'There's the makeup for a really good unit': Wisconsin's five-forward power play
The Badgers scored two goals on six power play opportunities against Notre Dame
The five-forward power play is something coaches have been experimenting with for years. Red Berenson tried it at Michigan 25 years ago, Ivan Hlinka used it when he coached the Penguins in the early 2000s, and NHL teams across the league have experimented with it in recent years, mostly in the preseason.
Add Tony Granato to the list of coaches who are ready to experiment.
Defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk, who ran Wisconsin’s power play for the last three years, signed with the Chicago Blackhawks in July. Granato needed to replace him, but Wisconsin has a wealth of dynamic forwards and fewer options on the blueline. As a result, Granato turned to a somewhat unconventional option to run the point — forward Linus Weissbach.
“We’re going to start with Linus up there,” Granato said last month. “He watched Wyatt do it the last few years, and I think his movement and mobility at the top is an asset for him.”
To go along with Weissbach, Granato put forwards Cole Caufield, Dylan Holloway, Roman Ahcan and Ty Pelton-Byce on the top unit.
“There’s the makeup for a really good unit,” Granato said. “They complement each other well. Not having a D at the top and having five forwards is something that’s not totally unique, but it is for us because we’ve had Wyatt back there the last few years.”
Granato may be right that five forwards isn’t totally unique, but it’s not exactly common. And while Weissbach is mostly playing the same role that Kalynuk or any other defenseman would, the fact that he’s a forward makes things just a little bit different.
In two games against Notre Dame this weekend, Wisconsin scored two power-play goals on six opportunities — and both came from the top unit with five forwards.
Let’s take a look at the tape from the weekend. The full video is here, and I’ll break down a few key plays below.
The first power play of the game (and of the year!) goes about as well as it could for the Badgers. They maintain possession the entire time and Holloway (4) scores his first goal. The flexibility of having Weissbach (9) as the point man is on display in the sequence just before the goal, which is shown in the GIF. He exchanges with Holloway, slides down the wall, sends the puck behind the net to open up space for Holloway up top, and then fires a pass to Holloway for a Grade-A opportunity in the high slot.
No shot attempts came from this sequence, but I just love the possibilities. After a faceoff win, the puck comes up to Weissbach, who finds Caufield on the left wall. Weissbach sneaks all the way down to the bottom of the circle, Caufield works his way to his preferred spot on the right side after exchanging with Holloway, and Notre Dame’s penalty killers have to think hard to figure out what’s going on. The movement opens up so much space and there’s a high potential for a mistake by the PKers, which is what power plays are always trying to take advantage of.
On Saturday night, Ty Pelton-Byce lit the lamp for the Badgers’ second power-play goal of the weekend. This goal starts much like Holloway’s did: with the puck moving below the goal line. It forces the PK to turn toward the puck, which opens up countless lanes and opportunities higher in the zone. Caufield’s choice to pass rather than shoot here is the difference-maker. Because he’s such an elite scorer, the PK has to respect his shot, which allows him to slide the puck inside. Pelton-Byce is right there for the finish.
Here’s a better look at the pass and the goal:
Some final thoughts
Granato’s willingness to be a little creative and unorthodox with his power play directly led to two goals for his team. Five forwards probably isn’t the ideal setup for most teams — for example, a team like Michigan with multiple high-end offensive defensemen — but for a team like Wisconsin, it works really well. Their five best players are forwards. Why not put them on the ice together and see what happens?
There’s nothing super groundbreaking about the formation — it’s the same 1-3-1 most teams run these days. The wrinkles below the goal line are new, and it’ll be interesting to see how teams try to defend those throughout the year. All in all, it’s a unique way to maximize the usage of the Badgers’ best players, and it’s incredibly fun to watch.
It’s worth noting that Notre Dame’s penalty kill is far from the most aggressive PK the Badgers will see this year. Having five forwards has the potential to burn them more against a more aggressive PK, but their forwards may be good enough at maintaining possession that it won’t matter — time will tell. Michigan heads to Madison this week and has an ultra-aggressive PK, so that’ll be fascinating to watch.
Of course, there’s also the chance that Granato moves away from the five-forward look now that Holloway is in Canada for World Juniors evaluation camp. I hope that doesn’t happen, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it as a possibility.
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excellent article Bailey......looking forward to seeing Wolverine wunderkinds against the Badgers....ASU was not remotely close to MI.....Badgers should be a better measuring stick