The Blue Jackets power play has been nothing short of a disaster this season. They have converted on just six of 68, an 8.8% conversion rate ranking dead last in the league. No other team is below 10%. It’s been frustrating for everyone, especially the coaching staff. After Monday’s loss to the Montreal Canadiens, in which the Jackets PP went 0-for-5, John Tortorella when asked about the power play said he was done talking about it.
#CBJ John Tortorella, post-game: "This is my last night that I’m speaking on the power play. Ok? For all of yas, ‘cause I’m tired of talking about it.…
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) November 28, 2017
The head coach might be done talking about the power play but everyone else has not. Aaron Portzline wrote about the power play on Tuesday and answered a ton of questions on it, for his mailbag Wednesday.
The one takeaway from the power play from Monday’s game was the Jackets were firing pucks at will. Zach Werenski in particular had the shoot first ask questions later mentality. Last season when the power play was clicking, this was a staple. Werenski was able to quarterback the power play from the top and what made him so good from that spot was his ability to get pucks through lanes on net. This season for some reason that hasn’t been there. Werenski is still attempting plenty of shots but is not finding the same success getting them on net.
Stats from Natural Stat Trick
As you can see Werenski is attempting more shots than last season, but his individual shots on net and scoring chances are down. On top of this Werenski has not created a rebound on the power play and has already had a shot blocked after having just two blocked last season. All these issues were at the forefront Monday night.
I usually have this available for subscribers in the game reports, but CBJ went 0/5 on the power play, so here's some extra 5v4 stats. First chart is team passing plays that led to shots, second is individual numbers, third is passing plays by player. #CBj pic.twitter.com/cQXVfU6Ofv
— Corey Sznajder (@ShutdownLine) November 28, 2017
It was quite generous of Corey to post this data and in one game you can see all the problems Werenski has been having. He attempted nine shots, which is great but eight missed the net which is not so great. When you miss the net this often you make things easy on the penalty killers. There are no rebounds, and no good opportunities for players to tip pucks and get second chances.
Tyler Dellow noted these same problems, when he posted about the Columbus power play on Twitter last night.
Here are what seem to be the most commonly used PP1s. The question I would have for Torts and Brad Larsen is this: What is the power play that never manages to shoot from in close or generate rebounds that has success? pic.twitter.com/nv2uYAOMu3
— dellowhockey (@dellowhockey) November 29, 2017
Each graphic represents the most commonly used Jackets PP set ups. The first two don’t have the sample size that the third one does, but the trend is quite clear. The Jackets take a ton of outside shots from the point and from the left circle. They have the right players taking the shots, you want Artemi Panarin, Cam Atkinson and Werenski shooting but again they have to hit the net. You can see on the graphics how few points there are in the slot area and right around the crease.
Dellow in a follow-up tweet briefly described the power play as a “one and done.… The Jackets take shots from a ways out miss the net and the puck is out of the zone. It’s difficult to sustain pressure when you continually miss the net. This is more than just a Werenski issue; the whole team is having problems with this, as Jeremy Crowe pointed out.
The PP arrangement never seem to stay together for more than a game or two, either. Individual production from their top two fwds last year is pretty much completely null. pic.twitter.com/EtXLOmXWVs
— Jeremy Crowe (@307x) November 29, 2017
They're actually shooting at a higher CF/60 pace than last year's PP, but it's thanks to these awful outside shots that you point out. In-close shots are apparently passé. pic.twitter.com/2Ps1UPw2WQ
— Jeremy Crowe (@307x) November 29, 2017
The numbers support everything we have seen. Shots are up but they are from the outside, scoring chances are down significantly. It’s no wonder why the shooting percentage is in the tank.
I don’t claim to be a systems expert, but what I've seen, and what others have suggested is the Jackets need to make better use of the middle player in the slot. Sam Gagner filled that role last season and he created a ton of opportunities for the power play unit. Werenski was the quarterback but Gagner was the straw that stirred the drink. By having him in the middle he gave each of the other four players a passing option which made the power play difficult to defend. You could pass him the puck from behind the net, from the half wall, he would tip pucks and provide the screen on point shots, and he would be there to bang home rebounds on shots that didn’t go in. None of those chances have been there this season.
The Jackets have not found a player who can effectively play that role and it makes them very easy to defend. Teams know the puck isn’t going to the slot so their penalty killers can come out a little further can challenge Panarin, Werenski etc. on shots. The Jackets have been experimenting with different personal and personally I think trying out Pierre-Luc Dubois in that spot would be a good option. He has the size and skill to play there and he's starting to find his way offensively playing alongside Artemi Panarin at even strength. The alternative is scrap the current set up and try something new, which may be difficult in season.
The Jackets power play has been a train wreck this season. We are 25 games into the season and they have a partly six goals with the man advantage. The problem has been well documented, as a unit the team attempts plenty of shots but can’t hit the net or create chances. Knowing what the issues are is only half the battle. Now John Tortorella and Brad Larsen need to figure out how to fix it. These team is far too talented to have the worst power play in the league.
You can follow me on Twitter @PaulBerthelot