Breaking Down NHL Goals from Week Two
An MVP, a Dagger, and a Rookie
Welcome! As you can tell by the title, this will be a break down of some (three to be exact) NHL goals from the start of the season. Each “header” will be the goal scorer, goal number for the player (first goal = 1, second goal = 2, etc.), and opponent with the date of the game. We’ll dive into the details of what makes an NHL goal happen and taking things step-by-step should be a decent way of going about that. If you want me to cover a specific goal, let me know!! Let’s get into it.
Connor McDavid (6) @ Arizona, 10/21/2021
Going to try to something a tad different here. There will be side by sides (pay attention to captions) of two different plays, however, the situations are incredibly similar.
Context: Edmonton goes on to a power play in the third period against Arizona.
Left faceoff dot. Leon Draisaitl (#29) takes the draw both times. The Oilers will scramble both times and retrieve the puck.
Both plays: Tyson Barrie (#22) ends up with the puck for Edmonton.
On the no-goal side: The Coyotes initially start in a box, but it will soon dissolve. Zach Hyman (#18) will function as a bumper down low.
On the goal side: We see a slight tie up between Draisaitl and Jay Beagle (#83) off the faceoff.
On the non-goal side: Barrie dishes the puck off to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (#93), while Arizona plays in a triangle plus one scheme, as Beagle pressures the puck up top.
On the goal-side: Barrie will movie to his right, as will Connor McDavid (#97), creating space for the Oilers to operate.
This follows the goal-play only. Beagle blocks off the lane to McDavid, forcing Barrie to go down low to Nugent-Hopkins.
Both plays: Beagle pressure Nugent-Hopkins, making his options limited.
On the non-goal side: Nugent Hopkins has an option down low in Hyman. He moves to that space.
On the goal-side: Nugent-Hopkins looks to McDavid, but the lane is closed. The triangle plus one is containing Draisaitl, exposing Jesse Puljujärvi (#13).
Both plays: Beagle gives chase to Nugent-Hopkins.
On the non-goal side: No lane to McDavid. The option is Hyman or back to Barrie.
On the goal-side: Nugent-Hopkins has the option back to Barrie. Beagle’s stick is not protecting the lane back to Barrie.
This follows the goal-play only. Barrie receives the pass from Nugent-Hopkins and has options, however, Beagle comes out to challenge him, cutting off the lane to McDavid. You can see Draisaitl directing traffic and pointing towards Nugent-Hopkins.
This follows the goal play only. Nugent-Hopkins now has the puck. Draisaitl presents himself as an option but Nugent-Hopkins continues to skate and will be challenged eventually by Anton Strålman (#86). On the other side of the ice, we see McDavid creep down towards the goal-line.
On the non-goal side: Nugent-Hopkins moves the puck down low to Hyman.
On the goal-side: Draisaitl draws two defenders to himself and Puljujärvi draws Jakob Chychrun (#6). Nugent-Hopkins will move the puck cross-ice to McDavid.
Let’s finish off the non-goal play here. Hyman gets the puck, one-touches it across the crease while McDavid moves down. Karel Vejmelka (#70) moves across-crease and has the post covered. He makes the stop on the McDavid one-timer.
Back to the goal play. Puljujärvi’s screen in front makes Vejmelka blind to the pass across the ice. Chychrun goes to get Puljujärvi out of the way but that leaves McDavid exposed. McDavid will gather the puck off his stick. Let’s zoom in on this.
Top Left: We see the Vejmelka peeking through the screen and Nugent-Hopkins releasing his cross-ice pass.
Top Right and Bottom Left: McDavid’s hand-eye and general coordination are on display here. He takes the puck off his skate right on to his stick. Not as easy as he makes it look.
Bottom Right: McDavid buries the shot as Vejmelka is late to the shot.
These slight variations on Edmonton’s power play makes it all the more dangerous. Nugent-Hopkins functioning along the half-wall both times sets Arizona up to follow that pattern the second time around, however Edmonton’s different looks with Hyman vs Puljujärvi made things difficult for the Coyotes. McDavid’s finishing ability is at an elite level for any player in the league.
Nino Niederreiter (2) VS Toronto, 10/25/2021
Ethan Bear (#25) creates this play for the Hurricanes. Bear initially pinches down to get Carolina possession of the puck. Nino Niederreiter (#21) will receive a pass from Bear, who will drag T.J. Brodie (#78) towards the net-front. Jake Muzzin (#8) will move to protect the slot. Jesper Fast (#71) goes to the slot.
Niederreiter, now with puck in hand, has an option in Jordan Staal (#11), who is coming down from the point. Mitch Marner (#16) gets turned around and will move towards Staal.
Marner pokes the puck away from Staal. Staal moves to protect the left point, as Bear is still down low. Niederreiter will buckle down towards the boards, as he is left alone.
Marner and John Tavares (#91) both go for the puck, however, Tavares realizes Marner is the only one with a shot at it so he pulls up. Jaccob Slavin (#74), the architect of this play, enters the offensive zone and will pick up the puck.
Slavin opens up his skates as he walks the blue line. His edgework will doom Marner as he is committed to the poke check. Staal will move towards the right point as Bear is coming up and Slavin is now moving down in the offensive zone.
Marner goes in for the poke check and completely misses. Slavin has options. Brodie steps up to defend Slavin and leaves Niederreiter alone.
With Marner now beat, Slavin attacks the middle of the ice. Auston Matthews (#34) and Brodie go to defend Slavin. Slavin could risk a pass cross-ice, however, with Brodie coming up and abandoning Niederreiter, another option opens up.
Slavin has now fully drawn Matthews and Brodie in and hits Niederreiter down low. Brodie and Muzzin now both go towards Niederreiter but a power move from the Swiss forward is coming.
Niederreiter swings around to the front of the net, with puck on stick. Brodie goes for a poke check, which simply won’t be enough. Jack Campbell’s (#36) pads open up for a split second and Niederreiter cashes in for Carolina.
The two main drivers of this play, Jaccob Slavin (USA) and Nino Niederreiter (Swiss), will likely make their respective Olympic teams. Slavin’s creativity along the blue line is a can’t miss while Niederreiter has been consistent in scoring 20 plus goals (done in five seasons, will likely hit over 20 this year). Carolina’s talent has driven them to a perfect start to the year, winning their first five games.
Lucas Raymond (3) @ Chicago, 10/24/2021
Alex DeBrincat (#12) of Chicago has received the puck as he moves through the neutral zone, however, he loses it in his skates. The puck floats over to Nick Leddy (#2) who sees that forwards Dylan Larkin (#71, left of two Detroit forwards in right screencap) and Lucas Raymond (#23, right of two Detroit forwards) are streaking through the neutral zone.
Leddy gets a clean pass of to Raymond, who is moving towards the benches. Philipp Kurashev (#23) is closing in on Raymond as the forward receives the puck. Larkin skates cleanly through the neutral zone, headed to the offensive blueline.
Kurashev rubs off on Raymond creating a disruption in his route. Raymond will keep his legs moving. The puck squeaks through to Tyler Bertuzzi (#59), who sits at the at the blueline; he’s able to retrieve the puck and enter the offensive zone cleanly.
Bertuzzi flies along the right wall, with Kurashev defending him, as Raymond and Larkin both attack the defensemen opposing them. Seth Jones (#4) has good positioning on Raymond, unfortunately, he is puck watching. Calvin de Haan (#44) has a bit of space between him and Larkin, but isn’t clearly focused on Larkin. Seems as though Kirby Dach’s (#77) Xbox controller disconnected.
Jones and de Haan both go after Larkin, who just caught a sweet backhand pass from Bertuzzi. Raymond will keep his legs moving towards the front of the net.
Larkin has space, and elects to shoot on goaltender Marc-André Fleury (#29). As Raymond continues to drive the net, Jones doesn’t follow him and only has his stick around the forward.
MAF makes the stop on Larkin, however, with no defensemen around him, Raymond has an easy tap in.
Lucas Raymond makes no mistake here. The fourth overall pick from the 2020 draft went hard to the net and was rewarded.
Lucas Raymond, a Swedish rookie for the Red Wings has four goals on the season. This goal was the second tally for Raymond against Chicago, as he would complete the hat trick in the third period. Lucas is the first teenage Red Wing to record a hat trick since Steve Yzerman in 1985. Raymond will be one to watch for the Calder Memorial Trophy.
