View to a Penalty Kill
A much improved penalty kill unit has led to on-ice success for the Thrashers
Friday, 11.06.2009 / 11:47 AM
/ Features
By By Jon Cooper
12 games is hardly enough time to gauge where a team will end up in April and May but it certainly is an indicator where it's headed.
Take penalty killing. After 11 games last season, the Atlanta Thrashers had allowed 15 power play goals in 60 opportunities (a 75 percent kill rate). They would finish 29th in the NHL, allowing goals on nearly a quarter of their shorthanded situations (24.0 percent).
At the 12-game mark of the 2009-10 season Atlanta, which heads to Long Island to face the Islanders on Saturday, is eighth in the NHL, having killed off 84 percent of its shorthanded situations (allowing eight goals in 58 chances). That includes a recent two-game hiccup, in which the unit allowed two goals each in games against San Jose, which ranks sixth in the League on the power play and features the NHL's power play points leader Joe Thornton (who was held scoreless) and goal leader, Dany Heatley, then Washington, where Atlanta was victimized by Alexander Ovechkin, who scored once with the extra man and set up another goal.
It's with good reason that the unit is playing with confidence and there are many reasons for the quality play.
"We've gotten some great goaltending which always is a key but we've also been a lot more aggressive this year," said center Marty Reasoner, who last year led the NHL in shorthanded assists (5). "We've pretty much had a year all together and we have a pretty good idea of what we're trying to accomplish."
"The four guys that have been playing together are on the same page as far as when to pressure and when to stay back," added defenseman Ron Hainsey. "The goaltending has been exceptional and we've been solid on faceoffs in our own end and getting pucks out. All that stuff has added up to a good start."
A year of familiarity within Head Coach John Anderson's system has contributed to the success and given the unit a cohesion that was not there last season.
"Last year it was a little bit of a scramble," recalled Reasoner. "We had a lot of new guys on the unit, we weren't really sure exactly what we were going to do. At the beginning of the year we got off to a bad start. It created kind of negative energy and it snowballed from there."
This year, the PK is pushing that snowball down the hill and forcing the issue and necessarily not waiting until opposing power plays get into the Thrashers' defensive zone.
"We changed our neutral zone strategy a little bit to try and create more of a blockade before you got into our zone," said Anderson. "That's been good because we haven't allowed pucks to come into our zone as freely as we were last year. Once teams get set up, like Washington for example, they're tremendous when they get control of the puck. So we're trying to stop them from getting in as much as possible so it saves us 15 or 20 seconds on the power play in our zone. I think that helps out a ton."
While the focus has been on making it harder for opponents to get the puck into the offensive zone, once they're in, the Thrashers are being encouraged to be more in attack mode when carrying the puck out.
The team has bought in to Anderson's green-lighting of the unit.
"As confidence grows within the players, it allows them to carry pucks and take the offensive chance if they've got it," said right wing Thorburn, who scored his first career shorthanded goal and the Thrashers' first of the season on Oct. 16 in New Jersey to seal Atlanta's 4-2 victory. "If we're down one man, if we've got a chance to go Johnny wants us to go and that's what we've got in the back of our heads."
Speedsters like rookie Evander Kane and second-year defenseman Zach Bogosian, who scored the team's other shorthanded marker on Oct. 22 in a 5-4 loss to Washington, give the PK the ability to apply pressure defensively and create turnovers and offensive opportunities in transition.
"They're both smart, they skate well and they're not afraid to stick their nose in," said Reasoner. "That's what you need to be able to do to play in that role."
"Having Pavel [Kubina] back there has been a huge help for us," said Reasoner. "He's been one of the biggest differences on our back end as far as PK because he's a really smart, experienced guy. He's made a huge difference."
"Kubina, and Schubert is a big body in front, and a lot pucks hit them. That's why we wanted to get a little bigger on the back end," said Anderson. "Plus it takes pressure of Toby [Enstrom]. He doesn't have to play as much. So when he gets out there he's more fresh offensively. So it kind of works both ways in our favor."
A win-win situation for Atlanta on the penalty-kill? It may sound strange but it's becoming the norm.
"We've got guys playing the right way and our goaltending has been great," said Hainsey. "When you have all of those things and you should be in the game every night."
Take penalty killing. After 11 games last season, the Atlanta Thrashers had allowed 15 power play goals in 60 opportunities (a 75 percent kill rate). They would finish 29th in the NHL, allowing goals on nearly a quarter of their shorthanded situations (24.0 percent).
At the 12-game mark of the 2009-10 season Atlanta, which heads to Long Island to face the Islanders on Saturday, is eighth in the NHL, having killed off 84 percent of its shorthanded situations (allowing eight goals in 58 chances). That includes a recent two-game hiccup, in which the unit allowed two goals each in games against San Jose, which ranks sixth in the League on the power play and features the NHL's power play points leader Joe Thornton (who was held scoreless) and goal leader, Dany Heatley, then Washington, where Atlanta was victimized by Alexander Ovechkin, who scored once with the extra man and set up another goal.
It's with good reason that the unit is playing with confidence and there are many reasons for the quality play.
"We've gotten some great goaltending which always is a key but we've also been a lot more aggressive this year," said center Marty Reasoner, who last year led the NHL in shorthanded assists (5). "We've pretty much had a year all together and we have a pretty good idea of what we're trying to accomplish."
Video: 
Tickets: A year of familiarity within Head Coach John Anderson's system has contributed to the success and given the unit a cohesion that was not there last season.
"Last year it was a little bit of a scramble," recalled Reasoner. "We had a lot of new guys on the unit, we weren't really sure exactly what we were going to do. At the beginning of the year we got off to a bad start. It created kind of negative energy and it snowballed from there."
This year, the PK is pushing that snowball down the hill and forcing the issue and necessarily not waiting until opposing power plays get into the Thrashers' defensive zone.
"We changed our neutral zone strategy a little bit to try and create more of a blockade before you got into our zone," said Anderson. "That's been good because we haven't allowed pucks to come into our zone as freely as we were last year. Once teams get set up, like Washington for example, they're tremendous when they get control of the puck. So we're trying to stop them from getting in as much as possible so it saves us 15 or 20 seconds on the power play in our zone. I think that helps out a ton."
While the focus has been on making it harder for opponents to get the puck into the offensive zone, once they're in, the Thrashers are being encouraged to be more in attack mode when carrying the puck out.
The team has bought in to Anderson's green-lighting of the unit.
"As confidence grows within the players, it allows them to carry pucks and take the offensive chance if they've got it," said right wing Thorburn, who scored his first career shorthanded goal and the Thrashers' first of the season on Oct. 16 in New Jersey to seal Atlanta's 4-2 victory. "If we're down one man, if we've got a chance to go Johnny wants us to go and that's what we've got in the back of our heads."
Speedsters like rookie Evander Kane and second-year defenseman Zach Bogosian, who scored the team's other shorthanded marker on Oct. 22 in a 5-4 loss to Washington, give the PK the ability to apply pressure defensively and create turnovers and offensive opportunities in transition.
"They're both smart, they skate well and they're not afraid to stick their nose in," said Reasoner. "That's what you need to be able to do to play in that role."
Last year it was a little bit of a scramble. We had a lot of new guys on the unit, we weren't really sure exactly what we were going to do. At the beginning of the year we got off to a bad start. It created kind of negative energy and it snowballed from there. - Marty Reasoner
The blockade at the blue line and the pressure in the zone have been noticeable factors, but another important improvement has come in front of the net, where the team's bigger defensemen have made things uncomfortable for opposing players."Having Pavel [Kubina] back there has been a huge help for us," said Reasoner. "He's been one of the biggest differences on our back end as far as PK because he's a really smart, experienced guy. He's made a huge difference."
"Kubina, and Schubert is a big body in front, and a lot pucks hit them. That's why we wanted to get a little bigger on the back end," said Anderson. "Plus it takes pressure of Toby [Enstrom]. He doesn't have to play as much. So when he gets out there he's more fresh offensively. So it kind of works both ways in our favor."
A win-win situation for Atlanta on the penalty-kill? It may sound strange but it's becoming the norm.
"We've got guys playing the right way and our goaltending has been great," said Hainsey. "When you have all of those things and you should be in the game every night."
