Like Mike Rainey mentioned in his post game blog last night, the Blues should look at picking up an elite offensive defenseman to power play the quarterback. It’s the most glaring hole on what’s the 30th ranked power play in the league.
That said, this team has more than enough talent to have a successful power play. The proof is in the numbers. The Blues average 1.91 even strength goals per game. That puts them seventh in the league. SEVENTH! They’re ahead of teams like Pittsburgh, San Jose and Buffalo.
|
Team |
GP |
ES Goals |
ES GPG |
1 |
Ottawa |
45 |
106 |
2.36 |
2 |
Detroit |
47 |
100 |
2.13 |
3 |
Colorado |
46 |
97 |
2.11 |
4 |
Toronto |
46 |
92 |
2.00 |
5 |
Washington |
45 |
89 |
1.98 |
6 |
Calgary |
48 |
94 |
1.96 |
7 |
St. Louis |
44 |
84 |
1.91 |
8 |
Carolina |
48 |
91 |
1.90 |
9 |
Nashville |
45 |
85 |
1.89 |
10 |
Buffalo |
44 |
82 |
1.86 |
So, how is it that a team can be one of the league leaders at scoring without the man advantage but is unable to find the back of the net when on the power play?
#1 – Inability to set up in the zone
Watch other teams on the power play. You’ll see them get setup easily by moving quickly through the neutral zone, cross the blue line, and then stop immediately after entering the zone. The puck carrier’s teammates quickly move into the zone with him and get open so he can dish off the puck before pressure gets to him.
When I watch the Blues try to enter the zone on the power play I have to double check to make sure that I didn’t hit the slow motion button on my remote. They move slowly into the neutral zone and eventually usually just dump the puck in because it’s easy for the opposition to clog everything up when you’re moving at that speed. Any time you dump it in, you risk them getting there first and immediate clearing the puck. And even if you get there first there’s almost always a battle for the puck in the corners, wasting away precious seconds with the man advantage.
#2 – Poor decision making
Much of being successful in hockey is just making smart plays with the puck, but on the power play it’s even more important. Great power play teams make smart passes and more importantly smart shots. Passes should go to open players. Shots shouldn’t be taken when there is someone to block it eight feet in front of you. This might seem like common sense, but it’s a problem that plagues this team’s power play.
#3 – Getting the right players on the ice
I realize that stats aren’t everything, but behindthenet.ca has done some incredible work to measure the effectiveness of players. One stat in particular measures the effectiveness of a team’s power play with a player on the ice vs. how effective that team’s power play is while he’s on the bench.
Let’s take Brad Boyes for example. When he’s on the ice, the Blues score 5.20 goals per 60 minutes of power play ice time. When he’s off the ice, it drops to 3.26 goals. So his net effectiveness on the power play is +1.94 goals per 60 minutes.
Forwards |
GFON/60 |
GFOFF/60 |
+/- |
Lee Stempniak |
6.28 |
2.03 |
+4.25 |
David Perron |
4.90 |
3.84 |
+1.06 |
Paul Kariya |
4.65 |
4.03 |
+0.62 |
David Backes |
4.03 |
3.94 |
+0.09 |
Keith Tkachuk |
4.22 |
4.57 |
-0.35 |
Andy McDonald |
3.75 |
6.43 |
-2.68 |
Clearly, Lee Stempniak needs to see more power play time on the first unit. When he’s on the ice, the power play is 209% more effective than when he’s off. On the other hand, when Andy McDonald is on the ice the power play is 58% as effective as it is without him on the ice.
As for Tkachuk, the numbers confirm what most have already noticed. He just doesn’t have the same quickness he once had and it’s obvious that his ability to bury chances in the trenches has taken a step back this year.
As for the point-men…
Defensemen |
GFON/60 |
GFOFF/60 |
+/- |
Christian Backman |
5.61 |
2.82 |
+2.79 |
Brad Boyes |
5.20 |
3.26 |
+1.94 |
Eric Brewer |
4.61 |
3.73 |
+0.88 |
Erik Johnson |
4.28 |
5.59 |
-1.31 |
Steve Wagner |
2.97 |
5.40 |
-2.43 |
I’m guessing these numbers aren’t going to resonate well in Blues Nation. Christian Backman might actually be important to this team’s success and despite their obvious offensive ability, Erik Johnson and Steve Wagner apparently aren’t ingredients in the recipe for a successful Blues power play.
There’s no question in my mind that Erik Johnson will one day be an elite power play defenseman, but he’s not quite there yet. In college he had a ridiculously large ice surface at the University of Minnesota and at this level he has a lot less space to play around with. Eventually he’ll adapt his game to that fact and become a more productive member of the power play.
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