It’s always difficult to identify the impact a head coach has on a sports team, particularly in hockey. Analysts have struggled to quantify it. Fans often base their opinions on a combination of the team’s record (important, for sure!) and vibes. Since very few people beyond the players truly know what’s going on at practice and in the locker room, arguments over and assessments of head coaches are often pretty useless.
That’s what makes the obvious impact of Peter Laviolette on the Rangers through four games this season so remarkable. Here are a few things I (certainly no expert on hockey tactics – check in with The Suit, Coach Conall, and Dave for deep dives into that stuff) have noticed – and loved – so far.
Line Combinations (and patience!)
Here’s what Peter Laviolette had to say on Wednesday (before the clunker against Nashville), when asked about his line combinations so far through three games:
“You’ve seen for an exhibition game and the first three games: Kaapo’s been in a spot, Laf’s been in a spot, Fil’s been in a spot, and so, that’s a starting point…
To go and shake it up after we didn’t find success in Columbus – I actually thought that we were pounding away in Columbus, trying to get back and we made a few too many mistakes, and so it wasn’t an effort thing, it was a detail thing and we’re trying to teach that – but, for me, I think you gotta put things in place and evaluate it and see how it’s doing. I really like Kaapo up with Mika and Kreids… and putting a guy like Panarin with Chytil and Laf, they’ve been a really good line for us.”
This whole answer is a huge breath of fresh air, for two reasons.
1) Clearly Laviolette is committed to giving the erstwhile “kids” a real chance at top six minutes, and isn’t going to abandon line combinations after a loss, something his predecessors going back to John Tortorella were all too quick to do.
2) The coach is showing a clear ability to separate process from results. I bolded part of the quote above because it shows that the coach recognized that his team’s overall play in the loss to Columbus was good and that the mistakes made were correctable.
Structure, communication, and vibes
The MSG broadcast did something during the season opener in Buffalo that hasn’t happened in recent memory. They showed a high angle, full view of the ice to illustrate the Rangers’ 1-3-1 formation in the neutral zone, which they use when protecting a lead. Again, I’m no tactics expert, and won’t be breaking down the successes and failures of this system. I just think it’s worth mentioning because the Rangers have an actual, discernible tactical identity, something they’ve lacked for about a decade now.
Perhaps this wasn’t because a tactical approach didn’t exist, but that the coach couldn’t communicate it effectively to the players, or motivate them to do it. So far, that seems to be no issue for Peter Laviolette. Part of that could be the newness of his voice in the room, and the honeymoon period that all coaches seem to enjoy, but it’s clear that the players are buying what the coach is selling.
In other words: the vibes are high.
In-game management and protecting leads
With 2:41 remaining in the third period against Arizona, the Rangers held a 2-1 lead and earned an offensive zone face-off. The third line of Will Cuylle-Vincent Trocheck-Blake Wheeler had just been on the ice. This was a clear “shut down” situation, and it was easy to envision the coach tapping his fourth line for the next shift, despite the location of the draw.
Instead, Laviolette sent Artemi Panarin, Filip Chytil, and Alexis Lafreniere over the boards. The face-off was a tie, eventually controlled by Arizona. But Braden Schneider stood his ground on a Coyotes clearing attempt and kept the puck in the zone. What resulted was an extended shift in the Arizona end.
Not only did Laviolette trust two of his younger players in a crucial late-game, one goal up situation, he clearly showed a preference to try and close the game out by playing in the opponent’s zone, as opposed to sitting back and waiting out the clock.
Like many Rangers fans, I was lukewarm at best on the decision to hire Peter Laviolette. While it may be that we’re in a honeymoon period (it’s easy to remember the vibey-est days under Gerard Gallant), the early returns are good, and it appears as though the new head coach’s methods are sustainable.
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