Creating Offense With Nikita Kucherov
As noted in the past, I’m a massive geek and fan of good routes.
Tampa Bay won Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Rangers, scoring the game-winning goal with just 41 seconds left. The goal was an absolute masterclass, so let’s dive into how it happened.
The key players:
Nikita Kucherov (NK86)
Victor Hedman (VH77)
Steven Stamkos (SS91)
Ondrej Palat (OP18)
Part 1 - Gaining possession & Middle entry
Tampa gains possession after NYR makes the “safe play” for a dump and change.
Upon pass reception, NK86 gets forced to poor outside ice so he plays give-and-go with weakside defensemen VH77. When NK86 gets the puck back he’s gone from a possession puck to an attack puck. He starts outside of the dot lane/dots but smartly is quick to skate the puck through the middle.
By attacking the middle ice, NK86 draws in the NYR players. He knows he won’t take on the Rangers 1v4 and win. What he wants to do is open the outside ice for his teammates. ‘Heads-up hockey’ has NK86 aware of the outside speed of SS91.
Once the NYR defenders are drawn to the middle (gravitational pull), NK86 dishes an area pass that bounces off the boards for SS91 to skate into.
Part 2 - Support route & False movement
After releasing the area pass, NK86 routes towards the net. This off-the-puck depth toward the net is a key component of great team play.
SS91 shoots the puck to the net while NK86 attempts to get his stick on the pick. The play doesn’t work and the puck makes its way to the point with the strong side D. NK86 heads wide into the strong side corner and assumes a strong support position.
But the pass low never comes and is quickly passed to VH77 at the far point. NK86 changes his route to head to the net. Most players would battle hard to gain inside positioning and try for a rebound… but NK86 instead deploys false movement. A good way to remember 1v1 off puck false movement is “one route for the defender, one route for the attacker.”
NK86 gives ‘one route’ for the defender and shows the defender he is going to the net. Once the defender bites and takes a hard crossover towards the net front, NK86 does ‘one route’ for himself and moves to the slot. He presents his stick for a pass. VH77 understands that point shots suck and sends a pass to NK86 instead.
Part 3 - Catch, pass, & the goalie’s feet
NK86 catches the pass and then sends a quick backhand pass to OP18, who is funneling to the net. Instead of trying to corral a rebound, OP18 is gifted with an easy one-timer.
While this part seems straightforward, the real genius is in how the goalie (Igor Shesterkin) is able to react. Watch again, but focus solely on Shesterkin’s positioning/feet.
The save attempt seems awkward because it is. Shesterkin’s left leg was just used to set his positioning to NK86, but is required quickly to change when the pass to OP18 is made. Leaving that skate’s edge is difficult given the short amount of time required to react. Nor could the goalie get into solid post-play positioning.
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Further Reading
Breaking down 2v2 rush tactics with Crosby & Guentzel’s genius
Diving deeper into false movement with examples from “the space interpreter”
Check out the 3-part mini-series on offensive zone puck support
Understanding the history of goaltending’s post-play is a great way to score more goals
Passing is more than tape-to-tape, there are a variety of passes to add to a player’s toolkit
Working and reading off your teammates to make the passing possible
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