Killing time - strategy in National Hockey League

Penalty killers get paid to waste other people's time, but it's not as easy as it sounds

In dark, cramped, cinderblock-walled rooms tucked away in the cold basements of arenas, NHL coaches and players huddle for hours in front of glowing television screens.

They're watching what amounts to their own X's-and-O's-rated version of Survivor. Who are they? That rare and dangerous breed known as the penalty killer.

"Teams do spend a lot of time in front of the TV," says Canadiens assistant coach Guy Carbonneau, regarded as the best penalty killer ever. "You spend that time trying to find trends and patterns, trying to come up with ways to put pressure on the other guys, how to create contusion."

More and more, the penalty killers are the ones winning what they call the "two-minute game." It is a game in which they are happy if nothing, absolutely nothing; happens when the other team is on the power play.

These players have no individual defensive stats by which they can be measured, but they have become increasingly critical to a team's Success.

"In today's NHL," Sharks assistant coach and former Red Wings' specialist Reed Larson says, "they are the difference between winning and losing for a lot of teams."

That hasn't always been the case. Compared with 15 years ago, the penalty killer's job has changed dramatically. (See graph.)

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"It used to be you shot for 80 percent," Sharks coach Darryl Sutter says. "If you got there, you'd be in the top quarter of the league."

The rise of the art of the kill has been caused by three factors:

* Expansion, which has thinned the offensive talent pool so much that many teams have trouble icing a good first power-play unit.

* The overall improvement in coaching and scouting.

* The rise of the puck-handling goaltender.

Gone are the days when a coach would tap a couple defensive-role players on the shoulder and send them over the boards with two defenseman and have them set up in a box defense.

"When I first came in the league, the power play was way ahead of the penalty killing on a lot of teams," says Sharks defenseman Gary Suter, a 16-year veteran and premier power-play quarterback. "They just stood around in that box, and you could eat that up."

Today's penalty killers have been bolstered by the trend toward larger coaching staffs--one assistant is usually responsible for penalty killing and one for the power play--and, of course, technology.

Satellite dishes bring in games beamed from cities across the league, and computer programs break down a game tape and isolate an opponent's most recent power plays and dump them on a highlight reel.

"The computer we have to do the video stuff is unbelievable," says Avalanche defensive specialist Dave Reid, who is playing in his 18th season. "Before, you used to get a couple of things outlined for you on the (blackboard) a little bit. Now we've got the video of (an opponent's) last two or three games.

"I remember one tune realizing all the guys on this power play were left (shooters). We didn't have to worry about the other side (of the ice), but we didn't realize it until about the third power play of the game.

"That doesn't happen now."

Each game day, the assistant coach responsible

for the "PK" meets in front of a television with the four or six forwards and four defensemen who play the two-minute game for their club.

The coach shows the penalty killers a handful of key things: how teams break out of their zone on the power play; how they like to enter the offensive zone, and the patterns and plays they use once they have possession of the puck in the offensive zone.

"Most teams are pretty structured when it comes to their breakout," Larson says. "Some ad lib, but not many. If it's consistent, you explain how to defend it."

It can be as simple as positioning a penalty-killing forward in the passing lane, forcing a backhand pass, which increases the chances for a turnover. Maybe it's trying to force the puck to a player who isn't comfortable handling it in the neutral zone. Trends develop among the attacking teams.

"There are basically three or four plays you see all the time," Larson says. "Your penalty killers have to know the other team's favorites. Does the other team like to use an `umbrella,' where they keep three guys high, shoot a lot and use screens? Do they like to have the defenseman jumping in the back door?"

Having this information means today's penalty killers, rather than simply reacting as their predecessors did, are much better prepared.

"There are no secrets anymore," says Blues defenseman Al MacInnis, a top special-teams player for the Blues who is recovering from an eye injury. "Certain power plays not only have set plays, but they have certain habits."

The result of this preparation is the penalty killers are much quicker to get in people's faces, cutting down space and time and challenging for loose pucks.

The days of the passive four-man box that simply attempted to keep the puck to the outside has gone the way of the helmetless player.

"You used to be able to walk along the blue line for 10 or 15 feet, get the puck to the middle and take a shot," MacInnis says. "Now you're lucky if you have two seconds."

Combine that with the choppy ice found in most NHL arenas these days, and you can see why moving the puck and setting up for quality scoring chances has become more difficult.

Some teams, such as the Avalanche, the Stars and the Red Wings, use their best offensive players to kill penalties. Others, like the Senators and the Devils, use their best defensive players.

Both work. Both have something in common.

"First of all, (players killing penalties) have to have great hockey sense," Sutter says. "They really need to read plays and be good students of the game. They've got to be easily educated and be able to translate (on the ice) what you show them on video and give them in scouting reports."

In Dallas, center Mike Modano, one of the best offensive talents in the game, has evolved into a top penalty killer. Ditto for Steve Yzerman in Detroit and Peter Forsberg in Colorado.

"Their advantage is they think like the guys they are up against," Sutter says. "They think like the other team's top players. They're a half step ahead because they know the play that has to be made."

But most coaches, Sutter included, say their best penalty killer is their goaltender. A good power play, by its nature, is going to get its chances. A good goaltender neutralizes those chances.

A lot has been made of bigger and better equipment for goaltenders, improved conditioning and even the better-quality athlete the position is attracting, and all those things are true. But today's goaltenders can add another important dimension to penalty killing.

Outstanding puck-handlers such as Martin Brodeur of the Devils can function as a third defenseman, cutting off another team's shoot-ins and setting up their own defensemen for a clearing attempt or firing it out themselves.

"The goalies are a big difference," Carbonneau says. "It used to be you could just dump it in and be able to forecheck. Now if you have a bad dump-in, the goalie is firing it back out of the zone. That costs you 20 or 30 seconds on the power play."

When the goalie makes the stop, the penalty killers win. When nothing happens, the penalty killers win. Fittingly, penalty killers also have to be fatalistic. Sometimes the disadvantage can't be overcome.

"Teams have come to realize that you win or lose hockey games on the little things," Reid says. "If you look around the league, the talent level is pretty equal and the parity is so good, the slightest advantage can win you games. Penalty killing is one of those things."

One of the important things.

"It all comes down to execution. If the other team executes," Larson says, "there's not much you can do."

Except get back in front of that television.

RELATED ARTICLE: The first four

We asked several NHL insiders which players they would want on the ice if they had a one-goal lead and had to kill a penalty with fewer than two minutes remaining.

Two unanimous choices emerged: Blues defenseman Chris Pronger and Avalanche forward Peter Forsberg.

"Pronger is simply the best," one pro scout says. "He's big and strong. He keeps people from the front of the net. The big guys with a long reach have an advantage."

Forsberg impresses observers with his speed and anticipation, which allows him to come away with loose pucks, and he is always a threat to score.

For the second defenseman, Avs defenseman Adam Foote got the nod over the Blues' Al MacInnis, the Kings' Rob Blake, the Stars' Derian Hatcher and the Devils' Brian Rafalski and Scott Stevens.

The second forward's spot was close, but came down to the Red Wings' Steve Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov. Yzerman was the choice.

"Yzerman does so many things well," says one Eastern Conference coach. "He's a good shot blocker and good on faceoffs."

Other forwards getting strong endorsements: Mike Modano, Mike Keane and Jere Lehtinen of Dallas; Joe Sakic of Colorado; Craig Conroy of St, Louis; Scott Pellerin of Minnesota; John Madden and Jay Pandolfo of the Devils; Rob Zamuner and Radek Bonk of the Senators; Theo Fleury and Michael York of the Rangers, and Mike Ricci of the Sharks. --C.S.

RELATED ARTICLE: The No. 1 Guy

When the talk turns to penalty killing, the prize student is now a professor.

Guy Carbonneau, who retired last summer after 18 NHL seasons and three Selke trophies as the league's top defensive forward, is regarded by many as the best-ever penalty-killing forward.

"i took a lot of pride in playing well defensively, and penalty killing was one of those things," says Carbonneau, now an assistant coach with the Canadiens. "Taking faceoffs, blocking shots ... they were all important to me.

"The key to penalty killing is good positioning, reaction and anticipation more than anything. You've got to be able to anticipate what they are going to do.

"Knowledge was a huge thing, too, how to react to the other team's tendencies."

Carbonneau is considered the best shot-blocking forward of all time, an invaluable asset in killing penalties. He had a quick stick, which he always positioned in the passing or shooting lane. His work ethic and tremendous hockey instincts combined with another big factor to make him No. 1.

"That was his pride," says Devils pro scout Andre Boudrias, the Canadiens' assistant general manager when Carbonneau played with the Habs. "He would kill those penalties, and he'd be proud of that--as proud as any star of the game." --C.S.

RELATED ARTICLE: Fighting the-power

With a guarantee that he would remain anonymous, an NHL assistant coach responsible for his club's penalty killing shared the scouting report that he gives his players on defending against the Flames' potent first-unit power play.

"The key for them is their big line: Valeri Bure, Jarome Iginla and Cory Stillman. They will set up with one on each side and one in the slot, and they will all shoot from anywhere.

"In their end they like to get the puck to Bure, and he likes to swing out of his end on the forehand most of the time. We have to take away his speed in the neutral zone. We don't want him carrying it into our zone with speed. That forces our `D' to back in.

"If Bure doesn't carry it, it will probably be Phil Housley. He's one of the best ever at bringing it up the ice and making the right play. He takes what you give him. He'll look you off. A great passer. You cannot go straight at trim or he will deke you or pass it by you. You have to take a good angle of control,

"In our zone he walks the blue line as well as anybody. He will find a lane to get the shot through. Stay in the lane, and don't let him walk out from the boards.

"Derek Morris has a big shot. Be aware of him." --C.S.

Chris Stevenson is a correspondent for THE SPORTING NEWS online and covers hockey for Slam/Sports.

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