Recently, we saw two nice goals off the rush and wanted to highlight elements behind them, as these are extremely common situations players will see time and time again.
Situation - 2v2 zone entry with a backcheck
Puck carrier
Skates into the dot lane / middle ice rather than outside the dots. He maintains a threat that needs full attention.
Sacrifices himself with a drop pass, then gets in the way for a soft pick to disrupt the ability of the defenders to close his teammate’s space.
Puck receiver
Rather than staying wide, he ‘folds over’ behind his teammate to create a mini-2v1 situation with the strongside defender.
He follows his teammate into valuable middle ice to enter ‘the house’ for a great shot.
Situation - 2v2 zone entry with a late 3rd helper
Puck carrier
Drives the puck directly through the middle.
D1 (left D on the right side of the screen) slows up and left a large gap that put him in no-man’s land.
D2 (right D) was forced to make a decision. Do I step up to cover the puck carrier, or do I drop to cover the player driving?
Drop pass to the late receiver.
Continues route through the middle ice via the outside of the house. Avoids going too wide.
Puck receiver
While never touching the puck, he stays a threat. He locates to the dot and opens up for a 1-time shot.
He continues to make micro-adjustments to stay above the goal line and be a pass receiver threat. D1 ends up sliding away from the puck to cover the pass threat.
Puck receiver (Late player)
This is the player who created the turnover to win possession back. Instead of staying back, he has a “Next Play“ mindset and sprints up ice to join the play to give himself a chance to be involved.
He catches the puck and holds it in a position where he can shoot or pass
Once D2 steps to close the space, he passes back to the player who made the drop pass.
Two recurring situations are common for players. Knowing these details will help them develop habits that ensure chances are converted into goals at a high rate.
In the past we broke down step by step of a textbook 2v2 with Crosby & Guentzel - Creating Offense, with Crosby & Guentzel… if you enjoyed this, you’ll love that.
Further Reading