Power Play 101 – A Coaching Tutorial

by Coach K, AllHabs.net

SAINT-LAZARE, QC.–Everyone has the impression that a power-play (one or two-man advantage) is a situation that every hockey player can strive in. The truth is that it is one of the most difficult. When on the power-play, a player is faced with many options. The challenge therein lies not in the recognition of these options, but which is the best to choose.

The structure of a team’s power-play units varies depending on the available players on a roster and their talents. In an ideal world, a power play unit should be structured as follows:

• 2 playmakers – 1 forward and 1 defenseman
• 2 shooters – again 1 forward and 1 defenseman
• 1 net-front player – no real talent required

Of these players, your net-front presence is the most important. His position at the lip of the opposition’s goal crease will dictate how much space your other four players will have, as well as the correct power play strategy to use.

For example, when the Ottawa Senators were lucky enough to have Zdeno Chara on defense, they used him at the point (blue line) with their first power-play unit and in front of the net on their second unit. What options did that give then, you ask? Well, they could attempt to setup Chara for his big shot at the point during the first minute of a penalty. If that didn’t work, he would park himself in front of the goalie and let the opposing defensemen try to cover him while his teammates moved around the offensive zone four vs. two.

That’s the idea of a power-play, at heart, to create as many odd man situations as possible. One-dimensional coaches see a power play as a chance to feed the point and pepper the goalie with shots. Others see it as multiple situations in the offensive zone.

Ideally, whenever a player has the puck, you want them to have three odd man situations available. Let use the Habs power play as an example this time. Imagine Cammalleri with the puck along the boards. I’ll refer to any side where the puck is as the strong-side, the other side as the weak-side.

Cammalleri will have three options available to him:

• Option 1 – Passing between himself, the strong-side player behind the goal-line (usually Plekanec) and the strong-side defenseman.
• Option 2 – Passing between himself, the strong-side defenseman and the strong-side penalty-killing forward.
• Option 3 – The backdoor pass to a pinching weak-side defenseman (normally Markov, who’s awesome at it, or Roman Hamrlik)

Notice how I didn’t mention shooting as an option. It’s not. It’s the end result.

Finally, a good power play will use all its assets to attack from three phases of the zone:

1. Up high (from the blue line)
2. Down low (from the goal line)
3. From the slot (the area that extends from the front of the net to the hash marks.)

There are three basic power play formations, used by coaches from minor hockey associations to the NHL level:

1. The Umbrella
2. The 1-3-1
3. The Star

The Umbrella
This alignment requires one player at the offensive blueline, two players on the boards, and two in front of the net. This is your basic “pepper the goalie” formation. The player at the point is usually the defenseman with the hardest and most accurate shot. The two players on the boards are normally your playmakers, with ability to pass the puck with finesse (especially to setup a one-time shot from the point.) The two players at the net-front position are normally a mixed bag of a big-bodied player and a finisher with good hand-eye coordination for deflections, and the ability to take a quick shot on a pass or rebound.

The 1-3-1
This formation is quite similar to the Umbrella. The primary difference is that your net-front players need to have the additional ability to disengage from the front of the net and take up positions behind the goal-line and the high slot respectively. Their positioning is normally determined on which phase of the offensive zone the puck is in (outlined above).

The Star
Amongst all coaches, this is by far the most popular of the three basic formations. It involves having two players at the point, one player in the high slot, one player along the boards and one player that rotates between the net-front position and behind the goal line. Again, the latter’s position depends on the phase of the zone in which the puck is located. This formation involves using two-thirds of the offensive zone and shifts side-to-side whenever the strong-side is rotated.

In a utopic power play, a coach will attempt to incorporate two of these three basic formations into his scheme. Normally, the Umbrella and 1-3-1 are used in combination, or the 1-3-1 and the Star. This all depends on the power play unit’s ability to anticipate the defensive coverage as a group. Combined power play combinations are a rare occurrence in the NHL. Other elite teams, like the Vancouver Canucks and the Washington Capitals have the personnel to attempt the in-shift rotations.

These guidelines are not the answer to every team’s power play. Coaches are paid top dollar to formulate their own unique power play schemes and ideas. It is, however, the basis by which most power play, as well as penalty-killing strategies are formed. It is also a good base of information for the casual to extreme fan, and any coach, to formulate his or her understanding of one of the most important stages of any hockey game.

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