Obviously, they requested to be sent down so they could be present for Country Music Night, Friday at the Bradley Center with Rodney Atkins.
Ok, probably not.
But they are coming back to Milwaukee, at least for the weekend. With the NHL on their all-star break, this may be just so that they get some meaningful ice-time. Tough to say whether they’ll be called back AFTER the all-star break, but it wouldn’t be surprising. Both players have made good impressions with the folks in Nashville, and both have contributed on both sides of the ice.
But let’s live in the now. It’ll be great to have them back in the lineup this weekend. You’d rather see Halischuk and Mueller in the lineup than say….Dan Gendur, right?
Through 45 games the Admirals sit in a surprising 24th place in the AHL in penalty killing success. Milwaukee is effective 79.9% of the time short handed, allowing 37 goals on 183 attempts, while scoring six goals of their own while skating at least a man short.
“Some nights our penalty kill is good, other nights its bad,” Milwaukee defenseman Scott Ford said. “I think it’s a just a matter of everybody being on the same page and getting better as a group . . . I think we are doing a better job as of late, and it hasn’t been costing us games like it did early in the season. We just have to keep working on it.”
Here are my three solutions for fixing the penalty kill.
1) Have a healthy Steve Begin. This is probably the biggest reason for Milwaukee’s struggles as Steve Begin seems almost a perfect prototype for a penalty killer in the AHL with his checking tenacity and his aggressiveness. Without Begin, there hasn’t a go-to killer for the Admirals to turn to.
2) Clear Rebounds. Though most hockey fans associate power play goals with pretty plays, oftentimes it’s a rebound or redirection play that scores on a man advantage. Milwaukee has strong goaltenders who can make the first save, but clearing pucks away is even more essential short handed because the killing team is always out-maned down low.
3) Block shooting/passing lanes. Active sticks and quick feet up high makes for good penalty killing forwards. With how well Milwaukee’s forwards play two-way hockey while skating five-on-five, they need to show the same commitment while short handed. This means aggressively skating to take away shooting and passing lanes.
So Roundtable, what are your penalty killing solutions? Is there personnel you wish to see Milwaukee try out short handed, or a four-man style you would like to Lane Lambert employ?
Ok, here’s the last installment of the Darren Pang interview. You may think I’ve been drawing the whole thing out, and you’d probably be right. With all the off-days, it’s either this, or my review of the State Of Union address.
Let’s stick with hockey.
Here, Panger talks about why he thinks the Predators are so successful, why he likes being between the glass, why Sidney Crosby is a crybaby (Ok, I’m paraphrasing there), and why we’re lucky to have Aaron Sims as our play-by-play guy.
RM: The Predators are fourth in their confernece….going into the season, did you have any idea that they’d be as successful as they have been?
DP: Nope. I have all the admiration in the world for Barry Trotz…Peter Horachek is a good friend of mine….he was my former captain in Saginaw. I really think that they really epitomize how to coach in this league. How do they do it every year? How do they lose so many quality players, yet are able to go to the stable here in Milwaukee, and bring them up and have them compete at the NHL level? I can only think of one thing. They’ve got a low budget, I get that. But the coach has a message, and the players respond to that message. They play a hard game. They don’t give you a whole lot of room to make a play…they’re tenacious.
Every year, we fill out our ballot, and I think for four years, I’ve got Barry Trotz in one, two or three. I don’t care if he makes the playoffs. If he gets that team to 9th or 10th I still vote for him because I think that’s amazing. Last year I voted for him again…not as the winner. I thought that Dave Tippett should win it and he did. But I had Barry Trotz there, and I’m totally amazed at what he does every year.
RM: When broadcasting games, do you have a preference between being in the booth or between the benches?
DP: I’d rather be between the benches. In 1998, I did the olympics for CBS in Nagano, and CBS paid only so much money, that only one broadcaster was allowed between the benches, and it was no glass on either side. So I was able to be there for the Olympics. So that was phenomenal. John Davidson was up in the booth and I was down below. I could see things, hear things, and that was my first experience being down low. Since that time, NBC has designed “Inside The Glass”, but I often tell Pierre Maguire, “you weren’t the first. We did that in 1998”. So, to answer your question, it’s more thrilling being down there. You feel the game, you smell the game, you can hear and see the game a whole lot better down there.
RM: And there’s probably a lot more that you can report on than a sideline reporter in, say, football.
DP: Oh yeah, first of all you’re interviewing the coach at the under ten minute mark of the first period, and under ten minute mark of the second period, you do both coaches. So now you’re on the bench. You have a feel for what the coach is seeing, the frustration of the players, the animosity between the two teams. There’s a lot more to deliver in hockey between the two benches.
RM: Did you get a chance to see the HBO special leading up to the Winter Classic, and if so, what did you think of it?
DP: I watched it all — I loved it. We always said when I was at ESPN… we had a producer Bruce Collins, he said “if only we could do some of these games on HBO.” The entire game. You know, say what’s on your mind. If you’ve got a beef about a player and a little language slides out from a player, it’s okay — that’s HBO. But I think HBO produced it brilliantly. I thought they took the storyline of the struggling Washington Capitals, and the dark room and the curtains going down and the sad state…..and then they brought the happy Pittsburgh Penguins and you could really feel the flow of the two franchises. I give both teams a lot of credit for opening themselves up, because too many times the general manager or coach or the owner will say “absolutely not”. I think the fans saw great personalities.
RM: Do you think Dave Steckel’s hit on Sidney Crosby was a dirty hit?
DP: I don’t. I’ve talked to a lot of people, and it’s funny…half of them say it was a vicious dirty hit, and when I saw it at full speed, I swear he didn’t see where Sidney was, and Sidney didn’t see where he was. And it’s two players making a turn, and one player is 6’6, and the elbow pads are so darn hard….I know Sidney doesn’t believe that. But I don’t think Steckel is athletic enough — no disrespect to him — but I don’t think he’s nimble or athletic enough to avoid that confrontation. He was like a 747 making a turn, and his wing got in the way.
RM: You just had the chance to broadcast some of this game with Aaron Sims. How does he rank up there with the Jim Hughson’s and Gary Thorne’s, and Joe Benanati’s of the world?
DP: He’s good, he’s got a great call. Great voice, and he’s got great inflection. He knows when there’s a crescendo happening. Often what we talk about with play-by-play guys….when I’m with Doc Emrick on NBC, and it seems like there’s a lot of voices rambling, our producer will say, “It’s Doc time now.” Aaron has that ability to just take it and build it. And I think that’s what fans want to hear. They want to know, are people up on their seats? Is there a gasp? Is there anticipation? And I think Aaron’s call is great. Other than me getting in the way of him, I think he was great. I stepped on him! (laughs) He’s a terrific person and I think he does a great job.
Many thanks one more time to Mr. Pang for his time, opinions, and enthusiasm for the sport of hockey.
Here’s part two of my interview with Darren Pang…talking about his callup to the NHL, what he thought of that whippersnapper Eddie Belfour, and his relationship with Ads coach Lane Lambert.
RM: Do you remember your NHL debut like it was just yesterday, or are the details kind of a blur?
DP: Cliff Koroll, when he was recalled to Chicago, he said to me on his way out, “You keep playing hard, you’ll get a chance.” It was the first time someone had really said that to me. It was probably a week later…I believe it was February because of my birthday…I had just turned 21. It was shortly after that, then Jimmy Pappin, who took over for Cliff Koroll, pulled me aside and said, “Get your stuff ready. You’re going up.” And I was like, “What happened Pappy”, and he goes, “Murray Bannerman hurt a groin, and you’re going to back up Warren Skorodenski tomorrow night in Chicago.” But during the game, Skorodenski got hurt, but he stayed in the game. And every five minutes he kept going down and staying down. The trainer would go on the ice, and Bob Pulford told me “Get yourself ready, you could be going in.” I remember being pretty nervous, like I wanted to throw up. Anyway, the next night, or two nights later, I’m not sure which one it was…I started in Minnesota, and gave up a goal on my first shot. But hung in there, lost the game 4-1, and had a pretty good experience. Steve Payne scored two goals on me. And he was a former Ottawa 67. I grew up watching Steve Payne, and here I am playing against those guys.
RM: Eddie Belfour was just coming up while you were there with Chicago. Was it obvious right away that Eddie was a special player?
DP: Nope. In fact I told a lot of people, and I told Eddie this…I didn’t think he could play ten games in the NHL. We were both in rookie camp in 1987, and Wayne Thomas was just hired as the goalie coach. I played against Wayne in the IHL, he was coaching Salt Lake, so I knew his drills. He coached Mike Vernon, and I thought I played a little bit like Mike Vernon. So we went to a rookie camp, and we did all these drills. X-drill, Y-drill, Z-drill, U-drill, V-drill, typical goalie drills. And Eddie Belfour, he just was terrible. He couldn’t move from his post to the crease. He couldn’t cover the short side. It was really weird watching him. I was a third year pro going on my fourth year, and I remember looking at Wayne Thomas going, “This guy can’t play.” And I meant that sincerely — I mean, he tried hard. That year he went down to the IHL, and I think he was rookie of the year with John Cullen in Saginaw, and I was on the All-rookie team at the NHL. So I was the one that made the team and played 50 games. He got called up the next year, because Mike Keenan came on board. And he got called up, and he was okay. He’d have a brilliant period, and then he’d have a bad one. The next year, I got injured, tore my ACL. And they traded for a bunch of guys…and Eddie Belfour got a chance. He played really well in the playoffs. But it took him three years to take off. And Eddie, he’s a hall of fame goaltender, but I tell people that he willed himself into a hall of fame goaltender. He wasn’t a natural goalie….he was stubborn, he was determined, motivated, and he willed himself to be the great goaltender that he was. And I greatly admire him for what he ended up being.
RM: I understand that your history with Admirals coach Lane Lambert goes a long way back, much earlier than tonight.
DP: He and Steve Yzerman grew up with the Red Wings together. And when I was sent down to Saginaw my second year, I would drive to Detroit a lot to be with Steve, and spend the night with them. And they roomed together. I hung out with these guys for a couple of years and got to know Lane pretty well. I don’t see him very often, so it was nice going to the office and talking to him. He hadn’t talked to Steve in a little bit…so we exchanged numbers, I made sure he had Steve’s number. And I’ll call Steve after this and let him know that I saw Lane. I know Steve really liked Lane.
Friday night was Darren Pang bobblehead night at the Admirals game, and the guest of honor was on-hand for the festivities.
He really could not have been more accomodating.
Autographs, ceremonial first puck-drop, 1st intermission interview, color commentary with Aaron Sims for the 2nd period…
And then a quick interview with me…that turned into about 14 minutes.
The man loves talking hockey, and will talk about it with anyone that will listen. He is an amazing ambassador for the sport, for hockey fans old and new. Simply thanking him for his time didn’t feel like it was enough to show my appreciation.
We talked about a plethora of topics, including his time in the NHL, Ed Belfour, the 2010-11 Nashville Predators, the Winter Classic, the Steckel-Crosby hit, and our friend Aaron Sims….and we’ll get to those topics in subsequent posts this week.
But to start, here is Darren Pang, on his time in Milwaukee.
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DP: I could probably write a book about the experience and it’s all positive. Number one, it was my first year pro. I had just gone from the Ottawa 67’s, where we won a Memorial Cup, signed with the Blackhawks, and we were told this was the #1 affiliate. I came here with a couple of buddies… John Ollson and Phil Patterson were both teammates of mine in junior hockey, so I had some familiarity. I knew Jim Ralph, he was my roommate on the road. And Randy Boyd, we were all graduates of the Ottawa 67’s so we had the same coach and we knew each other.
But the one thing that really I guess, as I remember that year, our very first game…. Cliff Koroll was coach originally, and he was replaced by Jimmy Pappin, because Cliff Koroll was recalled to the Blackhawks. But the first game was really neat because a lot of the Blackhawk alumni showed up to support Cliff. Dennis Hull, Keith Magnuson, were amongst many guys that ended up coming here, sitting behind the bench and they had signs for Cliff.
On a non-hockey note…Phil Wittliff co-signed by first car loan. I went to the bank, I believe it was called Marine Bank. I went down there, they wouldn’t give me a loan because I had no credit in the states. So I went upstairs and Phil Wittliff came down with me and he co-signed the loan.
RM: That sounds like something Phil would do.
DP: Those to me are great memories.
The Booster club — there’s a number of people that I saw tonight signing my bobblehead that were part of the booster club that did up the scrapbook at the end of the year. I told one of the ladies ‘I still have that scrapbook’. It meant a lot to us as players because as years go on and you retire, and you look back on it… I show my kids it. Yeah, that was me in the minors, I was 20 years old, I was making $22,500, I was playing in Milwaukee, and sharing an apartment with Kevin Robinson.
I really enjoyed my time here, and I thought that I was going to play here for a long time.
In our last episode…
The Admirals gave up four goals in the 3rd period of a 7-5 loss to San Antonio.
More bad news was that Gabriel Bourque and Kelsey Wilson were a bit banged up in the match.
Both were scratched in Saturday evening’s game.
In what Lane had billed as a major “character game” for the team, they were able to go to Texas and get out of there with a point, losing in a shootout to the Texas Stars by a score of 2-1.
You can read 100 Degree Hockey’s recap here. They know what they’re talking about. They were there.
Jeremy Smith started the game, and made 25 saves in regulation, and truly deserved a better fate.
After a scoreless (but not a chanceless) first period, the Stars got on the board first with a Greg Rallo goal. After a shot from the point changed directions a couple of times, Rallo was down low to cash in.
Roman Josi scored his third in as many games 20 seconds into the 3rd period. It goes in the books as a power play goal, but really should be considered 4×4. Scott Ford’s interference penalty ended at the 20 second mark as well. Josi took a pass from Blum that went over the glove of Stars goalie Richard Bachman.
In the shootout, Linus Klasen was the only Admiral to beat Bachman, in an attempt that probably had the least amount of razzle dazzle that he’s had all season. Andreas Thuresson and Ryan Thang attempted their first shootout tries of the year, with Thang hitting the goalpost in the bottom of the fifth round, to end the game.
Reports are that the injuries to Bourque and Wilson aren’t considered serious. But it opened the door for Grant Lewis and Dan Gendur to get some playing time. And for a team playing its third game in three days, having a couple pairs of fresh legs in the lineup probably had some benefit.
Steve Begin left the game after a collision, and appeared to be favoring his left leg. That may end up being more serious.
Two out of a possible six points in the last three days. Not ideal, but it keeps them in a tie for first place with the…..wait…how did the Houston Aeros get there?????
7th place in the division (Chicago) is three points out of first place. Oy. And they’d be in 3rd place in the North Division right now…..so the crossover rule might get five teams from our division into the playoffs.
That’s slightly comforting.
The headline, courtesy of coach Lane Lambert.
Here’s the full quote.
“I think it’s our worst game of the season, so yeah, I guess you could say that. There’s been other disappointing losses where we’ve played better and not won the game. To hold a 3-0 lead for starters, and then to go into the third period with a lead, and then to give up four goals in the third period is pretty disappointing.”
After spotting the Admirals the 3-0 lead, the San Antonio Rampage didn’t panic. They made adjustments, and skated out of Milwaukee with a 7-5 win, snapping their five-game losing streak.
Before the game was 3 minutes old, Blake Geoffrion was the beneficiary of blooper from starting (not finishing) goaltender Matt Climie. The puck dribbled in to Climie, and attempted to cover it with his glove. He did cover it for a split second, but it the glove wasn’t sealed to the ice. The puck slid out, and Geoffrion was all alone to score the easiest goal of his career.
“When I say easy….I mean SNOOKI easy,” said Sutty, at the time.
Late in the period, Linus Klasen attempted an abbreviated shootout try…with everyone on the ice. Lots of credit goes to Ryan Thang and Blake Geoffrion with a fantastic forecheck. Blake was able to work the puck to Klasen at the top of the slot. And while the Rampage defensemen (including his Yonkness) were tending to Thang and Geoffrion down low, Klasen went right down the yellow brick road, delayed in front of Climie, and scored on the backhand after a deke that would make Gordon Bombay proud.
Kelsey Wilson scored 17 seconds later to end Climie’s night.
But there was a shift in play when Al Montoya took the ice. The Rampage started using their muscle a little more, and making things happen. I don’t think the Admirals were sitting on their lead — I think the Rampage starting playing that much better hockey.
And they scored with 39 seconds left in the first. Former Admiral Bracken Kearns had the puck bounce to him just in front of the crease, and he beat Mark Dekanich.
The Ads skated into the first intermission with the 3-1 lead, and you kind of had the sense that three goals wasn’t going to be enough to take this one home.
It wasn’t. Here’s more from Lane.
In the second period, the Rampage finished up a power play with a goal. It looked like a set play off the faceoff, and featured Aaron Johnson not being able to block the pass, and Geoffrion late getting to eventual goal scorer, Alexandre Picard.
Klasen answered with a power play goal 1:11 later, with a shot from the far face-off dot, through a nice Geoffrion screen.
Then the bleeding started. The start of the 3rd period seemed like a mirror image of the first period, with Dekanich the one not looking all that sharp, and the Rampage piling up the goals.
Here’s the summary.
– A power play goal from Ned Lukacevic 1:41 into the frame.
– An even strength goal from Matt Beaudoin, beating a Dex who had come out pretty far from the crease.
– Matt Watkins scored on a stoppable shot from the far face-off dot.
– Roman Josi scored on a shot from the point that may or may not have been deflected by Dylan Hunter.
– Empty netter by Ryan Hollweg
The end.
———–
NOTES:
– The three-games-in-three-days stretch continues Saturday….in Texas. An unkind part of the schedule, but Lane says that the team will need to make the most of it.
– What a rollercoaster tonight. In the HBO series on the Winter Classic, they spent a lot of talking talking about how quickly momentum can change in hockey. Think we saw a bunch of 180’s tonight.
– Do you think we get the same outcome if Kearns doesn’t score in the Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin Hot Minute?
– Yonkman, with the textbook demonstration of the made up penalty that bears his name. I did enjoy that.
– On a brighter note, how about Darren Pang? What a guy! Gracious with his time, and I’m hopeful that we’ll get to hear his color commentary with Aaron Sims on one of the Time Warner Sports 32 broadcasts. (We also had the chance to interview him…we’ll post that later in the week)
– Packers/Bears wedding proposal….funny or not?
– Thoughts on the special teams (or lack thereof)?
– Were you hoping that Yonkman was going to drop the gloves with someone?
– Can you pick out the moment when the thought that ‘this might not end well’ crossed your mind?
Another overtime game for the Admirals, but their home winning streak came to an end, courtesy of a 4-3 shootout loss to the OKC Barons.
Roman Josi’s goal with 40 seconds left in the 3rd sent it to OT, but a great shot by Colin McDonald won it for the Barons in the bottom of the 5th round.
Coach Lambert says there’s plenty to learn from the game tonight.
The Admirals got on the board early with a goal from Mark Van Guilder. With Mike Bartlett driving down low on the forecheck he was able to get the puck to Ryan Flynn behind the net. Flynn drew several defenders to him, giving Van Guilder a clear path to the net. Flynn’s pass was on MVG’s tape and Martin Gerber had no chance on the shot. It was almost too easy of a goal, as it really looked like the defense failed Gerber. The goalie’s position and reaction to the goal seemed that he thought he had help with the back side, but he didn’t. And with that, the Admirals struck first.
The Admirals got an early power play in the period, and seemed to do a great job passing the puck and gaining position, but never got that “good” shot on net. I tell you what, if the purpose of a power play was to have as many passes to teammates without giving the puck up and refusing to shoot, the Admirals would be back to back to back AAU champions (see Fred McGriff commercial).
Despite my critique, Coach Lambert sees the good and bad on the special teams.
The second period started off rather slow without a lot to speak of. However the end of the period proved to be a different story. At the 16:29 mark in the frame the Barons were able to even the score with a goal by Milan Kytnar. The Ads were reeling to regain possession in their own zone after a long shift. Unable to gather the puck long enough to clear, and with their legs growing tired, the Barons’ Teemu Hartikainen sent a centering pass to a crashing and well defended Phillippe Cornet. It looked as if the puck redirected off of the crashing group of players (Cornet and the two Admirals defenders). The redirected puck had enough momentum to make contact with a positioned Dex and then rebounded to the right of the crease where Kytnar (who was behind the net for most of the play) put the rebound past a helpless Dex.
It was a goal that you can’t put on Dex, but rather, you have to chalk it up to a tired shift. The Ads were just getting a man back off of the Ford penalty and were unable to gain control and clear to get a proper shift change.
The Admirals would start the third period with a man advantage for 1:23 and would capitalize on the advantage. Just kidding, it is the power play after all, but they did score several seconds after that penalty expired and the delayed penalty was on. The goal was scored off the cold stick of Andreas Thuresson (not a typo). The more interesting part about the goal was that every player save Dex was within a 7 foot radius of the crease and that radius was shrinking. With shooting attempts from Aaron Johnson (unsuccessful), and Steve Begin (also unsuccessful), it was Thuresson that was able to send the back hand shot through about 27 people and find the twine. It was one of those plays where the puck kept getting put on net but somehow was unable to cross the line. With all the attempted shots everyone starts to crash the net and before you know it you have 13 people in one crease looking to clear or score, it was a hot mess to say the least. BUT, an Admirals goal none the less, and that was good enough to give them the lead…
… For about 108 seconds. The Barons, who were up a man thanks to a Roman Josi penalty, were gaining zone control with passes from Alexandre Giroux to Brad Moran and then to Anthony Aiello, who was just above the far side circle. With an open lane to shoot and an Admiral crashing down on him, he put the slap shot on. The puck looked to be going rather high and before you could say “Shi” the light went off. We here at Rountable of Admirals INC are unsure how the shot went from noon to six and past Dex, but sure ‘nuff it did and was good enough to bring the game even once again.
The Barons would not be content with two goals as they took the lead with 1:20 left in the 3rd. The Admirals were caught in an umbrella style of defense allowing Phillippe Cornet to gain the slot. He wound up and fired a slap shot from the top of the near circle. Dex’s pad save went straight to Kytnar, who put a smooth deek on Dex (who ate it up). He skated right around Dex, and put a backhander into the open net , giving the Barons their first lead of the night.
The Admirals would not go without a fight and a little help from the Barons. With the Barons’ Greg Stewart serving a penalty, the Admirals took the opportunity to pull Dex from his duties and give them a two man advantage. The ensuing face off came straight back to Jon Blum who tried a shot that was deflected to the boards. The Admirals gathered the puck and got it back to Blum at the point, who tried another volley on net, but broke his stick in the process. The puck caromed off the crashing defenders skate and straight to Roman Josi to the left of the crease, and his wrister went by the adjusting Gerber. The goal would tie the game at 3 with 40 seconds left in the game, and help the Admirals earn a hard fought point.
The over time would come and go and the teams would need the shoot out to decide it. The only wow factor of the shoot out going to (sigh, ear muffs santaC ) Klasen for his awesome move. I think he took about 4 strides and just glided in the rest of the way. It was the cat and mouse game and finally Gerber made the fatal move and Klasen went top shelf making Gerber look da fool.
Colin McDonald had the shootout winner in the bottom of the fifth, supersizing the game with a great waterbottle shot.
POINTS FOR DISCUSSION:
Even though we won’t see it in the boxscore, I think Dex had a pretty great game. Bailed some people out again, and tough to blame him on most of the goals.
Do you think Steve Begin had an impact tonight?
Do you like the new Klasen-Geoffrion-Thang line?
Packers tickets will be given away at the game tomorrow. Practice your QB-form. It’ll help you tomorrow.
Through 42 games the Milwaukee Admirals sit in the second spot in the Western Conference, having accumulated 24 wins and 54 points. Therefore all is well in Milwaukee, right? When the Admirals skate five aside life is good, but the special teams remain a glaring issue as Milwaukee currently owns a seven goal deficit during special teams play.
“Five-on-five were pretty good, (but) its an ongoing process to try to get our special teams better,” Admirals coach Lane Lambert said. “We have to look at both the power play and the penalty kill.”
Lets start with the power play, which sits in 19th place in the AHL. Milwaukee is effective 15.8% of the time, scoring 27 goals on 171 chances while allowing six shorthanded goals against.
What can the Admirals do to improve the power play?
“I think we just need to keep working on it,” Milwaukee defenseman Scott Ford said. “We don’t a lot of guys other than Linus Klasen and Chris Mueller, who is up with Nashville, that put up big offensive numbers so we have to score by committee on the power play. If we do the right things, the puck will start finding the back of the net.”
Here are my three solutions to improve the power play:
1) More movement out of everyone on the power play. Whenever a power play goes south scoring-wise, this is usually the number one culprit. All players on Milwaukee need to move their feet more to create more shooting and passing lanes. More open lanes means more shots on goal and more scoring opportunities.
2) Stop watching Linus Klasen. With a player like Linus Klasen out on the power play, it is easy to get caught watching him and not moving to get open for him. Klasen is an amazing special teams weapon, but he needs help. Klasen can draw opposing defenses to him creating openings for other options.
3) Blast more point shots. The Admirals best weapon is the talent of their defensemen, and Roman Josi, Aaron Johnson, Jonathon Blum and Teemu Laakso are all potential scoring weapons. By moving more on the power play, shooting lanes for the points open up, creating opportunities for Milwaukee’s garbage goal hunters to find rebounds and tips around the net. Another way to create offense from the point is to have a good cycle down low that pulls the opposing defense lower in the zone, opening up plays and shots from up high.
Next week…I will tackle the Penalty Kill. Stay tuned.
So Roundtable, What are your Power Play Solutions?
Admirals Roundtable 