Shoot the puck!
The Kings had almost 15 minutes of power-play time last night, including two 5-on-3s, and they scored two power-play goals in 10 chances. That's pretty consistent with their power-play percentage this season, but the 5-on-3s, in particular, seem to be a point of frustration for fans because of the Kings' apparent reluctance to shoot the puck. If you feel that frustration, well, Terry Murray seems to be with you...
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Question: When you're on the power play, you hear the fans yelling for players to shoot. Are you yelling that too?
MURRAY: ``Yes, I do it all the time. If I'm not saying it, I'm thinking it. I've been around long enough to see 5-on-3s happen where... You might have a 5-on-3 for 40 seconds, and if you do too much of that passing stuff, next thing you know you've got five seconds left and you haven't taken a shot. You're trying to set up the perfect play. Shooting the puck is where it's at on the 5-on-3.
``To keep it simple is best. Plays happen off loose pucks in the NHL. That's all there is to it. You get the opposition defensemen turning around, the penalty-killing team is facing their net, loose pucks and scrambles happen and good things happen for you as a team that is shooting the puck. Goaltenders are human. There is a lot of stress and there is a lot of pressure on them, and fatigue does become a part of the power play and it works for you.
``So I'm constantly looking at power plays that shoot the puck. I really believe that the blue line is where it starts. In order to have a successful power play, you've got to be able to bring the puck from the top. The statistics are -- and I have this someplace but I don't know where I put it -- but the percentage of power-play success rate from the top, shots that come from the blue line as opposed to any other area on the ice, it's incredible. It's like 78 percent, as opposed to 15 percent. It's an incredible stat. So when you ask that question, yes, I'm constantly saying that guys have to get the puck to the net. They've got to shoot it.
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J.P. Hoornstra writes about NHL and IHL hockey for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. He welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
E-mail J.P. at jp.hoornstra@inlandnewspapers.com.
Jill Painter joined the Daily News in 2000 and during the last eight years she's covered the Dodgers, Cal State Northridge, UCLA, Kings, golf and everything in between. Even though she's from Colorado, she still freezes in the Staples Center press box but always manages to thaw her fingers in time to make deadline. E-mail Jill at jill.painter@dailynews
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Vincent Bonsignore is a sports columnist for the Los Angeles Daily News. E-mail Vinny at vincent.bonsignore
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While shooting the puck more is vital on these situations, I think the kings need to get their feet moving more. Every time I see the kings on a 5 on 3 situation, players are stationary while passing the puck around. They need to skate to try to draw the front pker out of position while still making tape to tape passes.
WHAT THE PUCK!!! SHOOT IT heheheh
It is sad to watch teams with good powerplays (read: Detroit) compared to the Kings. Anthony hit the nail on the head, there is hardly any movement at all.
The key to movement on the power play--the key to movement in the offensive zone AT ANY TIME--is to penetrate into the defense and make the defenseman commit/move their feet. This can be subtle, or decisive, with a feint of pass or shoot. The key is to get the defense to MOVE; if they move they get tired and they make mistakes. If they move, they get out of position and there is a lane to shoot. Sometimes they go down to the ice to block a shot...
But no matter what, this is about commitment--where the defense wants to wait to commit and the offense tries to get them to commit.
they seem to have the D men on the wrong side during the PP, the left handed shot needs to be on the right point, the right handed shot needs to be on the left point which opens them up for the one timers. they got stuck on the wrong side playing ping pong w/ the puck and not enough time to turn and get anything on the shot.
Frolov is good at moving. If he has no one on him he will usually move to draw the defenseman. I have seen him a countless number of times skate toward the point and then suddenly pass the puck back to the corner so you have two pker's at the top toward the blueline which leaves the person in the corner to make a play whether it be a cross-ice pass or shot.