Today we will take you back to 1986 when power play numbers were through the roof. Stan Fischler walks us through the leaders and how Minnesota's Dino Ciccarelli leads the NHL in power-play goals.
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Author Stan Fischler talks about Minnesota's Dino Ciccarelli and how he leads the NHL in power-play goals. Read more here!
Dino Ciccarelli of the North Stars led the NHL in power-play goals (13) and points (17) through games of Nov. 16, 1986. All of a sudden, the power play has become The Power Play! Hockey’s traditional stratagem for exploiting the man advantage has never been more prominent than it is today.
Players such as Pat Verbeek of the New Jersey Devils, who had never been known for their scoring proficiency, have emerged as power-play specialists. Teams are treating the power play with more and more sophistication; and the revised rules for 1986-87 have magnified the importance of the power play, not to mention the role of the power-play “gunner.”
Ask the Minnesota North Stars’ Dino Ciccarelli. After 16 games, he had scored 20 goals, 13 of which had been delivered on the power play. Likewise, after 17 games, Verbeek had scored 12 goals—nine on the power play.
There are countless triggermen in the NHL, but the little man in Bloomington has recently emerged to share some of the luster with Gretzky and Co.
“Dino Ciccarelli is the most dangerous man in the league on the power play,” insists Red Wings’ coach Jacques Demers. “No question.”
What makes a specialist such as Ciccarelli so effective on the power play? His coach, Lorne Henning, says he gets by with a little help from his friends.-
“We have big Brian MacLellan in front of the net, which frees Dino a bit,” Henning says. “On top of that, Dino is opportunistic. He moves in and out and positions himself well and, of course, he has the shot. And Ronnie Wilson has been setting Dino up nicely from the point.”
Find out more about Ciccarelli among others in this issue.