Penguins have a few ideas on how to slow Capitals' power play
It?s that wicked one-timer from the left faceoff circle by Alex Ovechkin.
It?s John Carlson on the point.
It?s the puck movement through Nicklas Backstrom at the half-wall, T.J. Oshie in the slot or Marcus Johansson at the net front.
The Washington Capitals power play converted eight times while dispatching the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. It also paced the Eastern Conference in the regular season with 55 power-play goals and a 21.9 percent success rate.
The Penguins? ability to extinguish, or even slightly muffle the Capitals power play, will go a long way to determining their success when the two teams open their second-round playoff series Thursday night at Verizon Center in Washington.
?You know what?s coming. You know what to expect. You can scout it as much as you want,? said Penguins winger Eric Fehr, a former Capitals player. ?But they have one more guy on the ice, and it makes it pretty tough to cover everyone.?
Coach Mike Sullivan indicated Tuesday the Penguins have done some sleuthing in preparation of the series and determined a plan to thwart the Capitals? power-play attack.
Predictably, he did not elaborate on what that plan was.
?We have some ideas on what we think we?re going to try to do to try to negate their success,? Sullivan said. ?But, obviously, we have a lot of respect for their power play.
?It?s been very good all year. I think [these are] two teams that are pretty familiar with one another as far as how we play. And so we have some ideas going into this that we think we?re going to share with our guys and, hopefully, we can get the job done, but it?s certainly going to be a big challenge for our group.?
It?s not the structure that makes it difficult.
The Capitals have employed the same basic 1-3-1 formation for many years. Fehr estimates little has changed on the power play in as long as five years.
?They?ve been a really good power-play [team] for it seems like a really good time, since Adam Oates was behind the bench,? veteran penalty-killer Matt Cullen said. ?They just have a lot of threats. You can?t really take one guy away. They move the puck around well, and they?re patient.?
Still, it is as daunting as it ever was.
The biggest obstacle, several penalty-killers said, remains the number of players who can individually make life difficult.
?You can cover whichever guys [you] want, but they seem to be able to find one guy who?s always open,? Fehr said. ?It?s kind of pick your poison. Find the guy you want to cover, you have to leave somebody open for a shot, and they seem to find that guy a lot.?
The Penguins allowed just two power-play goals in 19 such situations against the New York Rangers in the first round and produced the league?s fifth-best penalty-kill in the regular season.
But the Capitals power play and its many options is another animal.
?They have a lot of weapons. They also have Carlson and [Matt] Niskanen on top there who have a good shot,? Carl Hagelin said. ?That?s what it comes down to, a lot of options. You?ve got to watch video, pay attention to detail and hopefully execute when we get out there on a PK.
?If [Ovechkin is] not open, Backstrom is pretty good at finding other options. It?s important for us to read what?s going on.?
It?s that wicked one-timer from the left faceoff circle by Alex Ovechkin.
It?s John Carlson on the point.
It?s the puck movement through Nicklas Backstrom at the half-wall, T.J. Oshie in the slot or Marcus Johansson at the net front.
The Washington Capitals power play converted eight times while dispatching the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. It also paced the Eastern Conference in the regular season with 55 power-play goals and a 21.9 percent success rate.
The Penguins? ability to extinguish, or even slightly muffle the Capitals power play, will go a long way to determining their success when the two teams open their second-round playoff series Thursday night at Verizon Center in Washington.
?You know what?s coming. You know what to expect. You can scout it as much as you want,? said Penguins winger Eric Fehr, a former Capitals player. ?But they have one more guy on the ice, and it makes it pretty tough to cover everyone.?
Coach Mike Sullivan indicated Tuesday the Penguins have done some sleuthing in preparation of the series and determined a plan to thwart the Capitals? power-play attack.
Predictably, he did not elaborate on what that plan was.
?We have some ideas on what we think we?re going to try to do to try to negate their success,? Sullivan said. ?But, obviously, we have a lot of respect for their power play.
?It?s been very good all year. I think [these are] two teams that are pretty familiar with one another as far as how we play. And so we have some ideas going into this that we think we?re going to share with our guys and, hopefully, we can get the job done, but it?s certainly going to be a big challenge for our group.?
It?s not the structure that makes it difficult.
The Capitals have employed the same basic 1-3-1 formation for many years. Fehr estimates little has changed on the power play in as long as five years.
?They?ve been a really good power-play [team] for it seems like a really good time, since Adam Oates was behind the bench,? veteran penalty-killer Matt Cullen said. ?They just have a lot of threats. You can?t really take one guy away. They move the puck around well, and they?re patient.?
Still, it is as daunting as it ever was.
The biggest obstacle, several penalty-killers said, remains the number of players who can individually make life difficult.
?You can cover whichever guys [you] want, but they seem to be able to find one guy who?s always open,? Fehr said. ?It?s kind of pick your poison. Find the guy you want to cover, you have to leave somebody open for a shot, and they seem to find that guy a lot.?
The Penguins allowed just two power-play goals in 19 such situations against the New York Rangers in the first round and produced the league?s fifth-best penalty-kill in the regular season.
But the Capitals power play and its many options is another animal.
?They have a lot of weapons. They also have Carlson and [Matt] Niskanen on top there who have a good shot,? Carl Hagelin said. ?That?s what it comes down to, a lot of options. You?ve got to watch video, pay attention to detail and hopefully execute when we get out there on a PK.
?If [Ovechkin is] not open, Backstrom is pretty good at finding other options. It?s important for us to read what?s going on.?
