Hack into the defender's brain
2025-26 NHL tactical trends: SJS72 Eklund 1v1 rush goal
Last night, San Jose Sharks forward William Eklund scored one of the craziest goals I’ve ever seen.
SJS72 Eklund dekes around a Boston Bruins defenseman, then bats his own rebound out of the air to score.
Eklund’s mid-air finish is hard to replicate, but the shifty winger does two critical, repeatable things in quick succession to create the opportunity.
Watch the goal again from the reverse angle.
The two things I’m talking about happen almost, but not quite, at the same time.
They occur so briefly that there’s not even a clear timestamp for either. At some point between 0:01 and 0:03 in the clip above, Eklund deploys two sleights of hand to trick the BOS defenseman.
1. Turn the D’s feet
As Eklund enter the zone 1v1, there really isn’t much of an opening. BOS26 Andrew Peeke, an experienced defensive defenseman, has inside position and is surfing to kill the play.
The picture above shows a defensive advantage. If we were to run this play 100 times, most of the time the forward wouldn’t even get a shot off.
Eklund, a cerebral player who’d rather problem-solve opponents than drive straight through them, understands the assignment. He can’t beat Peeke heads-up, so he bluffs.
Body language is language, so Eklund engages Peeke in conversation: “Hey dummy, there’s another Sharks player behind you. I’m going to open up, make a cross-slot pass and he’s going to score and make you look STUPID. Unless you turn your feet now.”
For a fraction of a second, Eklund opens up into a 10-and-2 stance. Peeke instinctually reads “2v1” and turns his feet to cover a possible pass.
Of course, there is no second Sharks player.
Eklund immediately reaccelerates into the second part of his play.
2. Get inside Minimum Defensive Range
Every defensive player has a Maximum Defensive Range, which is usually the length of their reach plus a lunge.
In many cases, especially when a defender is prioritizing their stick to break up the play, they also have a Minimum Defensive Range.
Eklund’s misdirection and sudden burst of speed allow him to breach Peeke’s Minimum Defensive Range.
Peeke presents his stick and declares his intention to poke check.
Eklund pulls the puck with his top hand to get inside Peeke’s Minimum Range, at which point the BOS player has no leverage to stop the drive to the middle.
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