Brock Nelson - New York Islanders - October 22, 2013
One thing you have to love about the New York Islanders organisation is that they seem to know how to be patient with their younger players (unless your name is Nino Niederreiter). Brock Nelson was drafted in 2010 but didn't see his first NHL action until the playoffs of last season, a May 11th tilt against Pittsburgh which would be the deciding game of the series. Nelson registered 7:44 of ice time-all even strength-no shots, one hit, and a -1. He is still seeing light minutes on the squad but he seems to be finding his sea legs:
I can't say I'm a huge fan of dump-and-chase but goshdarnit if it doesn't work every once in a while. The Vancouver Canucks are executing a change on the fly so the Islanders decide to throw some chaos into the mix. Nelson gets the puck at the blue line and throws the puck into the zone. It's a surprisingly well-placed dump as the puck rings around the boards and makes it to the midpoint of the zone on the opposite boards. Cal Clutterbuck gets to the puck first and fires it back behind the net to a waiting Peter Regin as Vancouver's defence abandons coverage and just starts watching the puck. Regin tries to stuff the puck under Roberto Luongo's pads and the rebound pops out in front of the net to a wide open Nelson. He capitalizes and opens the scoring just under 2:30 into the game.
Vancouver's defencive lapse definitely makes this play possible but you have to give credit to the Isles for their positioning here. Regin is the first into the zone and makes a B-line to challenge the goaltender but settles behind the net for a pass once the puck starts heading up-boards. Clutterbuck goes straight to the opposite wall from where the puck entered. Nelson slowly makes his way through the slot, looking for open ice until he finds a nice hunk of real estate in front of the crease and a juicy rebound. You can be sure this was a set play, and isn't it nice when a plan comes together?
Nikita Zadorov - Buffalo Sabres - October 23, 2013
I'm always a little shocked to see 18-year-old defencemen in the league, but I guess when you're a 6'5" and 220 pounds you're going to get a solid look from the pro team. The defencive aspects of the game are a little more difficult to acclimate to (heck, ask Alex Ovechkin) but one thing that pretty much cannot be taught is goal-scoring. It's early in his career but let's see what Nikita Zadorov has up his sleeve:
I had to watch this a few times to count how many Bruins are on the ice, but then I realised their PK isn't this bad. The Sabres get set off of the faceoff as Marcus Foligno wins it back to Zadorov. Zadorov spreads out the Bruins' forecheck before passing down the boards to Steve Ott and moves from the left side to centre. Ott feeds the puck back to Zadorov who shows slap shot for a moment but decides to take things further into the zone. Zadorov beats Carl Soderberg around the outside and puts a backhander towards the net. Even with Chad Johnson hugging the near post, Zadorov's shot still makes its way to the back of the net.
At first glance, I thought that if scoring goals in the NHL is this easy (it's not) then I could make a team (I couldn't). Zadorov's backhand shot is perfectly placed and instead of going through Johnson's pads, it goes around him to hit the far side of the net. Soderberg's stick-checking makes things a little difficult but what really makes this goal possible is the lack of low-end support by the Bruins. The Sabres do a great job of tying up the defence so that Zadorov has room to skate in and places his shot excellently despite the wide angle. Looking good, kid.
Eric Gelinas - New Jersey Devils - October 24, 2013
The Devils are definitely not a young group, especially with 41-year-olds Martin Brodeur and Jaromir Jagr in the lineup. The blue line got an injection of youth, however, as rookie Eric Gelinas cracked the lineup in late October. He played one game last season but this year it looks like he might be here to stay. Here he is, making his 2013-14 debut like a boss:
New Jersey is on the Power Play with the puck in the corner of Vancouver's zone. The Canucks dig it free and try to clear from behind their net but Marek Zidlicky cuts the puck off at the blue line. And here we see the same sort of movement from Nikita Zadorov's goal. Zidlicky waits for Brad Richardson to challenge and passes to Travis Zajac lower along the boards. Because of Richardson's forecheck, Zajac has a lane to Gelinas who is waiting between in the middle of the ice between the slot and the blue line. Gelinas handles the puck and shoots it just as Mike Santorelli pinches up. The shot deflects off of Chris Tanev's arm and past Roberto Luongo's glove.
The Canucks forwards were playing a little deep here but the Devils did a good job of spreading them out on this play by moving the puck around up high. Some teams will get too cute with the puck on the man-advantage but in situations like this when the penalty killers aren't collapsing in the slot, it bodes well to just get shots on goal before things settle. Gelinas did a great job pulling some traffic into the middle of the ice. I just hope he gave Tanev a high five after the game.
Anthony Peluso - Winnipeg Jets - October 24, 2013
For those of you who are unaware, the NHL made some changes in the past offseason to hopefully increase offence. They shortened goalie pads by a few inches but also shaved four inches of depth off of the nets. So how has the added space in Gretzky's office made an impact in the play of the game? Anthony Peluso has an answer for that:
Anthony Peluso starts and finishes this play from his own zone. Peluso challenges Kevin Klein at the Winnipeg blue line successfully as the puck chips up right to Michael Frolik. Frolik gloves it down and starts the charge into the centre of the ice before passing to Peluso, who had changed positions with him. Peluso gains the zone and drops the puck back to Olli Jokinen who has joined the rush. The pass freezes Klein and Jokinen immediately gets it back to Peluso who skates behind the net and uses his reach to slip the puck in on the wrap-around.
It is amazing how bad Klein looks on this play. He can't control the puck at the blue line, he is completely nonexistant on the backcheck, and he blows coverage in his own zone with Matt Cullen coming off the bench to even up the numbers for the Preds. Peluso does a great job jumping into position without the puck during this rush, which is probably why he touches it three times in the sequence. Klein gets swept up in the movement on the play and Peluso makes him and the team pay for it.
Ryan Murray - Columbus Blue Jackets - October 25, 2013
The Blue Jackets are starting the arduous process of rebuilding their team through the draft. A lot of their core has been traded for after the loss of Rick Nash but they are finally starting to see their former picks make an impact on the roster. Ryan Murray, a 2012 pick, dove straight into the NHL after spending last season with his junior team and hasn't looked back. Here we see him forgetting that he's actually a defenceman:
Well. Let's at least try to make sense of all this. Columbus is on the Power Play and entering the Toronto zone. R.J. Umberger has the puck and gets tied up by James Van Riemsdyk along the wall. Jay McClement adds some pressure but the puck bounces deeper into the zone. Brandon Dubinsky tries to corral it but Cody Franson pushes the puck back up the boards. Ryan Johansen gains possession and draws JVR into the middle of the ice while James Wisniewski slides into Johansen's previous spot. Johansen drops the pass to Wisniewski whom McClement acknowledges he should be covering but keeps his feet planted. Wisniewski fires a shot on net and, in the confusion in front of the crease, Murray had pinched all the way into the slot and it was just a matter of picking up the trash.
I have to say Toronto did a pretty solid job breaking up the rush and getting in position on the kill. Two things make this play turn into a scoring opportunity: Jay McClement's lack of coverage on Wisniewski and Paul Ranger shoving Dubinsky in front of the net. Ranger's overcommitment to Dubinsky causes him to turn his back on Murray's movements and abandon his awareness of an entire area of the ice. Murray takes advantage of JVR's high pressure, McClement's inactivity, and the Toronto defencemen's distracted attention to get to a vulnerable part of ice.
Rasmus Ristolainen - Buffalo Sabres - October 25, 2013
We all knew that Buffalo would be a flaming trainwreck this season. It needed to happen. But, if you're allegiances fall to this franchise, here's another reason to take solace in the future:
The puck is behind the net in Florida's zone and Cody McCormick and Eric Gudbranson are practically making out below the goal line, allowing Thomas Vanek to do what Thomas Vanek does and gain possession. Vanek tries to feed Hodgson in the slot but Hodgson doesn't get good wood on it and the puck skitters out to the blue line. Rasmus Ristolainen settles, handles and fires a wrister back into the fray which finds the twine at the far post. McCormick and Gudbranson are rounding second base, which is the only explanation I can think of for why McCormick didn't know the puck had gone in and felt the need to finish the job when everyone is just standing around.
It's a shame that the lovefest in front of the net kind of took front and centre but it did provide enough distraction so that goaltender Jacob Markstrom couldn't stop the shot. Still it does help to show why if you are struggling, or your team flat out isn't very good and is playing another team that flat out isn't very good, a viable strategy is to get as many pucks on net as possible. We appreciate your misdirection plays, Vanek and Hodgson, but let's keep it simple thank you very much. Can we also agree that Ristolainen ties teammate Zemgus Girgensons for best name U20 in the NHL?
Tyler Pitlick - Edmonton Oilers - October 26, 2013
The Oilers are a young team and keep rolling with the rookies. After the absolute snub of Will Acton, will the squad redeem itself and actually get excited for a player's first NHL tally? Tyler Pitlick solves that question for us:
The Phoenix Coyotes go for the dump-and-chase play entering the Edmonton zone to which Edmonton says "No Sir". Jason Labarbera sends the puck into the corner and the Oilers converge to pressure the attacking Coyotes. Boyd Gordon frees the puck from Mikkel Boedker and Pitlick picks it up and leads the rush. Pitlick pushes the puck up the boards, chipping it off the wall which causes Keith Yandle to turn his body. Pitlick generates space and comes in towards Mike Smith at a wide angle. He completely whiffs on his first shot attempt but gets the blade on the second attempt which finds its way past Smith. Hugs all around!
This is kind of a strange one. I think Pitlick was actually just trying to put the puck on Smith's pads to set up the rebound for Mark Arcobello charging down the middle because there really isn't any mustard on the shot whatsoever. Smith is going for the clear with his stick and didn't even bite on the missed shot but he leaves his five-hole wide open, allowing the puck to trickle past him. The move on Yandle, however, where Pitlick started to head inside but jumped to the outside once Yandle turned, was absolutely brilliant and I give full credit to that decision for what made this play turn into a goal.
Jayson Megna - Pittsburgh Penguins - October 28, 2013
The Penguins seem to be the bright spot in the newly formulated Metropolitan Division, which isn't really saying a whole lot judging by how bad the division is as a whole. Still, you need to get your wins where you can find them and Jayson Megna helps put this one to bed in his NHL first:
It's a short video but let's see what we have here. Chris Kunitz sends the puck into the corner for Sidney Crosby who gives it right back to Kunitz. Kunitz backhands the puck to the blue line for a waiting Brooks Orpik. In his own magical way, Crosby finds himself teleported from the boards into the slot to take the pass that Orpik sends to him. Crosby quickly gains control and fires the shot towards the net which appears to deflect off of Megna's leg and past Justin Peters.
Again we see the golden rule of "if you want to score goals, be on a line with Sidney Crosby". Megna starts this play off a little bit higher on the boards than Kunitz but quickly realises he should be camping out in front of the net. Megna finds himself behind Andrej Sekera and provides a surface for Crosby to shoot off of which goes into the net because that is what Sidney Crosby does. Love him or hate him, as of Megna's goal Crosby had 12 assists in 12 games which, for those keeping score at home, is absolutely ridiculous.
Jordan Szwarz - Phoenix Coyotes - October 31, 2013
The ownership woes in Glendale, Arizona have long been settled and the Phoenix Coyotes are back in business. In a highly competitive Pacific Division, Phoenix is finding a way to get things done. Down three goals early in the second period against Nashville, the Coyotes needed some sort of spark to get into the game. Any Spaceballs fans out there?:
I would not expect Nashville to win a single game if that is how they cover transition through the neutral zone. Sorry for the awful announcing by the way. Oliver Ekman-Larsson has the puck in his own zone and is getting some pretty half-assed forechecking from David Legwand. OEL passes to Zbynek Michalek who sees the entire Predators roster coming over to his side of the ice with Jordan Szwarz all alone on the left end of the Nashville blue line. Szwarz receives the pass, gains the zone, and shoots through our old buddy Kevin Klein. The puck takes a weird bounce past Carter Hutton's glove and in.
Wow this is bad on Nashville's part. They give Phoenix all the time in the world with the puck in all three zones and pay dearly for it. Fast-forward to the end of the game and Phoenix wins 5-4 in the shootout, which shouldn't surprise anyone. If you want to see exactly where this goal happens, pause the video at the 0:05 mark and note where all the white jerseys are on the ice. Szwarz is exactly where he should be on the breakout and gets enough on his shot to start the comeback.
Valeri Nichuskin - Dallas Stars - November 3, 2013
If you want to see a player have a large burden lift off of his shoulders, this is the goal for you. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that this is the prospect I was most excited to see play to start the season. So here we are, the beginning of November, and one Valeri Nichuskin finally gets his first:
This video is pretty terrible but I think I have it pieced together. The Ottawa Senators charge into the Dallas zone, Milan Michalek passes to Zack Smith who gets a shot off on Kari Lehtonen. The rebound pops out to Nichuskin who needs to bring it out to the boards in order to settle it before sending it up the ice. The puck gets around a few bodies and finds Cody Eakin heading through the neutral zone. Eakin stops just past the red line and sends a backhander to Brenden Dillon who enters Ottawa territory. Dillon backhands to Nichuskin who holds for a moment before ripping the wrist shot past Craig Andersen's blocker. And the kid looks up to the skies in praise and thanks.
For those of you wondering what 3-on-3 hockey in overtime would look like, this is probably pretty similar insofar as we see odd-man rushes happening very quickly up and down the ice. This is textbook, where the offence draws the defence to the sides, opening up the middle of the ice for a solid scoring chance. In case you were wondering, this is the only goal Nichuskin has so far this year but he has been seeing some healthy top-line minutes since.
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