| | While Washington窶冱 penalty kill has been one of its biggest liabilities for much of the season, and still ranks among the worst in the NHL, the unit has shown marked improvement in recent w Longchamp Sale eeks. Its perfect 5-for-5 outing ag Chaussures Louboutin ainst the Canadiens was simply the latest example.Washington has thwarted 13 consecutive power plays and over the past 21 games the penalty kill is operating at an 81.4 percent success rate (48 for 59). The unit is still ranked third worst in the NHL (77.8 percent), but that窶冱 largely a reflection of the rough initial adjustment to the coaching staff窶冱 overhauled approach to killing penalties at the start of the season. 窶弩e just wanted to rebuild the whole thing right from the get-go,窶 said Assistant Coach Tim Hunter, who directs the penalty kill. 窶弋here窶冱 just been a whole revelation of how to kill penalties for our guys. They went from being completely aggressive to being somewhat passive and now we窶决e edging toward being a little more aggressive in certain areas.窶戮oach Adam Oates, Hunter and the rest of the coaching staff put an end to the mantra of all-out aggression and shot-blocking at any cost that prevailed during Dale Hunter窶冱 tenure as coach last season. They want penalty killers standing up, focused on correct positioning in order to anticipate and guard against the next play 窶 not diving in front of shots. Capi Coach Outlet Online tals penalty killers are still encouraged to block shots, but without dropping to the ice because the moment a player leaves his feet it窶冱 more difficult, if not impossible, to recover and defend against the next play. Adjusting to the more passive approach was difficult, largely because it was a departure from everything the penalty killers had been taught.窶弩hen they tell you not to block a shot it窶冱 kind of like, 窶聾ell, then, what do I do?窶吮 Karl Alzner said. 窶廸ormally you Coach Outlet Store Online go out there and you think, 窶弄y job is to go out there, block a shot and get it down.窶 Now it窶冱 more trying to think a little bit, think what the PP窶冱 going to do and be ready for it 窶 we窶决e trying to be a smarter hockey team.窶抖he penalty killers weren窶冲 the only ones who needed to adapt to the new style. Goaltender Braden Holtby was used to having clean sight lines over teammates as they blocked shots; he could more easily see the trajectory of the puck and potential deflections. Now he has to contend with many more screens.窶廬t was tough. At the start of the year I was wondering why I was never seeing pucks. There was constantly something in the way,窶 Holtby said. 窶弩e changed a bit of my game to get lower on things. It exposes the top half of the net a bit more but it gives me a better chance to see around and it窶冱 worked a lot more.窶抖he transition was ugly at first. Penalty killers trying to reprogram themselves had to fight their shot-blocking instincts and were often caught out of position.窶弋here was a lot of teaching going on,窶 Hunter explained. 窶弩hen you go out and you窶决e on your feet, now what do you do with your stick?.窶.窶. As a forward, do something with your stick that窶冱 useful. Put it in the right place. Deter them or try to stall them in what they want to do.窶抔ashington窶冱 abundance of penalties early in the season didn窶冲 help the situation either, and exposed the unit before it could establish familiarity with its new shorthanded rules. Of the 34 power-play goals the Capitals have allowed this season, 15 came during the dreadful 2-8-1 start, when the penalty kill went 36 for 51 (70.6 percent).Improvement truly started in mid-March when the coaching staff, concerned the players were growing a little too reactive, decided to add in some selective aggressiveness. Like everything else, though, it窶冱 about being smart and pressuring at key moments. It窶冱 up to the penalty killers to know when to try to force an opposing power play into rushed decisions or when they should hang back, focus on their positioning and eliminate as many threats as possible. 窶廬t comes down to the timing of it,窶 Matt Hendricks said. 窶廢veryone is starting to work well together, and I think before when we would have those trigger moments 窶 when a guy bobbles the puck or could slow a team down in the neutral zone 窶 only one guy would go. We窶决e getting mor Coach Outlet e comfortable with the coaches窶 system and knowing when we all need to go or stay has made the difference in the last month or so.窶
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