February 19, 2022 by Ryan Lotsberg

In case you missed my last article, I focused on what I think could improve for the Oilers in the offensive zone based on what I saw from my vantage point for last Wednesday’s game against Chicago.

Before a team can score a goal, they need to gain possession in the offensive zone after moving through the neutral zone. Neutral zone play is imperative to success in the NHL. I caught some clips of how the Oilers moved through the neutral zone under Dave Tippett during last week’s Chicago game.

Let me show you an example from the first period. Zach Hyman was standing at the far blue line on the right side. 

The puck moved from Darnell Nurse on the left to Tyson Barrie on the right. Barrie carried the puck through the neutral zone on the right side, and passed it to Hyman. Hyman tipped the puck deep into the offensive zone from there. 

Meanwhile, Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins casually crossed paths on the left side of the ice near their own blue line. They timed their entry into the offensive zone so that they would approach the blue line at full speed in anticipation of Hyman dumping the puck into the offensive zone. Chicago had a defender covering Hyman, which took that defender out of contention in the race for the puck in the Chicago zone. McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins only had to deal with Chicago’s right defenceman on that play.

Here’s another example from a few minutes later in the first period. Warren Foegele was ahead of the play near the far blue line on the left side. Evan Bouchard passed him the puck from the right side of the defensive zone. Foegele was skating backwards to shield his defender from the puck. He was able to stop the puck and make a short pass to Ryan McLeod, who was trailing the play with speed. Foegele also occupied Chicago’s right defenceman. Bouchard had jumped up in the play, and that created a two-on-one with McLeod against Chicago’s left defenceman.

That forward ahead of the play standing at the far blue line can either tip the puck deep or make a short pass to a player coming through the neutral zone with speed. That forward ahead of the play occupies a defender, and it can lead to good chances off the rush or a situation where the forecheckers outnumber the defenders behind the other team’s goal line when executed well.

Kailer Yamamoto showed us another possibility in the second period, which led to an icing call. He started at the far blue line on the right side. He skated towards centre ice, and he brought Caleb Jones with him. That opened up a lot of space for Draisaitl streaking down the right wing. Darnell Nurse tried to fire the pass to Yamamoto at centre ice.

Yamamoto had two Blackhawks on him. The best he could’ve hoped for would’ve been to tip it to the right corner where Draisaitl would’ve been able to skate on to it if Marc-Andre Fleury were to have stayed in his net and not played the puck.

I don’t mind that action from Yamamoto because he created space for Draisaitl on the right wing, but a player receiving the puck moving towards his own end in the neutral zone is counter productive. I thought that the pass should’ve gone to Draisaitl there, but Nurse didn’t quite have the right angle because of Chicago’s winger skating back.

Having a winger at the far blue line can result in turnovers as well. Here’s an example of that from the second period. Evander Kane and Yamamoto were both hanging out ahead of the play, barely moving forward in the neutral zone. Kane was moving backwards to shield the defender from the puck. Draisaitl streaked up the left hand side of the neutral zone, right towards Kane and his defender. 

Duncan Keith tried to fire a pass to Draisaitl as he crossed the red line. The problem was that two Blackhawks forwards collapsed towards Draisaitl. Kane and his defender were also in the vicinity, so Keith essentially tried to force the puck into triple coverage. Unsurprisingly, the result was a tape to tape pass to Dylan Strome. That was a bad read by Draisaitl and Keith, but Kane was basically useless in that spot. 

That’s not poor decision making by Kane. That’s just the system that Dave Tippett used. The Oilers can clearly create some positive situations with that forward at the far blue line, but the result of firing a pass at that still player at the far blue line is either icing or a turnover far too often. 

I feel like they could gain control in the offensive zone more often by having the forwards be closer to the defencemen. That would allow for more short passes, which have a higher completion percentage. They would sacrifice some of their chances off of the rush, but they would get more offensive zone possessions.

I’m not sure what Jay Woodcroft has in mind for neutral zone play for the Oilers, but I hope they go away from having one winger at the far blue line.