It might be true that every hardcore hockey fan, writer and person connected to the game has at least one thing that drives them crazy about the NHL.
If there’s one odd thing that almost always gets me going for some reason, it’s the practice of putting a high-level sniper on the power play point. Now, I’m not saying that the tactic never works, but the cons tend to outweigh the pros.
I understand the urge to use that player’s howitzer of a slap shot, but why would you move your best scorer and shot away from the net? Such a practice must make an opposing penalty kill breathe a sigh of relief (at least before they’re icing bruises from an obvious, but painful-to-block point shot). Beyond that, there’s an increased risk for shorthanded goals when you put a forward on the point rather than a defenseman.
For the most part, the practice just makes me roll my eyes. Yet in the case of the Washington Capitals, seeing Alex Ovechkin on the point almost makes me have a conniption.
Yes, the team’s alignment could get a little fuzzy because of Alexander Semin’s also-great shot, especially when the Capitals want to put Nicklas Backstrom at center and make Mike Knuble go to the net. But if you ask me, Ovechkin should be as close to the goalie as humanly possible, where he can be a more immediate and versatile threat.
With the offensive ability exhibited by Mike Green and John Carlson, the Capitals already had point defensemen to handle the job in 2010-11. Regardless, with the addition of Roman Hamrlik and the hopeful healthy return of Dennis Wideman, the Caps now have four quality options from that spot.
Thanks to that wealth of options, I’m delighted to reveal that the Capitals will finally put Ovechkin in his rightful spot. Here’s the Washington Post on the team’s Eureka moment.One of the ways the Capitals hope to add more choices for players on the power play is by moving Ovechkin to the half-board rather than his usual spot on the point. With a glut of offensively inclined defensemen capable of playing the point — Green, Dennis Wideman, John Carlson and Roman Hamrlik — positioning Ovechkin along the wall allows the Capitals to make the most of their personnel and gives the two-time MVP greater flexibility as well. It should allow Ovechkin to control the puck more and have more scoring chances than simply a one-timer blast from the blue line, while making it more difficult for opposing penalty kills to cut him off from the rest of the power play.
“We just wanted to get him in position where he can score, regularly,” assistant coach Dean Evason said. “On the point he can come down that back door, but now we put him in a spot where he can get some rebounds, he can get some better looks in the slot as opposed to just the ones on the top and at the back door because every team knew he was coming there.”
While Ovechkin, who scored a career-low seven power-play goals last year, may still run the point on occasion — Boudreau mentioned five-on-threes specifically — the left wing sounded excited about his new spot earlier this week.
“It’s something that I play like five years on the point,” Ovechkin said. “Right now [playing the half-board is] something probably new for me, but again it’s good because I don’t wanna be like the guy who only stay on the point and wait for one-timer or find that space to empty net. It’s challenging for me again, and I like the challenge.”
Personally, I’m just happy that the Capitals came to their senses. Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom will almost certainly improve on their career-low shooting percentages (8.7 and 8.9 respectively), which should help in general - but putting them in a better position to succeed should will likely result in more positive “bounces” too.
(H/T to Rotoworld.)