There was a moment Thursday night when Colorado Avalanche forward Jonathan Drouin carried the puck across the Edmonton blue line and had a decision to make.
The Oilers player in front of him was in good position, so there probably wasn’t a way through to create a scoring chance. For most of modern hockey history, there have been a couple of simple options.
The safest is to “get the puck in deep”: Chip it behind the defenseman and create a chance for one of Drouin’s teammates to win a puck battle. He also could have pulled up and waited to see if anyone would get open, but that would also give the defender time to converge and potentially create a turnover.
So Drouin drove toward the defender, pushing him back farther, and then sent a pass backwards off the boards to the place he just vacated. A linemate arrived to collect the puck just before it crossed into the neutral zone, and suddenly had more space to work with and Drouin driving the net.
That was the creative decision. It was also risky. Skilled players have been yelled at or benched for similar plays on different teams for years.
That is also a staple of Colorado’s offense when Nathan MacKinnon’s line is on the ice with Cale Makar and Devon Toews. That five-man unit, the group that Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe famously said plays “in another league” earlier this season, has the freedom from Avs coach Jared Bednar to make those types of decisions.
“We’ve earned that trust to be creative, but we do it within our structure and we know what we’re doing out there,” Toews said.
Drop passes near the blue line are one go-to move. Forwards carrying the puck along the blue line, which can be a risky maneuver and leave the team vulnerable to a breakaway, is as well. Makar and Toews have the green light to pinch down the walls to keep possessions alive, and even to play below the goal line like a forward.
It’s pretty close to the idea of position-less hockey, and it can look like poetry in motion when they are cooking.
“A lot of times when you get that kind of movement, you get their five guys to pack in and play a tighter structure,” Toews said. “When there’s a loose puck, we’re able to jump on them and create secondary opportunities. When they do get it, we try to create turnovers in the zone or they chip it in the neutral zone and we can turn back on them and it makes them work more than they want to.”
They’re able to play this way because the Avs’ big guns have earned their coaches’ trust. The freedom to be so creative on offense starts without the puck.
Toews is one of the best defensive defensemen in the league, but he’s also skilled enough with a great hockey IQ to connect with players like Makar, MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Makar is considered by many to be the best defenseman in the world. His offensive prowess is elite, but he’s also a strong defender.
Drouin has found a home on that line, but only after he proved to Bednar that he has the two-way chops and commitment to play without the puck. MacKinnon and Rantanen have both improved in that area as well.
“We talk about different keys with those guys. It’s slight variations off our regular structure,” Bednar said. “When they dialed it in and became really strong defensive players, I think there’s some give and take. There’s still some non-negotiables in our structure and positions that you’ve got to work to be on the ice to be responsible, 200-foot players.
“They are making reads at a high level, seeing things before lots of other players do and have the ability to make plays under stressful situations. I don’t think that’s anything unique to us, but as they’ve matured as players, the last couple years especially, there’s been more give and take.”
Keefe watched those five players dominate his team at Scotiabank Centre in Toronto and thought it was pretty unique. It’s part of what makes the Avalanche such an explosive team, and those five together in particular so tough to slow down.
“Our top guys are so good that they can read the play and 95 percent of the time make the right decision with the puck,” defenseman Josh Manson said. “They don’t want to make a bad turnover, and they want to be held accountable for their actions just like everyone else. That’s what drives our team. That’s why we can have success.”