a system call, but I'll call it like I see it. For me, I'm a nut for proper spacing. I hate big gaps between players in any scenario. More accurately, I hate big gaps between player groupings. I tell my guys pretty often, "this game's on TV and you better all be on the screen" - now, naturally, there's scenarios where that's not true: sometimes we leak a weak side winger out into the NZ to push back the D and what not...but as a general rule of thumb, when in doubt, be on the screen...that's where the action is.

So, with that said...I don't think F1 (Malgin? Mamin? They have a bunch of anonymous, I presume, Russians...thanks Trump) does a poor job on the forecheck. I think he manages his ice fairly well. But like I alluded to, I don't like the spacing. I don't like players on islands. What kind of support is being offered to F1 even if he can fish this puck away? Not much, right? Even if he steals it, he's still gonna end up 1 on 2 in most scenarios and with no help that he's likely to use.

I also like forecheck rotation (see: my 4th line video from before), a 1----2-2 doesn't really avail itself to a rotation because the spacing is too big to cover. So if you have 10 skates facing you and you are puckless...1-2-2 is a good answer, and that 1 shouldn't be too deep and the rest of the forwards need to be ready to hold the center line...if the intent here is to go 1-1-3, then the spacing is even worse imo and it represents a failure of F1 to cut the ice in half, as the Pens work it around him AND flip the rink AND beat F2 with a single pass...

So, if I was coaching this team...F1 would have probably gone for the puck at first blush and then on the D-to-D rotate back away towards the blue and tighten up the spacing between him and Barkov and force the rink to be cut in half for the NZ to make everyone's lives easier and make the game more predictable for the defense...

[meow]

My objection to his forecheck would be his angle chasing the d to d pass. If he is a bit flat, angled toward his own end and not as straight line aggressive, they could have easily cut the rink in half and gave the d a better chance to grab another line to hold. I’m wondering if Florida was in a change because they had guys in some weird spots. Barkov looked like he wanted to turn up the pressure but thought he was too late

[mikey]

Yeah, when he goes to Schultz...he goes at him like he's going to finish on him based on the angle...but he does nothing, doesn't make a body play, isn't in real good shape to block a passing lane and he isn't on top of the puck...I think he lost track of where he was when he got dummied and sucked out too deep by Oleksiak...Oleksiak drew him in, he took the bait and he got beat...

I agree, I think Barkov wanted to adjust the spacing of the five-man unit himself, but after F1 got catfished by Big Rig he ended up getting caught with his pants down too...I don't think he anticipated F1 being dragged around by his **** like that...

[shafnutz05]

Just saw this! Thank you for posting mikey...I try and take advantage of any chance I get to be a smarter hockey fan

[willeyeam]

Just got around to watching this. Good stuff. Thanks mikey

[Lelldorin]

I like your video and appreciate chances to improve my knowledge =)

To my limited knowledge it sounds like we are trying to trick the opponents by letting an unexpected player enter the offensive zone with the puck. And that we then try to pass a fourth player that the opponents have not kept track of / proper distance to.

[mikey]

That's a fine way to put it. One key factor that I neglected to mention is just often we carry it across the line...this team is designed, about as well as any, to not dump pucks in...

[willeyeam]

which somewhat worries me if we get the Devils because they really shut down our zone entry last time we played. How do they combat that without dumping it?

[meow]

Speed and support

[Silentom]

Give it to Oleksiak and let him barge through with it.

[willeyeam]

Give it to Oleksiak and let him barge through with it.

I was going to suggest the Flying V

[Silentom]

That could work.

[mikey]

which somewhat worries me if we get the Devils because they really shut down our zone entry last time we played. How do they combat that without dumping it?

We already have something built in for that actually...but it's not quite as well functioning as our normal entries...but basically we get someone to standup at the line or a couple feet inside of it, make them commit to us physically, chip it back behind that guy on the same side and then overlap support over that defenseman (or forward, I suppose) and loop in behind him...then we read, do we have even more support on that side going to the corner? Or can we go back to the initial guy that was stood up at the line to throw across to the wide lane there. We're determined to attack with four, and that overlap support is critical. The quicker we are to that puck and the cleaner the touch, higher quality scoring chance it generates...

[willeyeam]

Cool. I can actually picture that. Gracias

[Lelldorin]

Sounds logical. Thanks =)

[crusherstasiak]

We already have something built in for that actually...but it's not quite as well functioning as our normal entries...but basically we get someone to standup at the line or a couple feet inside of it, make them commit to us physically, chip it back behind that guy on the same ...

thanks. this is what I was originally wanting clarified

[mikey]

sorry, I must have misinterpreted...you should have said "hey stupid, that's not at all what I was talking about!" - I would have done something else...

Let me see if I can whip up some of our mechanisms for dealing with that before I go on vacay...

[crusherstasiak]

sorry, I must have misinterpreted...you should have said "hey stupid, that's not at all what I was talking about!" - I would have done something else...

Let me see if I can whip up some of our mechanisms for dealing with that before I go on vacay...

in as much as i can't read the tenor of this allow me to say thanks again. the petitioner should never expect an adequate response to his poorly worded inquiry and should count himself fortunate that the knowledgeable interlocutor hit the home run on his second at-bat

[mikey]

Haha, I'm here to help...I think...