Latest news with #penaltykilling
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Have Your Say: Will Detroit's Penalty Killing Improve This Season?
While the one of the key strengths of the Red Wings during the 2024-25 NHL Season was their power play, one key area of weakness that ultimately played a major role in causing them to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs was their penalty killing. At one point in the first few months of the season, their penalty killing efficiency was even worse than the mark of 68.2 percent set by the Los Angeles Kings in 1979-80. Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. While the penalty kill showed slight improvement after Todd McLellan took over as head coach, Detroit still finished last in the NHL, ranking 32nd out of 32 teams with a 70.2 percent success rate. If the Red Wings hope to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season, that number must improve. With McLellan behind the bench for a full campaign, can Detroit elevate its PK to at least the middle of the pack? Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites.
National Post
13-05-2025
- Sport
- National Post
RICK VAIVE: How Auston Matthews can beat the goal blues
Article content Auston Matthews has great hands, but what he might need now is a puck to go in off his ass. Article content Article content Even the great scorers go through the kind of slump he's in now, and while the timing sucks that it's happening during the NHL playoffs, if I'm him, I wouldn't change what has worked so well for me in the past eight or nine years. Article content For one, he's getting chances, the kind that come with getting the good minutes and being on the first power-play unit. Two, like his coach says, he's doing so many other things right that are helping his team. Toronto doesn't get the puck possession it has without Auston winning close to 60 per cent of his faceoffs, and he's a big part of penalty killing. Article content Article content It's imperative that Craig Berube's message is the one he hears, not what's going on outside the dressing room. I've mentioned before, as have others, that he might be hiding an injury. But he still plays physically, and can still be dominant. Article content For some reason, he's squeezing his stick and missing the net. It seemed to start with that long power play in overtime in Ottawa at the end of Game 4. Now he's up against some great penalty-killers in Florida who are keeping him — and everyone else — way to the outside. Article content At even strength, he clearly isn't getting room down the middle of the slot as in the regular season. Combine that with his power play issues and you start squeezing your stick, questioning yourself. Article content In our conversations at team events, he seems quite calm and nothing seems to bother him about being in the Toronto spotlight. I would like to see him bring that attitude to the ice, relax a bit, and as I said, wait for one to bounce in off a body part. Then I bet he'll start ripping them like he can. Article content Matthews is not the only one who has to get the job done. The whole top six weren't doing much against Florida in Game 4, despite some great chances by Matthew Knies and William Nylander. The whole team took a lot of penalties, which didn't help, and now Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is getting hot. Article content It has been tossed around out there that Florida is gaining the edge in toughness and intimidation. Maybe that's a bit true from the position of a team that's very experienced at playoff time. Two years ago they made the final while decimated by injuries, and last year they won it all. It can get in your head if you're the Leafs. Article content Article content But I see no reason Toronto can't still win this. The Maple Leafs are yet to trail in either series they have been in, Joseph Woll was named a game star on Sunday when everyone had begun to doubt him, and now they have two out of three at home with an extra day off. Article content
