Anatomy of a Goal: Designed Plays = Game Winning Goals

Pred Nation!

I love this goal.   Seriously, I LOVE this goal.  We've previously looked individually at either when faceoff wins, or lack of defensive speed, results in goals.  This week's goal by J.P. Dumont is a perfect example of how a designed play can exploit them both, and, only nine seconds apart, result in a game winning goal.  So lets break down one heckuva game winner (and streak snapper) in this edition of AOAG.

[Note:  I'm going to try something new in this post and put the football analogies in brackets, that way people who want to read them can, but those who don't can easily skip over.  As always, questions, comments, etc. are welcomed at preds101@comcast.net, or on twitter @preds101].

The Goal

The Breakdown

1.  The play starts off in a seriously offensive formation.  Shea Weber (D, #6) and J.P. Dumont (RW, #71) are lined up far to the right of the faceoff... an aggressive move given the fact that the faceoff is in the defensive zone

[Football fans, this is an offensive formation because it allows for breakaways, but provides the goalie less protection.  A rough football analogy would be a spread offense.  A typical formation would have Weber directly behind the center taking the faceoff, and the right wing standing closer to the faceoff circle, either to the right or behind the winger].

2.  Notice where the feet are positioned relative to the hash-marks on the circles.  Jason Arnott's (C, #19), feet in the right red circle.  He is lined up on the mark, as close to the Blues player as possible.  Steve Sullivan, (LW, #26), on the other hand, is a foot off the mark.  This allows for Sully to move quickly, without getting tied up with the Blues defender.

[Think of the difference as a defenseive CB who lines up on the line for bump-and-run coverage, versus a cornerback who gives the WR a few yards.]

3.  Now the logic behind the initial formation unfolds.

A. Marcel Goc (C, #9) wins the faceoff, and passes it behind him to a "seemingly" empty space.

B. Sullivan moves toward the puck, unobstructed, to gain possession

C. Weber moves back in anticipation of a pass.

D. Dumont is off to the races down ice, down the right boards.

E. Arnott is breaking down ice down the left boards.

4. Weber gets the pass from the now obstructed Sullivan.  He will pull the puck from his backhand to his forehand to make the pass up to Dumont.  Dumont is wide open and moving up ice.   However, the Blues defender is following Dumont toward the right sideboards.

5. Notice how this play has left the left side of the ice cluttered with players, especially Blues players.  Meanwhile, the Preds, Puck, and Play are all moving toward the right and out of the zone.  Arnott has already slipped by his man, who was likely not expecting the player from that position to break out of the zone.

6.  Weber makes the pass to Dumont, who has plenty of room to maneuver.

7.  Dumont has the puck and speed for a two-on-two breakaway.  Even if nothing else happens, this is a great transition from defense to offense.

[Transitioning from defense-to-offense quickly and effectively is a critical but difficult-to-measure team skill.  Sort of akin to the ability to convert third downs, if your team can't do it, they are not going to win alot of games].

8.  Arnott has blown by the forwards, and is not manned up with the other Blues defenseman, Eric Brewer (D, #4).  He was so quick down ice that he is forced to slow down a touch to avoid being offsides.

8.1 (Oops, two "8"s, anyway, above...)  It's amazing to see on the video, but tough to see in the still frames:  Dumont really puts on a burst of speed here.  He decides to go toward the boards with the puck.  In doing so he gets the defender, Darryl Sydor, (D, 44, age 37) turned around.

[If Dumont didn't have that extra speed to get passed the Blues defender, Sydor, what you would have seen is Dumont dumping the puck into the zone deep, a.k.a. "dump-and-chase"].

9.  The speed burst gives forces Sydor to turn from skating backwards to skating forwards.  That move, plus Dumont's speed, will give Dumont a step on the defender.

10.  The other defender, Brewer, is still forced to respect Arnott, who is coming into the zone and trailing Dumont.  If it were not for Arnott, the defender would be able to make a more aggressive play on Dumont.

11.   Dumont's extra speed meant that the blues defender, Sydor, was unable to make a good play on the puck.  The speed also meant that the defender was in no position to take down Dumont with a body check.  Sydor's only remaining option?  To take a diving poke-check at the puck.  This is not a position the defender wants to be in.  Sure enough, the diving poke-check misses.

Additionally, Brewer, the lower defender, realizes his defensive partner is in trouble, and moves over to help on Dumont.

12.  Brewer is unable to get over in time.  Dumont has "built a wall" so that his body is positioned between himself and Brewer.  Dumont is able to get a shot off that isn't the best shot in the world, but it is a goal.  The game winner, no less.  Sydor can only look on and realize his lack of speed resulted in a goal.  Had it puck not gone in, Arnott was close behind to attempt to pick up the rebound.

Conclusion

What a fantastic play.  An important face-off win on a drawn up "get-down-ice-quick" play results in a great individual move and a goal.  Its these types of goals that are hard to appreciate full speed at the game, or on TV, but really give you a sense of how impressive the game is.  Until next time, lets go Preds!

Anatomy of a Play: Why Faceoffs are so Important

On this installment of Anatomy of a Play, we look at Steve Sullivan's hat trick as a perfect example of why faceoff wins are so important in hockey.  We dig deeper into this peculiar mix of finesse and fury, complete with video, photos, and cheesy telestration, after the break.

First, a Quick Primer of Faceoffs

Faceoffs are how each stoppage of play gets resumed in hockey.  Winning faceoffs establishes possession of hte puck for your team.  The more faceoffs you win, the more often you have the puck, and the more likely you are to score (or less likely you are to get scored on).  Think of starting field position in football.  Kickers who routinely kick touchbacks, and punters who can pin an opponent inside the 20, are the unsung heroes of many a game.  Any real titan fan has to admit how important Craig Hentrich has been to so many Titan Wins.

The same true for centers in hockey.  A premium is placed on centers who win faceoffs (a.k.a. "draws") consistently.  For example, former predator Scott Nichol, now of the San Jose Sharks, is currently third in the league, winning 62% of his faceoffs.  Predator Captain Jason Arnott (#19) currently wins exactly 50%.  Fortunately, he won this draw that led to the Sullivan Goal.

Sullivan's Third Goal

Breaking Down the Faceoff

1.  Arnott wins the faceoff cleanly, passing the puck to Steve Sullivan (#29).  Steve Sullivan immediately passes the puck back to defenseman Dan Hamhuis (#2).  The pass from Sully to Hamhuis is so fast that I actually missed it on the reply twice.  Judging by the speed of the pass, and the angle/grip of Arnott's, Sully, and Hamhuis' sticks, it my fair guess that this play is a designed play.

2. The Columbus center, Antione Vermette's, (#50) first instinct is to chase the puck to Steve Sullivan.  However, because Sullivan got the puck to Hamhuis so quickly,  Vermette is pulled slightly out of position.

3. Hamhuis draws the blue jacket toward him, and then passes the puck to defenseman Francis Boullion (#51).  Notice that Boullion is pretty far away from the faceoff circle, is close to the blue line, and far away from any Columbus players.  This is because he was backing up since the faceoff win, in expectation of a pass.  (I say this because, if Boullion were in a more defensive mode, he'd likely be closer to center ice to prevent a push up ice by the Blue Jackets)

4. Notice how much room Boullion has to work with.  This amount of open ice is because simultaneous penalties have resulted in a 4-on-4 situation.  This is an offensive dream come true.  Boullion could walk forward and take a quick wrist shot, if he wanted to.  That would be a bad option here, though, because the Blue Jacket goalie has shifted from top-to-bottom of the screen following the pass to Boullion.

5.  The Columbus center Vermette is now pretty far out of position, due to the quick passes by Arnott, then Sullivan, then Hamhuis.  As Vermette has always had defensive responsibility for this side of the ice,  he is now in a mad-dash to get back into position and to cover Boullion.

6. Boullion is patient with the puck.  He waits until Vermette is on top of him before returning the pass on Sullivan.

7.  The Blue Jacket winger is actually NOT responsible for Sullivan in this situation, but is covering Hamhuis, who is behind Sullivan and off-screen to the left.  However, noticing the defensive breakdown, he is scrambling to cover Sullivan.

8.  Notice how after winning the faceoff, Arnott makes a drive toward the net.  Arnott is a big, strong center who can take up alot of valuable space in front of the net.  This is good because not only is he completely occupying one defender, but the other defender is clearly out of position and seems lost in the shuffle.  Did I mention that Sullivan has his stick practically over his head, waiting for a big, fat, juicy slapshot?

9.  From the behind the goal angle, we can see the result of Boullion's patience on the return pass: a wide open shootling lane.  The Blue Jackets are out of position as a result of chasing the quick Nashville passes.  The goalie is trying to get set up in front of the shot, but to no avail.  Sullivan knocks home an easy slap shot for the hat trick.

Five Seconds?

There you have it, the face off win sets up four passes and a slapshot goal... all in five seconds.  Obviosly crisp passing and knowing where your other teammates are on the ice is important.  But this goal, which really put the Blue Jackets away, would have never happened without that all important face-off win.

I hope that helps explain the importance of the face-off.  As always, this blog is still very much a work in progress.  Please send any questions or feedback to preds101@comcast.net.