If there’s one thing you can boast about the Penguins defensive corps, its that they’re extremely mobile.
Plenty of writers and pundits stated that you simply couldn’t win with a group of seven defensemen as mobile and offensive-oriented as the group the general manager Jim Rutherford has assembled. In June, as the Penguins put the final nail in the San Jose Sharks coffin, that theory was debunked.
Throughout the course of their run to the Stanley Cup last season, Mike Sullivan had the Penguins defense activating at the most opportune moments to assist in racking up shot-attempts and creating odd-man rushes.
Through two games this season, that theme has stayed the same. If you’re a coach preparing your team for a date with the Penguins, your forwards had better be ready to have their head on a swivel.
Whether it be taking advantage of a line change or jumping into the play with opposing forwards stuck deep in the defensive zone, the Penguins defense has been almost meticulous in the way its jumped up ice and assisted in creating offense.
Let’s take a look at some examples.
Trevor Daley has proven to be masterful at sneaking into the play and making himself available as a scoring threat. In this sequence, the Capitals are providing puck-side pressure. No one is keeping an eye on Daley, who completely sneaks into the play on the far side of the ice.
The only member of the Capitals that is aware of his presence is the backchecker, who is so far removed from this up-ice rush that he’s essentially helpless in trying to cover Daley.
Daley is quick to notice the Penguins have momentum he’s got a clean sheet of ice in front of him. He does a nice job to set up Tom Sestito, who flubs the scoring opportunity after Daley sets the table for him.
Other coaches might put the brakes on Daley here, concerned about the Capitals creating an odd-man rush the other way, but as soon as this chance is squandered by Sestito, you’ll notice that Daley immediately pivots to head back up ice.
This is another great example of taking the ice that’s given to you.
Brian Dumoulin quickly recognizes that there’s an opportunity to get up-ice here. He’s got an uncontested path through the neutral zone and the Penguins forwards are at a disadvantageous situation on this breakout.
By jumping into the play, Dumoulin gives a perfect outlet to Matt Cullen, who is facing serious pressure along the boards with no real passing option to go to. If Cullen dumps this puck into the offensive zone, it’s an icing call. In this instance, Dumoulin activating up-ice provides Cullen with a safe passing option.
This little area pass in the neutral zone to Dumoulin creates a shot attempt for the Penguins out of a breakout that seemed dead to rights.
Kris Letang was flying all over the ice against the Ducks this weekend.
This clip is an excellent example of the Penguins turning a 3 on 2 situation into a 4 on 2 situation just by pressing up ice a bit. Letang found himself higher in the zone when the Dumoulin gained possession. The Ducks had two men stuck in the defensive zone, incapable of breaking up this outlet pass.
Letang’s speed and the Penguins numbers backs up the Ducks defense and creates a lane in the slot for Letang to feed this puck to Phil Kessel.
This is the perfect example of taking a situation where you already have the advantage and just pushing the envelope a step further. The Penguins already had numbers, but the addition of Letang to this offensive rush creates a bigger problem for the Ducks and generates a great chance from a prime opportunity for Kessel.
One area that the Penguins have really taken advantage of in terms of activating their defense is during the chaos of line changes.
In this instance, the Penguins are heading up ice with speed, but they’ve got forwards behind the play heading to the bench. On the flip side of the coin, the Ducks are also bringing forwards off the bench and no one is available in the middle of the ice to mark Justin Schultz.
Schultz immediately recognizes the situation and jumps in to the play, providing a great outlet for Kessel who was under duress in the neutral zone.
The Penguins have been pushing the play forward throughout the course of Mike Sullivan’s tenure as head coach. Their ability to crate something out of nothing often stems from their willingness to send their defensemen up ice in an attempt to further generate offense.
There’s a great element of discipline inherent for the Penguins here as well. You don’t often see the Penguins defense making poor decisions in this regard. They’ve been extremely efficient in choosing the right spot to jump into the play.
As the season wears on, this is unquestionably something to keep a keen eye on. With the Penguins continuing to press the play via their defense, the scoring chances will keep presenting themselves on a nightly basis.
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