I use the word “back” as opposed to “defenseman” in this article as I believe that is a better name for the position. Hopefully it isn’t too irritating.
With the Bruins just five games into the season, I am still waiting another few weeks to gather enough data to dive into numbers-based discussions. However, with my tracking requiring me to watch every game two to three times, I am able to pick up on some tidbits that I may have otherwise missed.
I’ve said this before, but faceoffs attract so much attention from coaches because they are one of the few places they can truly touch the game. To me, the beautiful part of hockey is the chaos, but faceoffs are one of the few areas of structure. There are only a few different ways to line up to a faceoff and there is a general pattern in where the puck goes. Plus, these events happen much more frequently than a dump-in to the near corner with a clean puck retrieval as an example.
It’s a misconception that analytics people believe that faceoffs don’t matter. If you consider me to be an analytics person, I can personally vouch against this myth. Faceoff percentage won’t win you games, but winning faceoffs and getting things done within the first few seconds of a faceoff win is absolutely important. Being strong in these areas is marginal and doesn’t make up for being bad in other areas, but being good on the margins can be the difference in a seven-game series.
Around the world, or an alternative name that you may have, is a set play used on offensive zone faceoffs by many teams across both professional and amateur hockey. It requires the wingers to have different handedness and a center to be on their strong side (right hand on right side).
Of course, the play requires a faceoff win. The player on the boards heads behind their center. If necessary, they will help send the puck to the point. They will then continue on, trying to sell their defender on the idea that they are driving to the high slot. Meanwhile, the other winger goes beneath the play and heads to a vacated space on the halfwall that the other player winger left behind. When the pass is sent down to the halfwall, the winger in the slot will bump into space for a one-time option.
The Bruins scored on the play Saturday night in Los Angeles.
Of course, it is not the perfect pass and reception as Marchand is forced to corral the puck with his skate and take a wrist shot, but some confusion from LA8 who was responsible for defending Marchand gave him the time to recover and score the goal.
When focusing on the goal, there are only four players in focus: the centerman who wins the faceoff and drags the opposing center to the net, the strong-side back who sends the puck down to the winger for the secondary assist, and the two wingers who set up the goal. Who you don’t notice is the weak-side back, in this case Charlie McAvoy, who is seen at the back post when the puck goes in.
Two nights prior, the Bruins ran this play to much success in which they created offense thanks to the weak-side back. The one that first caught my eye was this rebound for Matt Grzelcyk.
Similar to McAvoy on the goal in Los Angeles, Matt Grzelcyk took a route to the net. The gravitation effect of David Pastrnak’s one-timer drew the attention of the opponent assigned to marking Grzelcyk (SJ62). This left the area behind open for the taking.
Effectively, by bringing the opponents high in the zone, possessing the puck on the perimeter, you are able to create a favorable matchup at the net. Even if Grzelcyk is marked, he will be dragging an opposing forward with him.
Earlier in the game against the Sharks, we also saw the pass go to the weak-side back as opposed to the winger for a one-timer. Unfortunately, I had technical issues and am not able to embed it in this article. This play wasn’t executed nearly as well for a few reasons, but by letting the play develop, Pastrnak was able to find McAvoy on the weak-side to create something out of nothing.
Apologies for the sheer confusion this drawing may create. In each case, the Bruins either scored, or were able to recover shots on goal to create more offense. When discussing positioning and offensive zone tactics, it revolves around two guiding questions/ideas: how do we create a better chance now and how do we give ourselves a better chance to recover if we don’t score so that we can try again? When activating the weak-side back, you accomplish both.
I don’t want to craft the illusion that this is a masterful, unique play that only the Bruins have in their pocket. As I mentioned earlier, this is a well-known and used play, but the Bruins have implemented their offensive zone principles to maximize their options and get the most out of it.
For the coaches that read this, I hope you think about the role of the weak-side back the next time you draw up this play. And for the fans who are more casual watchers of the game, I hope pointing out this small detail was interesting.