System Sheets: Year in Review
A tactical recap of the 2021 NHL season
Change is the only constant.
What has changed in the past 12 months at the highest level is likely to trickle down to the grass roots in the coming years.
Here are five elements that caught my attention.
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DZ Coverage
When Sheldon Keefe took over as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs in November 2019, he immediately modified TOR’s DZ coverage in order to cut down on cycle chances against.
Rather than posting a player at the half-wall to cut off potential low-to-high passes, a staple of Mike Babcock’s DZC, TOR now had their F2 standing off the wall in order to double-cover the middle of the ice:
Keefe’s adjustment, inspired by NYI’s DZ scheme, was effective at reducing chances against. But in the play-in round against Columbus, the Protect Middle’s inherent passivity allowed CBJ to activate their Ds and to proactively kill TOR breakouts before their skaters could spread out and organize a counter-attack.
Result: TOR had trouble scoring and lost in a decisive Game 5.
2021 marks a return to cutting the top.
NYI remains the leading proponent of Protect Middle, but teams such as TOR, TBL, MTL, COL, CAR and others are back to aggressively pressuring corner and wall pucks in an effort to reduce zone time and to break out with better spacing.
Related Read: Where TOR went wrong vs. CBJ
NZ Forecheck
Coach Claude Julien’s Montreal Canadiens start 2021 red-hot, establishing themselves as the NHL’s most proficent rush offense and rush defense team.
MTL eventually cools. Julien is fired and replaced by former assistant Dominic Ducharme.
Rather than making wholesale changes to MTL’s OZ play and special teams (the areas most obviously holding the team back), Ducharme instead tweaks the NZ forecheck.
The more passive 1-1-3 helps prevent odd-men rushes but allows opposing teams to gain the blue line more easily.
MTL sputters to a fourth-place finish in the North Division.
But in the playoffs the 1-1-3 proves its worth. MTL heavily deploys their Top-4 Ds while rolling their forward lines.
The 1-1-3 allows Ds to conserve energy and lets the Fs backtrack assertively against the rush. TOR, WPG and VGK’s rush offense dry up, and MTL moves on.
Related Read: MTL vs TBL Cup Final Tactics
OZ Forecheck
Coach Barry Trotz’s New York Islanders is one of the league’s most interesting teams from an Xs and Os point of view.
As I’ll explain in the Hockey Tactics 2021 ebook (available in September), NYI’s effectiveness come from its sneaky-skilled players and its ability to be deceptive even when defending.
Almost every NHL team plays a 1-2-2 OZ FC, but NYI is able to seamlessly shift from the familiar 1-2-2 into a dangerous 2-1-2 to stifle the opposing breakout.
This shape shifting forces opposing puck carriers to constantly scan the ice and look for options rather than run pre-determined plays.
Elite players like Victor Hedman, Brayden Point or Nikita Kucherov can think on the move and problem-solve the unpredictable pressure. But lesser NHLers can be lured into a trap.
Related Read: PHI’s 2-1-2 OZ FC
NZ Transition Offense
Teams such as COL, TBL and TOR use the same guiding principles to create off the rush.
Other teams such as CAR and VGK prefer a more straight-forward approach, relying on skilled wingers to catch difficult stretch passes, then making an entry play.
Finally, the Florida Panthers fearlessly activate all five players to stretch the ice north-south and east-west.
FLA’s approach requires a maximum of speed, skill and conditionning from its skaters.
The team is able to play this way after going all-in on mobile Ds (Forsling, Nutivaara, Montour) and skilled Fs (Duclair, Verhaeghe Wennberg) during the off-season.
It remains to be seen whether one of 2021’s most effective transition teams can perfect this style of play.
Or perhaps opponents will catch on and use a more passive NZ forecheck (such as the 1-1-3) to nullify FLA’s aggression.
Related Read: FLA’s Surprising Emergence
OZ Play
For an increasing number of NHL teams, the 2-3 is the way to go when cycling the puck high in the OZ.
TBL remains one of the only teams to eschew a constant net presence, opting instead to rotate its Fs to open seams and to create speed differential.
FLA and NYI, conversely, post one or even two Fs at the net. They rely on the back three to get active and to find space in the middle of the ice.
Related Read: The 2F3D Project, OZ activation
Faced with a 2-3 attack up top, defending teams are now incentivised to play more man-on-man rather than drop into zone coverage.
How will this adjustment affect the run of play?
We’ll find out in 2022.
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