Forecheck evasion has led to success against Canucks

A question was posited to Darryl Sutter this morning about why Los Angeles has found such success against Vancouver in the teams’ recent head-to-head match-ups. Since Sutter was hired as head coach, the Kings are 9-4-0 against the Canucks in the regular season and eliminated their British Columbia rivals in five games in the first round of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Sutter wasn’t one to trumpet any recent history.

“I don’t put a whole lot of thing on last game or anything like that,” he said.

In that case, he probably wouldn’t raise an eyebrow at the Kings’ strong possession numbers in the two match-ups between the teams this season, both Los Angeles wins. The Kings have recorded 114 shot attempts during five-on-five play to the Canucks’ 54 in the two games. If actual shots on goal are considered, Los Angeles has more than doubled Vancouver’s output, having finished with 36-19 and 40-16 shot-on-goal advantages.

It’s an indication that the Kings have been able to play the way they want to play in the head-to-head series – by utilizing a strong puck possession game and suppressing shots against.

How have the Kings been able to establish an advantage in possession metrics this year?

“Just from watching video from our past games, stuff like that,” Drew Doughty said. “It seemed like we were moving the puck pretty well and we were able to break both their offensive zone and neutral zone forecheck. When you can do that to teams, you’re going to create more time in the offensive zone and create more odd-man rushes. I think if we can do that again tonight, that’ll help us a lot.”

There are other Pacific Division teams that also utilize a heavy forecheck, with Anaheim and San Jose among those teams that often come to mind. But Vancouver’s pressure is different, as Doughty noted.

“Their forecheck is probably even a little more aggressive,” he said. “It seems like their defense pinch as much as possible, which is good for them because they can keep pucks in and keep the forecheck alive. But at the same time, if it goes wrong, it’s usually an odd-man rush. We just have to make quick, smart, fast plays and we should be able to get some odd-man rushes that way.”

Jake Muzzin, on how forechecks vary between teams:
Most of them are similar. Sometimes it’s personnel. Some guys come harder, some guys try to read where the play is going and try to anticipate where we’re going to break the puck out to and stuff like that. It’s getting a feel for the team and the guys you’re against, if they’re coming to hit you or if they’re coming to strip you or something like that. But for the most part, forechecks now are pretty aggressive. They’re coming down the walls, they’re trying to get over top of the middle and try to trap you in there. But if we’re clean and on top of our game, we’re in and out pretty easily.

Muzzin, on whether there are any teams that don’t forecheck as aggressively:
Yeah, some of the smaller, faster teams that are looking to strip pucks. They’re not coming to hit you, they’re coming to try and take away a pass or take away a lane or something like that. There are other teams that will try to catch you at the blueline and turn over pucks there, try to trap you at the blueline. It’s just knowing the team, knowing what their system is and trying to break it.