It's important to have a plan.

When your team is on the penalty kill, you want to spend the least amount of time in your own zone as possible since you are a player short. On every faceoff, you have the chance to win it and clear the puck 200 feet or, lose the draw and start defending in your zone.

That’s why it’s important to have a plan. If you prepare your players, you will spend less time defending in your own zone.

Now, having a plan is one thing, but making sure your players execute the strategy to control the puck off the draw makes the job of penalty killers a lot easier. It’s the difference between having the puck for the first 10-15 seconds or chasing it for half of your shift.

Here are eight variations of the most common faceoff plays used during the 2019 NHL playoffs.

1. The 3-1 formation

Boston and Tampa Bay are well known for using this faceoff formation.

Some coaches call it the shotgun, it has a defenceman on the wall and a defenceman behind the centre, and if you win the draw, it’s an easy clear. The defenceman on the wall and the winger have to block the opponent to make it happen.

Be careful on a loose draw, if the opponent wins the battle on the wall, passes for a D to D, it’s a long way to go for both defencemen. You can always send your centre or winger to pressure the puck carrier.

2. Three players up, D to D

On this faceoff alignment, you will have a defenceman on the wall, centre on centre, a winger on the hash mark in the middle, and your second D will be right below him.

If you lose the draw and you pressure with your winger, you always have someone in front of the net. If you win the draw, a quick D to D is open, and the winger can block to give more time and space.

3. Three players up, inside D to winger

What happens if your centre wins the draw close to the net, but you called for a D to D?

Players have to be able to read and react in any situation. In this case, we can see the inside defenceman is first on the puck and makes a pass behind the net to the winger who released from his spot. You can see how much space the winger has now. It is hard to defend unless you send a d to pressure below the goal line.

Other options we will see in the video include the reverse with the inside D and how important it is to be ready for any situation.

4. Three players up, inside D wheel

Less execution is better sometimes. The ‘’inside D wheel’’ is probably the perfect faceoff to minimize the execution and drawing up a plan.

The centre tries to win the faceoff close to the net. Your inside D retrieves the puck, uses the back of the net as a shield and clears the puck down the ice. Look at the job of the winger to block the opponent, everything starts with him. For the D there are options, you can rim the puck, shoot it through the middle or off the wall.

5. Three players up, strong side D

What if you go straight to the puck and just clear it?

This alignment is based on one chance to clear the puck. Your inside D is on his strong side and can clear the puck on the strong side. The defenceman can clear the puck with a rim, off the wall or even through the middle. Again, that faceoff will never work if the winger and the defencemen on the wall don’t block the opponent.

It could be a great faceoff to try if you have two left-handed/right-handed players on the same unit, and they struggle on their weak side.

6. Four players up, D to winger/inside D

This next alignment involves having four players line up on the circle. If you are not ready to jump on the puck, you might be second to it. We will see some options in the video below.

The defenceman on the wall makes a pass to the opposite D, or even the winger in some situations. This will create a lot of time and space on the opposite side. If your centre wins the draw close to the net, you can always send your inside D to retrieve the puck and make a play to the opposite winger.

7. Four players up, wall D rim

If your players are strong enough to clear the puck off a rim, I have the perfect video for you. In this next formation, the defenceman on the wall has to put his/her whole weight behind the puck and rim it hard as he/she can. If the opponent adjusts to the faceoff, ask you winger to add some pressure off the wall and follow the puck to pressure the D who is trying to keep the puck in at the blue line.

8. Variations of four players up

In the last video, we will see two different ways to clear the puck. I have only seen them used once in the playoffs, but I didn’t mind them.

In the first clip, if your D on the wall has body position on the opponent, why not wheel behind the net? You’ll be able to create a lot of room for yourself and can even send your centre to the offensive blue line to try and generate offence.

In the second clip, if your D on the wall has great body position, he/she can use a punch turn/toe turn, and beat the pressure coming from the back side and have the whole ice to clear the puck.