Technique, courage musts for defensemen
PITTSBURGH – Blocking shots is a matter of playing the angles, and the 50-50 percentages. “I’d say it’s about half and half, technique and courage,” Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Alex Goligoski said.
And maybe there should be a sliver of that percentage saved for insanity, too.
A defenseman needs something of a daredevil spirit to hit the ice in order to block a shot that’s being cranked up by a powerful player using a curved stick that can propel the puck at up to 100 miles per hour.
“When it’s coming, I don’t even know if it’s about courage,” defenseman Mark Eaton said. “You do what you have to for the team and don’t even give it a second thought. The moment you do second guess it is when you can get yourself in trouble.”
To a man, the Penguins defensemen say that shot blocking is just part of their job description. You lay down in front of speeding pucks, because that prevents them from getting to the goal.
Shot blocking has always been part of the game, but it seems to have taken on a more prominent role in recent years.
The NHL now keeps blocks as an official statistic, and they’re recorded on the nightly game sheets, just like shots on goal.
It isn’t restricted to defensemen, either.
“We have forwards who sacrifice their bodies, and it lifts the team up to see guys doing what they can to help the team win,” defenseman Jay McKee said. “I’m glad to be part of that.”
McKee, a new addition this season, is considered one of the NHL’s best shot blockers. He’s consistently ranked in the Top 10 in that department in his career and led the league with 241 in 2005-06.
That’s one of the reasons the Penguins were interested in acquiring him when defensemen Rob Scuderi (Los Angeles) and Hal Gill (Montreal) left as free agents.
Then again, his frequent injuries – some of them related to shot blocking – were a reason the St. Louis Blues were willing to cut ties with him last summer.
Through the Penguins’ first 13 games, McKee led the NHL with 41 blocked shots.
“I think it’s just knowing the role and doing the best you can with it,” McKee said. “The key to it is anticipating the play and being in the right spot at the right time.”
McKee plays with a sense of abandon and doesn’t worry about the perils of the job.
“We’re well-protected,” he said. “There are times when you’ll get hit in a soft spot that you’ll feel for a week or two.”
There’s more to shot blocking that just getting in the way. There’s timing, too.
Hit the ice too soon and a skilled player will take advantage of that and maneuver the puck around the prone defenseman.
“The trickiest part is when the shot is coming from the point and you’re getting into that shot lane, you’re kind of leaving a man,” McKee said. “Someone is going to be open if you’re moving out of your position.
“So it’s knowing who the shooter is. If (Detroit’s) Brian Rafalski is winding up at the point, you might not want to go in that lane because he’s real good at faking the shot, then passing it off. So there are a lot of things you get used to in time and get better at.”
Like learning how to treat bruises, undoubtedly.
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Question of the week:
What is the best hockey movie ever?
– Bill Guerin: “Slap Shot.”
– Matt Cooke: “It’s got to be ‘Slap Shot.'”
– Jay McKee: “There have been a few good ones, but I have to go with the classic, ‘Slap Shot.'”
– Mark Eaton: “It’s tough not to say ‘Slap Shot.’ It’s a classic and a hilarious movie.”
– Marc-Andre Fleury; “I love ‘Slap Shot.’ It’s a classic. Very funny. I saw it in French also and they have all the swearing in French.”
– Alex Goligoski: “I would say ‘Youngblood.'”
– Sergei Gonchar: “Unfortunately, there are not that many of them. I wouldn’t say there is a great one that I loved. I’ve seen a few of them, but I don’t have a favorite.”
– Jordan Staal: “Slap Shot.”
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The Penguins’ hot start this season has been accomplished in a business-like manner.
The team has only really had one game with a consistently poor effort, the 3-0 home loss to Phoenix on Oct. 7, the third game of the season.
Captain Sidney Crosby believes the team learned from last year’s bad first half. The Penguins were outside of the playoff field in mid-February last season when the coaching change was made with Dan Bylsma replacing Michel Therrien.
The Penguins needed an 18-3-4 finish to qualify for the playoffs.
“We had a tough first half of the season,” Crosby said. “We’ve been through that. I think the coaching staff and all of the players took it upon themselves to make sure they were ready.
“It’s not up to one guy. Everyone’s got to buy into that and realize that. I think everyone realizes they have a role, a job to do, and they came back with the mindset that they were going to do it from the start.”
John Mehno, a freelance writer from Pittsburgh, may be contacted at johnmehno@gmail.com.