The Blackhawks’ Christmastime switch from a piston to a diamond penalty-kill formation was arguably the best tactical change they made all last season.
The diamond is back this season — but with an emphasis on being more opportunistic and aggressive within the basic structure.
‘‘A diamond-style penalty kill is pretty popular in the league right now, and you always have to try to protect that middle,’’ coach Luke Richardson said. ‘‘If you open up the middle, that’s when the other team is dangerous. Especially if a guy is on his one-timer side in the middle, it’s a quick shot. We have to be careful when we’re aggressive, but we really want to promote being aggressive.’’
The diamond formation involves one penalty-killing forward at the point, one forward and one defenseman positioned on the sides and one defenseman covering the net-front area. It’s much harder to find horizontal lines through a diamond than a square, which limits an opposing power play’s passing lanes.
Before the switch last season, the Hawks had killed 71% of opposing power plays, which ranked 28th in the NHL. They also were allowing 106.8 shots and 61.8 scoring chances per 60 short-handed minutes — rates that ranked 19th and 21st, respectively.
After the switch, the Hawks had an 80.2% kill rate the rest of the way, ranking 17th. They allowed 96 shots and 56.3 scoring chances per 60 short-handed minutes — rates that ranked 11th and 16th, respectively. They improved in all three categories.
But as forward Jason Dickinson points out, the diamond isn’t without flaws.
‘‘Sometimes it’s better to just sit back and wait for [the power play] to make mistakes,’’ Dickinson said. ‘‘You just end up with a lot of in-zone time, and it feels like they’re . . . moving the puck around really well. But if they don’t get a Grade-A shot, was it that harmful? I don’t know. But you’re spending a lot of time in your own zone.’’
Being more aggressive about pressuring the puck — when there’s a chance to create a turnover and clear it — should reduce the amount of in-zone time.
There are specific moments in which players have been told to be aggressive, such as off a missed shot or rebound, during a tied-up faceoff, any time the puck ends up on the boards or when the puck-carrier turns his back to the defense or has only one passing outlet available.
In those moments, the Hawks want the man occupying the closest point of the diamond to provide immediate pressure, then have a second penalty-killer come in for support.
Conversely, if the penalty-killer is ‘‘looking in the whites of their eyes and they’re backing up and sucking you in,’’ as Richardson put it, that’s not the right time to be aggressive.
‘‘There’s a difference between being aggressive and chasing, so you’ve got to find that balance, but I really like the idea,’’ forward Nick Foligno said. ‘‘It’s going to catch some teams off-guard. And it gets our feet moving, too. The best thing you can have is a penalty kill that’s moving, so you’re always fresh. Then, boom, you change, and another line comes out. You keep that energy going.’’
The preseason results have been impressive — preseason asterisks aside, of course. Entering Saturday, the Hawks had killed 15 of 16 power plays (93.8%) while allowing 90.2 shots and 44 scoring chances per 60 short-handed minutes — better rates than in both halves of last season.
After assistant coach Kevin Dean showed the Hawks penalty-kill clips from their victory Tuesday at practice Wednesday, they killed all six Wild power plays Thursday, including a lengthy five-on-three.
‘‘It puts the other team under the gun,’’ Richardson said. ‘‘It really frustrates power plays. If you send it down once or twice, sometimes it gets them off their game plan.’’
