In the Kraken’s first win of the current homestand, fan-favorite Brandon Tanev tied the score at 2-2 en route to a 4-3 overtime thriller against Vegas. While Tanev notched his second goal of the game via a gritty assist from linemate Tye Kartye, fellow linemate Yanni Gourde said the goal doesn’t happen without Matty Beniers.
Funny thing: Beniers wasn’t on the ice at the time. What gives Yanni?
The alternate captain was happy to elaborate, noting Beniers made all the right decisions last Friday on when to come to the Seattle bench for a shift change. The young Kraken star allowed a fresh-legged teammate (frequently Gourde himself) to jump into the action, including before the Tanev score. Gourde’s answer and point-of-view (more from him in a minute) provide a Hockey 101/201/301 lesson for all of us about hockey’s shift changes.
Let’s Start With the 101 Level ...
Most fans know hockey is the only major team sport in which players can enter and depart the game flow while play is live. And it’s common knowledge NHL players go all out on their shifts, actually playing portions of a continuous, no-whistle shift in an anaerobic state (exerting without oxygen). That’s a big reason why the ideal NHL shift is roughly 40 seconds.
When shifts go past a minute – even 50 to 55 seconds – the opposing coaches know there is potential to take advantage of tired players. In fact, Kraken analyst and former NHL player JT Brown always looks at the time-on-ice reports during intermissions to see how teams are managing their player’s capacities. Seattle head coach Dan Bylsma and his staff are monitoring shift length of opponents all game, made easier when the arenas post live time on ice stats for whatever skaters are currently playing.
There are so many shift and/or partial shift changes during live play every period of every NHL game, that it’s easy to lose sight of how all of these on-the-fly comings and goings can impact a game. But make no mistake: Shift changes matter. They did last Friday and again Tuesday night when the Kraken rallied from another 2-0 deficit.
Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak is third on the team in time-on-ice per game, not far behind stalwart D-man Adam Larsson and team leader Brandon Montour. Oleksiak, who just started his second decade as an NHLer, is scrupulous about when it’s time to change. Defensemen have to be skilled at when to stay in the play and when it makes sense to hand the baton/hockey stick-in-hand to the next D-man. In Oleksiak’s case, it is typically a left-handed defender taking over for a left-handed defenseman.
“You usually try to stick around the 40-second mark to get fresh legs out there,” said Oleksiak, “But shifts can get extended. Matchups are a big part of the NHL. If you're sticking on a little bit too long on the ice, the opponents say, ‘OK, these guys have been on for a while. Let's put our top line [on the fly], maybe take advantage of tired players.”
Now to Gourde and a 201 Perspective ...
For his part, Gourde said all young NHLers face a learning curve in knowing when to head to the bench for a change: “As a kid with a lot of energy, for me, it was super hard to understand the concept. But it is a huge, huge thing in the NHL.”
Gourde then explained why Beniers gets credit for setting up the opportunity for Tanev’s tying goal against Vegas. NHLers talk about it regularly, the concept of leaving the ice with the next shift of teammates being in a positive place.
“If you change with possession [in the offensive zone], you change the entirety of the next shift,” said Gourde. “If you change without the puck, you most likely spend the first 20 seconds defending the puck and then you have just 20 seconds left. But if you are changing with the puck, then in the first 20 seconds you get the other team tired. It's massive, the difference it makes.
“In the Vegas game, we did a tremendous job at changing possession. Matty did. Matty was the leader in that regard, and it changed the game. Every time I stepped on the ice, we[Gourde/Tanev/Kartye] were spending 30 seconds in the O-zone, right off the bat. Then the other team has to change. So we kept the flow going.”
Another positive example kickstarted Tuesday’s transformative second period when the Kraken turned a 2-0 shortfall into a 4-2 lead and eventual 5-2 victory. Dan Bylsma raised it during his post-game media conference. The Shane Wright line with wings Andre Burakovsky and Eeli Tolvanen managed to turn around Columbus's pressure in the Kraken zone into an extended, minute-long puck possession in the offensive zone. Wright started with a defensive play behind his own goal line to spring the puck for defenseman Ryker Evans to send it to the neutral zone, where Burakovsky and Tolvanen battled multiple Blue Jackets to get the puck into the offensive end.
The pair of forwards proceeded to keep the puck in the CBJ zone with help from Adam Larsson. Wright went to the bench to spring Yanni Gourde on the ice and Tolvanen followed shortly to get a send Tye Kartye on the ice. With tired legs for Columbus, Gourde sent the puck net front, where Burakovsky managed to move the puck to Kartye, who with his back to the goaltender, secured the puck and backhanded it for the first Kraken score of a four-goal second-period outburst.
“The Wright line led the way with the momentum in the second period with that lengthy shift in the offensive zone,” said Bylsma. “They were our best line all night.”
Going Next Level, 301, with Coaches Bylsma, Woods
Bylsma calls out the forward line shifts as a head coach, a practice that dates back to his first NHL season when he led Pittsburgh to the 2009 Stanley Cup and throughout his six winning seasons guiding the Penguins. Assistant coach Bob Woods takes charge of the defensive pairs. Assistant coaches Dave Lowry and Jessica Campbell keep their eyes on opponent shifts and relevant time on ice, plus get involved with Kraken personnel during penalty kills (Lowry) and power plays (Woods and Campbell). It is most decidedly a team effort.
One ongoing challenge is game situations, starting with special teams play and who goes out on the shift after the penalties expire with some mixing/match to spell tired players on special teams. Then there are situational shifts, such as looking for a tying goal or protecting a late lead. Plus, Bylsma might decide [with input from his assistants] to switch up line combinations to spark a goal or even more offensive zone time (think the best defense is being on offense with the puck).
Plus, not all linemates of defensive pairs go out at once. Woods said he pays particular attention to the best/safest times to swap the “weak-side” defenseman, the D-man farthest from the bench.
“A lot of times, in-game, we want a strong matchup,” said Woods. “Especially at home, where we have a little bit more control, we try to get maybe a couple pairings that know they're going to face the other team’s big boys. We prep them for that [pre-game], but another part of it is making sure to keep all of our guys [six defensemen] involved too.”
We finish this hockey lesson with Bylsma on the concept that during live play, the forward lines (same for D-pairs) don’t all change at once.
“The center goes out first for any one of the forwards coming off,” said Bylsma. “That center is going to play low in the defensive zone, right? Regardless of whether there is another centerman out there, the [fresh] center takes over low position. He will be the freshest guy in the defensive zone if the play turns that way. Then we work to get the other tired forwards off forwards.
“There's a fair amount to it. Jess and Dave are keeping an eye on the other team’s changes and they’re helping myself and Bob with the changes we make.”
