The penalty kill is all about details, and the Canadiens are an example of what happens when a team is doing those little details perfectly.
The Montreal Canadiens had an incredible playoff run last year, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in a five-game Stanley Cup Final. One thing that stood out about the Canadiens was how good their penalty killing was. Finishing first in the playoffs at 91.8% is truly something else. At one point, they even killed over 21 straight penalties.
Let’s look at some key points Montreal used during the 2020-2021 playoffs and why it had a lot of success by doing a few simple things. The penalty kill is all about details, and the Canadiens are an example of what happens when a team is doing those little details perfectly.
Faceoff
I know I talk a lot about faceoffs, but they could be the difference maker on the PK. Whether you win or lose the draw, you must always have a plan. If we look at the Canadiens lost draws, the winger is always jumping for the loose puck, and they were able to clear the puck right there. If not, the winger will take one side and the centreman will pressure high, shutting down the d-to-d option. On the flip side, winning a faceoff and clearing the puck can give you up to 20 seconds before the opponent is able to enter back in your zone.
Carey Price
We all know how good Carey Price is at stopping the puck. But let’s take a look at why Vegas and Tampa Bay had to stop rimming the puck on their entries. A lot of teams use the drop pass, hard rim to recover the puck on entries. But Price shut down a lot of entries by stopping the puck behind the net and making a play. Plays included clearing the puck, rimming the puck, or making a pass to a teammate and them clearing the puck. Price doing this made it extremely tough for the opposition to establish anything in the offensive zone.
Giving The Outside
By the Canadiens having a passive penalty kill, their defence was giving up the outside shot. Take a look at how Weber or Edmundson are coming up high on the flank, but always on the inside and giving up the short side shot. By doing this, your goalie knows that nothing should go far side. At the same time, it’s hard to make a play through the middle because you have a lot of bodies there. Also, what do you notice about their sticks?
One Chance To Clear
If you don’t clear the puck when you have the chance, odds are you will get stuck in your zone and end up exhausted, which leads to mistakes and a goal against more times than not. One of the biggest things for the Habs was how good they were at clearing pucks. The one chance to clear is such a key detail for having a good penalty kill; send it 200 feet down the ice and you can send fresh legs onto the ice. It’s all about reading where the pressure is coming from and being confident in your abilities to clear the puck.
Four Goals On The Penalty Killing
Yes, one was an empty-netter, but it still counts as a goal! The Habs scored three shorthanded goals in the playoffs, and were the team with the most goals on the PK in the season. Why? Because if they could retrieve the puck and attack, they would do it. They didn’t try to do it from below the goal line, but more when they retrieved the puck high in the zone or when a defenceman did a flip pass or clear to the neutral zone. The forwards were always looking to attack. Usually, if it’s 2-on-2, you have a good chance to go against one defenceman and one forward on their power play unit. That’s why the Canadiens were taking advantage of it.
