In reply to: Minnesota State blew the game Saturday. posted by Mr Wednesday
I think PC had three power play goals, and all three were from an open player on the back post. I thought that MSU's weak side low player was cheating to the middle too much, but I'm not exactly an expert on hockey tactics. Maybe PC was doing something interesting to open that man up?
Keep your feet moving, proper spacing to make sure it wasn't unnecessarily easy for MSU to clog passing lanes with either sticks or bodies and support the puck. Often enough scoring goals is as much about the guy without the puck in the seconds leading to a goal. During a PP that is magnified.
Clearly, that's not the norm for either PC or MSU, so I was basically wondering if it might have been partly due to something schematic, vs. just MSU playing especially poorly / PC playing especially well.
I don't remember a lot now but I don't recall looking at the positioning of PC players thinking I was seeing something new fangled or out of the ordinary PP configurations. Same with the MSU PK. I think it really was just as simple as PC executing on the ice with correct positioning and opportune puck and skate movement. Guys without the puck being in the right place at the right time is so fleeting too, sometimes I think it all boils down to making your own luck.