A New 3v3 Tactic!
How the Montreal Canadiens leverage the offside rule to create offense
It’s been exactly 10 years since the NHL introduced 3v3 overtime during the regular season.
During that span, we’ve seen two main offensive strategies:
Run and gun: trade 2v1s and breakaways, hoping that goaltending and finishing make the difference
Offensive-zone rag: hold onto the puck and use long OZ sequences to create a mismatch
More recently, we’re seeing teams take this idea to the extreme, by leaving the OZ with the puck, getting a line change and re-entering against tired defenders
This season, eagle-eyed fans of the Montreal Canadiens would’ve noticed a third approach.
First, a primer on the offside trap.
The “offside trap” in soccer is a defensive maneuver where, just before the attacking opponent is about to pass the ball to a leading striker, all of the defensive backs move upfield in unison, placing the leading striker behind them in an offside position.
https://coachingamericansoccer.com/tactics-and-teamwork/the-offside-trap/
The offside trap doesn’t work as a defensive tactic in hockey since the blue lines are used as reference points, rather than the position of the second-to-last defender (when we include the soccer goalkeeper).
However, the Canadiens’ top 3v3 unit of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson have weaponized the hockey offside to tilt the odds in their favor.
