Breaking It Down: Taking A Look At The New York Rangers Power Play

All they do is stand still and pass….where’s gabby where’s Richards pass pass pass to them.

If there going to stand still and pass in the same place 2-5 minutes at least just continue to shoot. Its like the lottery….u have to be in it to win it. They aren’t shooting towards the net how will they ever score

  Power-plays at their core are very simple math calculations. There’s 1 or 2 more of your team than their team. Simply put, if all 5 guys out there (or 4 if you’re a picky s.o.b. and it’s a 4-on-3) aren’t perceived as a threat, then your PP will more than likely fail. That’s what a PP is about; turning each player into a scoring threat in order to force the penalty-killers to adjust.

  What? That’s a great question from the back row. How do you make them adjust? By moving. See, when there’s more of your team out there, the penalty-killers should have to move in order to cover lanes and cover the higher scoring threat. If you stand still and just pass the puck, then the penalty-killers will happily stand around for 2 minutes and think about that red-head in the 3rd row.

  That’s all it is. It’s simply the greatest cure for most hockey-ills. Move your damn feet. If you’re moving, then they’re moving, and that means that passing lanes will open up, and when players on the PP are making themselves a threat, the PK unit will have to move, which opens up passing/shooting lanes, and it means they have to prioritize threats, which means at least 1 person on your team should be wide open. It is also VERY tiring being a PK player against a PP unit that is skating and moving.

  That’s all Mike Sullivan should be worrying about. If I was him, I’d put together 2 units (1 with AA in front of the net, the other with Bigfoot or Dubinsky), have them move around against the PK unit to create passing/shooting lanes, and put the puck on-goal every 15 seconds or they have to skate a lap. Just simplify the shit out of it.

anybody else fall for the “double tap for options” thing on the pictures?

All analysis aside, there is more glaring big-picture problem with the PP that, for the life of me, I do not understand…

This is NY, right? Players from around the league and even around the world dream and clamor to play for this Original 6 franchise in particular, and ironically sometimes even for less money on a big-market team that can afford to shell out more.

So can someone please explain to me why, with all the cash and resources we have at our disposal, we have a saw-no-better-than-third-line-action, never-saw-any-PP-time, ex-NHL journeyman in charge of mapping out the strategies? As an assistant coach, overall, I have no real issues with Sullivan. In fact, I think he does a good job on the bench with the D, with maybe a few exceptions.

But still, that doesn’t excuse why, after 3 years+, Sather hasn’t hired a PP specialist or two (ala Benoit Allaire) that also, heaven forbid, actually SPECIALIZED on the PP as a player!! An obvious choice is Leetch, given his proficiency and organizational tie-in. But even beyond that, there has got to be a plethora of ex-NYR and other ex-NHL players much more worthy of consideration than Sully who could make a significant impact…esp with the talent we can put out there now.

WTH? :(

If im not mistaking Mike Sullivan is in full charg of the pp for the last three years.So why is this idiot still here when its not working. i have center ice and watch other teams some not as good as ours yet there pp looks good lots of movemnt . And can we get a d man that can keep the puck in the zone and one that can fire the puck.Thats the other problem we have half the pp play is chasing the puck down the ice after we dump and the other taem ices it.and we dont get sots on net we go 2 or 3 pp at times with less the 3or 4 shots .and please put some big body in front to screen the goalie.

You can stand still on the PP if you have fast puck movement. The puck moves faster than any skater and quick passing is the best way to find openings. The problem the Rangers have is slow puck movement AND standing still. So, they can’t just shoot more b/c the shooting lanes are blocked.

Also, can we stop with the Fire Sullivan bs. You can’t coach the PP. Power plays are all about offensive instincts and communication on the ice. Penalty killers are so good these days, it’s all about on-ice recognition and making the appropriate reads. How is Sullivan supposed to teach that? It’s up to the players on the ice.