Tales From The Clipped: How Dallas' penalty kill continues to ruin Colorado's day
It's all bad for Colorado on the man advantage, and all good for Dallas on the penalty kill.
Right now Dallas is currently in control of the series over Colorado. It is by no means over. After all, the Avalanche have home ice this Thursday. There’s a very good chance this series goes to Game 7, which nobody’s heart rate will appreciate.
However, there’s one pattern that feels sustainable and it’s the work Dallas is doing right now on Colorado’s power play. In my preview, I talked about why making a difference on special teams would be an uphill battle precisely because both Jake Oettinger and MacKenzie Blackwood were so good on the PK throughout the regular season. That uphill battle has been a lot harder for the Avalanche.
Through five games, Colorado is 10th in shots-for per 60 on the man advantage. They rank even lower in shot quality, generating only 7.5 expected goals per hour, which is 11th. The only reason they can claim some measure of success is Nathan MacKinnon. He has three power play goals thus far. The rest of the team? Zero.
That’s been the long and short of it. Unfortunately for Colorado, it’s also a lingering problem under assistant coach Ray Bennett, who Avs fans are none too pleased with. The outrage is justified. Colorado was 26th in shot attempts this year per hour of PP time, suggesting they can’t even maintain possession on the man advantage. And therein lies my personal assessment: Dallas is doing great work, and Colorado has meandered.
Today I’ll be looking at the three pillars of Dallas’ penalty kill, each of which has its own mix from the film room: 1) how Dallas is defending Colorado’s entries 2) the way their formation is holding steady and 3) how Colorado has been “able” to beat themselves.
I’ll also do a quick refresher on Dallas’ tactical approach on the penalty kill, since I’m sure there are plenty of new hockey fans who might not understand why coaches choose the formations they do to begin with.