Film Study: Red Wings Penalty Kill Rebuffs Anaheim Five-on-Three
A play-by-play examination of the patience and discipline Detroit showed on a five-on-three penalty kill that helped propel the Red Wings to a win Sunday night in Anaheim
On Sunday, the Detroit Red Wings finished a perfect swing through California with a 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks. At the center of that game and Detroit's successful start to 2024 was the penalty kill.
The Red Wings have killed off 19 straight penalties, dating back to a first period power play goal for Adam Henrique when Detroit hosted the Ducks back on December 18th. The Red Wings have now played nine full games without giving up a power play goal.
Coach Derek Lalonde spoke about the way his team has gleaned momentum from both special teams after Sunday's win. That sense was never important than on a mid-second period five-on-three kill, with Alex DeBrincat and J.T. Compher both in the box. Any five-on-three is bound to be a high-leverage moment, and Sunday evening's was no exception, so let's take a closer look at how Detroit got through that kill.
When it comes to the five-on-three, zone time is almost an inevitability, so the challenge for the power play is to keep momentum moving toward the net. Zone time, if the puck remains on the perimeter, often feels like a win for the three-man PK.
As you can see in the video below, that was the crux of the problem for the Ducks. They spent almost all of the 1:25 of five-on-three in the offensive zone, and Detroit managed to clear just once. Nonetheless, the Red Wings were patient and disciplined to keep Anaheim to the periphery of the offensive zone, and the Ducks never managed to break down that structure.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFwhm8k3IQk[/embed]
Right off the face-off, we get a clear example of the obvious advantage you get at five-on-three when it comes to puck possession. Dylan Larkin wins the draw, and Jake Walman possesses, but thanks to a combination of aggression and hustle from the Ducks, Anaheim outnumbers Walman in the corner and claims back possession. This allows the Ducks to get set up in the offensive zone.
Anaheim's formation is a bit curious. They have Troy Terry, Jamie Drysdale, and Trevor Zegas (from left to right) across the top of the zone, with Alex Killorn at the net and Mason McTavish stationed along the goal line to the left of Alex Lyon. In this alignment, the Ducks seem to be inviting some element of perimeter play, because they only have one man occupying the slot.
Anaheim works the puck around in high ice, but none of these passes disrupt the Red Wings' structure. Larkin, Walman, and Moritz Seider are patient, fairly willing to allow passes that do not bisect their structure. They do great work to remain synchronized and manage the lanes they are affording the Ducks.
After about 20 seconds, Terry finally makes a cross-ice "royal road" pass to begin to open up the PK, but Walman reads it perfectly and steps in front of the ensuing Zegras shot. Seider gets on the rebound and sends the puck all the way down the ice.
The best Anaheim chance of the entire five-on-three comes on the ensuing entry when Drysdale gains the zone and sets up Terry to cut in and shoot, forcing Lyon's best save of the power play. That this opportunity comes off the rush is a testament to the quality of the Red Wings' in-zone structure, with the Ducks unable to find much offense to speak of in the offensive zone.
Lyon freezes the puck, and Detroit brings on fresh legs: Andrew Copp, Jeff Petry, and Ben Chiarot. The Ducks keep the same five-man unit on the ice. Not much changes when the puck drops again, though, as Anaheim continues to circumnavigate the perimeter of the offensive zone and the Red Wings stay in sound, patient structure.
The Ducks attempt to sow some measure of chaos with several positional interchanges in short succession, but none of them accomplish anything of consequence. Then, with about 15 seconds left in the five-on-three, Anaheim finally creates some actual danger.
Drysdale tees up a McTavish one-timer, which is turned aside. McTavish gets the rebound and sets up a Terry one-timer, which Lyon knocks away with his glove. It's the kind of sequence you'd expect to precipitate some quality chances, but the Red Wings do a good job of maintaining body positioning in the slot and minimizing the effects of the scramble.
Anaheim keeps the danger alive after DeBrincat joins the fray, having been liberated from the penalty box. Arguably, the Ducks create better looks for themselves in the ensuing five-on-four than they had at five-on-three, but in the end, DeBrincat—who does generally admirable work here, especially for a player unaccustomed to PK duties—gets one last clearance in to kill off the final seconds of Compher's minor.
I have to imagine that when the Ducks watch this opportunity back, they regret having not been a bit more aggressive in forcing action to the net. It's not that they necessarily would've been off just chucking pucks on goal, but it seems obvious that they needed to be a bit more adventurous in their risk management to try to make something happen.
With that said, the Red Wings deserve credit for the way they left Anaheim feeling devoid of quality options. The challenge of the PK (doubly so for the five-on-three PK) often comes down to managing the inevitability of somebody being open. The other team has more players, so some offense will always be available. The PKer must then be aware of what lanes are open at a given moment and manage the fundamental disadvantage of being short-handed.
Both three-man PK units did excellent work at just that, and there is no clearer example than Walman's block into Seider's clearance (~0:28 into the video). Terry's pass for Zegras is a dangerous one, slicing apart the PK, but down two men, you will never be able to totally eliminate that danger.
How do Walman, Seider, and Larkin react? They anticipate the threat perfectly (most notably, Walman immediately moving himself into a position to block the shot he correctly anticipates), remain in sync, and force a clearance.
It's sound penalty killing and winning hockey, and it amounted to coming out on top of a high-leverage moment on the way to a victory.
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