Coaches must plan to disrupt timing of Oilers power play in playoffs

The Coaches Room is a regular feature throughout the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs by former NHL coaches and assistants who turn their critical gaze to the game and explain it through the lens of a teacher. Phil Housley and Mark Recchi will take turns providing insight.

In this edition, Housley, a Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman who coached the Buffalo Sabres and was an assistant with the Nashville Predators and Arizona Coyotes, breaks down the Edmonton Oilers record-setting power play and the challenge of trying to slow it down.

The Edmonton Oilers had a historical regular season on the power play, clicking at 32.4 percent, which is the highest success rate since the NHL started keeping track of the statistic in 1977-78. It reached an even higher level in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, going 9-for-16 (56.3 percent) in a six-game win against the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference First Round.

Watching Edmonton's power play, you can see why it's having such great success. Obviously it takes a core group that's been together for a while. They've had success in the regular season and sometimes that success doesn't relay into the playoffs, but the Oilers have so many weapons.

You can talk about Leon Draisaitl, who scored an NHL-leading 32 power-play goals during the regular season, and Connor McDavid, who scored 21, and how important they are. But sometimes you overlook the guys like Zach Hyman at the net front, who does a terrific job of screening goalies, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who is really a good support guy. He knows where to go, where to support to give outlets.

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But I think one of the biggest keys, who may be hugely overlooked, is defenseman Evan Bouchard. He leads defensemen in the playoffs with 10 points (two goals, eight assists), with eight points (two goals, six assists) coming on the power play.

Bouchard does a great job of relieving pressure. He puts the puck in places where guys can shoot off the one-timer and he's got a terrific shot himself. And with those weapons up top, it's hard to defend.

When you make adjustments, such as taking away the seam pass from McDavid to Draisaitl, then they make adjustments where they find McDavid coming downhill and he's shooting pucks. Now you need to change your penalty kill to take away McDavid, and if you take away one guy, four other guys are open.

Even though Nugent-Hopkins hasn't scored on a power-play goal in the playoffs yet, that doesn't mean he doesn't have a huge role. That bumper guy is one of the guys that needs to support the puck and the Oilers' puck retrieval rate is so high, winning the battles down low to get the puck back.

It's incredibly dangerous when they make that seam pass and they've got one-timers and down-low plays. But it often begins with getting those retrievals, and Draisaitl is so strong on the puck in winning those little battles that keep plays alive. It's just a tough combination to defend against.

It's so unorthodox the way they're always moving. McDavid roams around. Sometimes he'll be on his off side. Sometimes he'll be on the strong side coming downhill.

It reminds me of the old San Jose Sharks power play where everybody knew the responsibilities required for each position. McDavid might be on the top, making plays from up there. He might be on the half-wall. He might be down low. So it's great chemistry within the power play of moving into different positions. It's not set. And I like the dynamic of Hyman at the net front and Nugent-Hopkins in the bumper position where they have that righty-lefty combination. That can be a handful for teams.

When you think about their movement within the zone, their zone entries are at an extremely high rate. Obviously speed kills with McDavid coming down late or Draisaitl coming off the wing where he can gain zones. That's a big part of it. All the good power plays have good zone entries. That's where it starts.

So if you face the Oilers power play in a Stanley Cup Playoff series, which the Vegas Golden Knights will be doing in the Western Conference Second Round, you need to really take a look at what they're doing on their breakouts.

If you can disrupt the timing, it would be really important to throw them off a little bit to get in the offensive zone. Obviously it starts with winning the face-off. That's the key because Edmonton usually goes four up, and if you can win it you can rim the puck around the boards and out of the zone. That would take a little bit of time off, and then the next stage would be to try to disrupt their breakout.

Would you think about trying to take away McDavid? They also have Draisaitl, who is an extremely talented player. But it just seems when McDavid gets speed coming up the ice, it's tough because it puts the rest of your forecheck in a position where they're going to back off ,because if you try to stay up and he beats you, he's going to get a good look.

Inside the zone, I think the biggest thing is you've got to remain aggressive. It's easy for me to say from outside here on the sidelines watching the games, but any 50/50 puck, any bobble, you're going to have to try to apply pressure. Because if you sit back they're going to pick you apart. That's just what good players do. They're going to find an open man. They're going to find an opportunity. They're going to find a scoring chance.

In a nutshell, anything on the yellow, you have to be aggressive. Winning those puck battles is going to be huge. The Golden Knights have a good-sized defensive core that with their range as far as their sticks can try to apply some pressure, and I have to think they'll take a look at that.

But you've got to remain aggressive. You can't sit back.