Tom Wilson's 100th NHL goal came off a great set play
If it wasn't a set play, it sure looked like one!
Tom Wilson scored his 100th NHL goal on Monday night in the Caps 4-3 win over Anaheim. The goal, a layup into an open net, was probably one of the easiest goals Wilson has scored.
The goal was so easy thanks to great execution of a clever set play the Caps ran off an offensive-zone faceoff (if it wasn’t a set play, it worked so well that it sure should be moving forward).
The play basically went like this:
Kuznetsov won the draw to Ovechkin
Ovechkin got the puck in a dangerous area and understandably drew major attention from two Ducks players
Justin Schultz activated from the point and Ovechkin dished the puck to him
The Ducks were scrambling once they lost the 1v2 on Ovechkin
Schultz took advantage of the Ducks breakdown and fed Wilson for a layup
Let’s take a closer look at the play and how Wilson ended up all alone in front of the Ducks net for his 100th goal.
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If you haven’t seen it, here’s the goal:
The play starts with an offensive-zone draw for the Caps
As soon as the puck is dropped, Wilson comes in towards the dot to support Kuznetsov. Ovechkin makes a beeline to his right to retrieve the puck. The puck clicked off Kuznetsov’s skate, pushing the puck towards the slot and away from Ovechkin. I doubt this part was by design, but nonetheless, Ovechkin is able to retrieve the faceoff win by Kuznetsov.
You’ll see below that Ovechkin is getting the puck in a dangerous area. Understandably, the Ducks are concerned about the best goal-scorer in the history of the planet getting the puck in the high slot. Two Ducks pursue Ovechkin aggressively.
If the Caps were playing 3v5 here, then the Ducks have this play under decent control. Ovechkin may get a shot off from a dangerous area, but he doesn’t have much time and the shot is likely to be blocked. But the problem for the Ducks is that the Caps are playing 5v5, not 3v5, and Justin Schultz is about to activate from the point and cause all kinds of problems for them.
In the shot above, the two Ducks on Ovechkin are making an understandable choice: don’t let Ovechkin get a clean look from this area. The Ducks player between Ovechkin and the net is in position to block the shot, and also tries to get his stick in the passing lane to Schultz. Simon Benoit (number 86) is the Ducks player trailing Ovechkin, and he’s identified what’s going on. He tries to get his stick in the passing lane to Schultz, but he doesn’t have the body positioning to execute his plan.
Well, at this point the Caps have the Ducks in a precarious spot. The Ducks had a 1v2 on Ovechkin and Ovechkin was able to dish the puck to a teammate in a dangerous area. That result from a 1v2 generally isn’t going to work out well for the team on defense.
So, Schultz has the puck in a dangerous spot and the Ducks defender circled above in black is officially having an “welp, oh boy” moment. Should he defend the passing lane to Wilson? Should he try to try to impede Schultz’s march towards the goal? (You’ll sometimes hear people say let the goalie worry about the shooter, but decisions are never that straightforward).
Maybe the Ducks player circled in orange above could have identified the breakdown quicker and tried to cover Wilson. But he’s understandably concerned about his guy, Kuznetsov.
At this point the Ducks are roasted. Shattenkirk (22) committed hard to getting between Schultz and the net. Lettieri, number 28 circled in orange, tries to get his stick in the passing lane, but as you can see the puck (circled in black) is already by him on its way to a wide open Wilson. The Ducks goalie, Josh Gibson, sold out committing to Schultz, hoping maybe his teammates would take care of the back door. They did not. And thus, Wilson had a layup for his 100th NHL goal.
The Caps ran a successful set play off this faceoff. It all started with winning the draw to Ovechkin. Using the greatest goal scorer in the world to draw the attention of the Ducks defense was a great strategy. Schultz activated from the point and the Ducks lost a 1v2 against Ovechkin. From there, it was an easy tap in for Wilson.