A few observations:
- Tatar lead the team with 14 powerplay points (8 goals and 6 assists). He was arguably their best powerplay guy this season, he is a sniper with creativity. They've moved him to the bumper spot, essentially taking away his ability to use his creativity and thus limiting the effectiveness of their best powerplay guy this season. I can see Drouin taking his place on the wall, since Drouin is also very good on the powerplay, but I don't see the benefit of putting Tatar in the bumper spot.
- Weber is on the first unit instead of Petry. Over the past two seasons Petry has 23 PP pts to Weber's 14. Weber is a weapon on the powerplay, but his lack of mobility and playmaking nullifies any creativity of a powerplay. In my opinion, Weber is better off playing 2nd unit of a powerplay, a unit that keeps it simple and let's him fire shots from the point. This unit would also finish the powerplay ideally so if they dont score you already have Weber on the ice to defend against whoever the other team sends out.
- The first unit has no faceoff guys and only two guys who can breakout in Drouin and Tatar. They will be spending must of their time chasing the puck back into there own end. Suzuki is presumably taking every faceoff and he has a FO% of 46 this year. Weber is the worst guy to put on a powerplay unit that can't win faceoffs because he is essentially useless on the breakout. Meanwhile, the 2nd unit has 3 faceoff guys in KK, Domi, and Weal.
- They seem to think that having Suzuki QB the powerplay with Weber switching with Drouin is going to open up a seam for a Weber one timer, but when Suzuki hits that seam Tatar literally has enough time to control the pass and shoot it on his off hand and still hit an open net. A powerful one timer is not needed when it is Suzuki, they need a mobile shooter, which Weber is not.
- 2nd unit has KK in the bumper, he has never played the bumper. He is a creative playmaker and Julien wants him in the slot to try get off quick one timers instead of QBing or using his one timer from the side. Julien has no idea what he has in this player.
- Weal? I liked Weal when they got him, but Suzuki is better and essentially replaced the need for a guy like Weal. Why is he in the starting lineup, let alone the powerplay?
- The first unit features players from line 1 and 2. The 2nd unit features players from lines 2, 3, and 4. The lines are going to be messed up after every powerplay, which is gonna go over real well when Crosby and Malkin come right out.
My PP lineup:
Kotkaniemi (L)
Drouin (L) - Armia (R) - Suzuki (R)
Petry (R)
Notes:
- The first powerplay features lots of versatile players who could interchange and change up the dynamic depending on how the penalty killers are handling them. For example, KK could switch with Suzuki to take a one timer from the wall, or he could switch with Armia to open up a one timer option for Drouin to set up. Drouin can switch with Petry to open up another one timer option, or walk in and take the shot if it's there.
- The powerplay will be ran through Suzuki, who can use his deceptive pass to roll the puck over to Drouin (or Petry for a one timer if they've switched). He could also find Armia in the slot. Or he could use his backhand drop pass to set Petry up for a one timer from up top. Or he could use KK to get a pass from down low to Armia in the slot or even Drouin sneaking behind and the weak side. Suzuki was MTL's PP QB this year and this powerplay gives him a lot to work with.
- The first unit has KK and Suzuki for faceoffs, which gives them a lefty and a righty meaning they will always have someone on the strong hand for a faceoff. If they lose the draw they have Drouin and Petry to lead the breakout.
- The second unit is built much simpler, but the simplicity of the unit is what should make it effective. They have Danult (and Gallagher) down low and around the net to retrieve pucks. They have two one timer options on either side in Weber and Tatar. Lastly they have Mete, who is really mobile and can walk the blue line and QB from the point. I honestly think the other teams PK guys will be so focused on Weber and Tatar that Mete will be given a lot of room to get shots through screens set up by Gallagher and Danault. Mete has 5 career PP pts in 107 minutes, 2.8 / 60 min. For comparison sake, over the last two seasons Petry has 23 pts in 390 minutes, 3.5 / 60 min. Weber has 14 pts in 297 minutes, 2.8 / 60 min. In other words Mete has been just as effective as Weber on the powerplay, he just doesn't even get a chance. What little time Mete has gotten on the powerplay has been scraps, so his numbers are decent considering.
- The 2nd unit has the best faceoff guy in Danualt, and they have three food breakout players in Danault, Tatar, and Mete. I think Mete might actually be MTL's best breakout defenseman on the team.
- When the PP is over, should MTL not score the 2nd unit already features 5 of MTL's best defensive players in the lineup so they are already ready for whoever they have to face.
Rant about the powerplay over.
I know I didn't mention it anywhere but Domi could also fill in easily for multiple different players, ideally I would like to keep him fresh for 5 on 5 because he needs to be skating to be effective.
Domi must be on the pp and putting KK in front of the net/back of the line isnt that great too. Put KK instead of Mete and Domi at KK spot. Domis got quick hands to feed the puck to Suzuki or Armia in the slut while being a great presence to have in front of the net
Chiarot was on the powerplay for a few games this year. I think it's fair to assume that the coaches have absolutely no idea what they're doing.
Tatar Petry Suzuki were on the ice for 56% of our powerplay goals this year. What's the first thing they did in training camp? They separated them and put Suzuki with Weber.
Total **** show. Can't wait until Monsieur Patate, Richardson and Muller are gone.
Domi must be on the pp and putting KK in front of the net/back of the line isnt that great too. Put KK instead of Mete and Domi at KK spot. Domis got quick hands to feed the puck to Suzuki or Armia in the slut while being a great presence to have in front of the net
That's why I added the part where Domi could fit in multiple different roles. Specifically I see him filling in for KK or Danault at times, but he could honestly play any role on the powerplay, Drouin, Suzuki, Tatar, etc. My reasoning for Domi not being on the powerplay is because I have him as 2nd line C so he needs to be at his best 5 on 5 to match up against Malkin or Crosby. Him and Byron need to play with speed.
And KK being down low isn't ideal, but my reasoning for it is I see him sneaking out to get open when Drouin has the puck to do this:
That was Galchenyuks spot when Markov was feeding him the year he got 30 goals.
Either way it's much better than putting him in the bumper. And honestly, between Tatar, Suzuki, Drouin, even Domi, there is no room for KK to play on the wall at this point in time.
Who’s the trigger man? Look at every top pp in the game, they all have at least one. We have zero. Caufield will help after next season. If you watched the pp this year they were way to passive and had nobody to grab the puck and riffle it top shelf. Power plays aren’t difficult to run, but you need the right pieces; a sniper and a smart playmaker(caufield and kk or Suzuki or drouin).
Who’s the trigger man? Look at every top pp in the game, they all have at least one. We have zero. Caufield will help after next season. If you watched the pp this year they were way to passive and had nobody to grab the puck and riffle it top shelf. Power plays aren’t difficult to run, but you need the right pieces; a sniper and a smart playmaker(caufield and kk or Suzuki or drouin).
I believe KK AND Caufield will be our two snipers on the pp. KKs got the best shot in this team, just got to use it
Who’s the trigger man? Look at every top pp in the game, they all have at least one. We have zero. Caufield will help after next season. If you watched the pp this year they were way to passive and had nobody to grab the puck and riffle it top shelf. Power plays aren’t difficult to run, but you need the right pieces; a sniper and a smart playmaker(caufield and kk or Suzuki or drouin).
Caufield is going to change the dynamic of this team when he gets here.
Weber and Tatar are obviously the trigger man on PP2. We haven't really seen it here in MTL but look up Tatar's work with Detroit, he scored a lot of one timers. Gallagher is also another good shot from the slot.
PP1 is by committee, Suzuki an Drouin are equal threats to shoot and pass. Petry and Armia have heavy shots, and I'd love to see Drouin feeding KK for these:
I believe KK AND Caufield will be our two snipers on the pp. KKs got the best shot in this team, just got to use it
I believe thats why KK is being put in the bumper position in the slot. Drouin and Domi as a trigger man on the half wall actually could open up KK and Tatar in the slot for a quality shot from very good shooters in a high danger area. Also both Petry and Weber on the point make for 3 solid weapons on each unit. They are no longer 1 dimensional units
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