Changing Strategy

This was supposed to be the home stand that made all the difference in the Winnipeg Jets' season. Nine of ten on MTS Centre ice was supposed to result in this team getting back into the wild card hunt and into the thick of the Western Conference playoff race. Instead, the Jets have been lethargic, lazy, and lackluster in their home stand that has seen them fall not only out of the playoff race, but out of the conversation as well. Unless there's some magic win streak they've bought into for the last third of the season, it's time to start selling assets and activating the scouting staff.

This isn't a one- or two-player problem either. This is an entire unit - top to bottom, coaches included - that has done very little to prove that they'd be anything but a four-and-done unit like they were last year if they somehow make the playoffs. While there's effort for periods of time, this Jets team hasn't put together a complete 60-minute effort since sometime before Christmas. The result is a .500 team that looks like it doesn't want to be at the rink most nights.

I have no idea how special teams coach Pascal Vincent has survived this long with a power-play as brutal as the Jets have been. And the worst part is that the Jets are predictable: Byfuglien one-timers from the top of the umbrella or shots from the face-off circles by either Wheeler or Perreault. There's no creativity, no imagination, and no disruption of the penalty kill, and the result is that the Jets usually are heading back to pick up a puck from their own zone.

The penalty kill is worse. There are a number of teams that run the umbrella power-play setup, and the Jets consistently remain in the small box which has proven not to work time and again. Because there are passing lanes that open up in the current system when playing against an umbrella, it might be time for the Jets' penalty-killing units to adapt to their situations.

As you can see above, the umbrella can pull apart defensive coverage pretty easily depending where on the half-boards the two wings play. In doing so, this creates an easy 3-on-2 situation down low, and this forces the weak side defender to choose between two men in front of the net. If the high man on the weak side of the box doesn't drop down to cover the backdoor pass, it's an easy tap-in. Otherwise, it's a shot and a rebound. In other words, the small box doesn't work when a team employs the umbrella, especially for a team like the Jets who like to pressure the top of the umbrella. One good pass past a pressuring penalty killer, and the box breaks down entirely.

Watch the Nashville Predators use a modified umbrella where they position a player one of the low players in the high-slot for a one-timer. There's way too much space between the high penalty-killers and the low penalty-killers which allows the one-timer to work. Once the shot is off, there is absolute chaos as the box has been broken.

Instead, the Jets should immediately recognize that a diamond penalty-killing formation would be better for eliminating the one-timer and pressuring the half-board wingers. The diamond formation looks as follows:

Where the diamond breaks down is that it becomes a 2-on-1 down low with those two players in front of the net, but the weak side winger on the diamond can support the backdoor side much easier. It also would eliminate the high-slot area as the weak side winger would once again be able to support the feed into the middle of the slot. There would be pressure high on the top of the umbrella which coach Paul Maurice likes, and the cross-ice pass from face-off dot to face-off dot that so many players like - Stamkos, Ovechkin, etc. - is eliminated if everyone plays their position.

The other bonus to the diamond is that the responsibilities rotate depending on where the puck is. The high man at the point becomes a winger to eliminate the pass back to the high point of the umbrella after the puck goes to the half-boards. The wingers of the diamond can their pressure their half-board opponent the same way the point man should be pressured. The diamond works extremely well if players are talking and pressuring. The small box, however, just opens up passing lanes when players move and pressure.

The drawback to the diamond is that, again, there has to be excellent communication and good foot speed for the diamond to work. The diamond protects the slot area and the crease area when it collapses, and there needs to be a concerted effort to get back out to the point if there's a pass out to a guy with a bomb out there. That's where communication comes in because the diamond can be set up fairly quickly once again as long as players know where they're going and where the opposition is on the ice.

While there are some questions as to why Mark Stuart plays on the penalty kill, let's not kid ourselves that he's one of the few Jets who blocks shots with reckless abandon. I'm not saying he's the only defender to do so, but he could easily be replaced in the diamond with a more fleet-of-foot defenceman like Trouba or Myers who could play in front of the net. Players who have good sticks - Burmistrov, Armia, Lowry, Ladd - can be used on the wings while Little and Wheeler should be the men at the top to cover the point due to their leadership and wheels.

Look, I'm not an NHL coach by any means. There is staggering proof that this penalty-killing scheme that coach Vincent is using has not only failed the Jets in their pursuit of the Holy Grail, but will continue to plague the most-penalized team in the NHL with every two-minute span spent in the penalty box. It won't get any easier unless the entire psychology of the team changes, and it's clear that's not happening any time soon.

Until next time, keep your stick on the ice!

Into Year Ten

It's hard to believe that I've been doing this thing for nine full years. What started as a "post when I feel like it" hockey blog on January 21, 2007 has morphed into an everyday passion of following the game I love so dearly. We've seen leagues fold (Central Hockey League), grow and expand (AHL, ECHL), arrive anew (CWHL, NWHL), and reconfigure themselves (NHL) over the last nine years, and I'm sure we'll see the hockey landscape change further as the game presses on. The only question that really needs to be asked is how much longer will I be tracing the contour lines of this ever-changing landscape.

This blog has changed a number of times, and with these changes has come some better understanding of HTML coding on my part. There have been some swings and misses on a few items, but the majority of items I've learned to code and add to the blog have been beneficial in my opinion. The drop-down lists on the right, the menu at the top, the expandable links within blog posts, and adding visual elements like falling snow to images have been some of the coding I've managed to figure out and apply to this ol' site. Hopefully, these pieces of code have enhanced the experience you've had on this blog as I try to keep things organized.

September 2012 brought about a new venture as UMFM approached me about starting a radio show all about hockey on their chosen space in the airwaves. While there were some conceptual stuff that needed to be worked out in the summer before we hit the air, the first episode of The Hockey Show went live on the air in our previous half-hour format on September 13, 2012 with the NHL lockout looming. It's not the greatest time for a new hockey radio show to get started, but we've been networking like crazy over the last three years and the results have been encouraging as we've had on a pile of fascinating guests.

It also came to light over the last three years that The Hockey Show was Canada's only campus-produced hockey radio show in the nation, and we're pretty proud of this fact. While there are other sports shows out there, I want to thank our listeners for making us the best campus-produced hockey radio show across Canada. We love the interaction, we're planning on welcoming another pile of awesome guests, and we'll keep running giveaways as often as we can because we'd be nothing without our listeners.

This is post #3100 on this blog. I'm not sure how much longer it will run as life has this ability to get in the way. It has run some interference in the last month with a number of commitments eating into my free time in the evenings where I normally set aside a pile of time for writing, research, and speaking with contacts. If you feel that I've been a ghost lately when it comes to the commitment to HBIC, I feel that way too. Once I get past mid-February, I should have more time to rededicate myself to the greatest game on the planet. Until then, bear with me, folks.

It's hard to imagine that after ten years I'd still be doing this for fun. If you had asked me ten years ago if I'd still be doing it for the love of the game, it may have been hard to answer positively. As you may be aware, this blog isn't monetized in any way, and I really rely on the generosity of others to make things like the HBIC Playoff Pool and some of the product reviews happen. In saying this, I want to thank all of the vendors, merchants, businesses, and prize donors for all of the merchandise and products I've given away in the last nine years. Without your support, HBIC wouldn't have made it as far as it has with its readers.

Speaking of readers, thank you to each and every one of you for the last nine years. We haven't always seen eye-to-eye, but the passion and discussions have been excellent. Feel free to engage me on Twitter or on my Facebook page where hockey chatter is always in session, and make comments here whenever you like. Call me out if I say or write something dumb. Give me a thumbs-up if you read something you like. At the end of the day, I appreciate you as readers more than you may think and it's entirely why I give away as much stuff as I can during contests.

Nine years. Man, does time fly. Let's see what Year Ten holds for HBIC. Thanks, everyone.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 174

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced hockey radio show, hits the airwaves tonight at 5:30pm CT with a number of things to discuss. Before we get to the hockey topics, though, I have a very serious question. I was speaking with a gentleman at work as we waiting in the cafeteria for our respective breakfast foods, and he began to assemble his bowl of cereal as anyone else would - bowl, cereal in bowl, milk on cereal. Nothing out of the ordinary there, but he then proceeded to open a cup of yogurt and put it on top of the cereal-and-milk combo. I expressed this observation on Twitter, and it appears that there are more than a few people who do this. So my question to all of you is how many of you put yogurt on top of your cereal?!?

Having seen the band live many moons ago, you might be asking why Smash Mouth is appearing on HBIC long after they had faded from any sort of spotlight (which apparently isn't true). The reason is simple: it's a "Hey now! You're an all-star! Get your game on! Go play!" weekend for three leagues and Beans and I will discuss the events of each of the three leagues who are celebrating their best players by placing them in wholly irrelevant exhibition games! The CWHL, the NWHL, and the KHL will all have games played this weekend with players from all over their respective maps coming together, and we'll chat a little about these games. We'll also explore seemingly idiocy shown by Jonathan Drouin in not showing up for AHL games, the Jets and Predators who will tangle shortly after the show ends at MTS Centre, Brian McGrattan's unfortunate and scary fall to the ice and whether hockey dodged a bullet on this one, and there will be a giveaway for those in the Winnipeg region who have Saturday night open and want to hang out with the Bisons women's hockey team for a good cause!

The phones are wide-open once tonight, so call in, answer a trivia question, get a sweet prize for this weekend, and chat some hockey with us at (204) 269-8636 (UMFM)! Make sure you tune your radio dial in the Winnipeg region to 101.5 on your FM dial or listen live between 5:30pm and 6:30pm CT on your web-enabled device at the UMFM webpage as well! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter. You can also post some stuff to Facebook if you use the "Like" feature, and I always have crazy stuff posted there that doesn't make it to the blog or show. Only shooting stars break the mould tonight on The Hockey Show tonight only on 101.5 UMFM!

PODCAST: January 21, 2016: Episode 174

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Antler Banter: Season 1, Volume 38

The Moose were off on a road trip that would take them to both coasts in the United States as they started the trip in Charlotte, North Carolina and would end the trip off in California. The Moose are chasing the Checkers in the standings, but the gap is large between the two teams so getting points would be helpful for the Herd. California's teams are nothing to sneeze at either as they're playing solid hockey as we saw when Ontario visited Manitoba earlier in the season. In other words, this road trip isn't going to be a walk in the park and the Moose will have to earn every inch on the ice as well as every point in the standings. In saying that, let's see how the Moose did in Charlotte as they kicked off the road trip!

Checked Off

The Moose sent Eric Comrie to the blue paint to start the road trip while the Checkers called upon Daniel Altshuller to defend their net. Both goalies would stand tall in the opening period for the scoreless tie through 20 minutes, so we'll jump ahead to the second period where we saw goals scored.

6:17 into the middle frame, Ryan Murphy loaded up a blast from the point that Comrie kicked out, but Brody Sutter was parked out front and was able to backhand the rebound over the sprawling Comrie for the 1-0 Charlotte lead. Sutter would be in on the next goal as well as his wrist shot from the left face-off dot hit Brendan Woods who was standing at the left post and caromed into the net behind Comrie for the 2-0 lead at 11:29. The Moose would cut the lead in half at the 14:11 mark, though, when Altshuller turned the puck over to Patrice Cormier in the corner who fed the puck to John Albert in the slot. His one-timer found the back of the net to make it a 2-1 Checkers game.

The third period saw the Moose tie the game off a solid individual effort by Paul Postma who held possession all the way down the left wing while escaping the check of two defenders. Once around the net, Postma threw the puck into the slot that was meant for Chase De Leo, but the puck got by him. However, Austen Brassard was standing behind De Leo, and Brassard's shot would not be stopped as Manitoba tied the game at 2-2 with 5:34 to play. Neither team would find the back of the net in the last five minutes, so it was off to overtime!

2:34 in, we'd find a winner. TJ Hensick carried the puck into the Manitoba zone on a 2-on-1 and out-waited a sprawling Postma to set up Ethan Werek for the easy game-winner as Comrie was out of position. Charlotte would take the first game of the two-game set by a 3-2 score in overtime! Altshuller picked up the win after making 27 saves while Comrie took the loss. Manitoba falls to 11-20-2-3 on the season with the loss.

Checked Out

From a solid effort the night before to a rather unspectacular showing the next day. David Wohlberg opened the scoring off a long wrist shot from the high slot area that Eric Comrie appeared to whiff on at 6:39, and the Checkers went ahead 1-0. Scott Kosmachuk would even the game on a good individual effort as he beat Daniel Altshuller to the far side after chipping a puck past Ryan Murphy for the partial breakaway at 19:29 to send to the game into the intermission tied 1-1.

The second period saw a second goal by the Checkers that Comrie seemed to completely miss as Phil Di Giuseppe fired a shot using Moose defender Peter Stoykewych as a screen that Comrie barely moved on. Di Giuseppe's shot found the twine at 17:16 for the 2-1 Charlotte lead.

Ethan Werek would use a power-play to make it 3-1. Werek skated into the middle of the ice and threw a backhander on net that Comrie got a piece of, but the puck went over him and landed in the back of the net at 4:34. The Checkers would add another less than two minutes later as Derek Ryan flew down the left wing and cut to the middle where he unleashed a wrist shot high to the glove side that Comrie couldn't bring down at 6:25. That would be all Charlotte needed on this night as they took the second-half of the back-to-back by a 4-1 score. Altshuller stopped 17 of 18 shots for the win while Comrie suffered the loss. Manitoba falls to 11-21-2-3 on the season.

Player Carousel

Matt Halischuk was recalled by the Jets last Wednesday, and he's been skating with the NHL club. While he's been playing on the fourth line, you can't really fault the Jets for bringing up an energy guy for their checking line. The only problem is that Manitoba will miss that energy.

Adding to that pain was Sunday's recall of Patrice Cormier and JC Lipon as the Jets are suffering through a pile of injuries. Again, the loss of some good energy guys and scoring from the Moose lineup won't help as they travel to California. Hopefully, the three Moose players can help the Jets in a big way.

The AHL also suspended Darren Kramer for one game as a consequence of his actions following the January 17 game against Charlotte. As a result, Manitoba called up Tulsa in the ECHL and had them send Axel Blomqvist to the squad. Blomqvist has recorded one goal and three assists in 12 games since being re-assigned by the Moose on December 18. There's hope that Blomqvist can bring some offence and energy to the lineup as the team moves on to California.

No Changes

The injury list for the Moose remains the same: Jay Harrison and Thomas Raffl. Both have been skating in Manitoba, but are not yet ready for game action. We're looking at a post-All-Star Game return for these two.

California Soul

The Moose will visit the Ontario Reign tonight, the Stockton Heat on Friday and Saturday, the Bakersfield Condors on Tuesday and Friday, and finish off the California swing with a return engagement with the Reign on Saturday, January 30. This isn't going to be easy for the Moose as Ontario leads the Pacific Division. Stockton is in sixth-place and could be conquered if the Moose play well, and Bakersfield sits in fifth-place but appear to have more talent than their record implies. If the Moose can split the six games, I'd call that a victory. We'll see what happens!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Another Scary Incident

The man pictured to the left is a man I respect and admire. Brian McGrattan has been kind enough to appear on the radio show to speak about his career, his sobriety, and his life, and we learned a great deal about one of the toughest hombres to ever lace up the skates. But like most enforcers, McGrattan is a gentle giant off the ice, caring more about his family and hockey family than most would. He's respected by teammates and opponents alike, but he's still feared when the gloves come off. It's this choice in the profession of hockey that McGrattan found notoriety, but it's a dangerous aspect of the game that could have cost McGrattan a lot more than just a few bruised knuckles tonight.

Honestly, just watching the video of McGrattan's fight tonight had me very concerned as I listened to the crowd who didn't seem to realize what was happening on the ice. I warn you now: this video may be disturbing to some. I'll discuss more below.

That's hard to watch. The immediate concern that jumped out to me was a possible serious concussion. Nick Kypreos' career was ended when Ryan VandenBussche one-punched him and he fell and hit his head on the ice. Kypreos dealt with concussion symptoms for a while after that fight, and he eventually was forced to retire. That thought immediately ran through my mind after seeing McGrattan's face hit the ice.

McGrattan was stretchered off the ice and taken back to the Gulls' dressing room where he was reportedly alert, conscious, and responsive. That's a huge relief, but he was still transported to a San Antonio hospital to be checked out which is entirely the right thing to do. I'm guessing x-rays and possibly a CAT scan would need to be done to determine if any additional internal damage was done, but if McGrattan is up and responsive, that's pretty amazing considering the video above.

I don't want to get into the debate about fighting in hockey tonight. I'm just glad that McGrattan is ok. He has a wife and a son that was born less than a year ago, and his health is paramount in being a good father, husband, and family man. We can have the debate at some other point, but all I'm concerned with is making sure Friend of The Hockey Show Brian McGrattan is doing well after a very scary incident.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!