Reply To: Defensive Zone Overload – Swarming and Other Team Play Ideas

[DaveM]

Tom & Eric – These are all really interesting topics, and I'd love to hear/see them explained in more detail.

There are two things that really stand out to me in the NHL this year:
1) Use of the net-front defencemen on the breakout – I used to see Detroit do this a lot, and I thought they could get away with it with a guy like Lidstrom there and such great passers on their team, but now everyone uses this effectively.
2) Aggressive forecheck on the PK – It used to be that everyone just backed up and clogged the middle to prevent entry, now several teams are springing players when they are short-handed and pressuring the D if they don't connect on a stretch pass. I'd always read that players are too skilled at the top level to make this kind of pressure effective, and that these tactics only worked at the lower levels, but now quite a few teams are doing it.

Are these new trends, or am I just seeing the game differently? One final thought for discussion – beyond talent, what makes the Blackhawks so good? The way they use the whole ice and stretch the other teams D makes it look like they are playing a torpedo-like style more than any other team. They also seem to have way more rotation in the offensive zone than most teams do. Any thoughts?

Dave
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Dave, good to hear from you.

I agree that the game is becoming more aggressive. I think with teams overloading one side on both offense and defense when the puck is along the boards it leaves the player in front alone and safe to pass to.

I haven't seen the Blackhawks much but I did notice a lot of rotation on their power play. Last night the Predators rotated low players and totally lost the Flame defenders for tap in goals. I think you now have to stay with a player once you have him in the zone or he will be wide open.

Detroit has been aggressive an the pk forecheck for a long time. They were the first I saw overload the corner with 3 defenders and one on the dot when the puck is dumped in and the attackers back is turned. Now some teams are doing this on 5-5 with 4 deep in the corner and one the weak side player has net coverage.

I would love to hear a coach that uses these tactics explain them.

Teams are stretching one or two F's to the far blue line whenever they see the D can look up ice without too much pressure. It works well if the players are moving when they get the puck, otherwise they are outnumbered. At least the puck is out of the zone.

Another thing that Detroit started with all their Russian players was passing back to a moving player in the nzone to catch the defenders flat footed on the pplay. I am seeing this now when the defenders stack with a 1-2-2 in the nzone on 5-5 to gain the zone.

Some teams like Calgary are totally confused on how to cover the middle player on the 1-3-1 diamond power play and try to use the fall under and are always switching. Others simply have the defender checking the mid point drop down to that player when the puck is passed to the side.

The most sweeping change I have seen in the past few years is that the traditional triangle with F3 trailing is out he window and not F2 middle drives to the net and F1 and F3 are parallel behind F3 and if the backchecker doesn't pick up F3 he has a wide open net on the pass across or is in great positon to put in a pass off the goalies pad on a shot to the far side. D1 is now the trailer creating four on the attack.
Tom